EFSC President Praised for Performance, Contract Extended

The Eastern Florida State College Board of Trustees has extended the contract of college President Dr. Jim Richey to 2024 after praising his leadership of EFSC.

The five trustees took the unanimous action Monday during Richey’s annual performance review for 2018, the latest since he became president in early 2012.

Trustees lauded his achievements the past year that included setting records for Bachelor Degree enrollment, online course enrollment and historic minority student enrollment.

“We have an exceptional leader at the helm,” said Trustee Moses Harvin, Sr. “Dr. Richey has done an exceptional job not just now but also as we look to the future.”

Another trustee, Dr. Edgar Figueroa, said nearly 60 new academic programs begun under Richey are playing an important part in creating a highly skilled local workforce.

“The incredible richness of the education that students receive is something to really be proud of,” he said.

Said Trustee R. Bruce Deardoff: “The growth and development of the college since he’s been here is phenomenal.”

Richey credited the trustees and EFSC’s faculty and staff for the achievements, saying they could only have happened through a collective effort that makes him “extremely proud.”

“The fact of the matter is that without your guidance and without the extraordinary effort shown everyday by our outstanding faculty and staff, the college would not be making the enormous strides we have seen,” Richey told trustees.

“With that same spirit in mind, I am more determined than ever to continue to lead the progress we have made. I want our students and community to have every possible opportunity available to them right here at EFSC.

“I can guarantee you that we will work extremely hard to assure their success today and into the future.”

The college’s accomplishments in 2018 were detailed in a 24-page page report that trustees cited. The highlights include:

• Not raising tuition for the seventh straight year, keeping EFSC among the most affordable public colleges in Florida and the nation.
• Nearly 2,300 students enrolled in Bachelor Degree courses in Business, Health Care and Computer Technology.
• Nearly 7,000 students enrolled in online classes, a 17 percent increase from 2017.
• More than 5,200 minority students enrolled, representing 33.5 percent of the student population.
• Awarding a record 766 scholarships to students through the EFSC Foundation.
• Gaining a nearly $3.8 million state grant to train students for jobs in the aerospace and advanced manufacturing industries.
• Negotiating a new three-year collective bargaining agreement with the United Faculty of Florida Brevard Chapter for 2018-21.
• Completing construction of a new Student Union on the Melbourne campus, the third major building project in the campus’ continuing expansion.

For more information on Eastern Florida and its programs, visit easternflorida.edu.