UF President Kent Fuchs snapped selfies and talked about living in residence halls with students Thursday night.
About 35 students gathered in Graham Gallery to listen as Fuchs discussed his first year at UF and his plans for the future of the university.
He answered questions about his leadership style, hiring more faculty and his day-to-day life.
The Inter-Residence Hall Association hosted the event to provide students with the chance to talk to Fuchs, said Jackie Phillips, 19, IRHA’s secretary.
More students might have come if the event wasn’t during exams, said Phillips, a UF family, youth and community sciences sophomore.
Fuchs said he enjoyed answering student questions.
“I really relate to our students that are here in the residence halls,” said Fuchs, who lived in a residence hall for seven years.
He said he wants to improve UF by hiring more faculty and expanding on student services, such as mental health counseling and renovated buildings.
“I’m really working to build a university that will be even stronger than it has been in the past, than it is today” he said. “I think the state of Florida deserves that, our alumni deserve it and you all deserve it as well.”
Roommates Ximena Jaramillo, 20, and Ashley Beade, 18, snapped a selfie with Fuchs after he answered questions.
“He’s adorable,” said Beade, a UF nutritional sciences freshman. “You can tell he’s really trying.”
Jaramillo said she could tell he cares about students.
“When he walked in, I felt like a fangirl,” the UF digital arts and sciences sophomore said. “I felt like I was meeting a celebrity.”
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