MARTHA D. SAUNDERS
PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA, PENSACOLA
President since 2017, Saunders began her career at UWF in the 1980s as a faculty member in the communications department. After leaving the university to become the first woman president at two other institutions, she returned to UWF in 2013 as provost and executive vice president. UWF, with more than 1,800 full-time faculty and staff and nearly 13,000 students, is the only university with a primary campus in an eight-county area of Northwest Florida.
| EDUCATION | University of Southern Mississippi (BA), University of Georgia (MA), Florida State University (Ph.D.) |
| PROFESSIONAL EVOLUTION | I began my career at an ad agency in Baltimore and spent a number of years as a communications professional. I was later invited to teach part time at a new high school and start a journalism program. I found I really enjoyed teaching. |
| SOMETHING SURPRISING | At one time, I was a state-level soccer referee. |
| FLORIDA ISSUE | Kindergarten readiness and professional readiness |
| ALTERNATE CAREER? | Midwife |