TAMPA, Fla. — The University of South Florida on Tuesday named Rhea Law as its next president-elect.
Law, who has been serving as interim president since Dr. Steven Currall announced his retirement, is an attorney and university alumna.
She, too, was one of the founding members of the USF Board of Trustees where she made history as the board's first and only female chair, a position she held for four years. The university says she also served on the last two Presidental Search Advisory Committees.
Law has held numerous leadership roles within the community including as CEO of Florida law firm Fowler White Boggs, according to a news release from the school. Other major accomplishments include becoming the first honorary commander of the 6th Air Mobility Wing at MacDill Air Force Base and serving on the board of directors of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center.
"We’re thrilled to announce #USF President-elect Rhea Law!" USF tweeted following her selection. A video of Law entering a room to a round of applause was also posted by the university.
Law joined the candidate pool late, according to the USF Presidential Search Committee. She originally agreed to not apply for the role but was invited in February 2022 to join the candidate pool.
Since entering the search process, Law alongside Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley (U.S. Army, Ret.) was subject to interviews and campus visits before the committee made its selection.
The university says Law has indicated she would conduct a national search for a "world-class scholar" to fill Provost Ralph Wilcox's role upon his retirement. During the last campus visit, Law also explained the significance of bringing in new funding sources outside of the Florida Legislature.
“It’s not just about money, it’s about how we deal with our finances,” Law said. “We need to make sure that we have a balanced budget, and while we’re balancing it we need to look for opportunities and synergies and other ways to reduce costs so we can make investments in the infrastructure we need for innovation, we need the lab space, we need the support for research, we need support for our students and this is only going to come if we have a very clear, transparent and predictable budgeting process.”
A date for law to go before the Florida Board of Governors to be confirmed has yet to be announced.