In a sudden announcement Thursday night, UF News said University of Florida President Ben Sasse is resigning effective July 31.
According to Sasse, this unexpected change is due to his wife’s recent diagnosis of epilepsy.
“My wife Melissa’s recent epilepsy diagnosis and a new round of memory issues have been difficult, but we are facing it together,” Sasse said in a UF News press release. “Our two wonderful daughters are in college, but our youngest just turned 13. Gator Nation needs a president who can continue to step up, Melissa deserves a husband who can do his part, and my kids need a father who can be home more nights.”
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“I need to step back and rebuild more stable family systems for a while. I will continue to be involved in serving our UF students — past, present and future — but I must walk arm in arm with my dearest friend more hours per week.”
In a lengthy post on X, Sasse announced his resignation along with his wife’s diagnosis. He spoke of a need to spend more time with his family and to be a father and husband “who can do his share of the work.” Sasse also said he would remain at UF as president emeritus and professor, while continuing to teach classes.
A paragraph from Sasse’s message on X says:
“First, I am a husband and a father. Second, I have been fortunate to serve as president of the best public university in America—Go Gators!—and I have loved the challenge of giving everything I have to that university. But here’s the bottom line: Those two callings are in stark contrast right now.
“Gator Nation needs a president who can continue to step up, Melissa deserves a husband who can do his part, and my children need a father who can stay home many more nights. After much prayer and many family tears, today I asked UF President Mori Hosseini and our Board of Trustees to launch a search for a new university president. I need to step back for a while and focus more on the needs of my family while we rebuild more stable family systems.”
A former Republican U.S. senator from Nebraska, Sasse left the Senate to become UF’s new president in 2022. Despite some opposition from the UF community and a vote of no confidence from the UF Faculty Senate, he was unanimously elected by the UF Board of Trustees in November 2022.
Sasse’s term was officially announced in October 2022, despite resistance from the community and students, with a five-year term set to begin in February 2023, the Gainesville Sun previously reported. He was officially sworn in as the university’s 13th president in November 2023.
He was previously president of Midland University, a 1,400-student Lutheran school in Nebraska.
UF News said the board of trustees “will work quickly and thoughtfully to announce an interim president and lay the groundwork for a search for a new president” and “engage the UF community every step of the way.”
Mori Hosseini, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, was quoted in the UF press release:
“The Board of Trustees thanks Dr. Sasse for his service to the University of Florida. Under his leadership, UF has continued to grow on the national and international stage, benefiting our students, faculty, alumni, community and state. He has left a lasting impact on the university and all associated with it. We wish Ben all the best as he steps back to focus on his family,”
Sasse on the war between Israel and Hamas
Amid the vigils and protests, Sasse has not shied away from commenting on the ongoing conflicts between Israel and Hamas at the local level, earning him much attention and praise from conservatives throughout his tenure.
Following an outbreak of chaos and injuries at a Jewish vigil held on the University of Florida campus (at which Sasse spoke) in October 2023, he wrote a lengthy letter to Jewish students and graduates.
The letter, obtained and published by two conservative blogs, the Gainesville Sun previously reported, condemns Hamas terror attacks in Gaza and Israel that have killed more than a thousand innocent people, including more than a dozen Americans. It also clarifies that there was no attack at Turlington Plaza, where nearly a thousand people held a vigil for those who lost their lives overseas. The subsequent disturbance, which sent dozens to the hospital with injuries, was caused by a misunderstanding after someone in the crowd collapsed.
Sasse’s letter also indicated that anti-Israel protests could potentially break out on campus.
“But I also want to be clear on this: We will protect our Jewish students from violence,” he wrote. “If anti-Israel protests occur, we will be absolutely prepared to act if anyone dares to go beyond a peaceful protest. Free speech is protected, violence and vandalism are not.”
Six months later, in April 2024, a pro-Palestinian protest occupied the UF campus for several days, resulting in the arrest of nine protesters.
UF told the Sun that while peaceful protests are protected by the Constitution, “camping, erecting structures, disrupting university activity or threatening others on university property is strictly prohibited.” UF also said the rules it enforces have been in place for years.
The university recently suspended the arrested protesters, banning them from campus for up to four years.
Fresh Take Florida previously reported that Sasse, at a news conference in May, praised police: “What you did in the face of spitting and profanity was incredible,” he said.
UF spokesman Steve Orlando issued a statement in April 2024 that received widespread praise in conservative media. He said, “The University of Florida is not a daycare, and we do not treat protesters like children.”
Orlando’s April 2024 statement also said: “They knew the rules, they broke them, and they will face consequences. For many days, we patiently told protesters—many of whom are outside agitators—that they could exercise their rights to free speech and assembly. And we also told them that clearly prohibited activities would result in a trespass order from the University of Pennsylvania Police (banning them from all University property for three years) and a temporary suspension from the University. For days, the University of Pennsylvania Police patiently and consistently reiterated the rules. Today, those who refused to comply were arrested after the University of Pennsylvania Police gave them multiple warnings and multiple opportunities to comply.”
Sasse and the university have been praised by many conservatives for the way they handled the protests on campus, in contrast to the approaches taken at many other schools across the country.
This is a developing story.
News Source : www.gainesville.com
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