Tomorrow, the University of West Florida Board of Trustees meets at 8 a.m. As previously reported, the board will accept President Dr. Martha Saunders’ resignation and set the effective date. See agenda.
- It will also appoint an interim president. Provost Dr. Jaromy Kuhl is the logical choice, but the new trustees may have been told to choose Education Commissioner Manny Diaz. The last item is a discussion of a presidential search.
Following the special meeting at 10 a.m., the Presidential Performance Evaluation & Metrics Ad hoc Committee will meet.
- RIGGED? Board Chair Rebecca Matthews has chosen—or has been told to select—three new trustees to serve on the committee: Rachel Moya (committee chair), Ashley Ross and Adam Kissel. Trustee Alonzie Scott, who had previously served on the committee, was dropped.
The agenda has three information items: 2024-2025 President’s Self-Evaluation and Presidential Evaluation Form, plus 2025-2026 Presidential Goals Review.
Self-Evaluation
Dr. Saunders completed or exceeded expectations on virtually every presidential goal assigned by the previous Board of Trustees, with only two items deferred due to external factors beyond the university’s control.
91% COMPLETION RATE: Of the 32 presidential goals spanning six strategic directions, an impressive 29 were marked as “COMPLETE,” with just two goals showing “ON TRACK” progress and only one legitimately “DEFERRED” due to the Board of Governors choosing a different meeting location.
Record-Breaking Enrollment and Student Success
UWF’s momentum continues to build with record enrollment for another consecutive year. Fall 2024 numbers show a 3% increase, while spring enrollment jumped an impressive 6%. Total fall headcount reached 14,797 students, representing consistent growth in the university’s appeal and reputation.
The university isn’t just growing – it’s thriving academically. The four-year graduation rate for first-time students surged from 48.1% to 53.7%, while the first-year retention rate improved to 87.8%.
Student engagement in high-impact practices reached 68.9% – well above the previous year’s 60.6% – showing the university’s dedication to providing transformative educational experiences that prepare graduates for career success.
Financial Excellence and Performance Metrics
Perhaps most impressively, UWF’s Performance Based Funding score increased from 84 to 91, positioning the university as a top-ranked institution in the state system. This significant jump reflects improvements across multiple areas, including graduation rates, job placement, and cost efficiency.
- Total annual giving rose from $9 million to $11.9 million, and the endowment grew from $92.9 million to $108.1 million.
National Recognition and Rankings
Dr. Saunders’ leadership has earned UWF numerous prestigious recognitions:
- Top 10 ranking in U.S. News & World Report’s Top Public Schools-Regional South Rankings for the third consecutive year
- 8th in the nation on Military Times’ “Best for Vets” college list – UWF’s highest ranking to date
- Research 2 designation from the Carnegie Foundation, marking the first time UWF has received this classification for high research activity
- “Great College to Work For” recognition for the 12th year, with Honor Roll status for six consecutive years
Research and Innovation Leadership
The university secured over $24.6 million in research expenditures and attracted significant grant funding, including a $3.3 million Triumph grant for the innovative Water and Vessel Engineering (WAVE) research program. UWF’s cybersecurity programs particularly shine, with multiple major federal grants totaling over $2 million to expand workforce development initiatives.
- Four UWF faculty members earned recognition among the world’s Top 2% of Scientists according to Stanford/Elsevier rankings.
Infrastructure and Campus Development
Dr. Saunders has overseen significant campus improvements, including completing the Sandy Sansing Sports Medicine Center and progressing on the highly anticipated football stadium project.
Personal Leadership Recognition
Beyond her institutional achievements, Dr. Saunders received individual recognition, including the Ethics in Business Award from Pensacola Rotary Clubs and the Liberty Bell Award from the Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar Association. Her feature in CEO Magazine and inclusion in Florida Trend’s “Florida 500” list underscore her influence beyond the university.
Will These Accomplishments Matter?
The three evaluation committee members were chosen to remake the University of West Florida. Several sources have shared that they were appointed with the understanding that they would vote for Scott Yenor as chairman and remove Saunders as president.
The Yenor chairmanship lasted until his resignation in April. Saunders announced her resignation on May 12. So the trustees’ handler is 1-1.
Will they allow Saunders to go out with appreciation for his leadership? Or will they use her evaluation to send a message to the faculty, students, alumni and community?
Who is Rachel Moya?
During the Senate confirmation hearings, Moya stressed her faith and family.
- “First and foremost, I’m a Christian wife and mother, stepmother to six beautifully unique children,” she said. “I am the daughter of a retired firefighter and a nurse, and I’m also the proud sister to a law enforcement officer, so public service runs in my blood.”
According to her resume, Moye moved to Florida last year from Bluffton, SC. Her maiden name is Rachel Kay Michaud, and this is her second marriage.
Her Master’s in intelligence studies is from American Military University, a fully online university, and her PhD in public policy is from Walden University, a private, for-profit online university headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn.
- She is the chief revenue officer of The Amos Group in Punta Gorda. According to her website, “in 2025, she founded and became Chief Executive Officer of Florida-based Scale Strategies Inc., with a mission to provide specialized consulting services that empower education companies to navigate government relations effectively, strategize for market growth, and secure critical funding opportunities.”
