Scott Blasts UF Presidential Search as Opaque, Demands Probe of Landry Payout

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is demanding answers from Florida's university system over what he calls a secretive, legally deficient presidential search at the University of Florida — and a multimillion-dollar contract clause that could pay the school's interim president for simply not getting the permanent job.

In a sharply worded letter to State University System Chancellor Raymond Rodrigues, Scott accused UF of naming Stuart Bell as its sole presidential finalist without public input and without interviewing three candidates as required under Florida law. The letter lands at a moment when parents and students across the Treasure Coast — home to thousands of IRSC transfers and UF alumni — have a direct stake in how the state's flagship university is governed.

"While I don't know Dr. Bell, it is clear to me that once again, UF has engaged in a search process that lacked any transparency or public input and failed to interview three candidates as mandated under Florida law," Scott wrote.

Scott reserved some of his sharpest language for interim President Donald Landry's contract. Landry stands to receive $2 million if he is passed over for the permanent position — a clause Scott said was approved not by UF's full governing board, but by board chair Mori Hosseini alone. "I don't understand how that process is in the best interest of the university, its students and taxpayers," Scott wrote. "It begs the question as to why UF even bothers to have a governing board." He called for a formal investigation into the contract.

Scott also took aim at Attorney General James Uthmeier, a DeSantis appointee who is paid $100,000 to teach at UF's Levin College of Law for two hours a week, according to public records. Scott called the arrangement "frankly bizarre," writing that he was told UF structured the deal so Uthmeier would steer more UF law graduates toward jobs in his office. "Does that mean all Florida law schools need to retain the Attorney General?" Scott asked. Uthmeier defended the work earlier this year by pointing to the financial pressures of raising a family.

The broadside echoes Scott's 2025 criticism of UF's attempted hiring of Santa Ono, a process that collapsed publicly after similar transparency complaints. Under Florida law, universities are only required to release the names of finalists — not the full applicant pool — and single-finalist searches have grown increasingly common. A House bill last year would have opened the process further, but it died in the Senate and Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened a veto.

Scott made his frustration plain. "I am frankly tired of hearing 'there is only one sole finalist because no one else was willing to do a public interview,'" he wrote. "That is BS."

For families on the Treasure Coast whose children aspire to attend or are currently enrolled at UF, the search process is more than a political dispute — it shapes the leadership and direction of the university they are betting on. The State University System Board of Governors has not publicly announced a timeline for acting on Scott's letter or confirming Bell's appointment, and the outcome of any investigation into Landry's contract could determine whether those funds — drawn from a public institution — are ever clawed back.

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