Dr. David Bellar, Dean of the Usha Kundu, MD College of Health, has notified the University of West Florida administration that he has been named President and CEO at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Provost Dr. Jaromy Kuhl notified the faculty. He wrote, “I am grateful for Dr. Bellar’s service and leadership at the University of West Florida. Although he only joined us in 2022, I have been impressed with the strides made in increasing the enrollment, visibility, and community engagement for the College. Dr. Bellar also focused on the workforce needs of the region and state, including partnerships with hospitals and other employers.”
Dr. Bellar will continue to serve as Dean through at least the spring semester and plans to complete faculty evaluations before his departure.
BACKGROUND: Bellar came to UWF from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he was a professor and chair in the Department of Applied Physiology, Health and Clinical Sciences. He is a fellow of the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the American College of Sports Medicine and a research fellow of the Society of Health and Physical Educators. He has held leadership positions within the American Kinesiology Association, USA Track and Field, and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He currently serves as the inaugural co-editor of the Journal of Health and Physical Literacy. He is also an associate editor for Sport and Exercise Nutrition for Frontiers in Nutrition and Frontier in Sport and Active Living.
He started the job on July 1, 2022.
Bellar served as the chairman of Achieve Healthy EscaRosa. I interviewed him in December 2023 about how subcommittees were developing initiatives to improve the community’s health outcomes.
Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University (FranU) is a small private Catholic university that was founded in 1923 as a nursing school. FRanU has about 1,366 total students. The full-time enrollment is 737 students, while the part-time enrollment is 491.