Photo courtesy of USF
By Gage Johnson
After four and a half years as president of the University of South Florida, Rhea Law stepped away from the position on Feb. 17, with former University of North Florida president Moez Limayem taking the reins as USF’s ninth president.
Law became the eighth president of USF in March 2022, making her the first graduate of USF to hold the role after acting as interim president in 2021.
In a Feb. 9 university-wide email, Law reflected on watching the university transform.
“When I first arrived on campus as an employee and student in the 1960s, this was a small commuter school,” Law said. “Today, USF is one of the nation’s leading public research universities and a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities.”
The Association of American Universities is an organization of 71 North American universities focused on scientific research and education. In her interview with ‘Inside USF: The Podcast’, Law mentions the acceptance into the organization as one of her favorite moments as president.
“They have accepted us as a peer, and that is really meaningful,” Law said. “That’s the top 3% of research universities in America”
Under Law’s tutelage, USF also created the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing after a record-setting $40 million donation from Arnie and Lauren Bellini in 2025.
Law may be leaving her position as president, but she says she is not leaving with any uncertainty about the future.
“USF is on an incredible trajectory, and I know it will continue to climb under the stewardship of Moez Limayem,” Law said. “He will bring proven experience as a university leader; extensive knowledge of USF, the Tampa Bay region and higher education in Florida; and a deep commitment to the success of our students, faculty and staff.
Limayem, the former president of the UNF from 2022 to 2025, is also a USF alum and previously served as the Lynn Pippenger Dean at USF’s Muma College of Business from 2012 to 2022.
During his tenure as the Lynn Pippenger Dean, he raised more than $126 million in private donations, including what was then a record-setting $25 million donation from Pam and Les Muna in 2014.
As reported by the Tampa Bay Times, Limayem has the eligibility to make $1.9 million in his first year at USF. In comparison, Law had a base salary of $825,000 in her last year with a total eligibility of $1.23 million.
In his own university-wide email on Feb. 17, Limayem expressed his excitement to be back at USF.
“As some of you know, returning to USF, where I spent a decade as the Lynn Pippenger Dean of the Muma College of Business, is a homecoming for my family in every sense of the word,” Limayem said.
Limayem also acknowledges that since his leave in 2022, USF has changed and in the coming months of his presidency, he plans to reintroduce himself to the USF community. This month, this included visits to both the St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee campuses
“I know well that this is not the same USF I left in 2022,” Limayem wrote in his email. “People change – myself included – and institutions evolve.”
