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The principle, “Leave things amended than you recovered them,” perfectly describes Martha Saunders’s tenure arsenic president of the University of West Florida.
Saunders, who has been UWF’s person since 2017 and is the longest-serving president successful the State University System, announced Monday, she was stepping down from the post.
During her clip arsenic president, she championed the instauration of much than 20 caller world programs, including offerings successful cybersecurity, mechanical engineering and an Intelligent Systems and Robotics Ph.D. programme successful collaboration with the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition.
To those who cognize and enactment with Saunders, she is truthful overmuch more.
“Dr. Saunders was an exceptionally good head and arsenic good academic. We some studied connection arsenic a vocation, and she was exceptionally good teacher,” recalled Jerry Maygarden, a erstwhile Pensacola mayor, metropolis assembly subordinate and subordinate of the Florida House of Representatives.
“We squad taught a people past term, sharing the teaching load. She paid attraction to item and had a keen involvement successful the students. She is going to beryllium tremendously missed by faculty, unit and students, I anticipation she volition instrumentality to the module going guardant but that remains to beryllium seen.”
University of West Florida: President Martha Saunders resigns
Maygarden besides noted the university’s enrollment maturation nether Saunders’s leadership. Defying nationalist trends, UWF achieved grounds enrollment each twelvemonth since 2021 − a 14% summation implicit the past 5 years.
“We’re nearing 15,000 students, that’s larger than the University of Notre Dame successful Indiana,” Maygarden said. “We’re successful the Panhandle − an country not associated with a ample colonisation − surrounded by the authorities of Alabama and the Gulf of America, and inactive experienced dependable maturation with her arsenic the leader.”
Alonzie Scott, who serves connected the UWF Board of Trustees, said Saunders volition apt beryllium remembered arsenic 1 of the university’s champion presidents.
“I came connected committee astir 7 years ago, and we’ve seen enrollment summation each year, not 1 year, but each twelvemonth of Dr. Saunders’s presidency,” helium said, echoing Maygarden. “We’ve besides launched the engineering program, and our field lodging is successful the 90th percentile for pupil occupancy – nationwide.”
Scott besides spoke astir the maturation of the university’s intercollegiate diversion programs, which are among the champion successful Division II.
“She’s besides hired exceptional module and unit members, who are focused connected helping students get jobs erstwhile they postgraduate oregon go entrepreneurs,” Scott said, adding Saunders’ replacement volition person immoderate large shoes to fill.
Some different UWF achievements nether Saunders tutelage include:
UWF becoming a top-performing nationalist assemblage successful the Florida Board of Governors performance-based backing metrics
Spearheaded the constitution of UWF’s Center for Cybersecurity
Oversaw the improvement of Florida’s archetypal bachelor’s successful cybersecurity grade programme designated arsenic a National Center of Academic Excellence successful Cybersecurity by the National Security Agency and U.S. Department of Homeland Security
The launching of a civilian engineering programme this fall
Construction of the Darrell Gooden Center, the Lab Sciences Annex and the Sandy Sansing Sports Medicine Center
Ranking successful the apical 15 nationalist determination institutions successful the South by U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges for 5 consecutive years
Multiple nationalist military-friendly instauration designations
Grown UWF’s concern excavation by 50%, providing fiscal stableness and opportunities for aboriginal growth
Under Saunders’s leadership, UWF besides has met oregon exceeded each show modular acceptable by the state, said Sen. Don Gaetz.
“UWF graduates person the champion accidental to get employment implicit immoderate different higher acquisition instauration successful the state. All of that is due to the fact that of Martha Saunders’ committedness and capability. She leaves the University of West Florida successful triumph,” Gaetz said.
Scott agreed.
“Whoever comes successful down Dr. Saunders, if they are not looking to rise the show standards we person contiguous oregon if immoderate of these metrics drop, the assemblage needs to clasp them accountable due to the fact that that idiosyncratic is not doing the occupation they’re expected to beryllium doing successful the position,” said Scott, the archetypal Black elder enforcement successful the 79-year past of the Office of Naval Research.
Sandy Sansing, a UWF alum and supporter, said Saunders did a phenomenal occupation representing and starring UWF.
“From the students, module and alumni, everyone I cognize wholly loved and respected her for the occupation she did. I americium truthful pleased for the fantastic mode she improved each metrics that the authorities mandated and led UWF to the top,” Sansing said.
Elizabeth Turner-Ward, a UWF alum and existent postgraduate student, said Saunders fostered a assemblage focused connected excellence.
“It’s a assemblage wherever students from each walks of beingness felt welcomed into. It has been a assemblage that pushed everyone to beryllium their champion together,” said Turner-Ward.
“The types of programs Dr. Saunders pushed with high-impact practices and undergraduate probe person made a important interaction connected students’ careers and lives. I americium grateful I’ve gotten to be the assemblage nether her leadership, and I greatly respect her. She volition beryllium missed by the pupil body.”
Turner-Ward said Saunders has shown large dignity during caller challenging situations.
Saunders' committedness to students’ occurrence extended beyond UWF.
Pensacola State College President Ed Meadows praised Saunders for assisting with the college’s Bachelor of Applied Science grade successful Cybersecurity.
“Before Martha go the UWF president, she was the vice president of world affairs and she helped wide the way for america to person support for our bachelor’s grade successful cybersecurity,” Meadows recalled, adding the 2 besides worked unneurotic connected respective articulation agreements including the PSC2UWF Student Partnership Program.
“I person ever enjoyed Martha’s wit and wit, peculiarly successful meetings with her and Pensacola Christian College president erstwhile we talked astir however to beryllium amended partners successful our community. Those gathering were ever held with the extremity of providing what is champion for students, and I person ever appreciated her for that.”
Saunders made the Pensacola assemblage a amended spot to live, Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves said.
“Dr. Saunders didn’t conscionable support momentum astatine the UWF, she made an aspirational imaginativeness – higher performance, bigger enrollment and unprecedented occurrence – a reality,” helium said. “Her bequest volition ever beryllium defined by success, spot and the information that she ushered UWF to unprecedented heights.”
Suzanne Lewis, a erstwhile UWF trustee who service connected the committee for 14 years, said Saunders’ brought innovative programs to the assemblage specified arsenic giving undergraduate students entree to probe studies and internships.
“Giving students the accidental to enactment successful internships successful their fields of survey improved their chances of being hired aft graduation,” said Lewis, who added Saunders’ connection skills made her relatable to UWF students, faculty, unit and assemblage members.
“She was ever responsive to the community. I deliberation the community, arsenic a whole, volition amusement Martha their gratitude for each the things she has done,” Lewis said.
This nonfiction primitively appeared connected Pensacola News Journal: University of West Florida President Martha Saunders resigns
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