University Of Florida Faculty Senate To Consider “No Confidence” Vote On Ben Sasse

Ben Sasse’s anticipated selection next week by the University of Florida’s Board of Trustees to become the University’s new president is not going well. Sasse faces the unusual prospect of a no-confidence vote by the University’s Faculty Senate even before he officially takes office.

The UF Faculty Senate has scheduled an emergency meeting for the afternoon of Oct. 27, at which faculty members will consider a resolution of no confidence in the process that resulted in Sasse being named the sole finalist for UF’s presidency. The meeting comes just days before before Sasse, Republican Senator from Nebraska, is scheduled to be interviewed and presumably approved on Nov. 1 by the university’s board of trustees.

The resolution states that “The next President should come already equipped to lead an institution of this caliber rather than aiming to learn on the job. Anything less will result in a lack of faith in leadership. The process of the thirteenth Presidential search, conducted in accordance with the updated Florida State Bill 520, has undermined the trust and confidence of the University of Florida Faculty Senate in the selection of the sole finalist Dr. Ben Sasse.”

It concludes, “Whereas the selection process has the potential to cause significant professional harm to well-qualified candidates if their identities are disclosed at the 21-day mark, thus increasing the likelihood that a less suitable candidate who does not similarly fear disclosure will advance;

Be it resolved that the Faculty Senate of the University of Florida provides a vote of NO CONFIDENCE in the selection process of the thirteenth President of the University of Florida.”

The resolution is not the only sign of how angry many segments of the University of Florida community is over what it perceives to be the unfair process that led to Sasse’s anticipated appointment. Following large-scale student protests at Sasse’s first visit to campus on October 10, outgoing president Kent Fuchs told students on Monday that the university would enforce a two- decade-old regulation banning protesters inside campus buildings.

In his email to students, Fuchs said,“We have not enforced this policy in recent years because in the rare cases that protesters entered buildings, they were respectful of others and their rights to speak and to hear.” The regulation on demonstrations states “demonstrations may be held anywhere on the campus, so long as they do not disrupt the normal operation of the University or infringe on the rights of other members of the University community” and that “use of sound amplification equipment on the outdoor areas of campus must have prior clearance.”

The email from Fuchs also said that students who the violate the regulation may be disciplined under the Student Conduct Code.

Sasse was selected in a search that, under a new Florida law, keeps early stages of a public university’s presidential selection process private. While University of Florida officials have attempted to deflect the ensuing criticisms of both the process and Sasse’s selection, they have not been able to prevent the campus backlash that has followed the announcement.

Over the past two years, the University of Florida has been rocked by claims of political interference, charges that academic freedom has been violated, the filing of faculty lawsuits, and allegations of outside interference. Its turmoil is likely to continue, with the hiring of Sasse adding more fuel to the fire.