Seth Johnson
Santa Fe College President Paul Broadie II announced Tuesday the selection of Dr. J. Nathaniel “Nate” Southerland as its new provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Southerland will start in the role on March 11. He and Dr. Alice Murillo were selected as finalists and visited campus in late January, holding forums with faculty and students.
Southerland is from the St. Augustine area and currently serves as assistant vice president for workforce development at St. Johns River State College. Before his current role, he served as provost for four and a half years at Coconino Community College in Flagstaff, Arizona.
“I am thrilled to be joining Santa Fe College at this pivotal moment and look forward to working alongside President Broadie and the faculty and staff as we continue Santa Fe’s long tradition of excellence while growing in our capacity to meet the needs of our students and community stakeholders,” Southerland said in a press release.
Broadie said in the release that Southerland’s experience and past history of coordinating with community stakeholders gives him the skillset to lead academic affairs at Santa Fe College.
Broadie said the college will need Southerland as it launches a variety of new initiatives, including a semiconductor program, Automotive Technology Training Center and the Cellon Institute for Skilled Trades and Advanced Technology.
The provost selection comes almost three years after former provost Dr. Edward Bonahue resigned and follows two separate search processes. Interim provosts, Dr. Lisa Armour and Dr. Mercedes Quiroga, have filled the role since Bonahue left to become president at Suffolk County Community College.
The first provost search yielded three candidates in spring 2023 but no selection. Santa Fe College spokesperson Jay Anderson told Mainstreet in September that the first search revealed how the provost role has expanded.
“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,” Anderson said in an interview.
As a result, Santa Fe College decided to put Dr. Jodi Long, one of the provost finalists, into a newly created vice provost role and continue searching. Long will stay in the role as Southerland comes on board, providing extra support for the provost office.
“This is an exciting time to be working side-by-side with our government, business, nonprofit, K-12, and university partners to set a new bar for transforming the lives of individuals and the communities in which we live, work, and serve,” Southerland said in the release.