Confirmation of President-elect Kent Fuchs

November 6, 2014

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- The following email was sent today to University of Florida students, faculty and staff regarding the confirmation of Dr. Kent Fuchs:

I am pleased to announce that the Florida Board of Governors today unanimously confirmed the UF Board of Trustees’ selection of Dr. Kent Fuchs as the 12th president of the University of Florida. He will assume the position Jan. 1, 2015.

At the conclusion of the vote, Mori Hosseini, chairman of the Board of Governors, welcomed Dr. Fuchs to Florida and said, “The Board welcomes Dr. Fuchs to the System and looks forward to collaborating with him as he works to raise the University of Florida into the nation’s top 10 public universities. President Fuchs is a seasoned leader with great experiences that I know will serve him well in his new role.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Dr. Fuchs, pronounced “fox,” comes to us from Cornell University, where he has served as provost since 2008. He brings 20 years of leadership at land-grant member institutions of the Association of American Universities, including the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Purdue University in addition to Cornell.

Following his selection as president-elect by the University of Florida Board of Trustees on Oct. 15, Dr. Fuchs and his wife, Linda, sat down for a videotaped 25 minute conversation with Randy Wright, executive director of UF’s public and commercial radio and television stations, to share their impressions of UF and Gainesville.

Dr. Fuchs also discusses his leadership style, his views on UF’s efforts to become internationally recognized, and his perspective on the interrelationship between the arts and science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The video, which we have posted on the UF website, clearly demonstrates that Dr. Fuchs brings to the University of Florida all of the qualities we were seeking in our next president. The video also introduces all of you to our new First Lady, Linda Fuchs.

You can access the video and read more about Dr. Fuchs at http://our12thpresident.ufl.edu/.

I hope you will join me in congratulating President-elect Fuchs on his confirmation and welcoming him to the University of Florida.

Sincerely,

Steven M. Scott
Chair, UF Board of Trustees
and President Search Committee