Alexander Cartwright

President, University of Central Florida, Orlando

With more than 68,000 students, UCF is the largest university by enrollment in Florida. It also has more than 12,000 employees and an operating budget of $2 billion. Cartwright was named president in 2020, just after the COVID-19 pandemic began.

EDUCATION: University of Iowa (BS), University of Iowa (Ph.D.)

IF I WERE GOVERNOR: U.S. News and World Report has ranked Florida as No. 1 in the country for education for seven consecutive years. My request would be to further expand on this recognition through continued investment.

MENTOR: I previously had the opportunity to work with Satish Tripathi, president at the University at Buffalo, and his commitment to excellence has stuck with me. He understands how to take an institution from good to great through a focus on building from strengths and being willing to make tough decisions on what to invest in based on that. I share his belief that research and innovation are foundational to a university’s excellence.

READING: I often recommend Start with Why, by Simon Sinek, and Good to Great, by Jim Collins, two of my favorite authors. Both books describe simple concepts that can transform our framing of issues and ourselves so we can have a greater impact.