The Board of Governors this week advanced several important initiatives to boost student safety, enhance student success, and strengthen ties with the business community. [Read more…] about Board of Governors’ Meeting Highlights
Florida board of governors
Items to watch for the upcoming Board of Governors’ meeting
Drugs, Alcohol & Mental Health Task Force: The Board will continue its focus on student safety and well-being, hearing updates on the implementation of various Board initiatives to address student mental health and substance abuse issues. Additionally the Board will hear presentations about the strategies the universities have enacted to address mental health concerns and about best practices regarding education, prevention, and treatment relative to student drug and alcohol use. [Read more…] about Items to watch for the upcoming Board of Governors’ meeting
Board of Governors presents awards to State University System Legislative Champions
The Board of Governors on Thursday recognized Senate President Joe Negron, House Speaker Richard Corcoran, and House Majority Leader Ray Rodrigues as 2018 State University System Legislative Champions. [Read more…] about Board of Governors presents awards to State University System Legislative Champions
Performance funding gets more competitive as universities crowd near the top
Demonstrating the highest level of achievement since performance funding was implemented, the Board of Governors on Wednesday released its latest data. [Read more…] about Performance funding gets more competitive as universities crowd near the top
Items to watch for the upcoming Board of Governors’ meeting
Performance Funding: The Board of Governors will release the latest performance funding numbers for the State University System of Florida, including university progress on a variety of metrics, from four-year graduation rates to student success after graduation. The Governor and Legislature directed $560 million toward performance funding for the 2018-19 school year, to be disbursed based on university excellence or improvement. [Read more…] about Items to watch for the upcoming Board of Governors’ meeting
Florida dominates national affordability rankings, including for online education
Recognizing Florida’s commitment to higher education affordability, recent rankings by AffordableColleges.com place several Florida universities among the top in the country for both traditional and online degrees.
Seven State University System institutions were ranked in the “50 Most Affordable In-State Public Universities,” with the University of Florida, New College of Florida and the University of South Florida earning the top three slots. Further, the University of Florida earned the No. 1 ranking in the “50 Most Affordable Online Colleges” category, with the University of Central Florida, Florida International University, University of South Florida, and University of West Florida all garnering spots in the top 20.
[Read more…] about Florida dominates national affordability rankings, including for online education
Florida Board of Governors Confirms UNF’s Sixth President David Szymanski
The Florida Board of Governors confirmed the selection of Dr. David Szymanski as UNF’s sixth president today during its regular BOG meeting on campus. He will begin Thursday, May 31.
Szymanski is currently the dean of the Carl H. Lindner College of Business and professor of marketing at the University of Cincinnati, which has a campus of more than 44,000 students. Under his leadership as Lindner dean, enrollment in the business college has grown some 50 percent for undergraduate and nearly 200 percent for graduate students, with first-year retention rates as high as 93 percent and six-year graduation rates increasing 1,000 basis points to 71 percent.
During his eight years at UC, Szymanski has also led curriculum changes for undergraduate and graduate students, revising the MBA to be more flexible for the professional and time-constrained student. New masters and doctoral degrees in demand by students and businesses have been added in addition to new graduate certificate programs. Additionally, the College launched new online courses and degree programs.
Lindner’s MBA program has gone from being unranked to now being a Top 35 full-time and Top 25 part-time public program by Bloomberg Businessweek. In addition, the College now has Top 25 master’s programs in accounting, analytics, applied economics, finance, marketing and tax as well as Top 10 undergraduate programs in accounting, marketing and microeconomics.
With Szymanski’s guidance, Lindner is now the most profitable college at UC, generating 81 percent of the net operating profit on the academic side of the enterprise. He has helped raise more than $70M, and in fiscal year 2017, the College raised more than $20M, making it the first academic unit in the university’s history to break the $20M threshold.
Prior to joining UC, he was the director of the Center for Retailing Studies at Texas A&M University. Szymanski has served on a number of corporate and professional boards, including several NCAA boards/committees and currently sits on the board of directors of Office Depot. He earned his doctorate and MBA, both with a marketing emphasis, from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Asheville.
Szymanski will succeed John A. Delaney, who has served as UNF president for the last 15 years. He retires as University president Thursday, May 31. In addition to Delaney, UNF has had four other permanent presidents, including founding president Dr. Thomas Carpenter (1969-1980), Dr. Curtis McCray (1982-1988), Dr. Adam Herbert (1989-1998) and Dr. Anne Hopkins (1999-2000).
Board of Governors appoints Dr. Jonathan Ellen as chair of USF consolidation task force
The Board of Governors on Monday appointed Dr. Jonathan Ellen, president and vice dean of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, to lead the “University of South Florida Consolidation Planning, Study and Implementation Task Force,” which will develop recommendations to phase out the separate accreditations of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and the University of South Florida Sarasota/Manatee.
“Dr. Ellen has an excellent track record of leadership at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and is well regarded by those who have worked with him,” said Ned Lautenbach, chair of the Board of Governors. “He will play a critical role in ensuring that USF’s transition happens smoothly and efficiently and that it further improves service to students.”
Dr. Ellen is a visionary leader at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, transforming the facility from a regional referral center to a pediatric academic health system and national leader in research, teaching and patient care. Among other initiatives, he oversaw the launch of an innovative new pediatric residency program, continues to recruit world-class physicians and scientists, will soon open a $95 million research and education building dedicated to pediatrics in the heart of St. Petersburg’s innovation district, and worked with the leaders at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine to strengthen the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital-USF affiliation. His full biography is available here.
