UF Online’s new director has governmental roots.
Evangeline Cummings, a 1997 UF alumna, will take on the title of assistant provost and director of UF Online beginning July 1. She was previously a director with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Cummings has worked for the EPA since 1999 and served as the director of the strategic management division in Washington, D.C., since 2008, according to UF’s News Center.
UF Online offers 15 bachelor’s degrees fully online and currently has more than 1,000 students enrolled.
Andy McCollough, the UF associate provost for teaching and technology, has been overseeing UF Online since the previous director, Betty Phillips, resigned three months into the position on March 1, 2014.
The search committee had two finalists, and McCollough said members thought Cummings had the skills to quickly ramp up the program.
McCollough said Cummings is a strategic thinker with extensive experience working as a special assistant to the agency’s chief information officer.
“Her career with the government agency progressed from a beginning position to substantial responsibility,” McCollough said.
Cummings’ salary hasn’t been determined yet, according to UF officials.
The UF Online staff will be around to help Cummings adjust to her new position, McCollough said, but he thinks she will show great leadership in the program.
“I think she will help UF Online continue toward a trajectory of success,” he said.
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 3/27/2015 under the headline “UF alumna selected as new UF Online director”]
