The University of Florida's Provost and Senior Vice President, Joe Glover, announced on Friday his intention to step down after a 15-year career at UF, one of the longest stints as a provost in the university's history.
During his 15 years as provost, he oversaw many academic programs that came to fruition, like the creation of the innovation academy, the dawn and growth of UF Online, UFs rise to become a top-five institution and most recently, the school's artificial intelligence initiative. His focus and emphasis on STEM-centered programs helped to move UF into the modern era.
Alongside President Kent Fuchs, who is this week finishing his own tenure, Glover played a vital role in the university's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by pushing for the university's shutdown at the beginning of 2020 and after the campus opened back up, incentivizing mask usage across campus.
Glover will officially step down at the end of July. He will remain on campus as a senior advisor to UF's new president, Ben Sasse.
Sasse takes his seat as president of the university on Feb. 6. He will prompt a nationwide search for a new provost to replace Glover once he takes office. More details about the national search are coming in February, the university says.