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Presidential Goals 2024-2025

President Martha D. Saunders’ overarching goals include enhanced physical facilities and intellectual infrastructure and increased visibility for the University. These goals are intended to spur new energy and innovation in the pursuit of the University’s mission and vision. Each activity builds on well-established strategies that have and will continue to guide our actions.

Strategic Direction 1: Student Centered and Focused

Strives to deliver high-quality diverse learning opportunities and experiences, and aligns resources to deliver exceptional support services and learning opportunities.

Goals and Objectives

  • Add five full scholarships
  • Achieve 100% housing utilization of total available beds
  • Sustain and expand the pipeline for diverse STEM talent to fill critical jobs needs in the region and state
  • Enhance parent engagement for student success
  • Align academic engagement programs to enhance student retention and success
  • Maintain or increase total PBF metric score
  • Implement Strategic Enrollment Plan 2023-2028
  • Provide access to high-impacts practices for students
  • Build student resilience

Strategic Direction 2: Employee Success

Aims to attract, retain and develop high‐quality, diverse faculty and staff. Recognizes, rewards and celebrates faculty and staff for their contributions to student development, and embraces a culture of shared responsibility.

Goals and Objectives

  • Develop and implement plan for employee retention
  • Offer pedagogy workshops for faculty geared toward improving student success

Strategic Direction 3: Exceptional Academic Programming and Scholarship Aligned with State Needs

Builds programs of distinction that enhance UWF's reputation for educational excellence.

Goals and Objectives

  • Create new strategic plan for UWF Emerald Coast campus
  • Establish a UWF Center for Land Development (contingent on recurring funding)
  • Develop talent pipeline programming with major employers
  • Host Board of Governors meeting
  • Establish Water Quality Research Center (pending Governor’s approval)
  • Develop strategic plan for research and scholarly activity
  • Develop proposal for Ph.D. in Health & Human Performance Analytics
  • Enhance academic programming through Data and AI certificates

Strategic Direction 4: Community and Economic Engagement

Expands outreach and engagement in the community while maximizing the University's educational impact and visibility, as well as strengthening our collaborative partnerships involved with academic programs, research and other scholarly activities.

Goals and Objectives

  • Strengthen donor support
  • Strengthen alumni engagement
  • Continue Public Phase of Capital Campaign
  • Strengthen Florida Alumni Network
  • Strengthen campus and community partnership engagement
  • Feasibility study lab school (pending Governor’s approval)

Strategic Direction 5: Infrastructure

Promotes UWF’s properties as desirable destinations for educational, cultural, professional and personal activities.

Goals and Objectives

  • [Phase I] Landscape Master Plan
  • Implement Campus Master Plan
  • Build Gooden Center addition
  • Improve roads, parking lots and related infrastructure
  • Continue planning for on-campus athletic stadium
  • Demolish off-line residence halls
  • Develop plan for ERCCD expansion (Pending funding)
  • Develop plan for new residence hall

Strategic Direction 6: Operational Excellence

Focuses on effective and timely business and operational services informed by best practices and ensures student and employee safety and continuity of operations from natural disasters or catastrophic events. Assures the accountability of operations and outcomes to appropriate internal and external stakeholders.

Goals and Objectives

  • Increase automation for operational efficiency
  • Streamline process for curriculum changes

Strategic Direction 7: Culture of Inclusion and Civility

Maintains a welcoming, inclusive, equitable and respectful environment for employees, students, visitors, and service partners and ensuring a commitment to open-minded and tolerant civil discourse.

Goals and Objectives

  • Foster a climate of civil discourse according to the principles set forth in the State University System Free Expression Statement and the Board of Governors’ Civil Discourse Final Report