Ex-senator and university president’s spending is under state scrutiny

Increased spending by the recently resigned University of Florida president Ben Sasse is coming under scrutiny after a student-run newspaper found that he awarded secretive consulting contracts and gave high-paying jobs to former members of his US Senate staff and Republican allies - actions that he defended on Friday.

Both Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida's chief financial officer are calling on the state university system's governing board to investigate after the Independent Florida Alligator reported this week that as school president, Sasse gave six former staffers and two ex-Republican officials jobs with salaries that outstripped comparable positions. Most did not move to Gainesville - but work remotely from hundreds of miles away.

Sasse, a former Nebraska senator, became the school's president in February 2023.

Overall, Sasse's office spent $17.3m during his first year compared with the $5.6m spent by his predecessor Kent Fuchs in his final year. The university has an overall budget of $9bn.

DeSantis's office issued a statement saying that the governor "take[s] the stewardship of state funds very seriously and [has] already been in discussions with leadership at the university and with the [governing] board to look into the matter".

The chief financial officer, Jimmy Patronis, wrote on the social media platform X that the Alligator's report "is concerning" and that the governing board "should investigate this issue to ensure tuition and tax dollars are being properly used".

Sasse resigned on 31 July, citing his wife's recent diagnosis with epilepsy after years of other health issues. His hiring by the governing board to head Florida's flagship university (UF) had been controversial as his only previous experience was five years as president of Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska, which has just over 1,600 students. UF has 60,000 students and 6,600 faculty members and is one of the nation's top research universities.

In a lengthy statement posted to X on Friday, Sasse defended the hirings and consulting contracts, saying they were needed as UF launches new satellite campuses and K-12 charter schools around the state, increases its work with artificial intelligence and looks to improve in the fields of medicine, science and technology.

He said all the hirings were approved in the normal budget process, that some got raises to secure their services amid "competing opportunities and offers", and he welcomes an audit.

"I am confident that the expenditures under discussion were proper and appropriate," he said.

According to documents obtained by the Alligator, Sasse hired Raymond Sass, his former Senate chief of staff, to be the university's vice-president for innovation and partnerships, a new position. His pay is $396,000, more than double the $181,677 he made in Sasse's Senate office. Sass still lives in the Washington DC area. He did not immediately respond on Friday to a phone message and email seeking comment.

James Wegmann, Sasse's former Senate communications director, became UF's vice-president of communications, earning $432,000 annually. His predecessor had earned $270,000. He still lives in Washington. He did not immediately respond on Friday to an email seeking comment.

Taylor Silva, Sasse's former Senate press secretary, was given the new position of assistant vice-president of presidential communications and public affairs. The job has an annual salary of $232,000. Silva did move to Gainesville. No contact information for Silva could be located. Silva is not listed in the university directory.

Three of Sasse's other former Senate staffers also got jobs with UF.

Besides his former staffers, Sasse hired two others with strong Republican party ties.

He hired the former Tennessee commissioner of education Penny Schwinn as UF's inaugural vice-president of pre-kindergarten to grade 12 and pre-bachelor's programs at a salary of $367,500. She still lives in Tennessee. She did not immediately respond to an email on Friday seeking comment.

He also hired Alice James Burns, former scheduler for South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, as director of presidential relations and major events at a salary of $205,000. She also did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Because most of these appointees still live outside Florida, travel expenses for Sasse's office ballooned to $633,000, more than 20 times the amount spent annually under Fuchs.

Sasse also hired McKinsey & Company, where he once worked as an adviser, to a $4.7m contract. The secretive firm is one of the country's most prominent management consulting firms. The university has declined to say what its work includes. The firm did not respond to a phone call and email seeking comment.

He also awarded about $2.5m in other consulting contracts, the Alligator reported.