Yep, Sasse's story was a gross cover

The real questions now: who took Sasse down? And who is the president of UF? Kent Fuchs, Mori Hosseini, or Ron DeSantis?

Did UF fire Ben Sasse? If not, why not?

Above is my first article on this, for background.

---

A day after detailing how Ben Sasse spun his own self-righteous incompetence as a leader into a grifter bonanza for his out-of-state political buddies and secretive consultants, Independent Florida Alligator reporter Garrett Shanley was back at it.

This article isn’t as sexy on its face; it’s just a personnel move. But it makes plain that UF got rid of Sasse in the moral and organizational sense — rather than just sadly accepting his resignation so he could go be a good husband. It screams change of leadership direction after 17-months of grifting.

“Major transition”

Here’s the key excerpt from Shanley’s story. They’re not being subtle. Note the quote in bold from UF immediate former president-turned-interim president Kent Fuchs.

Former UF provost Joe Glover is returning to his post after less than a month at the University of Arizona — the first major shakeup in university leadership since former UF President Kent Fuchs returned to his post Aug. 1. 

Glover announced Tuesday night in a letter to UA faculty that he would be stepping down as the school’s provost to return to UF. According to the letter, Fuchs asked Glover to resume his duties at UF, which is “undergoing a major transition” following former UF President Ben Sasse’s abrupt resignation in July.

It seems a euphemism for we finally fired that unctuous grifter; and now I have to try to rebuild all the shit he mindlessly smashed. Please come back and help me, Joe.

But this was all about a terrible family health problem …

Riiiiiiggggghhhhtttt.

Because “interim” leaders always lead “major transitions” at massive institutions if the beloved and successful former president just had to reluctantly and heroically step down after just 17-months for tragic family health reasons.

I cannot imagine anything grosser than covering up one’s incompetent grifting in public with the private sorrow of a loved one. But I guess that’s ultimately between Sasse and his family and the God he talks so much about. I do wish them well and peace in that aspect.

Who finally dropped the hammer on Sasse? Some irresponsible speculation.

In the original Sasse grifter story, Shanley wrote this. Note the part in bold:

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 administrative budget data.

A majority of the spending surge was driven by lucrative contracts with big-name consulting firms and high-salaried, remote positions for Sasse’s former U.S. Senate staff and Republican officials.

I doubt Shanley just looked at a UF budget and produced this detailed article — with all those high-powered grifter names. I wager that somebody with very intimate knowledge of “publicly available administrative budget data” walked him through the specifics.

(This is in no way a critique of Shanley. That’s how reporting often works. But if I’m wrong, and Shanley had no “insider” help, I will gladly correct the record.)

Keep in mind, I was hearing versions of this reporting from the moment Sasse resigned; and I know next to nothing about UF’s inner workings. Lots of people in the UF community knew about this. Grifting is mostly done in the open — and relies on mediocre dictators and sub-dictators like UF Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini and Ron DeSantis to provide it impunity.

Anyway, if I’m right, four questions leap out here:

1. Who forced Sasse’s grifting to the point of resignation/firing?

2. Who walked Shanley through the details of the grift?

3. Are they the same person?

4. If not, are we in a factional UF knife fight for power?

I think the answer to #3 is “no” and to #4 is “probably.”

Now for the irresponsible speculation: Let’s assume that the answer to #1 has to be Mori Hosseini or Ron DeSantis. Nobody else at UF would have the juice to tell Sasse he’s done. But did they do that willingly? Or did somebody force their hand?

I find it likely that Fuchs and Glover themselves were major players in Sasse’s downfall and/or reputational destruction. You don’t bail on a big new job at a comparable university on a whim. Glover seems to have played the University of Arizona quite brazenly here. Somehow I doubt all his attention for the last month has been focused on the Wildcats.

And as for Fuchs, I’m sure he retired after what seems like a successful decade-or-so with UF because he wanted to retire — and enjoy fruits of labor, etc. But I’m also sure people were telling him about the Sasse grifting and incompetence. If Fuchs takes pride in his work, it seems natural that he would want to save it from Sasse.

I tend to think, given the timing of these articles, we’re looking at a Fuchs/Glover op. They would be high on my list as the answer to #2 — with the caveat that I have a Joe Rogan level of personal knowledge about any of this.

And if any of the weak men involved in any of this want to act like strong men and account for exactly what happened because of all that wasted taxpayer, tuition, and scholarship money, I will gladly print their account verbatim

My dear Gators: hold Hosseini and DeSantis accountable, for the sake of your own self-respect

In any event, we can all rest assured that this, from the minutes of the emergency “resignation” meeting is bullshit — on the part of all players:

He resigned effective July 31, 2024, and requested the Board initiate a search for a new president so he can focus on his wife, family, and rebuilding stable household systems. He stated his love for the university and Gator Nation. He will remain on faculty and looks forward to teaching and serving. He expressed his thanks to Board Chairman Hosseini and the Board. 1 Board Chairman Hosseini and Trustees applauded him for putting his family first and extended prayers to him and his family.

As is this from the Fuchs-as-interim meeting minutes — although the last line is hilarious.

[Hosseini] personally thanked Dr. Fuchs for agreeing to serve at this critical time to ensure a smooth transition as the search for a new president begins. Dr. Fuchs added his thanks for the honor and confidence in him to serve in this role. He stated how important it is that our university does not lose momentum in this transition. He committed to the Board, faculty, staff, students, and alumni that we are going to keep putting fuel in the fire and accelerate our growth, stature, and excellence. He added amid the hard work he plans to lean into the job and enjoy it, and he believes that energy can become contagious for all of us. He thanked President Sasse for his leadership and expressed best wishes to him and his family. President Sasse extended his thanks to Dr. Fuchs and offered his help during the transition.

Yeah, thanks Ben. I’m good. LOL.

Honestly, those two paragraphs from the minutes are so gross. I wonder who first suggested the excuse for the resignation. How do we protect ourselves here? Hmmm. I know: Ben’s wife isn’t well.

Hideous.

And as I read the bureaucratic fingerprints and DNA evidence left behind here, I see a fifth question:

Who is the president of UF today? Fuchs/Glover or Hosseini/DeSantis?

I’m not sure that’s answerable.

But any leadership organization so willing to cover up its failure and incompetence so laughably is doomed to repeat it.

I mean maybe Fuchs/Glover can keep the grifting minimally at bay until DeSantis and Hosseini are gone; but then Gov. Gaetz will have fun with them afterward unless “Gator Nation” rises from its cold-blooded reptilian hibernation and does something to halt the pillaging.

Go Gators!! It’s almost football season.