UCF’s separation of research and graduate studies will lead to two leadership changes this week as we move forward in elevating research and graduate programs in alignment with our new strategic plan.
I have appointed Dr. Winston Schoenfeld, associate vice president for Research, as interim vice president for Research, effective Friday, Oct. 7. Dr. Schoenfeld, a professor in the College of Optics and Photonics, will serve while we seek a vice president for Research through a nationwide search now underway. A job description and more details about this key position will be available here soon.
Coinciding with Dr. Schoenfeld’s appointment, Dr. Elizabeth Klonoff, who has served UCF since 2016 as both vice president for Research and dean of the College of Graduate Studies, becomes a vice provost and continues her role as dean.
I have charged Drs. Schoenfeld and Klonoff to lead the establishment of the Office of Research and the College of Graduate Studies as separate units with some shared services, while continuing to advance their respective units’ support of UCF’s strategic aims.
This is a pivotal time as UCF aims to distinguish itself as a model metropolitan research university of global impact and become a top 50 public university. I am grateful to Drs. Schoenfeld and Klonoff for their dedication to UCF and our mission to advance inclusive academic excellence, innovation, student success and impact.
I would especially like to thank Dr. Klonoff for her dedicated efforts on behalf of both research and graduate education during these past years, and for her concern and support of faculty and students across UCF.
