Editing University of Florida (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of the University of Florida}}
[[File:East Florida Seminary barracks.jpg|thumb|The [[East Florida Seminary]], re-established in Gainesville in 1866, was the direct predecessor to the University of Florida.]]
[[Image:Historic Buckman Hall.jpg|right|thumb|[[Buckman Hall (Gainesville, Florida)|Buckman Hall]], completed in 1906, opened as one of the University of Florida's first buildings  following its establishment through the [[Buckman Act]] in 1905.]]

===Origins===
The modern University of Florida traces its origins to 1853, when the [[East Florida Seminary]], the oldest of its four predecessor institutions, was founded in 1853 as the [[East Florida Seminary]]  in [[Ocala, Florida]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ufl.edu/history/1853.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901082230/http://www.ufl.edu/history/1853.html |url-status=dead |title=Governor Thomas Brown signs Higher Education bill |archive-date=September 1, 2006}}</ref> The  seminary was Florida's first state-supported institution of higher learning and operated until 1861 with the outbreak of the [[American Civil War]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/kingsbury.htm/ |title=A Guide to the Gilbert Dennis Kingsbury Papers |publisher=University of Florida |access-date=December 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002070847/http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/kingsbury.htm/ |archive-date=October 2, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1866, the East Florida Seminary reopened in [[Gainesville, Florida|Gainesville]] on the  grounds of the Gainesville Academy, a small private college that had closed during the war.{{NoteTag|The present university campus is about a mile to the west of the former location of the East Florida Seminary, which was a much smaller institution. [[Epworth Hall (Gainesville, Florida)|Epworth Hall]], the primary building of the seminary, still stands in downtown Gainesville.}}

The second  precursor to the University of Florida was '''Florida Agricultural College''' (FAC),  the state's first [[land-grant college]] under the [[Morrill Act]],  established in [[Lake City, Florida|Lake City]] in 1884. The Florida Legislature, looking to expand FAC's curriculum beyond  agricultural and engineering offerings, changed the school's name to the "University of Florida" for the 1903–1904 academic year. This name was in  use for two years.<ref>University of Florida, [http://www.ufl.edu/150/htmltimeline/1853_1905.html/ UF Timeline] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210211910/http://www.ufl.edu/150/htmltimeline/1853_1905.html |date=February 10, 2007 }}.</ref>{{NoteTag|The name "University of Florida" has been given to three separate schools by the Florida legislature. The [[West Florida Seminary]] in Tallahassee officially held the name from 1883 until 1902 and Florida Agricultural College in Lake City used the name from 1903 until 1905, when the new University of the State of Florida was created in Gainesville. The school's name was simplified to "University of Florida" in 1909.}}

==="University of the State of Florida"===
In 1905, the [[Florida Legislature]] passed the [[Buckman Act]], which reorganized the state's publicly supported institutions of higher education. Under the act, Florida's six  state-supported institutions were merged   to form the [[State University System of Florida]] under the newly established [[Florida Board of Control]]. Four institutions were combined to create a new "University of the State of Florida" for white men: the '''University of Florida at Lake City''' (formerly Florida Agricultural College), the '''East Florida Seminary''' in Gainesville, the '''St. Petersburg Normal and Industrial School''' in [[St. Petersburg, Florida|St. Petersburg]], and the '''South Florida Military College''' in [[Bartow, Florida|Bartow]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.capolicycenter.org/florida/florida5.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060826015404/http://www.capolicycenter.org/florida/florida5.html |url-status=dead |title=Florida 5 |archivedate=August 26, 2006 |website=capolicycenter.org}}</ref>

The Buckman Act also created two other institutions segregated by race and gender: Florida Female College (later the Florida State College for Women and eventually [[History of Florida State University|Florida State University]]) for white women and the State Normal School for Colored Students (later [[Florida A&M]]) for African-American men and women, both in Tallahassee.<ref name="State Library and Archives of Florida - The Florida Memory Project Timeline (see 1905)">{{cite web |url=http://www.floridamemory.com/Timeline |title=State Library and Archives of Florida - The Florida Memory Project Timeline (see 1905) |access-date=June 5, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611171253/http://www.floridamemory.com/timeline/ |archive-date=June 11, 2008}}</ref>

