Office of the Provost / Academic Affairs

Organization of the University

Disclaimer: The UF Faculty Handbook is provided as a general reference rather than the official source of university policies and guidelines. For your convenience, links to official UF documents are provided.

UF in the State University System

Florida's Constitution (Article IX, Section 7) establishes a State University System comprised of all public universities. Each public university is administered by a Board of Trustees, and a Board of Governors administers the state university system.

There are 11 public universities in the state of Florida:

• Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Tallahassee, established 1887
• Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, established 1961
• Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, established 1993
• Florida International University, Miami, established 1965
• Florida State University, Tallahassee, established 1851
• New College of Florida, Sarasota, established 1960
• University of Central Florida, Orlando, established 1963
• University of Florida, Gainesville, established 1853
• University of North Florida, Jacksonville, established 1969
• University of South Florida, Tampa, established 1956
• University of West Florida, Pensacola, established 1963

More information on the State University System and Board of Governors can be found on the Florida Department of Education, Division of Colleges and Universities website.

Administrative Structure of UF

UF Organization Chart
Statement of Organization and Operation

Board of Trustees
The University of Florida Board of Trustees is the public body corporate of the university. It sets policy for the institution, and serves as the institution's legal owner and final authority. The UF Board of Trustees holds the institution's resources in trust and is responsible for their efficient and effective use. The UF Board of Trustees consists of six citizen members appointed by the Governor and five citizen members appointed by the Board of Governors. The Chair of the Faculty Senate and the President of the Student Body are also voting members.

President
The President is appointed by the Board of Trustees and is the chief executive officer of the university. The President is responsible for the general administration of all university activities in accordance with the powers and duties set forth in Chapter 6C-4 of the Florida Administrative Code. The Statement of Organization and Operation defines the organizational structure of the university.

Vice Presidents
Reporting to the president at the vice presidential level are the following major areas of the university:

• The Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs is the chief academic officer and the second ranking officer of the University, acting for the President in his absence. The Provost/Senior Vice President supervises allocation of resources in academic areas, improvement of instruction, coordination of instructional activities, development and improvement of research activities, evaluation of university academic activity, establishment of policy with respect to employment, promotion and tenure of academic faculty and implementation of the university's Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Program.
  
  
• The Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources administers the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS). IFAS is a separate budgetary unit within the university, receiving its appropriated funds from the legislature through the Board of Governors, Board of Trustees and the President. A dean is responsible for coordinating the total statewide effort for IFAS in each of the functional areas of teaching, research, and extension. They are designated as the Dean for Academic Programs (Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences), Dean for Research and Director of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, and Dean for Extension and Director of the Florida Cooperative Extension Service.
  
  
• The Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs is responsible for, and directs and coordinates, the operations associated with the receipt, management, investment, and administration of resources generated for the university by the University of Florida Foundation, Inc., and the University of Florida Alumni Association.
  
  
• The Vice President for Finance and Administration is the chief fiscal and business officer of the university with responsibilities encompassing all campus budgetary units. The Vice President serves as fiscal and business advisor to the President.
  
  
• The Office of the Vice President and General Counsel provides legal advice and representation to the university, its component units and affiliated entities, and to its employees while acting within the scope and course of their employment.
  
  
• The Vice President for Government Relations serves the university community in securing funding and substantive legislation that enables UF to provide research, teaching, and service. The office works closely with government officials and their staff at the federal, state, and local levels to advocate issues of importance to the university. The legislative priorities for the university are coordinated through the President's Office for all of the university's entities, including Health Affairs, the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and general education.
  
  
• The Senior Vice President for Health Affairs has the duties and responsibilities for general supervision of the Health Science Center (HSC). The HSC is a separate budgetary entity within the University of Florida, receiving its appropriated funds from the legislature through the Board of Governors, Board of Trustees, and the President. The Vice President for Health Affairs oversees the relationship of the Health Science Center with Shands Teaching Hospital, Shands HealthCare, and Shands Jacksonville. The UF President serves as the President of the Shands HealthCare Board of Directors. The Shands and Shands Jacksonville hospitals are the primary teaching sites of the College of Medicine physicians and are training sites for the Colleges of Dentistry, Health Professions, Nursing, Medicine, and Pharmacy. Funds generated by patient care activities are used to support College operations and the Vice President for Health Affairs has oversight responsibility for these practice plan corporations.
  
