University of Florida presidential pic supports – Latest News
“Safe to Pee.” That was only one wacky woke initiative Stuart R. Bell oversaw as president of the University of Alabama, on this case to forestall “discrimination against gender variant people in public restrooms.”
Earlier this month, a search committee on the University of Florida—the flagship establishment of the state the place Gov. Ron DeSantis says “woke goes to die”— unanimously advisable Bell as the only candidate to be UF’s subsequent president. DeSantis virtually instantly endorsed him as a “great selection” who enjoys his “full support.”
Say it ain’t so, Ron! The critics are out, and so is the déjà-vu.
Stuart R. Bell, former president of the University of Alabama, was advisable as the only candidate to be the University of Florida’s subsequent president. AP
Less than a yr in the past, UF picked former University of Michigan president Santa J. Ono to take the highest job in Gainesville. Ono, who was poised to make $3 million a yr at UF – virtually twice his Michigan wage – claimed a sudden conversion from his DEI-saturated previous. Not all people was fooled. After crusing via the search committee and UF’s Board of Trustees, the Florida state college system’s Board of Governors nixed his candidacy in a 10-6 vote.
The stakes are increased now. UF’s rebuffed trustees whined about Ono’s rejection, alleging the Board of Governors overstepped its function regardless of state constitutional language suggesting in any other case. Now they appear to wish to strive again with Bell, who applied DEI insurance policies at Alabama.
As quickly as he turned president, the college launched a DEI-infused program building on an earlier dedication to “diversity as part of its educational mission.” This included race-based recruitment applications for college students and school, which at the moment are unlawful.
The University of Florida — the flagship establishment of the state the place Gov. Ron DeSantis says “woke goes to die” — but it appears poised to select a DEI fanatic as its subsequent president. Getty Images
In 2017, Bell employed G. Christine Taylor, a DEI guru, as Alabama’s new vice president and affiliate provost for DEI, a job paying practically $300,000. Taylor was joined by 30 different DEI personnel, together with DEI deans in six of Alabama’s 9 faculties, at an estimated payroll price of $2 million per yr. The college boasted that 36% of undergraduate programs had been “diversity-related” and hosted what Bell mentioned had been “over 70 student organizations which have diversity and inclusion as a focus.”
Between 2016 and 2021, whites in Alabama’s pupil physique fell by 10% whereas the share of blacks and Hispanics practically doubled. In 2022, Alabama gained an award for DEI excellence.
Under Bell, Alabama renamed campus buildings that honored distinguished whites in favor of blacks, an motion some have alleged violated a state law on the preservation of public monuments. The college opened a devoted “Intercultural Diversity Center,” a “Hate & Bias Hotline” for denunciations of alleged discriminatory conduct, and, yes, the “Safe to Pee” initiative, which seems designed to make sure organic males can freely urinate in campus women’ rooms.
Under Bell, Alabama renamed campus buildings that honored distinguished whites in favor of blacks. Getty Images
What occurred to studying, writing, and ‘rithmetic, you might ask? Among national universities, Alabama’s US News & World Report rating tumbled from 88th place when Bell arrived in 2015 to 169 th when he left in 2025. Some achievement!
After Alabama’s legislature banned DEI in universities in 2024, Bell seems to have saved many of his insurance policies and personnel in place however renamed them, a common ruse in educational establishments. In a assertion no longer out there on Alabama’s web site, Bell promised that nothing would change.
Taylor retained her profitable job beneath a new title, “Vice President and Associate Vice Provost Opportunity, Connections and Success.” Alabama’s Intercultural Diversity Center turned merely its “Intercultural Center.” Who is aware of the place males masquerading as girls can pee?
Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis sports activities a “Where Woke Goes to Die” jacket. AP
Education Secretary Linda McMahon, whose division can droop federal funds to universities on civil rights grounds, posted that “UF deserves a president who will continue to drive [anti-DEI] reforms.” AFP by way of Getty Images
Bell is closely championed by UF’s Board of Trustees chairman Morteza “Mori” Hosseini, an Iranian immigrant and state-level Republican donor who additionally championed Ono. Bell’s “academic achievements and experience at a flagship state university makes [sic] him the obvious chose to lead UF going forward,” Hosseini dubiously mentioned in a press release.
Authorities are taking discover. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) desires to know why UF’s interim president Donald Landry’s contract provides him a $2 million payoff if he’s not employed completely. Landry spent his yr on campus selling institutional neutrality, campus free speech, and the elimination of DEI—all issues
Floridians voted for.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon, whose division can droop federal funds to universities on civil rights grounds, posted that “UF deserves a president who will continue to drive [anti-DEI] reforms.” Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, whose workplace has sued universities for civil rights violations, posted a doubtlessly ominous “Uh oh” when the UF story first broke.
Florida Board of Governors chairman Alan Levine has requested whether or not Hosseini overstepped his authority within the choice course of. If DeSantis has any regard for his legacy and political future, he ought to scrap this boondoggle now and inform Stuart Bell to not pee on our legs and inform us it’s raining.
Paul du Quenoy is President of the Palm Beach Freedom Institute.
