Georgia college head Michael Shannon confirmed as UNF's next president

Governors of Florida’s State University System approved Michael P. Shannon as the University of North Florida’s eighth president September 30, trusting him to amplify UNF’s gains in enrollment and academic standing.

“We ended up with the best finalist,” Alan Levine, chair of the system’s Board of Governors, said after acknowledging that other finalists for the job withdrew rather than risk being publicly identified but not hired.  

Shannon, who has been president of the University of North Georgia since 2023, will start January 4 at UNF with a contract through 2030 worth up to about $1.2 million yearly.

“I am deeply grateful for the confidence of the UNF Board of Trustees and Florida Board of Governors and for the opportunity to serve this great

university,” Shannon said in a release UNF circulated.

More: UNF trustees OK University of North Georgia head as president-elect

“UNF is at an inflection point and has tremendous momentum,” Shannon said. “Now we have an opportunity to build on that thoughtfully and boldly, strengthening the student experience, investing in our people and growing our impact without losing what makes UNF special.”

UNF has about 18,900 students, up roughly 7% from the previous year, with aims in its strategic plan to grow to 25,000 students and improve its research profile to an elite R1 from its current R2 status.

Before the governors voted, UNF trustees Chair Steve Moore praised Shannon as “a man of strong character, a natural leader” and “an excellent choice” to lead the university. Shannon was also a faculty member at Georgia Tech and was its interim chief business officer before joining North Georgia.

A retired Army lieutenant colonel with a Ph.D. in nuclear and radiological engineering, during the governors’ meeting the onetime West Point instructor leaned into the idea that UNF’s students must actively seize their futures to get the most from them.

“We and our students were never created to be average,” he told the governors as they met in Gainesville.

He has repeatedly expressed enthusiasm about Northeast Florida and told the governors that “UNF and Jacksonville are spectacular.”  He said he wanted to help the university evolve from the commuter-school identity it held during much of its first half-century of operation.

In written remarks in UNF’s release after he was confirmed, Shannon said: “I believe strongly in what UNF and Jacksonville can accomplish together. UNF should be a central part of Jacksonville’s growing ecosystem, and we can do that by building relationships that create opportunities for our students, strengthen our faculty and research and make UNF an indispensable partner in Jacksonville’s future.”

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Georgia college head Michael Shannon confirmed as UNF's next president