“Consolidated accreditation will increase educational opportunities for students across all the USF campuses by reducing barriers to collaboration among graduate and undergraduate programs, enriching the faculty, and improving strategies for recruitment and retention of students from all backgrounds,” Dr. Ellen said. “The result of the enhanced integration should elevate the innovative and scholarly impact of USF on the Tampa Bay region and country.”
The task force will submit recommendations to the University of South Florida Board of Trustees by February 15, 2019. Its responsibilities include identification of specific degrees in programs of strategic significance, including healthcare, science, technology, engineering and mathematics and other program priorities to be offered at the University of South Florida – St. Petersburg and the University of South Florida Sarasota/Manatee and the timeline for development and delivery of programs on each campus. Other task force goals include engaging faculty, developing the research capacity at each campus, and ensuring a seamless transition for students.
“Having Dr. Ellen, a well-regarded business and community leader in the Tampa Bay region, chair the consolidation task force is an important step in this process,” said USF Board of Trustees Chair Brian Lamb. “His commitment to ensuring a successful outcome for USF, our students, and faculty as set forth by the Florida Legislature is valuable to the entire region.”
Florida Board of Governors Gives FAMU Option to Forego National Presidential Search
The Florida State University System Board of Governors (BOG) voted to confirm the reappointment of Larry Robinson, Ph.D. as the interim president of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) and also opened the door for the University’s Board of Trustees to appoint him as permanent president.
During its regular meeting, the State University System’s governing body unanimously approved a waiver of its presidential search process in response to a request from FAMU’s BOT Chairman Kelvin Lawson and the board of trustees. The waiver was requested in August after FAMU trustees voted 11-0 in favor of the move.
Lawson said, “I look forward to a healthy discussion with FAMU’s trustees when we meet November 29-30 in Tallahassee. We will take the next step at our meeting and make a firm decision to either appoint Dr. Robinson as permanent president or conduct a national search.”
Lawson added, “We are appreciative of the support of the Board of Governors. Their vote speaks to the quality leadership team that we’ve assembled.”
Robinson has served as FAMU’s interim president since September 15, 2016 and also served in the capacity from July 2012 to April 2014 and in 2007.
FAMU’s National Alumni Association President Lt. Col. Gregory L. Clark and FAMU Foundation Vice Chair Hosetta Coleman appeared before the BOG to elaborate on their respective boards’ decisions to support Robinson for permanent president.
Coleman said, “Dr. Robinson has demonstrated through his leadership the ability to put action behind his vision to strengthen FAMU’s intellectual capacity by focusing on student success, enriching academic programs and enhancing efficiency and effectiveness, which is in line with the Board of Governors’ Performance Metrics.”
Clark said “The energy at Florida A&M University is high. We have a highly functioning Board of Trustees, an engaged Foundation Board and a committed National Alumni Association, which are all energized by Dr. Robinson’s leadership style.”
Governor Alan Levine was among board members who commended Robinson’s leadership and track record.
Levine said, “I think he’s brought a lot of vision to the campus.”
Tallahassee attorney and governor Tim Cerio is a new appointee to the board.
“I think he’s (Robinson) done amazing things in a short amount of time. I have a lot of confidence in Dr. Robinson and what he’s going to do in the future.”
The BOG also reappointed FAMU Trustee and Board Vice Chair Kimberly Moore to FAMU’s BOT. She has served on the board since 2013.
Board of Governors appoints university trustees
The Board of Governors today made the following appointments to boards of trustees across the State University System. Appointees were selected from a competitive field of applicants and are subject to attending a Board of Governors’ orientation, the Trustee Summit, and confirmation by the Florida Senate. All appointments are for five-year terms beginning Jan 6, 2018. The appointment term for Florida Polytechnic University begins November 9, 2017.
- Ms. Kimberly Moore was reappointed to the Florida A&M University Board of Trustees. She is the vice president for workforce innovation at Tallahassee Community College.
- Mr. Brent Burns was appointed to the Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees. He is the president and chief operating officer of JM Family Enterprises, Inc.
- Mr. Richard Eide was appointed to the Florida Gulf Coast University Board of Trustees. He is the owner of Princess Palm Sales, LLC.
- Mr. Roger Tovar was appointed to the Florida International University Board of Trustees. He is the owner and CEO of Palmetto57 Auto Group, AMS Group, Chicagoland Restaurants, and Albany Auto Group.
- Dr. Louis Saco was appointed to the Florida Polytechnic University Board of Trustees. He is the CEO of Watson Clinic, LLP, chair of Watson Clinic Foundation Board of Directors, and medical director and member of Lakeland CEO and diagnostic center.
- Mr. Jim Henderson was appointed to the Florida State University Board of Trustees. He is past president and chief operating officer of Brown & Brown Insurance.
- Mr. George Skestos was reappointed to the New College of Florida Board of Trustees. He is founder of Homewood Corporation, Trinity Home Builders, and Franklin Bank.
- Ms. Beverly Seay was reappointed to the University of Central Florida Board of Trustees. She is executive director of the Nebraska Applied Research Institute.
- Dr. Anne Egan was appointed to the University of North Florida Board of Trustees. She is a pediatrician and partner at the Carithers Pediatric Group and section chief of pediatrics at St. Vincent’s Hospital.
- Ms. Suzanne Lewis was reappointed to the University of West Florida Board of Trustees. She is a management and leadership consultant and former superintendent of Yellowstone National Park.