The Buckman Act did not specify where the new University of the State of Florida would be located. The City of Gainesville, led by its mayor [[William Reuben Thomas]], campaigned to be the site of the new university, with its primary competitor being [[Lake City, Florida|Lake City]].<ref>Hildreth, Charles and Merlin Cox, History of Gainesville, Florida 1854-1979, Alachua County Historical Society (Gainesville, 1981) at 102.</ref> After a brief but intense period of lobbying, the Board of Control selected [[Gainesville, Florida|Gainesville]] on July 6, 1905, and funds were allocated for the construction of a new campus on the western edge of the town. However, because the facilities in Gainesville would not be ready to accept students for several months, the new university was housed in the former campus of Florida Agricultural College in Lake City during the 1905–1906 academic year. Former FAC president [[Andrew Sledd]] was chosen to be the first president of the University of the State of Florida.

The University of the State of Florida's first semester in Gainesville began on September 26, 1906, with an enrollment of 102 students. Two buildings had been completed at the time: [[Buckman Hall]], named after the primary author of the law that created the university, and [[Thomas Hall (Gainesville, Florida)|Thomas Hall]], named after the mayor of Gainesville who had led the successful effort to bring the school to town.<ref>University of Florida, Department of Housing, [http://www.housing.ufl.edu/housing/Facilities_TourPages/buckman.htm/ Buckman Hall Quick Facts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060825052217/http://www.housing.ufl.edu/housing/Facilities_TourPages/buckman.htm |date=August 25, 2006 }}. Retrieved April 18, 2012.</ref> Both structures were designed by [[William A. Edwards]], who designed many of the university's original buildings in the [[Collegiate Gothic]] style in his role as lead architect for Florida's Board of Control.<ref>{{cite web |title=A History of UF Buildings 101 |url=https://ufsasc.domains.uflib.ufl.edu/language-hall-leads-the-way-a-history-of-uf-buildings-101-ufspecialcollections/ |website=UF Special Collections Blog |publisher=University of Florida Smathers Libraries |language=en |date=27 February 2018 |access-date=May 5, 2022 |archive-date=May 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531000801/https://ufsasc.domains.uflib.ufl.edu/language-hall-leads-the-way-a-history-of-uf-buildings-101-ufspecialcollections/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

During his term, first university president Andrew Sledd often clashed with key members of the Board of Control over his insistence on rigorous admissions requirements, which his detractors claimed was unreasonably impeding the growth of enrollment. Sledd resigned over these issues in 1909.

=== Growth, mascots, and establishment of colleges ===
[[File:1912Gators.jpg|thumb|An early [[Florida Gators football]] practice in 1912]]
[[File:Historic Layout University of Florida.jpg|right|thumb|The University of Florida campus in 1906, looking southwest]]
[[File:Dsg_UF_Albert_A_Murphree_Statue_20050507.jpg|right|thumb|Statue of [[Albert Murphree]], the second president of the university]]

Florida State College for Women president [[Albert Murphree]] was named UF's second president before the 1909–1910 academic year, which was also when the school's name was simplified from the "University of the State of Florida" to the "University of Florida". Murphree oversaw a reorganization of the university that included the establishment of several colleges, beginning with colleges of [[University of Florida Levin College of Law|law]], [[University of Florida College of Engineering|engineering]], and [[University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences|liberal arts and sciences]] by 1910. Murphree was also instrumental in the founding of the [[Florida Blue Key]] leadership society and in building total enrollment from under 200 to over 2000. He is the only University of Florida president honored with a statue on campus.

