An 18-member group of scientists, students, business people and education leaders has answered a call to find the next University of Florida president.
The Presidential Search Committee is charged with vetting candidates and presenting a short list to the UF Board of Trustees, who will select UF’s 12th president. It is expected to spend up to a year searching worldwide for the men and women best suited to transforming UF into a top-10 public research university.
UF Board of Trustees Chairman C. David Brown II previously appointed Board of Trustees Vice Chairman Steven M. Scott to lead the committee. On Thursday, he announced the other members:
UF Board of Trustee Representatives
– Ms. Susan M. Cameron, UF Trustee
– Mr. James W. (Bill) Heavener, UF Trustee
– Ms. Carolyn K. Roberts, UF Trustee
– Mr. David M. Thomas, UF Trustee
Faculty/Faculty Senate/Academic Administration Representatives
– Dr. Cammy R. Abernathy, Dean, UF College of Engineering
– Dr. Paul J. D’Anieri, Dean, UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
– Dr. David S. Guzick, UF Senior Vice President for Health Affairs/President, UF Health
– Dr. Marc W. Heft, UF Professor/Program Director, College of Dentistry
– Dr. Harry J. Klee, UF Eminent Scholar, Agricultural-Horticultural Sciences
– Dr. David P. Norton, UF Vice President for Research
– Dr. Jack M. Payne, UF Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources
– Dr. Richard A. Yost, UF Professor, Chemistry
Student Representative
– Ms. Christina A. Bonarrigo, Immediate Past President, UF Student Body
Alumni/Donors/Athletics Representatives
– Mr. Keith T. Koenig, Life Member, University of Florida Foundation
– Ms. Lynda V. Tealer, Senior Associate Athletic Director, University Athletic Association
– Ms. Suzanne M. Norris, President-elect, UF Alumni Association
– Florida Board of Governors Representative
Mr. Thomas G. Kuntz, Vice Chairman, Board of Governors of the Florida State University System
“Those on the 18-member panel possess a wide array of expertise, professional interests and accomplishments, as well as one crucial common trait: a deep devotion to UF’s future,” Brown wrote in a message to the UF community Thursday.
UF trustees will interview the finalists and choose the next president, with the Board of Governors ratifying. The search committee will be assisted by four subcommittees: Qualifications and Criteria, Communications and Marketing, Compensation, and Campus Visit. The charges to the search committee and subcommittees, as well as the subcommittee assignments, are posted on the search website, www.presidentsearch.ufl.edu. Brief biographies of the members will be posted as soon as they are available.
In addition to the committee members, Brown announced a cadre of advisers to the committee:
– Mr. Morteza (Mori) Hosseini, Chairman, Board of Governors
– Retired Gen. David E. Kratzer, UF Vice President of Student Affairs
– Dr. J. Bernard Machen, UF President
– Dr. Winfred M. Phillips, Don and Ruth Eckis Professor of Biomedical Engineering, former UF Senior Vice President, Vice President for Research, and Dean of the College of Engineering
– Mr. Jeremy N. Foley, UF Athletic Director
– Mr. Carlos J. Alfonso, Vice Chairman, Board of Governors Advisory Board for the Institute for Online Learning and former Chairman, UF Board of Trustees
– Mr. Manny A. Fernandez, Former Chairman, UF Board of Trustees
The last search ended with Machen agreeing to extend his service through the end of 2014. Trustees decided that Machen was the best person to seize an historic opportunity for UF to work with the Legislature and the governor to arrange the state support necessary for the top-10 initiative and to start implementing it. Brown has emphasized that Machen will not extend his service again.