Angela Garcia Falconetti has returned to the University of North Florida as interim president, bringing decades of higher education leadership to her alma mater while prioritizing enrollment growth, student engagement and the university\u2019s strategic goals.<\/p>\n
Falconetti was born in Jacksonville, earned two degrees on campus, and credits UNF faculty with launching her career in higher education. Now, after decades of working across multiple states and the District of Columbia, she\u2019s back as the university\u2019s interim president.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe University of North Florida is my home,\u201d Falconetti said in an interview with Spinnaker. \u201cIt\u2019s coming home for me, and I\u2019m just so blessed to be back here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Falconetti\u2019s ties to UNF<\/p>\n
Falconetti is the daughter of Cuban exiles who settled in Jacksonville. She first enrolled at UNF in 1993 before transferring to New York University. She returned to complete both her master\u2019s degree and doctorate at UNF, and subsequently pursued postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Texas at Austin and the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
Falconetti\u2019s mother also graduated from UNF, she said, sometime in the early 1970\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Falconetti said returning to UNF \u201cis a dream come true,\u201d and when she walks around campus now, memories come back from when she was a student.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very rewarding from so, so many different aspects,\u201d Falconetti said.<\/p>\n
After finishing her master\u2019s degree at UNF in 2001, Falconetti worked on campus first as an academic advisor, then in Student Affairs, according to her resume.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Enrollment and rankings<\/p>\n
Falconetti assumed the interim role as UNF pursues two of its most ambitious strategic goals<\/a>: growing enrollment to 25,000 students by 2028 and ranking in the top 100 in U.S. News & World Report\u2019s<\/a> national university rankings.\u00a0<\/p>\n The university currently sits just over 1,000 students ahead of its yield targets for the fall semester, Falconetti said, but anticipates needing to enroll approximately 3,700 additional students by that point.<\/p>\n \u201cThe question becomes, how do we move to ensure that we have 25,000 students by 2028 and yet ensure that the student experience is so strong that the quality is not compromised,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Falconetti described her approach to hitting the enrollment target as \u201cdata-informed and collaborative.\u201d She said that her team reviews enrollment numbers on a weekly basis and that all corners of the university need to work together toward the shared goal.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of us need to collaborate and work as one team, one university,\u201d Falconetti said.<\/p>\n Her contract runs through February 2027<\/a> \u2014 just a year before the 2028 enrollment deadline \u2014 and she said she intends to lay the groundwork that a permanent president can carry forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n Polk State scrutiny addressed<\/p>\n Falconetti also addressed scrutiny from her time at Polk State College, where the Lakeland Ledger reported that a board of trustees member accused her of falsifying enrollment data<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Falconetti said an outside review was brought in, and the claims were found to be unsubstantiated.<\/p>\n \u201cI said, \u2018Bring whoever in you need,’\u201d Falconetti said. \u201cEverything came out the way I knew it would.\u201d<\/p>\n On reports of faculty attempting a no-confidence vote<\/a>, Falconetti disputed the characterization, saying only two of approximately 152 full-time faculty members expressed a lack of confidence in her leadership and that no formal vote took place.<\/p>\n \u201cOftentimes what we read in the media isn\u2019t necessarily the reality,\u201d Falconetti said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great message for our students\u2026People are always going to try to bring you down,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Students at the center<\/p>\n Since arriving at UNF, Falconetti has made visible outreach to students a centerpiece of her early tenure.\u00a0<\/p>\n Falconetti said she has attended campus events, including Market Days, and has made a point of staying in direct contact with Student Government President Amelia Dyal<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Falconetti said her orientation toward students dates back to her own early career. After earning her master\u2019s degree at UNF, she worked as an academic advisor in the College of Education, where she won an outstanding academic advising award in 2003 at the age of 24.\u00a0<\/p>\n Falconetti said a colleague at the time asked how she earned the recognition.<\/p>\n \u201cI said, \u2018I care,’\u201d Falconetti said. \u201cIf a student came to me and they were having an issue, I might walk them over to the counseling center\u2026When you really care, and you\u2019re passionate, it shows.\u201d<\/p>\n Falconetti said the number one reason students remain engaged at a university comes down to relationships with faculty and with academic advisors.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI want to make sure people feel valued,\u201d Falconetti said.<\/p>\n Permanent presidency position<\/p>\n Falconetti confirmed she will not plan to apply for the currently vacant permanent presidency of UNF.<\/a><\/p>\n