History of the UF Division of Student Affairs | Page 33

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2000 – 2015: Tr ansitions and Change
In 1999, President Lombardi left UF, and Sandeen retired as Vice President for
Student Affairs after 26 years of service to join the faculty in the UF College
of Education. Charles E. Young was hired as interim president, but when the
search for a UF president continued beyond a year, Young was named president
and served through 2003 when Bernie Machen was hired. Former UF Dean of
Students James Scott returned to UF from Georgia State University to become
Vice President for Student Affairs in 1999. In 2003, Scott passed away, and
Mike Rollo, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, served as Interim Vice
President. In 2004, Recreational Sports moved from the College of Health and
Human Performance to Student Affairs. Also in 2004, Patricia Telles-Irvin was
hired as Vice President for Student Affairs.
Fall 2005, President Machen approached Telles-Irvin to design a new financial aid
program for first generation college students from economically disadvantaged
backgrounds. Telles-Irvin worked with Karen Fooks, Director of Student Financial
Affairs, to design a proposal that provided full grant and scholarship financial aid
packages to first generation college freshmen who were Florida residents from
families making less than $40,000 annually. The UF Board of Trustees endorsed
the proposal, and the Florida Opportunity Scholars Program began Summer
2006. The program is now called the Machen Florida Opportunity Scholars
Program and supports around 1,200 scholars per semester. The program is
financially supported by the President’s Office, the Office of the Vice President
for Student Affairs, the State of Florida, and private donors.
President Machen continued UF’s commitment to sustainability that President
Lombardi made in 1990 when Lombardi signed the Talloires Declaration, a
pledge to make environmental education and research a central institutional
goal. In 2001, UF adopted Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) criteria for all major new construction and renovations projects. Examples
of Student Affairs facilities built with LEED criteria include the Counseling &
Wellness Center, the Southwest Recreation Center, Corry Community Center,
and Cypress Hall. Student Affairs committed to UF’s sustainability initiatives by
forming departmental green teams and by convening the Division of Student
Affairs Sustainability Committee. This committee created division-wide goals
which are tracked and assessed on an ongoing basis. At this time, efforts are
directed towards reducing campus-wide waste .

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