Governor Ron DeSantis reappoints James “Bill” Heavener to the University of Florida Board of Trustees
Press release from the Office of Governor DeSantis
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the reappointment of James “Bill” Heavener to the University of Florida Board of Trustees.
James “Bill” Heavener
Heavener is the Chief Executive Officer of The Heavener Company, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Full Sail University, and Co-Chairman of the Los Angeles Film School, the Los Angeles Recording School, and the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. Active in his community, he is a member of the Tim Tebow Foundation Board of Directors, the University of Florida Alumni Association Board of Directors, and the University of Florida Foundation Board of Directors. Heavener earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Florida.
This appointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.
DeSantis’ reappointment of a large donor should not be too surprising, this despite the whistleblower claims appearing in a federal court case. This from an Orlando Sentinel story appearing in October of 2025:
“Whistleblowers in a federal court case in California allege Central Florida’s Full Sail University engaged in a “pay-for-play” student hiring scheme to earn more federal funding.
The case, initially filed in 2024 and unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in May, names Full Sail and the Los Angeles Film School, both operated by University of Florida alumnus and trustee James W. Heavener.
The complaint alleges that LA Film School and Full Sail funneled money to employers to hire students for jobs that lasted scarcely longer than two days, all so the schools could count them as “employed” to hit a 70% employed threshold for more federal funding. The students were “hoodwinked” into going along, it said.
Full Sail, a private, for-profit entertainment arts college in Winter Park, receives $377 million per year in federal funding, according to the complaint.”
Heavener on the other hand has been very generous to gator football so we know he has the best interests of higher education at heart.
Thanks for that James. This guy is also to stupid to fish. He was part of the 2hr + interrogation of the U Michigan president where he and most of “trustees” asked question after question about DEI, a dead issue here at that point while the candidate had denounced it like 50+ times. No questions of research funding, advancing UF’s academic rankings, securing superior faculty, you know, the things University Presidents actually do when not holding the hands and answering dumb BS from people like him.
So, he’s a crook too? And got caught? Figures.
Shameful decision. If he were Somali he’d be getting the third degree, destroyed and worse…allegedly grifting the like many others. Instead he is put forth as a model of business acumen and success?
This is worse than congressional insider trading don’t ya think?