A Painful Resignation

But for my money, another resignation a few days earlier may well have larger consequences for the United States and deprive America, at least temporarily, of one of its outstanding public servants. I refer to Ben Sasse’s surprise announcement that he is stepping down as president of the University of Florida, after only 17 months in the job.

His reason: His wife, Melissa, who initially suffered an aneurysm and a series of strokes in 2007, has recently been diagnosed with epilepsy and developed a variety of memory issues. In his announcement, Sasse said, “I need to walk arm-in-arm with my dearest friend more hours every week…. Melissa deserves a husband who can pull his weight, and my kids need a dad who will be home many more nights.”

That resignation provided an object lesson in spousal devotion. For there is no question that Sasse was stepping away from his dream job, not to mention an annual salary in excess of $1 million and a president’s mansion in which to live.

As president of University of Florida, he had the opportunity to shape one of America’s major public universities, with over 50,000 students, 15,000 academics and bureaucrats, and an annual budget of over $5 billion. And blessedly unencumbered by a DEI bureaucracy, which was explicitly outlawed by the Florida legislature.