Teresa Abi-Nader Dahlberg has been at the helm at the University of Tampa for just over a month and has already begun to establish deep roots in the community.
Her days are filled with meetings with local community and business leaders. UT was founded in 1931 as a partnership between the education, business, and philanthropic community, and she said she’s learned those ties are stronger than ever.
“I’m going to start calling us the talent importer for the business community and the nonprofit community here because we have this great educational experience, we attract kids from all over the world, and many of them — most of them — stay,” Dahlberg said in an interview.
Ron Vaughn — president for 29 years — retired in May, making Dahlberg the 11th university president. Vaughn left a “great platform” for UT and, through his strategic planning and leadership, brought in “fantastic enrollment” and ensured the university was financially strong, she said.
UT currently has more than 11,000 students and over 200 academic programs of study.
“We have more qualified students than we can take,” Dahlberg said.
Now, she said, she’s ready to elevate UT’s impact and reputation, a goal she said mirrors the growth Tampa and the region are also undergoing. Dahlberg said part of the charm of being a relatively young university is that there is still much room to evolve.
She said they’ll look to evolve many of the programs underway at UT — like cybersecurity — and see how they can be enhanced to produce graduates who meet local workforce demands.
Her main goals as president are to elevate the impact and reputation of the university.
Some of her initiatives include “dramatically increasing” the percentage of students who graduate in four years and ensuring that when national recruiters sift through resumes, a UT graduate evokes a desire and excitement to be interviewed.
“We want to have the kind of reputation that opens doors for alumni, nationally and globally,” Dahlberg said.
She also plans to work on growing the university’s endowments. That starts, she said, with engaging the community. Raising money will be a major focal point for her; she has done it in many of her previous roles.
Dahlberg said UT already has a great development plan, so her goal is to get the community connected and passionate about the work already underway. She wants to offer a clear message of where the university wants to be and what steps it plans to take so donors will understand what their gifts will help accelerate.
“People know our university. In the conversations I’ve been having with the community, it’s clear that they love us, but when you ask why, they aren’t really sure and admit they’d like to know more about what we are known for and what we’re doing,” Dahlberg said. “We could be stronger in articulating who we are.”
She has met with UT deans and toured many of the campus programs. She’s looking forward to meeting the rest of the faculty and student body when they return this fall, including dropping in on a few classes here and there.
It’s early. She plans to create more detailed plans for the university’s next chapter once she has evaluated the needs and vision of the faculty and trustees.
“Taking advantage of all of the really smart people who are our faculty, staff, students, trustees, and partners is really what makes a university great,” Dahlberg said. “From there, we will have specific goals and initiatives.”
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