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MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2025

VOLUME 119 - ISSUE 26 Not officially associated with the University of Florida

Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida

MARCH MADNESS

Florida advances to its first Final Four in 11 years The Gators will take on Auburn with a National Championship berth on the line By Noah White Sports Writer

Noah Lantor & Madilyn Gemme // Alligator Staff

The Florida Gators basketball team advances to the Final Four in March Madness.

SAN FRANCISCO — You could see the panic in Todd Golden’s eyes with three minutes left. Everyone in the Chase Center probably could, too. Surely, the University Avenue bars of Gainesville, congested with agitated fans, did as well. A historic season, cementing the turnaround of a dormant college basketball power, was disappearing with every second, every shot. The hearts of Florida

fans everywhere slowly sank. That was until Walter Clayton Jr. rose. With a Final Four berth on the line, trailing 77-75 despite a 9-2 run in the last two minutes, Florida’s senior AP All-American gathered himself. Underrecruited, underrated and now amid the biggest moment of his life, he had never been calmer. With one swift motion, turning his back to the basket, he whipped around, releasing a flawless shot. One

SEE FINAL FOUR, PAGE 11

‘Ladapo’s a charlatan’: Florida surgeon general’s tenure at UF is lackluster, colleagues say RECORDS AND INTERVIEWS REVEAL MISSING GRANT FUNDS, UNDERPERFORMANCE AND UNFULFILLED PROMISES

By Garrett Shanley Alligator Staff Writer

When Gov. Ron DeSantis hand-picked Joseph Ladapo as Florida’s surgeon general in September 2021, the role came with a second high-profile appointment: a tenured faculty position at UF. But Ladapo’s colleagues still aren’t sure what he does to earn his salary at the university. Some say not much. UF fast-tracked Ladapo into a $337,000-ayear contract as part of his role as the state’s top medical official, tasking him with launching an internal medicine research program, taking on a part-time teaching role and leading

SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT

AI uncertainty Story description finish with comma, Students and professors wary of AI in pg# the workplace. Read more on pg. 2.

an administrative team. A rising star among conservatives opposing pandemic-era safety measures, Ladapo dazzled UF’s top brass with his Ivy League credentials and multi-million dollar research portfolio. After reviewing his résumé, the medical school’s dean said he looked “fabulous.” Now, more than three years into his tenure, internal records and interviews with more than a dozen professors and administrators raise questions about whether Ladapo is meeting UF’s expectations. Ladapo’s work calendar shows monthslong stretches with little or no activity. Instead of attaining grants and conducting research, he spent his first year revising manuscripts and writing his memoir, “Transcend Fear,” which details his skepticism of vaccines. He also promised to bring hundreds of thousands in research dollars from his previous job at the University of California at Los Angeles. That never happened. He blamed his

former boss, claiming she withheld the funds over disagreements about COVID-19 policies. A review of internal reports and public directories indicate Ladapo hasn't secured any research grants for UF. His classroom contributions are similarly sparse. Ladapo agreed to dedicate 20% of his time to teaching; so far, that’s amounted to a handful of guest lectures. A proposed course on “critical evaluation of scientific evidence” has yet to materialize. Meanwhile, he collects $75,000 a year leading what his contract described as an administrative team addressing healthcare disparities within UF’s hospital system. Yet records requests yielded little evidence of the team’s work. Ladapo didn’t respond to an emailed list of questions about his time at UF. Spokespeople for the university and UF Health declined to answer specific questions about his tenure. Ladapo’s dual appointment is a high-profile

The Avenue: Editing theater

A new take on Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew”, pg. 6

instance of Florida Republicans installing party officials into lucrative posts at state universities with questionable results. State auditors recently dinged UF for continuing to pay Ben Sasse, a former Republican U.S. Senator, $1 million a year to co-teach an undergraduate course after resigning as the university’s president in July. Although UF leaders initially welcomed Ladapo, issues with absenteeism, funding shortfalls and clashes with colleagues quickly emerged. Professors also questioned the speed at which the university awarded Ladapo tenure — academia’s most coveted status, offering effectively permanent job security to carefully vetted scholars. The process usually takes months or even years; a Faculty Senate report released months after his hiring found administrators approved Ladapo in less than three weeks.

SEE LADAPO, PAGE 4

Funding cuts

Students weigh in on welcome assembly funding cuts, pg. 5

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