In a unanimous vote, he University of Florida (UF) Board of Trustees recently approved the appointment of Donald Landry, MD, PhD, a Columbia University professor of medicine, as the institution’s interim president. The appointment comes just days before Interim President Kent Fuchs’ extended contract was set to expire on September 1.
Landry, who is the Hamilton Southworth Professor of Medicine and a former chair of Columbia’s Department of Medicine, must still be confirmed by the Florida Board of Governors (BOG) at its September 10 meeting. The BOG, which oversees the state’s public universities, has played an increasingly assertive role in Florida higher education — most recently rejecting the UF board’s earlier choice of University of Michigan President Santa Ono in June.
“The decision to come to the University of Florida was very simple. This is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Landry said after his appointment. “The preeminent university in what one could argue is the preeminent state in this nation at this moment in time.”
Landry, who has published extensively and holds 50 patents, was asked by trustees about his views on antisemitism, campus protests, and the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. He called DEI “vague” in its early iterations and added, “By the time it crystalized it was clear that it had gone too far, and I think we can all be thankful that government has intervened and returned us to a rational meritocracy.”
The choice of Landry continues a period of upheaval at Florida’s flagship university. Fuchs, who previously served as UF president from 2015 to 2023, returned as interim leader in August 2024 following the abrupt resignation of former U.S. senator Ben Sasse after just 17 months in office. Fuchs’ tenure was extended one month as the Ono nomination collapsed in a historic BOG vote, the first time the board had rejected a candidate approved unanimously by a university’s trustees.
Landry also highlighted UF’s success in athletics, noting his own participation in track competitions. “The fact that, repeatedly, teams at this university compete at a level of excellence with integrity is actually a reinforcement of the values of the place at every level,” he said.
The university is expected to launch another presidential search in early 2026. Until then, Landry will be tasked with navigating campus controversies, overseeing major construction projects, and steering UF through a politically charged climate that has reshaped higher education governance in Florida.
