TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The University of South Florida in Tampa on Tuesday named longtime academic Moez Limayem as the sole finalist to be its next president, the latest university in the Sunshine State to announce only one contender in the search for its new leader.

Unlike other candidates nominated to lead Florida's public universities in recent months, Limayem has not served as a Republican elected official. He is currently the president of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville and previously served as the dean of USF’s college of business for a decade.

It’s not publicly known who the other applicants were, because the selection of university presidents largely happens behind closed doors in Florida.

“We conducted a thorough process that included reviewing an outstanding group

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