The University of West Florida will hold its first public listening session Tuesday afternoon as it launches a national search for the university’s next permanent president.
The session is part of a process announced last week, when Board of Trustees Chair Rebecca Matthews named a 15‑member Presidential Search Committee.
“As a regional University, UWF provides dynamic educational experiences to equip all students for success on campus and beyond, making it uniquely positioned to attract an exceptional leader who will usher the University into its next chapter of growth,” Board Chair Rebecca Matthews wrote on Friday. “... As we embark on this important search, I express my gratitude to the presidential search committee for their dedication and willingness to serve.”
How the process works
Under Florida’s system, each university’s Board of Trustees conducts the search and votes on a preferred candidate. The statewide Board of Governors must confirm that choice. At UWF, the Presidential Search Committee will serve in an advisory capacity — reviewing applicants and forwarding an unranked list of finalists to the trustees, who make the formal selection. State law allows universities to keep applicants’ identities confidential until 21 days before any finalist interviews or a hiring vote, when those names and materials must be released.
To help run the process, UWF retained Funk Associates, an executive search firm. Applications and nominations are being accepted now; materials received by Oct. 31 will receive full consideration. The university expects to review finalists in December, select a president in January and have a new leader in place by February 2026.
Who is on the committee
The search committee brings together trustees, faculty, and students, alongside business and civic leaders and a retired Navy captain.
The committee chair is Zack Smith, a UWF trustee and senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation. A lifelong Pensacola resident, Smith also serves on the Pensacola State College District Board of Trustees and holds a seat on the First Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission.
Other committee members include Student Government President Trista Bennett; faculty representatives David Ramsey and Heather Riddell; former Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward; restaurateur and historic preservation leader Collier Merrill; and First Judicial Circuit State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden. The full roster is available online.
What’s next
Tuesday’s listening session will be held at 1 p.m. in Room 218 of Building 234 on the Pensacola campus, with a virtual option available for those who can't attend in person. A second session will follow on Wednesday. The committee will use feedback from those sessions to finalize a leadership profile and guide recruitment. It will then recommend an unranked slate of finalists to the Board of Trustees, which will conduct public interviews before voting on a preferred candidate. The Board of Governors would then consider confirmation at a later meeting.