Moya was elected in 2018 to serve on the Beaufort County Board of Education in South Carolina, where she served until 2024.
How did she get chosen for UWF? Well, her new husband is Chris Moya, a registered lobbyist in Florida who represents a range of prominent clients, primarily through his roles at major firms such as Jones Walker LLP and previously The Moya Group and Dean Mead. His client roster has included:
• Florida Power & Light
• Seminole Tribe of Florida
• AT&T
• State Farm Insurance
• The Amos Group
What can we expect from Moya? DEI may be her focus. Last week’s hidden camera incident may be used to validate her approach.
DEI & Strategic Plan
During the May 8 Board of Trustees meeting, Trustee Chris Young brought up SB 226, passed in 2023, one year after the Board of Governors approved UWF’s Five-Year Strategic Plan.
- Background: SB 226 restricts diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and related activities in state-funded higher education institutions. The bill prohibits universities from using state and federal funds for DEI programs, defines DEI and political/social activism broadly, and impacts curriculum and hiring practices. Pensacola State Rep. Alex Andrade filed the House version. (Read about the hidden camera)
Young questioned why UWF hadn’t updated its strategic plan.
Moya added, “I wanted to ask, are there any other universities that have already done this? Have we reached out to them to ask about their process or anybody they may have used? I just wanted to see if there are others that have already gone through this. I know it can be lengthy at times, and I’d love for us to streamline it.
- Dr. Saunders pointed out several universities that were working on updating their plans, including the University of South Florida. She suggested the board amend the 2022-2027 plan as they work on a “brand new one.”
Moya said, “I understand it’s a five-year plan, and we’re within our time window, but we’re also technically out of compliance. So that’s what I meant by my comment about it was like we’re behind since that passed in ’23, and I don’t know what the process looks like for getting a strategic plan if you’re within your five-year window, but that was just what my comment was in regard to.”
Young added, “We definitely, we have moved too slowly to comply with Senate Bill 226.”
- He noted that during his hearing before the Senate Ethics and Elections committee he had said, ““e would be doing a review and the strategic plan is certainly part of that. So we will quickly get it into the right posture and then work on the bigger, broader piece of it that we’re well within the window for in terms of responding to the Florida Board of Governors change in their strategic plan.”
Federal Grant
Moya also asked questions about a federal grant that had social justice in its guidelines.
- BACKGROUND: On May 5, the Florida Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) announced UWF had received a federal grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to train math and science teachers to promote social justice and cultural responsiveness in classrooms. Gov. DeSantis demanded that UWF refund $800,000 to the federal government.
UWF replied that the grant supported two Noyce Scholars. One scholar completed a project focused on water quality sampling methods in Summer 2024, while another will research aspirin synthesis in Summer 2025. The university explicitly stated that these projects do not have a social justice focus, nor will future projects incorporate such themes.
Moya asked, “What I want to get clarity on is whether there was a requirement by the BOG (Board of Governors) for us to seek out grants that had a DEI or social justice component? I want to be clear about was this a requirement or was this just something the university chose to do because of a theme that was going on at BOG at the time?”
- “I can tell you in 2020 there was a Board of Governors task force, and it provided guidance for diversity, equity and inclusion, and we employed it in a lot of areas,” Saunders said. “We were not directed to include it in grants. Grants have their own guidance.”
Moya pressed, “How were we or how were you, President Saunders, defining social justice and cultural responsiveness when we were looking at these different opportunities? What was the overarching definition of those items? It sounds like there’s some that already were completed as well. So I’m trying to understand what was the thought process in pursuing them and what was the definition that we applied to them as a university?
- “I don’t think I can answer that whole cloth,” Saunders replied. “I think it would be helpful to talk to people who were actually writing the grants because I suspect the definitions may vary.”
Moya said, “I’m just trying to understand the thought if it wasn’t a requirement, and what was the thought process in pursuing them? I understand grants are wonderful diversification of our revenue streams in a way to support students, but I want to understand what was the culture or the thought process behind pursuing those? And was there a university-wide understanding of what these meant? What was the purpose of them? Did we support that? That’s what I was trying to get to.”
- “Well, I certainly will have to let others answer some of that, but I think regarding grants, the grant agencies themselves have specific guidance,” Saunders said. “And so I think much of the response and the way that a grant proposal is crafted is following the guidance of the agency. To my knowledge, there has never been a university-wide, lemme call it, mandate to do it one way or another.”
Dr. Jerry Lin said, “I would like to respond to Trustee Moya’s question. So the comment is that in all grants, it is the open competition and during the certain time period that there will be certain specific language that encouraging the grant that to go toward a certain direction, and in that case, the faculty members that tend to directly address at that time, but the priority area.”
He continued, “And that’s when some of the older grants would have that component. But since when the PI respond to the call for proposal, the timeframe is very different from the current consideration. So there is always a time lag in which I would like to point out to this committee.”
- Trust Suzanne James, who is the Faculty Senate representative, added, “When the changes came out in July of 2023, there were a lot of questions about research and grants that were currently in progress when the new changes came about, because it’s difficult to be promoting something. And then we make changes as we always do in society. What the chair of the BOG told us, especially a professor at FAMU, is that you need to finish out your grants, but new grants need to have the focus of the new law. And it was made very clear to us.”