About
About the President
Moez Limayem
Ninth President of the 最新天美传媒
Moez Limayem took office as the ninth president of the 最新天美传媒 in February 2026 following his unanimous selection by the USF Board of Trustees and confirmation by the Florida Board of Governors.
Limayem is a higher education leader with more than 35 years of experience advancing student success, research impact, fundraising and community and industry partnerships. With an energetic, passionate and collaborative style, he is a strategic leader with a record of achievements in student and faculty success, development and industry-education partnerships. Throughout his career, he has emphasized the role of universities as engines of opportunity, innovation and economic impact. He has also been an advocate for intercollegiate athletics as a means to strengthen institutional identity, bolster alumni engagement, and opportunity for advancement. He is a strong believer in the transformational potential of USF鈥檚 new on-campus stadium that is scheduled to open in 2027.
Limayem joined USF following a 3 陆-year tenure as president of the University of North Florida, where the institution set records in student retention, transfer student graduation rates, research investment and private and public fundraising. UNF welcomed its largest incoming class of students in fall 2025, leading to its highest overall enrollment since being founded in 1972. Using a strategic focus on community and corporate partnerships, UNF reached No. 1 in the state for the highest percentage of bachelor鈥檚 graduates employed in Florida.
At UNF, Limayem received numerous recognitions, including being named by Florida Trend as one of the state鈥檚 500 most influential business leaders and by the Jacksonville Business Journal as an Ultimate CEO. He received an award from the National Academy of Inventors for his many contributions to innovation and invention.
In addition, he recently was inducted into the Florida Council on Economic Education鈥檚 First Coast Business Hall of Fame, and the Tampa Bay Business Journal included Limayem in its lists of 鈥25 People to Watch鈥 in 2026 and 鈥2026 Power 100鈥.
Limayem has a deep connection to USF and the Tampa Bay region, having served for a decade as the Lynn Pippenger Dean of the Muma College of Business, starting in 2012. While dean at USF, Limayem and his team raised more than $126 million in private donations for the college, including a $25 million gift from Pam and Les Muma in 2014, which at the time was the largest individual gift in the university鈥檚 history.
He also led key efforts to enhance career preparation, job placements, internships and talent development of students. A $10.6 million gift from alums Arnie and Lauren Bellini led to the creation of the Bellini Center for Talent Development, which houses a professional development certification program and supporting career preparation programs and other services exclusively for business student success.
Born in Tunisia, Limayem was the first in his family to attend college. He earned his MBA and doctoral degree from the University of Minnesota and he has held academic leadership roles at the University of Arkansas and internationally.
Limayem is a globally recognized scholar in information systems, and his research has been cited more than 16,000 times in prestigious academic journals, including MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, Management Science and the Journal of Management Information Systems.
His wife, Alya, is a renowned researcher who holds multiple U.S. patents, was named a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors last year and was recognized as a 2024 Rising Star of the Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida. The couple has two children.