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Devin Stephenson left his job as president of Northwest Florida College on July 5 and arrived as Florida Polytechnic University’s new president two days later — something akin to jumping onto an already-moving treadmill running at full speed.
“Everyone said, ‘You’re crazy. You need to take some time to decompress,’” said Stephenson. “I needed to be here, and the fall was coming. The fall was running at us like a train in a tunnel.”
He is now leading the only dedicated science, technology, engineering and mathematics institution in Florida’s public university system.
Administrative action plan
Stephenson spent two months adhering to his leadership philosophy, which he calls “The Four Ls:” look, listen, learn, then launch.
During that time, he crafted an administrative action plan, which he says dovetails with FPU’s strategic plan. It was presented to the FPU board in September. There are four points to it.
Impact: He wants to create a better awareness of the university, including creating local partnerships and having a global voice, particularly through the Fulbright Scholars program. He wants to expand the university’s economic impact on the area by bringing in new revenue streams, including federal dollars. He also is talking with local leaders to advance the long-term plan for an innovation district anchored by the university.
Educational excellence: He wants to maintain academic rigor by continuing to attract high-achieving students and taking care of them through wraparound services to help maintain their mental and emotional balance. He also wants to continue to attract top-tier faculty, noting that several professors have National Science Foundation grants to produce quality research on everything from Parkinson’s Disease to easing gridlock on Interstate 4.
Culture: He wants to create an atmosphere of care, respect and transparency in every respect and be a principle-driven leader with a cohesive, selfless leadership team. He envisions a vibrant campus life that includes possibly offering college athletic programs, along with working with local leaders to develop nearby housing, restaurants and stores.
One of his top priorities is to finish the Student Achievement Center, slated to be one of the largest facilities on campus.
Growth: While the university’s updated fall enrollment number is more than 1,770 — a 10% increase over last year and more than the 6% increase that had been predicted — Stephenson wants to see that number up to 3,000 in the next few years.
One way to attract more students, he said, is by creating partnerships within the state university system and the local school district. He said creating those bridges would help to “identify those really, really bright STEM students and somehow create some kind of magnet program for them.”
Dropout rates
Stephenson said he recognizes the challenges the university faces, including a high dropout rate. He has several plans to deal with that issue.
According to U.S. News and World Report, FPU has a 31% 4-year graduation rate, the lowest among Florida’s state university system. Florida State University has the highest at 74%.
Stephenson said the rigorous coursework squeezed into two-day-a-week classes might be part of the problem, and he is looking into ways to change the schedule.
Exit ramp: Another way to help is to provide more programs that students can transition into if they find, for example, that engineering isn’t a good fit but a science program might be more to their liking.
“We don’t have exit ramps, like a lot of universities have,” he said. There, “if a student doesn’t make it in engineering, they might go over to the school of education, or over here into this other school of political science or whatever. We don’t have that here because we are a STEM institution.”
Increase science offerings: He would like to add medicine majors to the science department — a field with great need. He noted that Orlando Health is about to open a new hospital and AdventHealth recently announced plans for a south Lakeland facility, although it needs to pass muster with the City Commission.
“I’ve had some dialogue with the Lakeland Regional CEO about expanding our role and how we can work with them, even,” he said. “So, I think that that tree is ripe.”
In addition, FPU recently hired a new vice president for student success and student affairs.
Hiring controversy
Stephenson was selected in a contentious 7-6 vote of the university’s Board of Trustees in April. When he was hired, three board members quit in protest, saying he had no STEM experience and there was a better candidate.
Stephenson said he hates that it happened, but he is moving forward. But then he hesitated at using the word hate.
“The real word is, I think, I’m sorry that they resigned,” he said. “You know, they resigned without even giving me a chance.”
He said he considers himself a decent leader.
“Here’s the deal. I’ve never allowed what others say about me to determine who I’m going to be and the quality of the organization and its success level. I’m just not going to do that,” Stephenson said. “If someone throws a brick at me, I’m gonna simply put that brick, pick it up, throw some mortar on it and build that foundation stronger.”
He said he was sorry his family, including his 97-year-old mother, had to see some of the comments about him, calling them unconscionable.
