窪蹋勛圖厙 Board of Trustees Chair Will Weatherford today shared an update on the search to identify the ninth president in university history.
Weatherford announced that Mike Griffin, Board of Trustees vice chair, co-head of Florida Region and vice chairman of Savills, and a 窪蹋勛圖厙 alum, has agreed to serve as chair of the Presidential Search Committee. Griffin chaired the committee during 窪蹋勛圖厙s previous search in 2021-22. Weatherford said that the community input Griffin received, and knowledge gained during the last process, including holding nearly 40 listening sessions with various stakeholder groups, will give the university a significant head start in this search.
Joining Griffin on the search committee will be:
- Charbel Barakat 窪蹋勛圖厙 Board of Trustees; general counsel, D.R. Horton, Inc.
- Derrick Brooks Board member, EVP Corporate and Community Development, Vinik Sports Group; motivational speaker; NFL Hall of Famer; board member, Kforce, Inc.; president and founder, Derrick Brooks Charities
- Sandra Sandy Callahan 窪蹋勛圖厙 Board of Trustees; former chief financial officer, TECO Energy
- John Couris President and CEO, Tampa General Hospital
- Alexa Grubbs 窪蹋勛圖厙 third-year student, Judy Genshaft Honors College
- Oscar Horton 窪蹋勛圖厙 Board of Trustees; president and chief executive officer, Sun State International Trucks
- Ken Jones Florida Board of Governors; founder and managing partner, Third Lake Partners
- Merritt Martin 窪蹋勛圖厙 Foundation Board of Directors; vice president, Public Affairs and Strategic Communications; chief of staff, External Affairs, Moffitt Cancer Center
- Andrew Andy Mayts, Jr. 窪蹋勛圖厙 Financing Corp. and 窪蹋勛圖厙 Property Corp; partner, Public Sector co-chair, Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP
- Harold Hal Mullis Past chair, 窪蹋勛圖厙 Board of Trustees; president, Trenam Law; Board of Governors designee
- Jenifer Jasinski Schneider Interim dean, 窪蹋勛圖厙 College of Education; professor, 窪蹋勛圖厙 College of Education Literacy Studies
- Debbie Sembler 窪蹋勛圖厙 St. Petersburg Campus Board; vice chair, 窪蹋勛圖厙 Foundation Board of Directors
- Sylvia Wilson Thomas 窪蹋勛圖厙 vice president for Research & Innovation; president & CEO of the 窪蹋勛圖厙 Research Foundation, Inc.; professor of engineering
- Andrea Gonzmart Williams 窪蹋勛圖厙 Foundation Board of Directors; fifth-generation owner and operator, Columbia Restaurant Group
This outstanding group is committed to the future success of the University of South Florida, the Tampa Bay region and the state of Florida, and reflects broad representation from the universitys key stakeholder groups, including our students, faculty, alumni, partners and community business leaders, Weatherford said. As we embark on the next chapter in the history of our great university, there are many reasons for us to be excited about 窪蹋勛圖厙s trajectory. I firmly believe that 窪蹋勛圖厙s best days are ahead.
To assist the committee, 窪蹋勛圖厙 has retained the services of SP&A Executive Search, a highly regarded firm that worked with the university in its last presidential search.
窪蹋勛圖厙 will follow the process required by the State University Systems Board of Governors regulation for presidential searches. The committee is advisory and will be responsible for recommending a small number of qualified candidates to the 窪蹋勛圖厙 Board of Trustees, which will then interview the finalists and select the next president, pending final confirmation from the Board of Governors.
I am extremely grateful to our search committee for agreeing to make the significant commitment to serve as we look for the best possible candidate to become the ninth president in 窪蹋勛圖厙 history, Griffin said. Each committee member brings a different perspective to the process, but they all share a common goal of helping 窪蹋勛圖厙 continue to pursue excellence and build on our momentum as one of Americas leading research universities.
窪蹋勛圖厙 has launched a presidential search website that will be used to share updates, including information about upcoming opportunities for the community to provide input on the search.