Posted on 08/14/2024 5:56:06 AM PDT by CaptainK
In his 17-month stint as UF president, Ben Sasse more than tripled his office’s spending, directing millions in university funds into secretive consulting contracts and high-paying positions for his GOP allies.
Sasse ballooned spending under the president’s office to $17.3 million in his first year in office — up from $5.6 million in former UF President Kent Fuchs’ last year, according to publicly available.
Citing his wife’s recent epilepsy diagnosis, Sasse abruptly resigned from his post in July — leaving the future of his UF inner circle unclear. The university did not respond to questions about whether his political appointees were fired, non-renewed or resigned following his departure.
(Excerpt) Read more at alligator.org ...
Never liked this RINO backstabber Sasse. Always hated politicians who left early in a term to take a more lucrative job. I found his sudden resignation suspect. Waiting for his other shoe to drop
He is from my home AO.
Dated my sister for a bit.
He left town to go to UF in the middle of the night.
I know his wife has health issues that are very well publicized, and he does care for her so this may be true.
Uh, Ron, cleanup on aisle 3. Like firings and fraud investigations. Or are you really the RINO we have accused you of being.
His wife will have epilepsy for years. Will he never return to work?
If the Independent Florida Alligator is now committed to rooting out profligate government spending that will be a good thing.
We were told we HAD to elect sASSe because he would be a “senate conservative” and he turned out to be a RINO POS. So even when we come through and get these people into office, the turn on us. What a terrible POS he is.
Lots of FReepers were applauding that RINO going to UF as I recall.
One bad hire in Gainesville would not make Governor DeSantis a RINO anymore than one bad hire in Washington, D.C. would make . . . oh, never mind.
There’s an argument to be made that a conservative university president might have to take money and power to his office and away from the Leftist centers in the university in order to right the ship. Whether that is what was happening here is still an open question.
It appears from his record, he was one of the most reliable conservative votes in the Senate. Although he was not at all complementary of Trump...to say the least.
The self-imposed blindness and naivete of people around here borders on the comical.
No, the reality is, for the typical GOP, Inc. type -- of which Sasse is clearly one -- "public service" is viewed, is always viewed, simply as an opportunity to grift for oneself and one's friends and fellow-travelers.
Remember, the first step is always . . . hmm, how does that go again? . . . admitting that you have a problem.
Sasse was one of seven Republican senators to vote to convict Donald Trump of incitement of insurrection in his second impeachment trial.
Oh, I left it very open for that.
The flip side is, admitting you may need to wield money and power appropriately to be effective.
Oh heck, didn’t realize that about Sasse. To Hades with him!
Well played, sir. :)
Valid question.
It isn’t new. We know a few people in common.
But maybe it got worse.
His wife was a stay at home homeschooler.
Almost all modern college\university presidents spend like drunken sailors, so this isn’t unusual. Spend because college enrollment is always going to go up. Spend on new departments & floor space because it makes the faculty happy. Spend on new construction with Taj Mahal costs because it’s your legacy, luxurious dorms for all those new students, faculty like the teaching/working in luxury makes them feel important, hire new administrators well just because. Spend because you’ve never heard of the initials ROI. Spend because some of the governing board have land to sell & construction companies. Saw it at WVU!
He was a crappy senator and apparently a crappy college President.
Mr. GG2’s nephew is 3 years into his presidency at a well known southern college and he’s just signed another 2 year contract due to maxing out the enrollment, cutting out all the dead wood staff and bringing in money from all over the place. They are terrified he’s going to get lured to another school.
Send his resume to UF.
They’ll make good old folks homes. There’s a business to be made out of converting failing liberal arts colleges that will happen with falling enrollments. Dorms, group dining, recreation, it’s all there.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.