• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Submit News
  • Contact Us

Capital Soup

Florida News Straight From the Source

  • Soup Du Jour
  • People
  • Government
  • Campaign
  • Business
  • Education
  • Insights
  • Video
You are here: Home / Soup Du Jour / UF to hire 500 faculty in major new initiative

UF to hire 500 faculty in major new initiative

Posted on June 9, 2017

The University of Florida will hire 500 new faculty to further enhance teaching and research and to continue to be one of the very best research universities in the nation, UF President Kent Fuchs announced today. UF’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution in support of the announcement.
Funding for the new hires and compensation increases will come from state allocations, alumni and friends, as well as university resources.
“We know what we need to do and we are laser-focused on several areas that will have the greatest impact on our educational and research missions while giving UF an edge to compete successfully with the nation’s other top institutions for talented faculty, students and staff,” Fuchs said. “UF ranks among the top 10 public research universities and we have our eye on being among the top five.”
The 500 new faculty hires represent a number over and above the 300 to 400 faculty that UF hires annually to replace those who retire or leave the university, UF Provost Joe Glover said.
Funding for new hires and compensation increases will come initially from a $52 million allocation to UF that the Legislature approved earlier this year and from reallocated internal resources, Glover said. The university will also seek additional funding from a variety of sources for future years.
The hiring plan was created to address two primary university goals: reaching top-ranked status by strengthening various research disciplines, and improving the university’s student-faculty ratio, a widely recognized metric in determining an institution’s excellence and stature.
UF’s current student-faculty ratio is 20 to 1; the 500 new hires ultimately will result in a student-faculty ratio of 16 to 1. By comparison, the ratio at the University of Michigan, is 15 to 1. (Michigan, like UF, belongs to the Association of American Universities and is considered a peer institution to UF; others include the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of California, Berkeley.)
The new faculty will be hired in a variety of fields, Glover said, but “certainly a good portion will be in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and health. We will also give priority to areas focused on new business start-ups, tech transfer and economic development.”
The new hires will be in addition to the growth of 115 faculty hired in the past three years with funding the Legislature has provided as part of UF’s designation as a preeminent university.
The announcement of the new hiring initiative follows Wednesday’s news that UF faculty achieved a new high of nearly $800 million in research expenditures for the year. UF also announced an expected new record in annual fundraising topping $440 million. Additionally, five faculty became members of the National Academies during the year.
Fuchs said that UF has already made tremendous progress – and the new initiatives and records will propel UF to the highest ranks.
“In the vast majority of university rankings, the University of Florida is among the top 10 public research universities in the nation,” Fuchs said.  “Our goal now is to be among the top five.”

Share this article! Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Filed Under: Soup Du Jour Tagged With: major new initiative, UF, University of Florida

Primary Sidebar

    Submit News    

Democratic Lawmakers Condemn GOP Legislation Targeting Civil Rights Protests

Prominent Democratic lawmakers on Thursday sharply condemned Republican-backed legislation filed for the … [Read More...] about Democratic Lawmakers Condemn GOP Legislation Targeting Civil Rights Protests

MEGA MILLIONS jackpot increases to $625 million ahead of tonight’s draw

MEGA MILLIONS® and POWERBALL® Combined Jackpots climb to $1.1 Billion! Players have a chance to win big this … [Read More...] about MEGA MILLIONS jackpot increases to $625 million ahead of tonight’s draw

Southeast Florida Behavioral Health Network Partners with Law Enforcement to Reduce Opioid Deaths

In response to the rising opioid epidemic, Southeast Florida Behavioral Health Network is working with the … [Read More...] about Southeast Florida Behavioral Health Network Partners with Law Enforcement to Reduce Opioid Deaths

Keep in Touch

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Newsletter signup

Stay in the loop! Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to receive a brief recap of the week's most popular stories.

Footer

News

  • Soup Du Jour
  • People
  • Government
  • Campaign
  • Business
  • Education
  • Insights
  • Video

About Us 

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Submit News
  • Contact Us

Keep in Touch

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2021
Terms & Conditions

© Copyright 2021 Capital Soup · All Rights Reserved ·