UF has selected a new vice president of Student Affairs.
David Parrott, the current chief of staff and vice president of Student Affairs at Texas A&M University, will start June 1, the university announced Tuesday.
Dave Kratzer, UF’s current vice president of Student Affairs, said he will retire in May after 30 years at UF.
Parrott will be paid $290,000 a year, UF spokesperson Steve Orlando wrote in an email.
Parrott said he is looking forward to working with students at UF.
“I certainly think the students of the University of Florida are highly organized — highly talented,” he said.
He said he wants to focus on equality and accessibility to education while at UF. He will take ideas from staff, faculty, students and alumni to better UF.
“I want to listen to all the stakeholders associated with Student Affairs,” Parrott said. “I intend to hit the ground listening.”
Kratzer said he is excited to see Parrott succeed. He said Parrott has the experience from a large land-grant university needed to lead.
“I think he’s going to be a great leader,” he said. “He had a very good track record.”
A search committee of nine UF administrators and UF Student Body President Joselin Padron-Rasines selected the three candidates who applied for the position. Kratzer said the ultimate decision was up to UF’s provost, Joseph Glover, and UF President Kent Fuchs.
Kratzer said after he retires he will continue to live in Gainesville and support the Gators.
He is retiring to spend more time with his family, and he said he felt like it was time to move on.
“I thoroughly enjoyed this job,” he said. “I set some goals for myself and, with the opening of the Reitz Union, we’ve established those.”
When Kratzer came to UF, he started as the director of the Reitz Union. He was the associate vice president of Student Affairs from 2004 to 2011 and was named interim vice president of Student Affairs in 2011. In 2012, he became the official vice president.
“I love the University of Florida,” he said, “and I’m sure David Parrott will quickly find this is the best division of Student Affairs in the country.”
Kim Pace, the associate vice president of Student Affairs, said she will miss working with Kratzer.
“His leadership is beyond compare,” she said. “Every day I learned something.”
Pace said she heard Parrott speak when he presented his ideas for the position to UF faculty and staff. She said he will continue Kratzer’s legacy.
“I think he’s really going to do a terrific job moving the university forward,” she said.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @k_newberg.
