UA Students Megan Rondini and Emma Mannion Reported Rape at Alabama. Critics Say UA President Stuart Bell Failed Them. Florida Rewarded Bell with a $2 Million Per Year Presidency.

By: Donald V. Watkins

Copyrighted on July 9, 2026

Dr. Stuart R. Bell, newly confirmed President the University of Florida (left), and Professor Joshua C. Rubin, JD, MBA, MPH, MPP (right).

On July 1, 2026, by a vote of 16-1, the State University System of Florida Board of Governors (BOG) confirmed former University of Alabama President Stuart Bell as the 14th president of the University of Florida.

In a process that began over a month prior to this vote, a group of specially-trained higher education advocates led by Joshua C. Rubin highligted serious concerns about Dr. Bell's fitness to lead UF.

Rubin is an attorney and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan Medical School. He devotes some of his scholarship and advocacy to studying systems that cause harm yet refuse to learn and improve. Rubin posed several important questions.

Professor Rubin was joined in his effort by: (a) Paul Hamrick, the Chief of Staff to former Alabama Gov. Don Seigelman, (b) Ms. Emma Katherine Mannion, a former UA student and rape survivor, and (c) Donald V. Watkins, a retired civil rights litigator and former Alabama State University board of trustees member who very publicly raised concerns in July 2017 about Dr. Bell's inadequate handling of UA honors student Megan Rondini's 2015 reported rape case.

The group's concerns about Dr. Bell were set forth in four emails addressed to Mr. Alan Levine, Chair of the BOG. The emails may be viewed at: https://tinyurl.com/Bell-Letters-June-2026

UA Honors Student Megan Rondini

The primary BuzzFeed News investigative article that exposed Megan Rondini's 2015 rape case is titled, "A College Student Accused A Powerful Man Of Rape. Then She Became A Suspect." After Rondini filed her rape report with local law enforcement officials, she became a criminal suspect. Dr. Bell did absolutely nothing of substance to help Rondini. Tragically, she subsequently took her own life.

University of Alabama honors student Megan Rondini committed suicide after school officials working under President Stuart Bell's supervision and direction failed to support her once they discovered that Rondini's designated rape suspect was the son of a university mega-donor who was also a member of the prestigious University President's Cabinet and a major booster of Coach Nick Saban's championship football team.

UA Student Emma Katherine Mannion

Emma Katherine Mannion's reported rape case is featured in the 2023 Netflix documentary "Victim/Suspect." After Mannion filed her rape report with local law enforcement officials, she also became a criminal suspect. As was the case with Megan Rondini, President Stuart Bell did absolutely nothing of substance to help Emma Mannion.

Emma Katherine Mannion was a freshman University of Alabama student when she reported being raped in 2016. Mannion experienced the same lack of meaningful support from President Stuart Bell after she reported her rape to police that Megan Rondini received after reporting hers in 2015.

Publicly, the Board of Governors Showed No Interest in How Dr. Bell Handled the Rondini and Mannion Reported Rape Cases

Collectively, the four emails Rubin sent to the BOG highlighted the importance of conducting independent due diligence before entrusting Dr. Bell with the safety of more than 63,000 UF students. None of the email authors sought to make his/her correspondence dispositive on the question of Dr. Bell's fitness for the presidency. Rather, they advocated for the BOG to take the facts stated in their emails as a starting point for subsequent investigation and discussion.

Interestingly, the BOG requested no supporting documents or follow up from the email authors.

Preserving the Record for Potential Future University of Florida Rape Victims/Survivors

Professor Rubin traveled to Florida to make a public comment at a BOG meeting convened on June 25, 2026. The next day, Rubin provided the four emails to the BOG's Chancellor and General Counsel/Corporate Secretary. The General Counsel/Corporate Secretary assured Rubin, via email, that his correspondence would be shared with all members of the BOG. However, the core issue identified in the emails was never mentioned during the public BOG deliberations on July 1, 2026.

In the unfortunate event a UF student is raped on Dr. Bell's watch, these emails and the BOG's lack of a substantive response to them may be probative in any ensuing litigation by the rape victim(s) that alleges another Rondini/Mannion-like failed or inadequate presidential response by Dr. Bell.