UF's Ben Sasse announces new provost in one of his first major promotions

The University of Florida has announced a new provost who will step in this fall following the resignation of Joseph Glover, marking one of the first major promotions under President Ben Sasse's tenure.

Glover said in January that he would resign from the position he has held for the past 15 years shortly after UF declared that Sasse would be the school's next president.

Sasse announced via news release Thursday that he will promote Scott Angle, who currently serves as senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources. Angle will take the interim role while a national search for a permanent provost continues.

“I’m thrilled that Dr. Angle will bring his leadership, experience, and passion for UF to the provost’s office for this interim role,” Sasse said in the release. “UF has a special role as both the state’s flagship and land-grant university, and few people see that more on a day-to-day basis than Scott."

In his current role, Angle works on teaching and research at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS). He leads roughly 2,300 employees across the state. The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the Florida Cooperative Extension Service and the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station are all under his purview.

More: UF President Ben Sasse announces departure of top official in first major shakeup

More: UF Provost Joe Glover to step down after 15 years of leadership

Angle's background

Angle first joined UF in 2020 after working as director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

Angle has a bachelor's degree in agronomy and master's degree in soil science from the University of Maryland. He earned his doctorate from the University of Missouri, studying soil microbiology and went on to do a fellowship for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

He went on to work for his alma mater as a professor of soil science, where he later became the director of the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station and Maryland Cooperative Extension.

Following his time in Maryland, Angle served as dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia from 2005 to 2015. During his tenure, enrollment at the school grew by 30%, according to the UF release.

“I’m grateful for President Sasse’s leadership and the trust he’s placed in me to steward this important role for a time,” Angle said in the release. “As teachers and researchers, we’re in the business of advancing knowledge so that we can tackle big problems and advance human flourishing – we do this work so we can make our world a better place. I’m grateful to be part of this life-changing work and eager to help in this new role.”

The promotion of Angle is the first major move made by Sasse since his abrupt announcement of Charlie Lane's departure. The now-former senior vice president and chief operating officer had been with the university for nearly a decade and had been responsible for overseeing numerous university-wide functions, including information technology, human resources, audits, business and real estate. He was also the leader in bridging a relationship between the school and city of Gainesville.

Unlike Glover's expected resignation, Sasse hasn't said much about Lane leaving UF. The university claims Sasse has no records for conversations leading up to Lane's termination.

"I'm also grateful for Dr. Joe Glover's tireless work for UF over the last 15 years as provost," Sasse said in Thursday's release. "This university has been on a rocket ship trajectory and Joe has been a major part of that work, from faculty hires to UF’s AI initiative. I'm thankful for his service and his continued counsel.”

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: University of Florida's Ben Sasse names new interim provost