Statements
Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni, Donors and Friends,
I hope everyone is having a good summer. As we come to the end of our 2022 Fiscal Year, I would like to update you on a few University of Florida topics:
1. President’s Search: The search for the University of Florida’s 13th president is moving forward, and so I’d like to bring you up to speed on the latest news about our progress.
Based on the work and recommendation of our Presidential Search Committee, the UF’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously on June 16 to approve the qualities and characteristics we will seek in UF‘s next president. That document can be found here. The Board also voted in favor of securing Mercer as our executive compensation consulting firm to help determine the appropriate compensation level for the next president.
Going forward, the search committee will begin vetting potential candidates. When this phase is complete, the search committee will recommend a small number of highly qualified candidates to the Board of Trustees. The Board will interview the finalists and select the next president of the University of Florida, with the Board of Governors of the State University System ratifying. Please visit the Presidential Search website for more information and announcements about the search.
2. UF Rankings: Also, in case you missed it, I wanted to bring to your attention a recent ranking announcement: The University of Florida ranks first among public universities and second among all universities in a new report that evaluates which U.S. universities are best at moving new discoveries from the lab and into the real world through research commercialization and STEM graduates. Other universities in the Top 10 in this area that UF ranked ahead of include Stanford, MIT, Harvard and UCLA. The full story can be found here . This ranking is proof positive of UF’s economic benefit to the state and the nation and — perhaps our most important mission of all — our ability to prepare students for successful futures.
3. Research Spending: In other research-related news, UF has reached a significant milestone of which we should all be proud: $1 billion in research spending. Crossing the $1 billion threshold puts UF in an elite group of universities. This tremendous accomplishment is a testament to the incredible efforts carried out by our hard-working faculty and, like the ranking mentioned above, speaks to the university’s positive impact on people in every walk of life.
4. Record Fundraising: We are closing the 2022 fiscal year with record philanthropy raising $775+ million and securing a total of $4+ billion in the University of Florida Go Greater campaign. UF is currently ranked No. 4 among public university in fundraising and No. 1 in the Association of American Universities (the group of top private and public research universities in the country) for the percentage of alumni (20%) who give back to the University.
5. Performance Funding: Yesterday, the Board of Governors announced that UF leads all State University System institutions in performance funding at $109.5 million, as well as in four-year graduation rates with 74.7%.
6. Op-Ed: Finally, I wanted to share with you an article written by UF President Kent Fuchs and David Bloom, immediate past Faculty Senate Chair, and originally published in the Tampa Bay Times regarding several UF-related issues that have lately been in the news.
Sincerely,
Mori Hosseini
Chair, University of Florida Board of Trustees
Key Links:
Future president's qualities and characteristics: https://presidentsearch.ufl.edu/qualifications/
Presidential search website: https://presidentsearch.ufl.edu/
UF rankings story: https://news.ufl.edu/2022/05/heartland-forward-ranking/