John Kelly, Ph.D., Announces Retirement from FAU
Completing over a decade of dedicated service, John Kelly, Ph.D., today announced his retirement from 麻豆精品视频. Having served as the university鈥檚 president during a transformational eight-year tenure, Kelly鈥檚 last day with the university will be June 30.
Completing over a decade of dedicated service, John Kelly, Ph.D., today announced his retirement from 麻豆精品视频. Having served as the university鈥檚 president during a transformational eight-year tenure, Kelly鈥檚 last day with the university will be June 30.
Kelly began his tenure as president of 麻豆精品视频in March 2014. His appointment came on the heels of the university placing dead last in the first-ever State University System Performance Funding Metrics, experiencing stagnant enrollment, poor graduation and retention rates, and struggling to shake off its 鈥渃ommuter school鈥 reputation.
One of Kelly鈥檚 first initiatives was the development of the 2015-2025 strategic plan called the聽Race to Excellence. The road map for the next decade, the Race to Excellence was the blueprint guiding the university towards investments in student housing, faculty resources, the university鈥檚 research enterprise, and other important initiatives.
鈥淛ohn Kelly鈥檚 far-reaching impact on this university laid the groundwork for the tremendous success we are experiencing today,鈥 said 麻豆精品视频President Adam Hasner. 鈥淭his remarkable progress includes our rising graduation rates and record-breaking freshman applications to robust enrollment, increased philanthropic support, and national recognition across our academic, research, and athletic programs. As Florida Atlantic鈥檚 seventh president, John paved the way for our continued rise in the years to come. It is a true honor to succeed him as president, and we extend our heartfelt best wishes to John and Carolyn in their well-earned retirement.鈥
Within two years of Kelly鈥檚 arrival, FAU聽ranked No. 1聽in the Florida Board of Governor鈥檚 Performance Funding Model. The turnaround had several benefits including investment in student mentoring and advising, a complete overhaul of the admissions process, and the beginning of many of the university鈥檚 student success initiatives, which remain in place today.
During Kelly鈥檚 leadership, the university began its drive to reach R1 classification,聽which it achieved earlier this year. The university established strong partnerships with Scripps Florida and the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience at its Jupiter campus, and inaugurated the聽. The latter project was made possible by the聽then-largest philanthropic gift in the university鈥檚 history: $16 million from the聽.
Committed to student success, Kelly and his wife, Carolyn, partnered with philanthropists and higher-education advocates Aubrey and Sally Strul to support academically talented first-generation, low-income students at 麻豆精品视频with financial resources, academic support, and mentorship to help these students to graduate debt-free in four years or less. Established with an initial $1 million investment, the Kelly/Strul Emerging Scholars Program has assisted over 160 students since its founding.
In , Kelly hired Lane Kiffin and Dusty May as head coaches for football and men鈥檚 basketball, respectively. Kiffin twice won the Conference USA title and the Boca Raton Bowl. May famously took the Owls on an incredible Final Four run in the NCAA men鈥檚 basketball tournament in 2023.
鈥淛ohn Kelly鈥檚 leadership was instrumental in establishing 麻豆精品视频 as a national model for student success," said 麻豆精品视频Board of Trustees Chair Piero Bussani. "The achievements we celebrate today 聽鈥撀燼ttaining R1 research status, expanding access for first-generation and Pell Grant students, and attracting a record number of high-achieving applicants聽鈥撀燼re the result of the strong foundation laid during President Kelly鈥檚 tenure. We are deeply grateful for his vision and dedication in helping transform our university.鈥
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