The [[alligator]] became the school's informal [[mascot]] when a local vendor designed and sold [[Pennant (sports)|school pennants]] imprinted with the animal, which is very common in lakes in and around Gainesville and throughout the state. The 'gator was a popular choice, and the university's sports teams had officially adopted the nickname by 1911. The school colors of orange and blue were also officially established in 1911, though the reasons for the choice are unclear. The most likely rationale was that they are a combination of the colors of the university's two largest predecessor institutions, as the East Florida Seminary used orange and black while Florida Agricultural College used blue and white.<ref>University of Florida, History, [http://www.ufl.edu/history/1906.html University of Florida History 1906-1927] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231184043/http://www.ufl.edu/history/1906.html |date=December 31, 2010 }}. Retrieved April 18, 2012.</ref> The older schools' colors may have been an homage to early Scottish and Ulster-Scots Presbyterian settlers of north central Florida, whose ancestors were originally from Northern Ireland and the [[Scottish Lowlands]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Ulster and North America: Transatlantic Perspectives on the Scotch-Irish |last=Wood |first=Curtis |publisher=University of Alabama Press |year=1997 |location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Biohistory of Alachua County, Florida |last=William Zettler |first=Francis |publisher=Pineapple Press Inc Press |year=2015 |location=Sarasota, Florida |pages=64, 79}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Ulster to America: The Scots-Irish Migration Experience, 1680–1830 |last=Hofstra |first=Warren R. |publisher=Univ. of Tennessee Press |year=2011 |location=Knoxville, Tennessee |pages=140, 153}}</ref>

In 1924, the Florida Legislature mandated women of a "mature age" (at least twenty-one years old) who had completed sixty semester hours from a "reputable educational institution" be allowed to enroll during regular semesters at the University of Florida in programs that were unavailable at Florida State College for Women. Before this, only the summer semester was coeducational, to accommodate women teachers who wanted to further their education during the summer break.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/aspring/All%20courses/UF%20courses/Women%20UF/Holbrook%20et%20al.doc |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528040000/http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/aspring/All%20courses/UF%20courses/Women%20UF/Holbrook%20et%20al.doc |url-status=dead |title=University of Florida: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences-Notable Women at UF |archivedate=May 28, 2008}}</ref> [[Lassie Goodbread-Black]] from Lake City became the first woman to enroll at the University of Florida, in the College of Agriculture in 1925.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ufl.edu/history/1906.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231184043/http://www.ufl.edu/history/1906.html |url-status=dead |title=University of Florida website: History-1925 » First Woman Enrolls |archive-date=December 31, 2010}}</ref>

Murphree died in 1928 and [[John J. Tigert]] was named UF's third president. Early in his tenure, Tigert helped organize the semi-independent [[University of Florida Athletic Association|University Athletic Association]] to plan the construction of [[Florida Field]] and operate the school's athletic programs. Disgusted by the under-the-table payments being made by universities to athletes, Tigert established the grant-in-aid [[athletic scholarship]] program in the early 1930s, which was the genesis of the modern athletic scholarship plan used by the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://web1.ncaa.org/web_video/NCAANewsArchive/1970/19701215.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327041639/http://web1.ncaa.org/web_video/NCAANewsArchive/1970/19701215.pdf |url-status=dead |title=The NCAA News |archive-date=March 27, 2009}}</ref>
Inventor and educator [[Blake R. Van Leer]] was hired as Dean to launch new engineering departments and scholarships. Van Leer also managed all applications for federal funding, chaired the Advanced Planning Committee per Tigert's request. These efforts included consulting for the Florida Emergency Relief Administration throughout the 1930s.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016244/1932-10-24/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1902&index=2&rows=20&words=Blake+Leer+Van&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1933&proxtext=blake+van+leer&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 |title=The Key West citizen. &#91;volume&#93; (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, October 24, 1932, Image 1 |date=October 24, 1932 |access-date=August 25, 2021 |archive-date=August 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210825203655/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016244/1932-10-24/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1902&index=2&rows=20&words=Blake+Leer+Van&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1933&proxtext=blake+van+leer&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016244/1934-09-10/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1777&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=Leer+Van&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=2&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=van+leer&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=11 |title=The Key West citizen. &#91;volume&#93; (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, September 10, 1934, Image 1 |date=September 10, 1934 |access-date=August 25, 2021 |archive-date=August 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210825195443/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016244/1934-09-10/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1777&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=Leer+Van&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=2&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=van+leer&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=11 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Post World War II ===

