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| Affiliation | Nonpartisan |
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| Name | J. Bernard "Bernie" Machen |
| Address |
, Florida , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
Unknown
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| Contributor | Thomas Walker |
| Last Modifed | Thomas Walker
Mar 18, 2010 05:18pm |
| Tags |
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| Info | J. Bernard "Bernie" Machen, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D., was appointed as the 11th president of the University of Florida in October 2003 and assumed the office on Jan. 5, 2004.
A native of Greenwood, Miss., Dr. Machen grew up in St. Louis. After attending Vanderbilt University for his undergraduate studies, he earned his doctor of dental surgery degree from St. Louis University and his master of science in pediatric dentistry and doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Iowa.
Prior to coming to Gainesville, Dr. Machen served six years as the president of the University of Utah. From 1995 to 1997, he was provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan and served as dean of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry from 1989 until 1995. He also served as professor and associate dean at the University of North Carolina's School of Dentistry from 1983 to 1989, and was president of the American Association of Dental Schools in 1987.
From 1992 to 1995, Dr. Machen was a member of the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine Committee on Educating Dentists for the Future. He also has a past appointment as chief of the Department of Extension Services at the U.S. Army Institute of Dental Research.
Since coming to the University of Florida, Dr. Machen has shepherded the university through a period of rapid growth and increasing prestige. Today, UF has 50,000 students, a research budget topping $518 million, and an endowment of over $1 billion. Dr. Machen has also undertaken several ambitious initiatives aimed both improving UF and enhancing its contribution to the state and nation. These include efforts to create a more culturally diverse campus, enhance students' educational experience, promote statewide economic development, bring about better stewardship of natural resources and make the university more environmentally friendly.
In 2005, Dr. Machen introduced the First in Family Scholarship Program, designed to provide financial assistance for economically disadvantaged students who are the first in their families to attend college. The program attracted the attention of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who subsequently advocated a similar statewide program, the First Generation Scholarship Program.
To attract and retain the nation's best and brightest faculty, Dr. Machen created the Faculty Challenge with a goal of raising $150 million in private support for endowment to give faculty the tools they need to enhance classroom instruction and conduct world-class research. To date, the faculty challenge has raised nearly $200 million.
The university also joined the Florida High Tech Corridor Council in 2005. This council is aimed at attracting new and emerging technology companies to Central and North Florida. UF's participation in the council is one of many ways that the university has sought to play a leading role in growing Florida's technology economy under Dr. Machen's tenure. Others include ramping up UF's patenting and licensing activities, with UF recently ranked seventh nationwide among both public and private universities in number of patents generated annually.
Dr. Machen's tenure also has been marked by environmental initiatives. In 2004, he created the University of Florida Water Institute, which provides a focal point for water-related research, education and public outreach programs. And in 2005, he gave sustainability a higher profile when he announced a series of measures to reduce the university's impact on the environment. UF held its first Sustainability Day in late 2005, and in February 2006 the university named its first director of sustainability. UF also was named a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, the first university to achieve this status and one of 607 such sanctuaries in the world.
A veteran U.S. Army major, Dr. Machen and wife, Chris, have two sons and a daughter.
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