GOP senator is University of Florida’s new leader despite faculty vote

The University of Florida’s Board of Trustees on Tuesday voted unanimously to confirm Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., as the university’s 13th president despite disapproval from students and teachers. During one question-and-answer forum, more than 300 protesters drowned out Sasse’s responses, resulting in the school invoking an old rule that doesn’t allow protesters inside buildings. The Faculty Senate overwhelmingly passed a no-confidence resolution expressing disapproval of the way Sasse was selected.

How did the selection process work? In the meeting Tuesday, the school’s Board of Trustees outlined how they brought the pool down from more than 700 people to one. The board said they had to do it anonymously because many of the candidates are employed in prestigious positions elsewhere. Trustees said the smaller pools of 12 and six were diverse, with women and people of color, but they believed Sasse to be the best choice. The candidates would not have participated in the process without the promise of anonymity, said Mori Hosseini, chairman of the University of Florida Board of Trustees. 

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s article in Schooled on college enrollment’s downward slide.