Testing was mandatory for students taking in-person classes during the spring semester, but in fall they were to instead be tested only if they suspected they had been in contact with an infected person. Afterward, students were encouraged but not required to wear masks in classrooms. required students on campus to wear masks inside classrooms and be tested weekly. Until the start of the semester, the university - which has reported more positive cases since March 2020 than any other school in the U.S. She added that UF was following guidance from Florida’s State University System about returning in the fall to pre-pandemic operations. “From time to time, the board chair may elect to inform state officials of university developments,” she said in a statement. Hosseini did not respond to phone messages and emails.Ī UF spokeswoman, Hessy Fernandez, said it was common for the president to confer with the board chair. The texts - released in response to a request under Florida’s public records law - provide a rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse into how senior university officials reacted under the pressure of discussions about how the school would work to keep students and others safe on campus during the pandemic. He attached an excerpt of an internal UF message raising the possibility of classes moving online for some colleges, including those for liberal arts, agriculture, engineering and business. “Governor’s office have this,” wrote Hosseini, a wealthy developer who has been an adviser to DeSantis and a Republican loyalist. “Could you let me know if you have any changes,” Fuchs asked. They were discussing reports surfacing that at least some colleges on the main campus were preparing to move all their classes online for the first three weeks of the fall semester, which ends this week.įuchs, who has said previously in interviews that he does not have the authority to challenge decisions from the DeSantis administration, sent Hosseini a draft email he was preparing for faculty announcing there would be no move to online classes. 13 - as the delta variant was sweeping the U.S. The newly disclosed texts showed the chairman communicating with the university’s president, Kent Fuchs, the evening of Aug. Morteza “Mori” Hosseini, who was elected chairman in 2018, is already under scrutiny over questions about his role in politically tinged decisions affecting the school. Ron DeSantis when administrators were considering temporarily moving some college classes online due to the pandemic, according to text messages. The chair of the University of Florida board of trustees served as a liaison with the office of Gov.
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