Report says former University of Florida president Ben Sasse spent $1.3 million on social events

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Former University of Florida president Ben Sasse spent over $1.3 million on private catering for lavish dinners, football tailgates and extravagant social functions in his first year on the job, according to a report from a student news service.

The amount was about double the spending of his predecessor, Kent Fuchs, who was brought back to head the university on a temporary basis after Sasse announced in July that he was resigning, according to the report from Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.

Sasse, a former U.S. senator from Nebraska, cited his wife’s health and the need to spend time with family as his reason for leaving the job. He intends to teach classes as a professor at the university.

The report by Fresh Take Florida comes weeks after The Independent Florida Alligator reported that as school president, Sasse gave six former staffers…