BUZZ
Key Takeaways
- Dr. Donald Landry's appointment comes after the Board of Governors rejected the previous choice, Santa Ono, due to his past support for DEI initiatives.
- If the board approves his contract, Landry's responsibilities will include defunding DEI programs and building up the university's civic education initiatives.
- Landry's salary is set at $2 million, with an additional $500,000 bonus linked to performance metrics.
As part of his contract, the new president of the University of Florida must agree to cut off funding to diversity, equity, and inclusion programming.
Dr. Donald Landry, a former Columbia University medical professor, likely will be the new interim president of the public university this fall, pending final approval by the Florida Board of Governors, The Gainesville Sun reports.
The board is scheduled to meet Thursday. The university Board of Trustees unanimously approved Landry on Aug. 25 – just a few months after its first choice, former University of Michigan President Santa Ono, was rejected by the Board of Governors due to Ono’s past support for DEI.
In contrast, Landry is described as a champion of “legal protections for dissenting speech on social media, including generally-recognized conservative views,” according to USA TODAY.
According to his contract, his duties will include prohibiting “the use of any public or private funds from being spent on DEI or political or social activism,” The Sun reports.
He also must work with state and federal leaders to “eliminate waste, fraud and abuse,” and help develop the university’s civic education initiatives that focus on the “foundations of Western and American civilization.”
Other duties, according to The Sun, include:
Appoint a permanent provost and fill interim dean positions with those who are “firmly aligned with and support the principles guiding Florida’s approach to higher education …”
Review courses for educational value and eliminate those with “consistent low return on investment.”
“Keep the safety of UF’s students, including its Jewish students, and broader campus community as a top priority.
His salary will be $2 million, with a $500,000 bonus if he meets performance goals, according to the report.
The university began searching for a new president last summer after Ben Sasse, a former Republican U.S. senator, stepped down, The College Fix previously reported.
Initially, the search committee chose Ono, then-president of the University of Michigan, to fill the role.
However, in June, the Florida Board of Governors rejected him — going against a unanimous decision by the trustees. The basis of the governors’ decision was criticism Ono faced for his support for DEI, his fumbling of antisemitic protests at UMich, and his activism against fossil fuels, as The Fix reported.
The controversy resulted in several state Republican lawmakers calling on University of Florida trustees to be more transparent in their presidential search.