[[File:Historic_Smathers_Library.jpg|thumb|[[Smathers Library]], University of Florida campus circa 1945.]]
[[File:Historic University of Florida Campus.jpg|thumb|[[Griffin–Floyd Hall|Floyd Hall]] and [[Leigh Hall (Gainesville, Florida)|Leigh Hall]], University of Florida campus in 1957.]]
[[File:UF SignatureShot.jpg|alt=|thumb|[[Century Tower (University of Florida)|Century Tower]], begun in 1953, commemorates the 100th anniversary of origins of UF and memorializes students and alumni who died in the World Wars]]
Beginning in 1946, there was dramatically increased interest among male applicants who wanted to attend the University of Florida, mostly returning [[World War II]] veterans who could attend college under the [[GI Bill of Rights]] (Servicemen's Readjustment Act). Unable to immediately accommodate this increased demand, the Florida Board of Control opened the '''Tallahassee Branch of the University of Florida''' on the campus of Florida State College for Women in [[Tallahassee]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fsu.edu/about/history.html |title=About Florida State - History |publisher=Office of University Communications |date=September 23, 2009 |access-date=July 11, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107061306/https://www.fsu.edu/about/history.html |archive-date=January 7, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> By the end of the 1946–47 school year, 954 men were enrolled at the Tallahassee Branch. The following semester, the [[Florida Legislature]] returned the Florida State College for Women to coeducational status and renamed it [[Florida State University]]. These events also opened up all of the colleges that comprise the University of Florida to female students. [[Florida Women's Hall of Fame]] member [[Maryly Van Leer Peck|Maryly Van Leer]] became the first woman to receive from the University of Florida a [[master's degree]] in engineering.<ref name=FamilyPapers>{{cite web |title=Van Leer Family Papers (MS458) |url=http://finding-aids.library.gatech.edu/repositories/2/resources/445 |website=Finding Aid |publisher=Archives, Library and Learning Excellence, Georgia Tech Library |access-date=March 29, 2018 |archive-date=March 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330080148/http://finding-aids.library.gatech.edu/repositories/2/resources/445 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=FWHF>{{cite web |title=Maryly VanLeer Peck |url=https://flwomenshalloffame.org/bio/maryly-vanleer-peck/ |publisher=[[Florida Commission on the Status of Women]] |website=[[Florida Women's Hall of Fame]] |date=October 31, 2017 |access-date=March 29, 2018 |archive-date=September 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927135120/https://flwomenshalloffame.org/bio/maryly-vanleer-peck/ |url-status=live }}</ref> African-American students were allowed to enroll starting in 1958.<ref>Nathan Crabbe, "[http://www.gainesville.com/article/20121011/ARTICLES/121019862 UF honors 50 years since first black law grad as black law enrollment drops] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607112845/http://www.gainesville.com/article/20121011/ARTICLES/121019862 |date=June 7, 2015 }}," ''The Gainesville Sun'' (October 11, 2012). Retrieved May 28, 2013.</ref> [[UF Health Shands Hospital|Shands Hospital]] opened in 1958 along with the [[University of Florida College of Medicine]] to join the established [[University of Florida College of Pharmacy|College of Pharmacy]]. Rapid campus expansion began in the 1950s and continues today.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ufl.edu/history/1948.html |title=About the post-war expansion |publisher=University of Florida |access-date=December 11, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120805174014/http://www.ufl.edu/history/1948.html |archive-date=August 5, 2012}}</ref>

From its inception until 1958, only white students were allowed to attend.<ref>“White and colored children shall not be taught in the same school, but impartial provision shall be made for both.”  Fla. Const. of 1885, Art. XII, § 12 (superseded 1969); cf. Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)</ref> In 1958, [[George H. Starke]] became the first Black student.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gainesville.com/news/20181107/uf-celebrates-60-years-of-desegregation |title=UF celebrates 60 years of desegregation |first=Cleveland |last=Tinker |website=Gainesville Sun |access-date=September 5, 2020 |archive-date=February 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226155516/https://www.gainesville.com/news/20181107/uf-celebrates-60-years-of-desegregation |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== National and international prominence ===
In 1985, the University of Florida was invited to join the [[Association of American Universities]].

