Devin Stephenson, President, Florida Polytechnic University

In an interview with Invest:, Dr. Devin Stephenson, president of Florida Polytechnic University, discussed the priorities for Florida Poly, including boosting enrollment, fostering industry ties, and ensuring affordability. Stephenson also said he envisions the university as a leader in STEM innovation and regional economic impact.

What are your immediate priorities for Florida Polytechnic University, and how do you plan to address them in your first year?

Enrollment is a major priority for us – we had a 10% increase in the fall semester, which was one of the highest, with a record enrollment of over 1,700. Our goal is growing enrollment to 3,000 in the next few years. The University was founded with a mission to stay relevant, and that involves turning out top graduates. Resource development is big for us as well, supporting students in their academic pursuits. We’re the youngest university in Florida’s State University System. We have 800-plus acres, which we will need to double. Resource development, in the form of grants, is also critical. We’re placing a very strong eye on grants development, engaging a Washington firm to find those grants. The most important piece is to share the good news that goes on here at the university. We’re the only fully STEM-focused university in Florida, for example. We’re focused on helping students find great jobs, helping them finish with very little debt, and becoming difference-makers.

You chose to forgo your inauguration ceremony, reallocating over $100,000 toward student scholarships. What message do you hope this decision sends?

The cost of the inauguration ceremony was budgeted beforehand, but we wanted to focus on the students. We established an emergency fund with those $100,000 for students who have significant needs, such as being unable to pay for housing, food, or shelter. We wanted to help those students in need. This way, we encourage students to keep pursuing their dreams. To me, it’s about giving over receiving, and focusing on investing in our students. People are driven by values, and I’m committed to excellence and respect for other people. It’s not about putting on a show or getting a headline in the newspaper. 

How is Florida Poly adapting to ensure affordability and maintain financial stability for students and the institution?

The state has been very good to universities in terms of financial resources. We’ve not seen a tuition increase in over a decade – Gov. Ron DeSantis, Rick Scott, and our legislature have enabled our mission by providing funds to keep us on par with the cost of living and the Consumer Price Index. There is no rising tuition cost in Florida. 

We were also named as the institution that produced graduates with the highest salaries one year after graduation, and with the lowest amount of debt. So you can’t deny the fact that we are keeping costs as low as possible for our students. That’s important to us.

We’re also taking care of our own personnel, who are also struggling with inflation and the cost of living that has risen significantly. We need to be mindful of that. We try to be mindful of the struggles not only of students but also of faculty, staff, and administration in order to help them stay on top of the cost of living that they face every day. Affordability is something we look at every day. 

How does Florida Poly’s location play into Florida’s growing tech and innovation corridor?

The high-tech corridor in Central Florida is important to us. When you think about where Lakeland is, located between Tampa and Orlando, we are perfectly positioned. Being in the I-4 corridor itself has also helped attract companies to the university area. As an example, IFF (International Flavors and Fragrances) is located on our campus. The Fortune 500 company develops fragrances and flavors for companies like PEPSICO and Estee Lauder. Having them on campus provides internship and job opportunities for our students and for our faculty to be a part of their research projects. 

We are also trying to develop a research park that will be anchored by the university, and eventually starting a Ph.D. program, which will help attract even more companies to the area. This is an underdeveloped area that’s just now beginning to see some significant commerce. Our goal here is for us to be connected to business and industry in a formidable way. There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t meet with business people from all kinds of industries. Overall, there is no better place for a STEM university to be located than in this high-tech corridor.

What are your priorities for Florida Poly and the broader Tampa Bay higher education sector over the next two to three years?

A significant reason why institutions and leaders don’t fully realize their potential is their lack of ability to change. For us to be effective with our partners in Orlando and Tampa Bay, we need to be able to manage change and listen. I employ a model called the four “L’s” of success: you look and listen, and from there, you learn and then launch – but you don’t do the latter until you complete the first three.

To be successful, you need to manage your emotions, scan your environment, and react correctly to what’s happening around you. The No. 1 priority then is to look and listen, be able to change, and be integrated into the life of both Tampa and Orlando. We are very actively involved in Tampa and St. Petersburg. The worst thing in the world is to lay back and let things happen, and that’s not an option for me. I’m going to stand up, look, listen, learn, and launch.