Pictured Above: Board of Trustees Chair Will Weatherford (left) said Rhea Law will “inspire confidence” within the USF community. Law is the former CEO of a Florida law firm and has been an active member of the USF community.
Image courtesy of Weatherford Capital and Stetson University
By Annalise Anderson
USF Board of Trustees Chair Will Weatherford announced today his recommendation of alumna and former board chair Rhea Law to serve as interim president after President Steve Currall’s departure on Aug. 2.
Law was a founding member of the Board of Trustees, where she served as vice chair for five years and four years as the first and only female chair. She was also a founding member of USF Law Alumni Society’s Board of Directors.
She served on the Presidential Search Advisory Committee for USF’s last two presidential searches and on the USF Research Foundation Board.
Law is the former CEO and board chair of Tampa law firm Fowler White Boggs. In 2014, she led the merger of Fowler with national law firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney.
“USF is always moving forward,” Weatherford wrote in the announcement. “That is why I am recommending an interim president who can inspire confidence while listening to and advocating for our students, faculty, staff and community; who has the leadership skills to help us pragmatically move forward on key issues; who respects the critical role of our faculty; who understands and can help advance our strong research enterprise and clinical expertise, and who has the relationships across our region and our state to garner even more support for USF.
“Rhea’s deep ties within our community and her stellar leadership abilities will help us continue our momentum while we find the next great leader for our university.”
Law earned her bachelor’s degree in management from USF while serving as the university project administrator for the Office of Sponsored Research. She went on to study at Stetson University of Law, where she served on its Board of Overseers and helped to select university leadership.
She was named a distinguished alumna by the USF Alumni Association in 2018.
The Board of Trustees will meet on Aug. 2 to vote on Weatherford’s recommendation. The final decision will depend on approval by the Board of Governors on Aug. 31.
Law has already stated that she will not apply for the permanent presidential role.
“I am humbled by Chair Weatherford’s recommendation,” Law said. “I care deeply about the University of South Florida and can credit much of my own personal and professional success to the impact USF has had on my life. I am honored to help play a part in USF’s next chapter and thank President Currall for his leadership during the past two years,”
Weatherford’s recommendation comes a week after President Currall surprised the USF community by announcing his retirement from the presidency.
Currall served a two-year tenure, which is the shortest in USF’s history. He called his time as president “intense” and is stepping down due to health and family reasons.
