JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – More than three years after he left the University of South Florida to become president of the University of North Florida, Moez Limayem is heading back to USF as its new leader.
The USF Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved appointing Limayem, a former business-school dean at the Tampa-based university, to succeed outgoing President Rhea Law.
Recommended Videos
Limayem, the current president of the University of North Florida, had previously announced that he was the sole finalist to become the ninth president at USF, so the move will not be a surprise to the UNF student body.
“To me, this is a story of a favorite son of USF who’s coming home,” USF Board of Trustees Chairman Will Weatherford said.
Limayem, whose appointment remains subject to confirmation by the state university system’s Board of Governors, said in a prepared statement that serving as USF president “would be the greatest honor of my professional life.”
“My family and I love USF and the Tampa Bay region, and I am thrilled by the prospect of returning home,” Limayem said in the statement. “As I was reminded during my visit to each USF campus last week, it is truly a special community.”
Limayem took part in campus forums last week.
If confirmed by the BOG, Limayem will replace Law, who has held the position since 2022. Law is the first USF graduate to serve as university president.
Law announced in February that she would step down as president. An attorney who had longstanding ties to USF, Law became interim president in 2021 before being named president in March 2022.
Limayem became president of the University of North Florida in 2022 after serving a decade as dean of the Muma College of Business at USF. The university system’s Board of Governors is expected to take up confirmation of his appointment on Nov. 6, according to a USF news release Tuesday.
USF’s selection of Limayem will force the University of North Florida to look for a new president and continues major turnover in leadership of the state’s universities and colleges.
No announcements have been made regarding potential candidates to fill Limayem’s shoes if he is confirmed as USF’s next president.
Limayem earned a doctorate from the University of Minnesota and served a stint as associate dean for research and graduate programs at the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business, according to USF.