{"id":81100,"date":"2025-12-12T16:55:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T16:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/81100\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T16:55:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T16:55:10","slug":"florida-board-of-governors-confirms-moez-limayem-as-usfs-next-president-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/81100\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Board of Governors confirms Moez Limayem as USF\u2019s next president"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Florida Board of Governors on Friday unanimously confirmed Moez Limayem<\/a> as the University of South Florida\u2019s<\/a> (USF) ninth President.<\/p>\n

Limayem served as the Lynn Pippenger Dean of the Muma College of Business at USF for 10 years before becoming\u00a0President of the University of North Florida<\/a> (UNF) in 2022. He was named the sole finalist for the job in September and won unanimous approval from the USF Board of Trustees in October. His confirmation now ensures his return to the University in early 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so energized, humbled, honored and excited by the biggest professional honor in my life,\u201d Limayem said in a video posted on X<\/a>. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Board of Trustees, our Board of Governors, our amazing faculty, staff and students, and all my friends in the Tampa Bay community. I cannot wait to work with all of you to take this University to the highest possible level. And, as always, Go Bulls.\u201d<\/p>\n

Limayem\u2019s time at UNF included significant enrollment gains, a record first-year retention rate, and job placement outcomes that rank among the best in the state. UNF welcomed the largest incoming class in its history this Fall and reached its highest total enrollment since the school opened in 1972.<\/p>\n

Florida Trend also recognized him, as well as the Jacksonville Business Journal and the National Academy of Inventors; Limayem was recently inducted into the First Coast Business Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cTogether, we will write the University of South Florida\u2019s next chapter as a national model of excellence that transforms lives and strengthens Florida\u2019s intellectual, economic and civic landscapes,\u201d Limayem said in a statement. \u201cI am also deeply appreciative of President Rhea Law\u2019s<\/a> commitment to elevating USF academically and reputationally. Her impact has strengthened this institution and positioned us for continued excellence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before joining UNF, Limayem oversaw significant fundraising successes at USF.\u00a0He secured more than $126 million in private donations, including a $25 million gift from\u00a0Pam\u00a0and\u00a0Les Muma in 2014 that at the time was the largest individual donation in school history.<\/p>\n

Earlier in his career, Limayem served as associate dean for research and graduate programs at the University of Arkansas\u2019 Sam M. Walton College of Business and held the Edwin and Karlee Bradberry Chair in information systems. He earned his MBA and doctorate from the University of Minnesota.<\/p>\n

His wife, Alya, is a UNF biology faculty member and a researcher who holds multiple U.S. patents. She was named a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors last year and recognized as a 2024 Rising Star of the Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida. The couple has two children.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoez Limayem has an extensive record of academic and executive leadership in higher education,\u201d Board of Governors Chair Brian Lamb said. \u201cUSF\u2019s recognition as an AAU institution and continuous climb in national rankings underscores their commitment to improving student outcomes and advancing workforce development in Florida. President Limayem will drive this momentum forward with strong stewardship and vision.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Other Board members voiced similar support during Friday\u2019s meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been close to him with his efforts at UNF and working with him very closely,\u201d Board member Aubrey Edge said. \u201cHe\u2019s a wonderful selection, and he\u2019ll do a great job, and I couldn\u2019t congratulate him more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Board member Ken Jones echoed the sentiment.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust an outstanding leader,\u201d Jones said. \u201cMoez is going to stand on the shoulders of great people and also do great things and I\u2019m excited to work with him.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Florida Board of Governors on Friday unanimously confirmed Moez Limayem as the University of South Florida\u2019s (USF)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81101,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[45176,45177,45178,45179,28,25812,30,29,25084,39277,45180,45181,13147,45182,45183,24426,5908,3650],"class_list":["post-81100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-alya-limayem","tag-aubrey-edge","tag-brian-lamb","tag-first-coast-business-hall-of-fame","tag-florida","tag-florida-board-of-governors","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-florida-trend","tag-jacksonville-business-journal","tag-ken-jones","tag-les-muma","tag-moez-limayem","tag-national-academy-of-inventors","tag-pam-muma","tag-rhea-law","tag-university-of-north-florida","tag-university-of-south-florida"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}