Successes: Stephenson touted his successes at Northwest Florida State College, which has 5,000 students on seven campuses, and said he hopes to replicate it at FPU.
- Raising $73 million in grants in five years.
- Growing the foundation from $50 million to $67 million.
- Bringing the college back to pre-COVID-level enrollment.
- Eight semesters of double-digit enrollment increases.
Team success: He said part of his success at every college or university he has worked at has been to surround himself with a good team of people, using the “Four T” method of leadership: train people, trust them, turn them loose to do a great job, and then thank them.
DeSantis pick?
Another criticism was the false rumor that he might be a personal pick of Gov. Ron DeSantis, like Richard Corcoran was at New College in Sarasota. Corcoran has dismantled many programs at the honors college and seen students and faculty leave.
Appointment: DeSantis appointed Stephenson to the Southern Region Education Board’s Executive Council, a nonpartisan think tank of policymakers and educators founded in 1948. He represents Florida.
Stephenson said it’s not true that DeSantis sent him to Lakeland and that, while he likes the governor and supports him, he doesn’t know him very well. He said DeSantis would occasionally visit Northwest Florida State College to bring several million dollars in funding for technology programs. They would make small talk, but he doesn’t have “a deep, personal relationship” with the governor.
“I probably spent more time with you today than I’ve spent with the governor,” Stephenson said during the hour-long interview and quick photo session in his office in the famed Calatrava-designed building, the centerpiece of the campus.
No merger: There has also been talk of merging with the University of South Florida, which was part of the original plan for Florida Poly. It is something he opposes.
“I don’t want there to be any talk of any mergers of this institution,” Stephenson said. “I want to build it so strong people that people say: That institution can stand alone. They should stand alone. And look at their growth.”
Age non-issue
Stephenson is 71, although he doesn’t look or act it. He has a brisk walk, trim figure, energetic speech and quick wit.
“I’m convinced it’s a number,” said Stephenson, who walks and bicycles to stay fit. “It is said between the 60s and then on up into the 70s are some of your most productive years. You know, they really are. And as long as I’m healthy and continue to do this work, I really don’t want to look at the sunset. I’m not interested in the sunset. I am really interested in sunrise and what every day holds in making this a great institution.”
If he takes after his 97-year-old mother, he might hold office much longer than most expect.
Personal life
Stephenson grew up in Jasper, Alabama. In high school, he worked as a disc jockey and ad salesman for a local radio station. In college, he worked on his father-in-law’s farm, baling hay and fertilizing crops, in addition to helping in the general store.
Wife: Stephenson has been married to his wife, Judy, for 49 years. They met in college when he was a concert pianist and she was in the choir.
“I saw her — it was just like love at first sight,” he said. “You know, the only difference? I was just hoping that that was the same on her side.”
They met when he was 20 and she was 19 and they married two years later.
Judy Stephenson worked at her family’s general store, helping to run the business with her brother, while Stephenson pursued his master’s and then a doctorate degree in higher education administration from the University of Alabama.
Children: They have two children. Their son holds a doctorate and is vice president of student services at Pensacola State College. Their daughter earned her master’s degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is a nurse practitioner delivering primary care in Alabama.
Stephenson said his family is very close, with both children and his son-in-law helping him and Judy move into the president’s home in the Grasslands neighborhood in July.
A calling: He has worked in almost every area of higher education, learning the operational side of colleges and universities as he worked his way up. He went from director of admissions to director of financial aid. He was an athletic director, managed federal programs, became a provost and then a college president.
“When I got into higher ed, I fell in love with the work, the difference it makes in students’ lives, and so it really has never been the job,” he said. “It’s really been a calling about making a difference. And so I like to say, my wife will tell you, that I really probably never worked a day in my life.”
Purple: He is getting to know the town and also updating his wardrobe. After seven years of wearing bright red and silver, the school colors of Northwest Florida State College, he is now investing in a lot of purple clothes to blend in at Florida Poly.
He said Lakeland Economic Development Council President Steve Scruggs and Central Florida Development Council President and CEO Sean Malott are helping to introduce him to everyone in town.
“We’d like to be a part of the fabric, the fiber of the community,” he said, adding that Lakelanders should expect to run into the couple at various events around town. “I want to be seen as involved, as engaged, as much as possible.”
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