The University of Florida Board of Trustees voted unanimously to select Dr. Stuart R. Bell as the university’s next president.
Bell is set to become UF’s 14th president, pending ratification by the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the State University System of Florida. The Board of Governors is expected to vote on Bell’s ratification at its next meeting on June 25.
“The Board of Trustees’ unanimous vote today is a resounding and undeniable show of support for Dr. Stuart Bell, who is exactly the right leader at the right time for the University of Florida,” said Mori Hosseini, chair of the UF Board of Trustees. “Dr. Bell’s vast experience, solid character and strong leadership ability will be critical in taking UF to the very highest ranks of U.S. higher education.”
Bell previously served as president of the University of Alabama from 2015 to 2025. Before leading Alabama, he served as provost and professor of engineering at Louisiana State University and as dean of the School of Engineering and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Kansas.
He is also known for his research and publications on natural gas and combustion engines. In 2023, Bell was inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.
Bell earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M University. He has been elected to membership in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of Automotive Engineers and the National Society of Professional Engineers.
Rahul Patel, vice chair of the UF Board of Trustees and chair of UF’s Presidential Search Committee, said Bell was selected from among hundreds of potential candidates.
“I am grateful to the members of UF’s Presidential Search Advisory Committee for selecting Dr. Bell, who is eminently qualified to be UF’s 14th president,” Patel said. “I look forward to working with Dr. Bell as he guides the University of Florida to the next level.”
Bell has held several national leadership roles in higher education and engineering. He serves or has served on the Executive Committee for Academic Affairs of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the Board of Directors for the Center for Science Education at the University of Kansas, as chairman of the Academic Advisory Council for the National Science Foundation’s Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets, and as a trustee of the ASME Foundation.
Bell is expected to succeed Interim President Donald Landry.
UF announced Bell on May 18 as the sole finalist selected by the university’s 15-member Presidential Search Committee. Under Florida law, the committee was responsible for designing the search criteria, identifying and vetting a broad pool of qualified candidates, and recommending finalists to the Board of Trustees.
