Following calls for accountability in light of former President Ben Sasse’s spending, the University of Florida Board of Trustees chair now exercises more oversight of the university’s administration and hiring.

Sasse spent $17.3 million during his first year as president, as reported by the student-run Independent Florida Alligator. The increase tripled what former President Kent Fuchs spent during his last year in office, $5.6 million.

Building his office, Sasse spent on salaries well in excess of his predecessor, hiring his former U.S. Senate staffers, who worked remotely, and sent consultants millions of dollars to inform his decisions, the Alligator reported.

Governance standards passed by UF trustees Friday now require the chair of the Board of Trustees to approve university consulting agreements of $1 million or more. The same standard applies to UF Health consulting agreements of $4 million or more.

“This is part of tightening up our governance. We saw some of the shortcomings, you know, and we’re looking at the governance, tightening up, make sure the taxpayers of Florida are protected, the legislators are protected, the Board of Governors is protected,” Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini said during a meeting Thursday.

According to the Alligator, while Sasse was in office, the university paid more than $10 million in contracts, including $6.3 million to McKinsey & Co. consulting, where he previously worked as an external adviser.

The board approved another measure Friday requiring board chair approval for administrators in the office of the president hired outside of human resources requirements and any administrator who makes more than $200,000.

“We’re tightening up our governance standards to make sure that the board of trustees are involved in any changes that is happening,” Hosseini said.

Overall, Sasse hired six former Senate employees, created new positions, and added to the size of the president’s office. For example, Sasse hired his Senate chief of staff as vice president for innovation and partnerships, a new position paying a salary of $396,000.

“The university said Sasse’s budget expansion went through the ‘appropriate approval process’ but did not answer questions about how Sasse bankrolled his splurges, where the funds originated or who authorized the spending,” the Alligator reported in August.

Also Friday, the board approved a noncommercial aircraft-use policy that includes a requirement for the university president to notify the board chair when using the university’s aircraft. Hosseini said the changes are “tightening up” the policy.

The Alligator reported that Sasse’s travel expenditures during his 17-month tenure, $633,000, were higher than what Fuchs spent during his eight years in the position and included paying for remote employees to fly to and from campus.

The former senator from Nebraska resigned as president in July citing his wife’s health concerns, but said he would stay at the university as a professor. The Alligator reported that donors and officials said Sasse was forced out. He defended his spending in a social media post.

Following news of Sasse’s spending, lawmakers, the governor’s office, and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis demanded accountability at Florida’s flagship university.

UF has yet to replace Sasse, with Fuchs serving in the interim.

In 2022, the university named Sasse as its sole presidential finalist, which drew criticism from students, lawmakers, and the United Faculty of Florida, who called into question the legality of selecting one finalist.

Trustees agreed Friday that they would hire the same search firm to find its next president as it used to find Sasse, SP&A Executive Search.

Rahul Patel, chair of the active search committee, said four search firms went through vetting and interviewing, and trustees ultimately agreed to go with SP&A again.

The firm has conducted searches at University of Central Florida and Florida State University, as well as UCLA, the University of Arizona, and University of Washington.

“Everyone who worked with SP&A last time was impressed and that view was unanimous,” Patel told trustees.

The school did not solicit bids, but Patel said it did “sort of an [request for proposal] process,” and it can avoid requesting bids by offering a previously agreed to contract between the firm and a higher education institution.

Full story at Florida Phoenix