GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida Board of Trustees voted unanimously to select Dr. Stuart R. Bell as the university’s next president, according to an article posted Wednesday by UF.
Bell is expected to become UF’s 14th president, pending ratification by the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees Florida’s public university system. The board is expected to vote on his ratification at its June 25 meeting.
Bell previously served as president of the University of Alabama from 2015 to 2025. Before that, he was provost and professor of engineering at Louisiana State University and dean of the School of Engineering at the University of Kansas.
UF Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini called the unanimous vote “a resounding and undeniable show of support” for Bell, saying his experience and leadership will be important as UF works to climb higher in national rankings.
Bell was selected from among hundreds of potential candidates, according to Rahul Patel, vice chair of the Board of Trustees and chair of UF’s Presidential Search Committee.
Bell holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M University. He is also known for research on natural gas and combustion engines and was inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 2023, UF said.
Bell is expected to succeed Interim President Donald Landry. He was announced May 18 as the sole finalist chosen by UF’s 15-member Presidential Search Committee.
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