Committee Charge

The University of Florida Presidential Search Advisory Committee is appointed to serve in an advisory role to the University of Florida Board of Trustees, which shall select the 14th President of the University of Florida. Rahul Patel is serving as Chair of the Committee.

The President of the University of Florida is one of the most influential and impactful positions in all of public higher education and in the State of Florida. In 2021, for the first time, the University of Florida was ranked a Top 5 public university in the country by US News & World Report. The opportunity to serve as the next President of the University of Florida represents an opportunity to lead Florida’s flagship university in its quest to be firmly and consistently recognized among the most prominent and influential public and private universities in the country. The next president will promote UF’s core values and build upon the following qualities which distinguish UF among today’s leading public research universities:

1. Florida is now the third most populous and one of the fastest growing states in the country. With new interest in its urban centers from corporate leaders across a wide range of industries, Florida is a national leader well positioned to enter a new era of influence.
2. UF has great momentum as a university. In 2017, pursuant to the US News & World Report, UF was the 14th ranked public university in the country. Today, UF is ranked 7th among the nation’s top public research universities by U.S. News & World Report.
3. UF has one of the most comprehensive academic health programs in the country, which includes six academic health colleges. UF also has one of the top academic health care systems and hospitals in the southeast, consistently ranked among the top health systems in Florida.
4. In keeping with its land grant mission, UF has one of the nation’s most comprehensive agriculture and natural resources programs with a presence in each of Florida’s 67 counties. IFAS is a significant thought leader and driver of the Florida’s $130 billion agriculture community, which is one of the significant components of Florida’s economy and a key component of the nation’s food supply.
5. UF’s partnership with NVIDIA, one of the leading computing and artificial intelligence companies in the world, and UF’s Artificial Intelligence initiative represents a signature moment in UF’s history, uniquely positioning UF to become the higher education leader in Artificial Intelligence facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration among, for example, faculty within the adjacent colleges of journalism, engineering and medicine.
6. UF acquired Scripps Florida, one of the world’s premier biomedical research enterprises and regarded as one of the most influential institutions in the world for its impact on innovation and addressing the world’s most pressing health concerns. In addition, UF is establishing a campus in downtown Jacksonville offering advanced workforce-oriented graduate and professional degree programs and related research efforts in the areas of business, engineering, law and medicine. 
7. A world class athletics program. UF is the only program in the country among the top 10 in each of the last 40 national all-sports standings.
8. The UF Foundation’s fundraising program is ranked among the top public universities in the nation. The recent Go Greater campaign exceed its $3B working goal with a finish of over $4B+ in the fall of 2022. Additionally, UF has one of the highest alumni participation rates in the country for public institutions.
9. UF was an early adopter of leveraging technology for on-line education and ranks #2 in the country for on-line learning.
10. UF has experienced unwavering support from the state of Florida, which has endorsed UF’s drive to become one of the nation’s very best public research universities, including supporting those efforts with hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding.

The next President of the University of Florida must have the experience, accomplishments, vision and reputation to lead the University of Florida to build upon its top-tier position.

The Search Committee, assisted by SP&A Executive Search, is charged to undertake the following:

• Search Criteria: Develop and recommend to the University of Florida Board of Trustees for its approval, the search criteria and job description for the next President. The search criteria and job description shall reflect the University’s vision of its next leader.  The criteria shall be qualified as “desired,” and shall be unranked to allow each member of the Committee and each Trustee to judge how to weigh and apply the criteria, individually and overall. The criteria should reflect the University’s official status as Florida’s foremost preeminent public research university and the University Board-endorsed goal to be consistently ranked among the top-5 public AAU research universities. The criteria and job description should also reflect qualifications of a leader with the ability to effectively position the University of Florida to achieve its strategic priorities and who has the stature and vision to translate the value generated by the university over the last decade into elevating UF’s national and global reputation. Consistent with the principles of shared governance, the search criteria should be developed with outreach to a broad range of UF stakeholders, including faculty, students, staff, community leaders, alumni, donors, boosters, business leaders, and a listserv of over 200,000 addresses of the UF campus and extended community.
• Recruitment and Outreach: Recruit and actively solicit nominations and applications from a group of well-qualified persons, as measured against the search criteria. Ensure that appropriate information about the university and the presidency is provided to candidates at each stage of the screening process.
• Assessment: Assess the qualifications of applicants for the position of UF President against the search criteria, determine those highly qualified applicants to be interviewed by the Committee, and conduct interviews of those applicants and determine those applicants who are most highly qualified under the search criteria.
• Recommendation: Recommend to the Board of Trustees for its interview, consideration and engagement with UF Stakeholders a small and unranked number of the most highly qualified candidates consistent with Board of Governors Regulation 1.002.
• Communications: Conduct a search process that is transparent, including frequent communication with UF stakeholders to keep them apprised of the progress of the search and opportunities for input and engagement, while balancing an appropriate level of confidentiality consistent with the laws of the State of Florida and the regulations of the Board of Governors.
• Compliance: Take other action required by and conduct the search in compliance with the laws of the State of Florida, including Section 1004.098, Florida Statutes, and the regulations of the Board of Governors, including Board of Governors Regulation 1.002.

The Board of Trustees extends its gratitude to the members of the Committee for accepting this assignment.