It is an honor to serve you as acting president of Florida Atlantic University—a responsibility I humbly accepted and take very seriously. I want to take this time to introduce myself to those of you who may not know me or my long history with the university.

The most important elements of my career are twofold: I’ve been an Owl for just shy of three decades and I have a deep and tremendous respect for the successes of the university. In the short time I will serve as Acting President, I intend to move forward together with the university’s senior staff as a cohesive unit, reaffirming the strong reputation of the university and an FAU degree.

We are responsible for providing the campus with the resources and support to continue the strong trajectory of our students, faculty and staff. You are amazing individuals who are doing amazing things and I’m happy to help in any way I can. I’m working to secure funding to hire additional tenure track faculty, which means greater opportunities for student and faculty interactions, and finding additional funds to support the university’s science and technology focus. Additionally, I’m trying to maintain expenses and address some of the needs of our buildings so that we can limit tuition and still provide you with a quality campus experience.

As Acting President, my goal is to resolve outstanding issues that need to be addressed by the president and support senior staff members as they make decisions appropriate for their areas of leadership. My goal is to hand over a clean slate to the Interim President this fall. The past few months have been difficult for the university, and I am doing my best to reestablish a structure at FAU that leads to decisiveness, responsiveness and transparency. My leadership style is to empower my executive team and create a culture of collaboration.

President Saunders was particularly strong at meeting students and participating in campus and community events. I was able to watch and learn from her and will do my best to make myself accessible to you. Don’t hesitate to send invitations to events and meetings my way.

I welcome your thoughts and perspectives and invite you to say “hello” when you see me on campus. I look forward to working both with and for you in my new role.

Sincerely,

Dennis Crudele

Acting President