Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from an article originally published by the National Association of Scholars on June 2, 2026. It is crossposted here with permission.

The University of Florida (UF) is once again attempting to install a “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) proponent as its president. 

UF faced intense public backlash last year over its attempt to hire Santa Ono, former University of Michigan President, known for his long record of championing DEI in higher education. Facing scrutiny from education reformers and policymakers, Ono sought to rebrand himself as a champion of merit and an unwitting participant in Michigan’s DEI push. This strategy ultimately failed to secure him the position.

With the Trump Executive Order banning DEI in higher education still in place, along with the Florida Department of Education permanently prohibiting DEI within the public Florida college system, one would think that UF would have learned its lesson after its failure last year. Clearly not. 

Dr. Stuart R. Bell is UF’s latest candidate, and sole finalist, for the 14th president of UF. Bell boasts a 40-year career in academia, but he most recently served as the President of the University of Alabama (UA), a position he assumed in 2015. Under his leadership, the flagship university bolstered its DEI initiatives, making the institution one of the most successful in the state and nationally recognized as a DEI pioneer. 

Bell’s efforts to increase the percentage of black students enrolled at UA were successful, increasing the number by 2,000 students between 2015 and 2024. In addition, black students made up 14 percent of this year’s freshman class at UA compared to 10 percent in 2015—a small gain that recalls Rob Jenkins’s application of Carlo Cipolla’s definition of stupidity: causing significant disruption while deriving little benefit from the effort. DEI became an integral part of UA after 2015, with Bell pushing a “strategic plan” that established DEI as a pillar at UA, and the hiring of the first vice president for DEI, Christine Taylor. The “Path Forward Diversity Report,” Taylor’s pet project, pushed four main goals:

• Increasing the number of, retaining, and graduating historically underrepresented students. 
• Increasing and retaining the number of diverse faculty and staff. 
• Creating a more welcoming and inclusive campus community in which all members thrive. 
• Providing opportunities for faculty, staff, and students to develop cultural competencies. 

Bell and Taylor’s labors succeeded, and the report became an action plan for the university. According to City Journal, UA received national recognition in 2022 for its diversity efforts, earning the INSIGHT into Diversity magazine’s Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award, making it one of only two schools in the state to receive the accolade. For context, 

The HEED Award is the only national award that recognizes individual schools and colleges for their outstanding work in making diversity, equity and inclusion a priority for their respective campuses. Open to all colleges and universities across the U.S. and Canada, the award measures an institution’s level of achievement and commitment to diversity and inclusion on campus through initiatives, programs and outreach; student recruitment, retention and completion; and hiring practices for faculty and staff.

For all of Bell’s efforts to promote DEI at UA during his tenure, they did eventually come up against challenges. Like Florida, Alabama abolished DEI offices at public colleges and universities in 2024. But like many other institutions, UA simply rebranded its DEI office and moved the staff over to the new office under renamed positions.

Bell’s track record at UA alone should give Florida’s citizens, education reformers, and policymakers pause, as he is being considered for leadership at one of the state’s largest universities—especially since Florida has been, and continues to be, a forefront champion of ending DEI in higher education. Additionally, a leader at one of the state’s largest universities should have a record of improving a former institution’s rankings and standing—a record Bell cannot boast. 

A surprising twist in this story is that while Santa Ono received no public endorsement from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis last year, Bell received an endorsement from Governor DeSantis within minutes of the announcement from the UF board. Certainly odd praise from Florida’s very anti-DEI governor. 

When faced with questions about his history of promoting DEI initiatives, Bell referred to them as part of a “broader effort to boost in-state enrollment.” “What we’re trying to provide is really serving our state and serving the citizens of our state and making sure that they see opportunities for higher education,” Bell stated during his first interview post-UF nomination on Friday. This sounds suspiciously similar to Ono’s antics last year. Whether or not the UF Board of Trustees and the Florida Board of Governors believe Bell’s downplaying of his DEI championing will be revealed, or if he is outright forgiven for his embracing of DEI. John D. Sailer, formerly at the National Association of Scholars, summarizes some of the concerning aspects of Bell’s record for City Journal, and what is going on during the selection process:

Some of Bell’s defenders dismiss his track record as irrelevant, since Florida has moved aggressively to end DEI in higher education. Mounting one such defense, UF’s official X account declared that ‘DEI is discriminatory by design, antithetical to the purpose of a university, and incompatible with the pursuit of truth’—then added, as if to reassure Bell’s skeptics, that the Board of Trustees has ‘embedded an anti-DEI mandate within the presidential contract itself.’ The board seems oddly unconcerned that its pick for university president championed a cause that is ‘antithetical to the purpose of a university.’

UF has now spent considerable time and effort searching for stable leadership following Ben Sasse’s departure in 2024. That search has already produced one failed presidential bid, and now, the Florida Board of Trustees and the Florida Board of Governors are being asked to place their confidence in another candidate whose record is closely tied to the very DEI initiatives Florida is dismantling.

Florida’s higher education reforms attracted national attention because they promised a decisive break from the DEI model embraced by much of higher education. Bell’s supporters insist that his past record should not overshadow his future leadership. But that argument sounds remarkably similar to the one made on Ono’s behalf just a year ago.

Ultimately, the question before UF’s Board of Trustees on June 10 is not whether Bell can explain away his history. It is whether Florida is serious about the reforms that made it a national model in the first place. If the answer is yes, then selecting another former DEI champion would be an odd way to prove it.