Dr. Devin Stephenson begins his tenure as Florida Polytechnic University’s second president on Monday, July 8.
Those who meet Dr. Devin Stephenson quickly understand two things: 1) He’s ready to take on and elevate every part of the Florida Poly experience, and 2) being on his team means you’re committing yourself to excellence.
Stephenson begins his tenure as the second president of Florida Polytechnic University today, July 8, and said he’s ready to fully immerse himself in the University’s ecosystem and working to maximize its potential.
“For me, this is a lot more than just a job; it’s about helping people,” he said. “Higher education is the absolute best place to help people become something more than they have been.”
Since his selection as Florida Poly’s next president in April, Stephenson has been building connections in the Lakeland, Florida, area and orienting himself to the strengths and challenges of the only 100% STEM university in the state.
“Through my entire career, I’ve been known as a builder,” he said. “Florida Poly doesn’t need a fixer. I’m coming here to help the University grow and add depth to the institution as far as fundraising and building friends, and it requires time and someone who has experience in doing so.”
As he hits the ground running, Stephenson has already identified several immediate goals. Primary among them is increasing student enrollment, which then necessitates an increase in infrastructure and in funds.
“That puts a real challenge on my back,” he said. “That growth has to be done to make this a vibrant campus for 3,000 students, and if we can make it to 5,000 – that’s great.”
Additionally, Stephenson said he plans to clearly outline what academic programs are needed to increase campus enrollment.
“I was thrilled to see the NSF grant that came to Dr. (Chris) Kelley to work with Parkinson’s,” he said. “We need to innovate and develop more programming in health sciences in partnership with the medical community, but it has to be done methodically and with quality.”
Stephenson said he also plans to work with the academic team and Board of Trustees to examine current state performance-based funding metrics for the University and consider ways to improve Florida Poly’s statistics.
“I’m going to operate with integrity, respect all people, and be very transparent,” he said. “We’re going to make an even bigger name for this University, I can promise you.”
This will be supported by the strong foundation that was already in place upon his arrival, he said.
“I have the opportunity to stand on the shoulders of Dr. (Randy) Avent and the administration,” Stephenson said. “My goal is to exceed where we have been at Florida Poly. The VPs are excellent. They do a phenomenal job and there’s more that we can do.”
Stephenson’s journey to the Florida Poly presidency began when he was a young boy growing up in Alabama. His parents underscored to Stephenson and his sister, MaLea, that higher education was critical to adding value to their educational experience.
“We both knew higher ed was going to be in the cards for us,” Stephenson said.
The classically trained pianist received an associate of science degree from Walker Junior College and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Birmingham Southern College.
“I went to work at an institution as director of financial aid and director of admission and I earned two degrees from the University of Alabama, focused on the administration of higher education,” Stephenson said.
Both of these degrees, a master’s and a doctorate, were singularly focused on developing leaders of higher education institutions.
“During my undergraduate studies in business administration, I focused all my attention on how the organization runs as a business, and my master’s and doctorate degrees helped me understand the mechanics of higher education,” he said.
Stephenson went on to succeed at all levels of higher education leadership, including more than 15 years of experience as a president and CEO, most recently as president of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida.
“I loved it so much in my early career that I decided if I worked hard at it, I could be an effective leader,” he said.
The next step in his journey begins this week as Stephenson makes the move to Lakeland with his wife, Judy, and Simon, the couple’s beloved papillon. Their adult children, Jon Stephenson and JuliAnne Bittle, will be with them to help with the move.
“The last month has been extremely hectic,” Stephenson said.
“I didn’t realize how much I despise packing,” he joked.
His first official day on campus will be Monday, July 15, but he is already full-speed ahead.
“Vince Lombardi said you’ll never catch perfection, but if you run after perfection, you’ll catch excellence,” Stephenson said. “That’s what we’ll do.”
Contact:
Lydia Guzmán
Director of Communications
863-874-8557
