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Thursday, March 28, 2024
<p>Juan Rodriguez, Student Senate treasurer, discusses UF’s strengths and qualities with other students during a forum on the presidential search</p>

Juan Rodriguez, Student Senate treasurer, discusses UF’s strengths and qualities with other students during a forum on the presidential search

Attendees at a series of meetings Friday discussed UF’s character and the qualities its new president should have.

Faculty members cited UF’s affordability, student quality and research opportunities as notable strengths of the university.

Later, the group of about 40 debated whether the new president’s background should be academic.

“We need a strong president who will really talk to the legislature,” said College of Engineering professor Fazil Najafi.

People at the public forum talked about the importance of the president maintaining a balance between academics and athletics.

The roughly 20 people who attended referenced the diversity of UF’s Student Body and international presence. The new president, residents thought, should be an effective communicator who is creative enough to bring new funding to the university.

He or she also needs to be approachable, value student engagement and be aware of the issues facing higher education.

Similarly, the 20 students who attended the student forum agreed that UF’s next president needs to be extremely student-oriented.

“It’s a little frustrating when they say students are a focus and there’s one student on the search committee,” said Dustin Pfundheller, a 26-year-old dental student.

He and Casey LaMarche, a 27-year-old chemical engineering graduate student, thought it was important to choose a president who will recognize that graduate and professional students are as important to UF as undergraduates.

“It’s still important to me that [all students] at UF feel like their president is doing good stuff for them,” LaMarche said.

Contact Julia Glum at jglum@alligator.org. Contact Erin Jester at ejester@alligator.org.

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Juan Rodriguez, Student Senate treasurer, discusses UF’s strengths and qualities with other students during a forum on the presidential search

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