  
• The Vice President for Public Relations is responsible for directing the assessments of UF's communication programs and conducting strategic planning activities. The Office of Public Relations promotes positive relations between the University of Florida and its many constituents through integrating and coordinating the university's various public relations, communications, publications and news operations.
  
  
• The Vice President for Research is the director of the Research and Graduate Programs of the university. The Vice President is designated by the President to carry out the responsibilities of the Division of Sponsored Research and the University of Florida Research Foundation, as well as federal compliance issues related to animal care and human subjects.
  
  
• The Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs is available to assist all University of Florida students and groups. The Division of Student Affairs supports the academic mission of the University of Florida by preparing students to assume roles of leadership, involvement, and service as productive citizens in a culturally diverse, technologically sophisticated and increasingly complex society.
  
  
• The University Athletic Association, Inc. (UAA) is responsible for the intercollegiate athletics program at the University of Florida. The Athletics Director reports directly to the President and retains overall responsibility for the health and stability of the program.

Presidential Staff
Other areas that serve as staff to the President include:

• The Office of Audit and Compliance Review provides a central point for the coordination of activities that promote accountability, integrity, and efficiency for UF. The office independently examines and evaluates the ongoing control processes of the university and provides counsel and recommendations for improvement when identified.
  
  
• University Protocol is responsible for putting the institution's best foot forward on public occasions. Among these are receptions, lectures, dinners, convocations, the annual commencement, and the infrequent installation of a new president.

Colleges and Academic Units
The college is the basic degree-granting unit of the university and may include departments, centers, and schools. The Dean is the chief administrative officer of a college and is appointed by the Provost as the President designee. The Dean has the authority and the responsibility for the administration and supervision of the college, and is the agent of the faculty for the execution of educational policy.

Except for the Graduate School, a school is a unit subordinate to a college organized for a special program of studies. The administrative officer of a school is the director. The department is the fundamental unit of academic and administrative organization. The administrative officers of departments are Chairs. Chairs and directors have the authority and responsibility for the administration and supervision of all activities of the department. Chairs and directors are responsible to their Deans and to their respective Vice Presidents.

The teaching, research, and extension functions of a department or school are conducted by the faculty under the auspices of the chair or director.

UF Colleges and Schools:

• College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
  • School of Forest Resources and Conservation
  • School of Natural Resources and Environment
• College of Design, Construction and Planning
  • ME Rinker Sr. School of Building Construction
  • School of Architecture
• Warrington College of Business Administration
  • Fisher School of Accounting
• College of Dentistry
• College of Education
  • School of Teaching and Learning
• College of Engineering
• College of Fine Arts
  • School of Art & Art History
  • School of Music
• College of Health Professions
• College of Health and Human Performance
• College of Journalism and Communications
• Levin College of Law
• College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• College of Medicine
• College of Nursing
• College of Pharmacy
• College of Veterinary Medicine

Centers and Institutes
Centers and Institutes focus on domains of knowledge that reside within a discipline or are cross-disciplinary in scope. These organizational mechanisms can be used to provide greater depth in teaching and/or research to a narrower range of problems within a discipline or to apply a broader vision to problems that cross traditional knowledge boundaries. Centers, bureaus, and institutes are established and abolished according to specific funding and program needs. The administrative officers of these units are directors.

Type I and II Centers and Institutes receive state funds while Type III Centers and Institutes do not. Requirements for approval and reporting vary.

Complete list of active institutes and centers

Guidelines for proposals to establish new centers and institutes

IFAS Research and Education Centers
Within the UF/IFAS mission, the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station (FAES) is the entity through which the university conducts research in cooperation with the USDA. FAES's mission is to invent, discover, and develop applications of knowledge in support of the agricultural, human, and natural resource industries of Florida. The UF/IFAS statewide research program is administered through:
20 departments in Gainesville 13 Agricultural Research and Education Centers at 21 locations throughout the state, 8 multidisciplinary centers, the School of Forest Resources and Conservation, and the College of Veterinary Medicine. These entities jointly pursue the mission to define, clarify and solve important problems facing farmers, business people, public decision makers and other citizens of Florida.

UF/IFAS County Extension Offices
The Florida Cooperative Extension Service is the administrative entity through which UF cooperates with federal and local governments in the administration of the food, agricultural, natural and renewable resources, family and consumer sciences, 4-H, community resource development, energy extension, and marine advisory programs statewide. A UF/IFAS Extension office is operated in each of the 67 counties of Florida under the leadership of a county extension director.