Sen. Ben Sasse Confirmed As Next President Of The University Of Florida

Paul Hammel, Nebraska Examiner:

November 9, 2022

LINCOLN — Multiple sources are reporting that U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., was confirmed Wednesday as the next president of the University of Florida.

The university’s Board of Governors voted, with one “no” vote, to confirm Sasse, 50, who had served as president of Midland University in Fremont before he was elected to the Senate in 2014.

Confirmed despite protests

Sasse was confirmed despite protests from students about his stance against gay marriage, and a “no confidence” vote from the university’s faculty.

Just when Sasse will resign his U.S. Senate seat is unclear.

Gov. Pete Ricketts, who may be a candidate for the vacancy, has said he will let the next governor, Gov.-elect Jim Pillen, appoint a successor

Ricketts and Pillen are political allies, with Ricketts contributing more than $1.3 million into Pillen’s tight, GOP primary race against Falls City businessman Charles Herbster and State Sen. Brett Lindstrom.

Ricketts ran for Senate in 2006

It is widely assumed that the Senate post is Ricketts’ if he wants it. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2006, losing to then-U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson. Ricketts, a millionaire member of the family that owns the Chicago Cubs and founded TD Ameritrade, is completing his second term as governor and was prevented from running for re-election due to term limits.

The Associated Press reported that Sasse will get a compensation package worth $1.6 million a year as the 13th president in the history of the Tallahassee, Florida-based school.

Sasse, according to the AP, told the board of governors that he will not be involved in partisan politics and that he wants the school to draw people from diverse backgrounds.

‘No bullying,’ AP reports

“We want no bullying. We want no intimidation,” Sasse said, according to the AP. “I want us to be a place that has open hearts and thick skin.”

Some questions arose over Sasse’s capacity to manage a university with more than 50,000 students. By comparison, Midland has an enrollment of 1,400.

Sasse will replace current UF President Kent Fuchs, who has held the job since 2015.

The confirmation vote had been scheduled for Thursday but was moved up a day because of a tropical storm threatening Florida.

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