During President [[Bernie Machen]]'s tenure and with the backing of the [[University of Florida Board of Trustees]], a significant policy shift was announced in 2009 for the university. This shift involved reducing the number of undergraduate students and reallocating financial and academic resources toward graduate education and research initiatives.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090221/ARTICLES/902211015/1002/NEWS01?Title=UF-looks-to-transform-itself |title=UF looks to transform itself |website=Gainesville Sun |access-date=May 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529223435/http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090221/ARTICLES/902211015/1002/NEWS01?Title=UF-looks-to-transform-itself |archive-date=May 29, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The University of Florida is one of three Florida public universities, along with [[Florida State University]] and the [[University of South Florida]], to be designated as a "preeminent university" by Florida senate bill 1076, enacted by the Florida legislature and signed into law by the governor in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/post/usf-joins-uf-fsu-preeminent-university |title=USF Joins UF, FSU As Preeminent University |first=Mark |last=Schreiner |website=wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu |date=June 28, 2018 |access-date=June 18, 2020 |archive-date=May 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513125823/https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/post/usf-joins-uf-fsu-preeminent-university |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=CS/CS/SB 1076: K-20 Education |url=http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2013/1076 |website=flsenate.gov |access-date=April 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130420165557/http://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2013/1076 |archive-date=April 20, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> As a result, the preeminent universities receive additional funding to improve the academics and national reputation of higher education within the state of Florida.<ref>{{cite news |title=Our Opinion: FSU benefits from pre-eminent status |url=http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20130423/OPINION01/304230001/Our-Opinion-FSU-benefits-from-pre-eminent-status |newspaper=[[The Tallahassee Democrat]] |access-date=April 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030015343/http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20130423/OPINION01/304230001/Our-Opinion-FSU-benefits-from-pre-eminent-status |archive-date=October 30, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2017, the University of Florida achieved a notable milestone by becoming the first university in the state of Florida to rank among the top ten best public universities according to U.S. News.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.ufl.edu/articles/2017/09/uf-first-in-florida-to-crack-us-news-list-of-top-10-best-public-universities.php |title=UF first in Florida to crack U.S. News list of top 10 best public universities |date=September 13, 2017 |publisher=University of Florida |access-date=September 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918021347/http://news.ufl.edu/articles/2017/09/uf-first-in-florida-to-crack-us-news-list-of-top-10-best-public-universities.php |archive-date=September 18, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2017, University President [[Kent Fuchs]] unveiled a plan to recruit 500 new faculty members to elevate the university's ranking among the top five best public universities. The majority of these new hires are concentrated in STEM fields. In 2018, 230 faculty members were hired, with the remaining 270 faculty positions expected to be filled by the fall of 2019.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.alligator.org/news/more-than-new-faculty-hired-to-begin-in-fall-as/article_e94553c6-9b77-11e8-bbe1-b70f171cb65e.html |title=More than 200 new faculty hired to begin in Fall as part of UF initiative |last=Writer |first=Angela DiMichele, Alligator Staff |newspaper=[[The Independent Florida Alligator]] |access-date=August 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830210226/https://www.alligator.org/news/more-than-new-faculty-hired-to-begin-in-fall-as/article_e94553c6-9b77-11e8-bbe1-b70f171cb65e.html |archive-date=August 30, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 2024 fiscal year, the University of Florida received more than $1.26 billion in annual sponsored research expenditures.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UF research spending at record $1.26 billion for FY2024 |url=https://news.ufl.edu/2024/07/research-spending/ |access-date=2024-08-11 |publisher=University of Florida |language=en }}</ref>

