The Next President of the University of West Florida in Pensacola

The board of trustees of the University of West Florida in Pensacola has selected Martha Saunders as the sixth president of the educational institution. She will take office on January 1.

The University of West Florida enrolls approximately 10,000 undergraduate students and 2,500 graduate students. Women make up 57 percent of the undergraduate student body.

Since 2013, Dr. Saunders has been serving as provost and executive vice president at the University of West Florida. From 1984 to 2002, she served on the communications faculty at the university. She then left to become provost and vice president for academic affairs at Columbus State University in Georgia. In 2005, Dr. Saunders was named chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. In 2007, she was appointed president of the University of Southern Mississippi.

Dr. Saunders is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, where she majored in French. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. in communication theory and research from Florida State University.