Moez Limayem confirmed as USF’s new president

The Florida Board of Governors unanimously agreed Friday to confirm Moez Limayem as the University of South Florida’s ninth president. 

Limayem, 62, was named sole finalist for the position by the USF Presidential Search Committee in September after a nearly 8 month search. He was unanimously approved by the USF Board of Trustees in October.

The BOG, which oversees the state university system, confirmed both Limayem’s hiring and his new contract during a 15-minute Zoom discussion Friday. 

Limayem is no stranger to USF or the BOG. He spent 10 years as the Lynn Pippenger Dean of the Muma College of Business before he was appointed president of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville in 2022.

Limayem will start his new role at USF in early 2026, according to a release. 

“I am humbled and honored by this opportunity,” Limayem says in the release. “I am grateful for the hard work of the students, faculty, staff and community leaders who have invested in this university. Together, we will write the University of South Florida’s next chapter as a national model of excellence that transforms lives and strengthens Florida’s intellectual, economic and civic landscapes.

Limayem also voiced his appreciation for outgoing USF President Rhea Law, who has served as USF’s president since August 2021. The university’s nation-wide search for her replacement began in February, when Law announced plans to step down once a successor was found. 

During Friday’s BOG meeting, members declined to ask the candidate any questions, but expressed their confidence in Limayem’s leadership.

“I’ve been close to him with his efforts at UNF and working with him very closely,” BOG member Aubrey Edge said in the meeting. “He’s a wonderful selection and he’ll do a great job and I couldn’t congratulate him more," Edge added. 

The board hasn’t been as accommodating of other presidential candidates this year — rejecting two potential candidates for the University of Florida’s top job.

Earlier in his career, Limayem served as the associate dean for research and graduate programs at the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business. He earned his MBA and doctorate from the University of Minnesota.

His wife, Alya, is a UNF faculty member of biology and researcher who holds multiple U.S. patents. The couple has two children.