===Academic freedom controversy===
In October 2021, three professors filed a federal lawsuit against UF, claiming they were barred from testifying in a voting rights lawsuit against Florida Secretary of State [[Laurel M. Lee|Laurel Lee]] and Governor [[Ron DeSantis]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=University of Florida bars faculty from testifying in voting rights lawsuit against DeSantis administration |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/10/30/florida-voting-rights-desantis-lawsuit/ |access-date=October 30, 2021 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=October 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030092538/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/10/30/florida-voting-rights-desantis-lawsuit/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0"/> The university claimed that testifying against the state would be "adverse to the university’s interests as a state of Florida institution,"<ref>{{cite web |title=University Statement on Academic Freedom and Free Speech |url=http://statements.ufl.edu/statements/2021/october/university-statement-on-academic-freedom-and-free-speech.html |website=UF Statements |publisher=University of Florida |access-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-date=November 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130171901/http://statements.ufl.edu/statements/2021/october/university-statement-on-academic-freedom-and-free-speech.html |url-status=live }}</ref> igniting controversy over alleged inappropriate political influence at the university, interference in academic freedom, and violation of the professors' [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] rights. Earlier in the year, the chairman of UF's Board of Trustees, Morteza Hosseini, reportedly pushed the university to hire [[Joseph Ladapo]], a controversial doctor known for his support of DeSantis's COVID-19 policies and promotion of COVID misinformation.<ref name=":0" /> Hosseini is a major Republican Party donor and DeSantis adviser.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Wines |first=Michael |date=October 29, 2021 |title=Florida Bars State Professors From Testifying in Voting Rights Case |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/29/us/florida-professors-voting-rights-lawsuit.html |access-date=October 30, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030000911/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/29/us/florida-professors-voting-rights-lawsuit.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The reports prompted investigations by the U.S. House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the UF Faculty Senate, and UF's accrediting body, the [[Southern Association of Colleges and Schools]] (SACSCOC).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021 |title=U. of Florida's Accreditor Will Investigate Denial of Professors' Voting-Rights Testimony |url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/u-of-floridas-accreditor-will-investigate-denial-of-professors-voting-rights-testimony |access-date=November 1, 2021 |website=The Chronicle of Higher Education |archive-date=November 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101164720/https://www.chronicle.com/article/u-of-floridas-accreditor-will-investigate-denial-of-professors-voting-rights-testimony |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021 |title=Congressional subcommittee launches investigation into free speech violations at UF |url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article255928881.html |access-date=December 12, 2021 |website=Miami Herald |archive-date=November 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119010323/https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article255928881.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Further reporting in November 2021 revealed that the university had prohibited at least five more professors from offering expertise in legal cases, including a professor of pediatric medicine who was not allowed to offer expert testimony in a case related to masking of children during the COVID pandemic, a measure supported by medical experts but opposed by Governor DeSantis.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021 |title=U. of Florida Doctor Says Administrators Blocked Him From Participating in Lawsuits About Masking |url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/u-of-florida-doctor-says-administrators-blocked-him-from-participating-in-lawsuits-about-masking |website=The Chronicle of Higher Education |access-date=November 2, 2021 |archive-date=November 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102203247/https://www.chronicle.com/article/u-of-florida-doctor-says-administrators-blocked-him-from-participating-in-lawsuits-about-masking |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2021 |title=UF restricted five other professors' participation in legal cases against the state |work=Miami Herald |url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article255487301.html |access-date=November 2, 2021 |archive-date=November 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102232420/https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article255487301.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In response to the allegations, UF's administration appointed a task force to "review the university's conflict of interest policy and examine it for consistency and fidelity" and reversed its decision to bar professors from testifying, stating that they were permitted to testify pro bono on their own time.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 2, 2021 |title=University of Florida faces investigation after blocking professors from voting case |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/11/02/1051567138/university-of-florida-faces-investigation-after-blocking-professors-from-voting- |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211154959/https://www.npr.org/2021/11/02/1051567138/university-of-florida-faces-investigation-after-blocking-professors-from-voting- |url-status=live }}</ref> The recommendations of the task force were accepted by UF President Kent Fuchs in late November 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 23, 2021 |title=UF approves recommended changes to its conflict of interest policy |publisher=WTSP |location=Tampa Bay |url=https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/regional/florida/uf-recommended-changes-conflict-of-interest-policy/67-1275a8b4-0442-4c15-a85e-722e4556568b |access-date=December 12, 2021}}</ref> However, a December 2021 report from the UF Faculty Senate deepened the controversy, citing external pressure and a widespread fear of reprisal if faculty promoted unpopular viewpoints and alleging that course titles on racial topics were edited, faculty were advised against criticizing Governor DeSantis or his policies, and medical researchers were compelled to destroy data related to the COVID pandemic.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Reyes |first=Yacob |date=December 8, 2021 |title=Faculty panel: UF impeding academic freedom |publisher=Axios |url=https://www.axios.com/local/tampa-bay/2021/12/08/report-uf-professors-florida-academic-freedom |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211141131/https://www.axios.com/local/tampa-bay/2021/12/08/report-uf-professors-florida-academic-freedom |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021 |title=Report of the Faculty Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Academic Freedom |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mB6mjqdE6bqdQcXOhX_5pUpRhnSik2X8/ |access-date=December 12, 2021}}</ref>