Former University of Alabama President Stuart Bell has been unanimously selected as the next president of the University of Florida.

The University of Florida Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to choose Bell as the institution’s 14th president. The selection now awaits ratification by Florida’s Board of Governors, which is expected to consider the appointment during its June 25 meeting.

Bell served as president of the University of Alabama from July 2015 until stepping down in the summer of 2025 after a decade in the role. During that time, UA reached record enrollment levels, surpassed 40,800 students, expanded research funding and added dozens of new and renovated buildings across campus.

“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,” UF Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini said. “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.”

Before becoming Alabama’s president, Bell served in leadership positions at Louisiana State University and the University of Kansas. He also spent 16 years on the UA faculty, where he chaired the mechanical engineering department and founded the Center for Advanced Vehicle Technologies.

Bell was inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 2023.

“I am extremely honored and humbled by the Board of Trustees’ vote today, and I’m eager to join the Gator Nation and get to work,” Bell said. “The University of Florida is exceptional in every respect, and I know there’s no limit to what we can all accomplish together.”

According to university officials, Bell emerged from a nationwide search that considered 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,” said Rahul Patel, vice chair of the UF Board of Trustees and chair of the presidential search committee. “I look forward to working with Dr. Bell as he guides the University of Florida to the next level.”

Bell was announced as the sole finalist for the position on May 18. If approved by the Florida Board of Governors later this month, he is expected to succeed Interim President Donald Landry and become the 14th president in the university’s history.

Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].