Santa Fe restarts provost search, changes interim 

Dr. Mercedes Quiroga, new interim provost of Santa Fe College, speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the the Ralph W. Cellon Institute for Skilled Trades and Advanced Manufacturing.
Dr. Mercedes Quiroga, new interim provost of Santa Fe College, speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the the Ralph W. Cellon Institute for Skilled Trades and Advanced Manufacturing.
Photo by Seth Johnson

Santa Fe College launched a new provost search on Monday after amending the position during a spring search that netted three finalists.  

The finalists visited campus in April and May, but Jay Anderson, Santa Fe’s assistant to the president, said the college began to realize how large a purview the provost oversees.  

“I think one of the things that was revealed during the original search process is how big of a job the position of provost is at any institution,” Anderson said in an interview. “As we continue to grow and evolve with the changing landscape of higher education, it became clear that we needed to make sure we were structured to handle things now plus moving into the future.” 

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SF decided to create a new position of vice provost to assist and restart the search with altered parameters to account for shifts in higher education. Dr. Jodi Long, one of the three finalists, accepted the position of vice provost. She has worked at Santa Fe since 2004.  

Anderson said she will remain in that position after a permanent provost is selected.  

Dr. Lisa Armour has served as interim provost since 2021 when former provost Edward Bonahue left to become the president of Suffolk County Community College. Over the summer, Armour returned to her position as vice president of the Office for Institutional Effectiveness and Strategic Planning. In her place, SF hired Dr. Mercedes Quiroga to take over as interim provost until the provost search ends.  

Carried out by AGB Search, the new search hopes to have finalists visit in January 2024 with a permanent provost selected soon after and in place for the next academic year. SF used the same search firm to find President Paul Broadie II in 2019. 

Quiroga has worked within Florida’s higher education system for decades. Most recently, she served as campus president of Broward College before retiring to the Gainesville area, Anderson said. She joined SF on July 1 as interim provost.  

At a groundbreaking ceremony, Quiroga said the college takes pride in its great academics and affordable price.  

“Although we are proud of our success, we know that to remain a premier institution, we must always look for new and innovative ways of supporting our students and providing the curriculum to help them be successful in the classroom and later on in their careers,” Quiroga said. 

Anderson said SF aims to remain a renowned institution with students from around the world and hopes to continue with the restructured provost role.  

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