USF names former dean finalist in search for new president

After a roughly eight-month search, the University of South Florida has named a sole finalist in its search for a new president.

On Tuesday, the university announced its search committee has nominated Moez Limayem, 62, to USF’s Board of Trustees to become the university’s ninth president. It will now be up to the Board of Trustees and the Florida Board of Governors to approve Limayem for the job. 

Limayem is no stranger to USF. He served as the Lynn Pippenger Dean of the Muma College of Business for 10 years before becoming president of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville in 2022. 

“We conducted a thorough process that included reviewing an outstanding group of highly qualified candidates from across the nation before deciding that Moez is the best choice for our USF community,” Mike Griffin, chair of the presidential search committee, says in the announcement. “He brings a strong track record of presidential success in Florida in his current role, and we experienced the impact of his leadership firsthand when he led our Muma College of Business. We are confident that Moez is the right person to accelerate our momentum and lead us to even greater heights in the next chapter of our university.” 

While dean at USF, Limayem boasted a strong history of fundraising for the university. Limayem and his team raised more than $126 million in private donations for the College of Business during his tenure, including a $25 million gift from Pam and Les Muma in 2014 that, at the time, was the largest individual gift USF had ever received. 

In his current position as president of UNF, the university has achieved numerous milestones, the announcement says. This year, UNF welcomed the largest incoming class of students in its history, leading to its highest overall enrollment since it was founded in 1972. UNF also recently celebrated an institutional record for its first-year student retention rate and is currently ranked first in the state for the highest percentage of bachelor’s graduates employed in Florida. 

In the early days of 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 degrees from the University of Minnesota.

Limayem’s wife, Alya, is a researcher and UNF professor of biology who was named a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors in 2024. The couple has two children.

“The University of South Florida and the Tampa Bay region are special to my family and me,” Limayem says in the announcement. “I have always enjoyed working with USF faculty, staff, students, alumni, supporters and the community’s business leaders and I am honored to be considered to lead this great university in its continued pursuit of excellence.”

Limayem will soon visit USF for public forums with the university community. A schedule will be announced in the coming days.

The presidential search committee began looking for a new president in February, after current USF President Rhea Law announced plans to step down after a national search was conducted to find a successor. Law has served as USF’s president since August 2021.