Dr. Martha Saunders, the President of the University of West Florida, has worked in higher education for over three decades. She has served in academic leadership roles in Florida, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Mississippi, and is known for her ability to manage and navigate crises. 

She credits her ability to help move through tough times to her views on innovative learning and creating cutting-edge academic programs. Higher education is facing some big challenges these days and she’s passionate about creating innovative solutions to deal with them. 

Academic leadership was not her first stop on her career journey. She actually started out in communications and helped navigate the waters of creating proper communication channels during crises. 

Those years have served her well as she has worked to make UWF one of the top three public schools in all of Florida.

Listen as she shares her story, why they were already prepared for an instance like Covid, and what it takes to truly step into innovative learning. Dr. Saunders is a font of knowledge and her views on how to properly prepare for the unknown are unmatched. You won’t want to miss out on this discussion.

Show Notes:

• [02:35] What led Dr. Martha Saunders to academia and innovative learning? 
• [04:24] How is her university leading the charge in changing learning structures? 
• [07:14] Dr. Saunders shares how they attract new students with their messaging and culture. 
• [09:20] Some of the challenges they’ve faced as the narrative shifts around education. 
• [10:33] Ways they’ve tackled all of the changes brought about by Covid. 
• [13:24] They were ahead of the game when it came to crisis management due to the nature of their location. 
• [14:20] Dr. Saunders shares a big AHA moment she had and how it’s helped her in her career. 
• [16:50] It’s so important to paint a picture for yourself of the outcome you want. 
• [19:42] What does her work/life balance look like? 
• [22:16] There will never be perfect balance, but remember to recenter. 
• [22:51] The things she does to alleviate stress when things pile on.
• [26:04] How you can raise your level of innovative learning to achieve your passion and goals.
• [28:14] Connect with Dr. Saunders.

Links and Resources:

University of West Florida

Dr. Saunders’ Biography

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