University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft to Step Down After 19 Years at the Helm

University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft has announced she will be stepping down from her position, effective July 1, 2019. According to the latest data supplied to the U.S. Department of Education, the university enrolls just under 44,000 undergraduate students, 54 percent of whom are women. The university was recently ranked 58th on the U.S. News annually report of top public universities, 10 spots higher than the university’s rank last year.

In a letter to the university community, President Genshaft said that “my family and I believe that this is the right time for me to step down from my post as president. It has been the honor of my professional career to be part of this journey since the year 2000.”

Since Dr. Genshaft became president in 2000, the university has seen enrollment increase by 40 percent. Additionally, graduation rates have tripled and the university graduates students at the same rate regardless of race, ethnicity, or family income. During her tenure, Dr. Genshaft has helped the university’s endowment grow from $254 million to $480 million, oversaw $1.75 billion in construction projects, and contributed to tripling the university’s research activity to more than $568 million in annual expenditures.

Dr. Genshaft holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and master’s and doctoral degrees from Kent State University in Ohio.