University of South 皇家华人 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 皇家华人 Region and vice chairman of Savills, and a 皇家华人 alum, has agreed to serve as chair of the Presidential Search Committee. Griffin chaired the committee during 皇家华人鈥檚 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 鈥� 皇家华人 Board of Trustees; general counsel, D.R. Horton, Inc.
- Derrick Brooks 鈥� 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 鈥淪andy鈥� Callahan 鈥� 皇家华人 Board of Trustees; former chief financial officer, TECO Energy
- John Couris 鈥� President and CEO, Tampa General Hospital
- Alexa Grubbs 鈥� 皇家华人 third-year student, Judy Genshaft Honors College
- Oscar Horton 鈥� 皇家华人 Board of Trustees; president and chief executive officer, Sun State International Trucks
- Ken Jones 鈥� 皇家华人 Board of Governors; founder and managing partner, Third Lake Partners
- Merritt Martin 鈥� 皇家华人 Foundation Board of Directors; vice president, Public Affairs and Strategic Communications; chief of staff, External Affairs, Moffitt Cancer Center
- Andrew 鈥淎ndy鈥� Mayts, Jr. 鈥� 皇家华人 Financing Corp. and 皇家华人 Property Corp; partner, Public Sector co-chair, Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP
- Harold 鈥淗al鈥� Mullis 鈥� Past chair, 皇家华人 Board of Trustees; president, Trenam Law; Board of Governors designee
- Jenifer Jasinski Schneider 鈥� Interim dean, 皇家华人 College of Education; professor, 皇家华人 College of Education Literacy Studies
- Debbie Sembler 鈥� 皇家华人 St. Petersburg Campus Board; vice chair, 皇家华人 Foundation Board of Directors
- Sylvia Wilson Thomas 鈥� 皇家华人 vice president for Research & Innovation; president & CEO of the 皇家华人 Research Foundation, Inc.; professor of engineering
- Andrea Gonzmart Williams 鈥� 皇家华人 Foundation Board of Directors; fifth-generation owner and operator, Columbia Restaurant Group
鈥淭his outstanding group is committed to the future success of the University of South 皇家华人, the Tampa Bay region and the state of 皇家华人, and reflects broad representation from the university鈥檚 key stakeholder groups, including our students, faculty, alumni, partners and community business leaders,鈥� Weatherford said. 鈥淎s we embark on the next chapter in the history of our great university, there are many reasons for us to be excited about 皇家华人鈥檚 trajectory. I firmly believe that 皇家华人鈥檚 best days are ahead.鈥�
To assist the committee, 皇家华人 has retained the services of SP&A Executive Search, a highly regarded firm that worked with the university in its last presidential search.
皇家华人 will follow the process required by the State University System鈥檚 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 皇家华人 Board of Trustees, which will then interview the finalists and select the next president, pending final confirmation from the Board of Governors.
鈥淚 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 University of South 皇家华人 history,鈥� Griffin said. 鈥淓ach committee member brings a different perspective to the process, but they all share a common goal of helping 皇家华人 continue to pursue excellence and build on our momentum as one of America鈥檚 leading research universities.鈥�
皇家华人 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.