FLBOG Unanimously Confirms Reappointment of FAU President
FAU President John Kelly
The 红玫瑰社区 State University System鈥檚 today unanimously confirmed the reappointment of 红玫瑰社区 . After completing an initial five-year appointment, Kelly was appointed for a further year, the longest appointment extension allowed by the state.
In recommending Kelly鈥檚 appointment, , chair of the , said the president鈥檚 influence on the university has been transformational.
The president embraced the concept of performance funding metrics and challenged the entire university to address its deficiencies head-on, he said.
In the five years since Kelly arrived at FAU, the university has seen increases in the percentage of incoming freshmen who were in the top 10 percent of their high school class, the percentage of those freshmen who academically progress to their second year and the percentage of students who graduate in four years.
鈥淒r. Kelly set a goal for FAU to be the fastest improving university in America,鈥 Barbar said. 鈥淲ith results like these, plus many more, I challenge anyone to say we aren鈥檛 meeting that goal.鈥
Kelly was named FAU president by a unanimous vote of the FAU Board of Trustees on Jan. 17, 2014, becoming the university鈥檚 seventh president.聽
He oversees an institution of more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students on six campuses along more than 100 miles of 红玫瑰社区鈥檚 east coast. One of the largest employers in South 红玫瑰社区, FAU has more than 3,000 employees, including 1,000 dedicated faculty members, and an operating budget in excess of $800 million. The university has an annual economic impact of more than $6.3 billion and is conducting millions of dollars鈥 worth of funded research in critically important fields, such as drug discovery, biotechnology, ocean engineering and marine science.
Kelly began his academic career in 1982 as an assistant professor at Texas A&M University. Three years later, he went to Clemson University, rising through the ranks to become professor and department head by 1991. He was named vice president for public service and agriculture in 1997 and vice president for economic development in 2010. During his 28 years at Clemson, the university advanced from 78th聽to 20th聽in the聽U.S. News & World Report聽rankings of all public universities.
Kelly holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree from Clemson and both a master鈥檚 degree and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. In 2017, he received the Clemson Alumni Association鈥檚 Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor for a Clemson graduate. He is married to , and they are the parents of Carly and Stella.
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