No Limits: From Here, Anywhere

President John Nicklow, Ph.D.

Military Officers Association of America, Cape Canaveral Chapter / February 20, 2024

The new guy

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• 25 years in higher ed after serving as Commissioned Officer with USPHS
• Past President of the Univ. of New Orleans
• Professional engineer and hydrologist
• Native of western Pennsylvania
• B.S. and M.S. Bucknell University, and Ph.D. Arizona State University
• NCAA Champion of Diversity Award
• Wife is Dr. Stacy; son Ethan

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Who we are

• Private, non-profit national research university
• 65 years of partnership with local industry, starting from the earliest days of the Space Race
• 9,600+ students across four colleges: Engineering and Science, Business, Psychology and Liberal Arts, and Aeronautics
• Global Employability University Ranking and Survey placed Florida Tech 17^th in the U.S.

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Making the grade

• 2024 Wall Street Journal College Rankings
• Top 400 universities in the U.S.
• 6^th in the nation for student experience
• 1^st in Florida for ranked schools
• Second-highest ranking for all 196 private schools included in the rankings

Strategic Plan: The Pillars

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• People of Excellence
• Programs Driven by Innovation
• Transformative Partnerships
• Optimized Learning & Social Environments

New Resources for Students

Gordon L. Nelson Health Sciences Building

Mertens Marine Science Center

Connected to the Community

Connected with industry: L3Harris

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• Strong relationship dating to the university’s founding
• On-site master’s degree collaboration
• Systems Engineering focus
• 132 graduates; 40 students registered for Fall 2023

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Connected with industry: Northrop Grumman

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• “Level Up” program
• Collaboratively designed to meet industry needs
• Classes meet once per week in custom 8-week terms
• Master’s degrees offered include Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, Engineering Management, MBA
• 256 graduates; 60 students registered last fall

Engineering & Science Student Design Showcase

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• Student capstone projects
• Range of STEM disciplines
• Internships and career opportunities result
• Expertise of industry

Across the Space Coast

• weVENTURE
• Free business consultations
• Workshops and seminars
• Engaging networking events
• Indian River Lagoon Research Institute
• Consortium for Aquarium Research and Education (CARE) at IRL

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Students in action

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• Civic Engagement Initiative
• Brevard Public Schools
• Children’s Hunger Project
• Daily Bread

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Focused on the Future

Where we go next…

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• From good to great!
• Top choice for STEM students
• Strengthen research enterprise
• Preferred partner for business and industry

Where we go next…

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• Paying it forward
• Strategic planning and visioning execution
• Valuing individual perspectives
• Collaboration
• Teamwork

What we can offer industry…

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• Tailored graduate education and professional development
• A pre-determined number of qualified leads per year
• Internships/apprenticeships
• On-site recruiting and access to campus career fairs

Together is better

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• Expand the talent pipeline
• Find new opportunities to collaborate
• Tackle challenges as a team
• Prepare for the future

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Let’s connect on social media:

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@FloridaTechPrez on X/Twitter

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@FloridaTechPrez on Instagram

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John Nicklow (in/FloridaTechPrez) on LinkedIn

Thank you!