The University of Florida recently announced the searches for permanent deans of the College of Arts (COTA) and Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, while also naming an acting director for its Honors Program and assistant provost for Student Success. 

Dean searches 

According to UF administrative memos published on Jan. 20 and Friday, Jan. 23, search advisory committees have been formed help in the search for the next dean of the COTA and College of Engineering.  

Hub Brown, dean of the College of Journalism and Communications, will chair the search advisory committee for the COTA dean, with help from the executive search firm, Isaacson, Miller, according to the Jan. 23 memo.  

Other members of the COTA search advisory committee include Tim Altmeyer, Darius Brown, Jenny Hill, Melissa Hyde and Megan Sheridan, according to the memo.  

A quick Google search shows that Altmeyer, Brown, Hill, Hyde and Sheridan all work within the College of Arts at UF.  

Jennier Setlow has served as interim dean of the COTA since Jan. 2, 2024. She replaced Onye Ozuzu, who stepped down from her position as dean on Jan. 1, 2024. 

Before assuming the interim dean position, Setlow was the associate dean for academic and student affairs within the COTA.  

Meanwhile, David Norton, vice president for research at UF, will chair the Engineering Dean Search Advisory Committee, according to the Jan. 20 memo, with assistance also from Isaacson, Miller. 

The other 10 members of the engineering dean search committee include Jennifer Bridge, Virginia “Ginger” Gibson, Juan Gilbert, Sebastian Sobrino-Gonzalez, Emily Gunger, Jose Fortes, Kevin Jones, Jia “Peter” Liu, Curtis Taylor and Tim Townsend.  

A Google search shows that most of these committee members have some sort of involvement within the College of Engineering at UF, whether it be through teaching or leadership roles.  

According to the memo, the engineering dean search committee “will review candidates for in-person interviews this spring.” 

Dr. Warren Dixon has served as interim dean of the College of Engineering since July 2025. He is currently serving a one-year appointment, according to a July 2025 UF administrative memo.  

Acting director of Honors Program  

UF leaders also announced in a Wednesday, Jan. 21, administrative memo that Dr. Kellie Roberts has been named the acting director of the Honors Program, effective Jan. 16. Roberts succeeds Dr. Melissa Johnson, who served over three years as interim director of the Honors Program.  

Before becoming the acting director of the Honors Program, Roberts was the longtime director of UF’s William and Grace Dial Center for Speech and Communications Studies. The memo states that she remains at the Dial Center as an Emerita Instructional professor. 

Roberts, a UF alumnus, has taught communication courses across the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Honors Program and Warrington College of Business, the memo said. She has also served as faculty adviser for PREVIEW and as UF’s director of forensics, leading the nationally competitive speech and debate team.  

According to the memo, Roberts “will serve as acting director of the Honors Program until a new director is in place.” 

“Over the years, I’ve enjoyed working with Honors in a variety of roles and projects, and I’m excited to join this incredible team again during a major transition – moving our headquarters to Honors Village and expanding programming and academic offerings,” she said in the memo. 

Assistant Provost of Student Success 

Also, on Wednesday, Jan. 21, Nigel Richardson was promoted to Assistant Provost for Student Success in the UF Office of Student Success, effective Jan. 2. He previously served as the senior director of Advising in the student success office. 

According to a Jan. 21 UF administrative memo, Richardson will keep the responsibilities of the senior director of Advising in his new position, “where he will support advising and student success efforts, strengthen communication, and foster collaboration across the university.” 

“I am excited to collaborate with the advising community and university leadership to strengthen undergraduate advising, enhance support for advisors, and promote student success,” he said in the memo.  

Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.