Florida Board of Governors Confirms Michael Shannon as University of North Florida's Eighth President

The Florida Board of Governors on Wednesday unanimously confirmed Michael P. Shannon as the eighth president of the University of North Florida, clearing the final hurdle for the Jacksonville university's new leader. Shannon, currently president of the University of North Georgia, will take office on Jan. 4, 2027.

The vote came during the board's meeting at the University of Florida's J. Wayne Reitz Union in Gainesville on Sept. 30. Under Florida law, presidents selected by a state university's board of trustees must be confirmed by the Board of Governors, which oversees the 12-campus State University System.

Shannon's confirmation ends a nearly yearlong leadership transition at UNF, which has been led by an interim president since February. He arrives as the university reports record enrollment and as Florida's public universities continue to operate under a period of heavy state oversight of hiring, curriculum and governance.

The search and the trustees' vote

The UNF Board of Trustees selected Shannon on Sept. 16 after a five-month national search, according to the university. Trustees later approved his employment agreement on an 11-1 vote, according to the UNF student newspaper, The Spinnaker.

Florida's presidential search process has changed significantly in recent years. A 2022 state law allowed universities to keep the identities of applicants confidential until finalists are named, a shift supporters said would attract sitting presidents and other candidates who would not apply publicly. Searches now typically produce a short slate of finalists who are interviewed publicly before trustees vote.

The Board of Governors has used its confirmation power more actively in recent years, and confirmation votes are no longer treated as a formality in every case. Shannon's unanimous approval indicates he drew no organized opposition at the state level.

The search drew attention in Northeast Florida because of the university's momentum. UNF has emphasized enrollment growth and new academic programs, and trustees framed the presidency as a chance to build on that trajectory with an experienced campus leader.

Who is Michael Shannon

Shannon is the 18th president of the University of North Georgia, a multi-campus public university in the University System of Georgia. Before leading UNG, he served as an administrator at Georgia Tech, according to earlier reporting on his appointment in Georgia.

He is a retired lieutenant colonel who served 20 years in the U.S. Army, according to UNF. He holds a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering and a master's degree in aeronautical science, both from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which is based in Daytona Beach.

That Embry-Riddle background gives Shannon an existing tie to Florida's higher education landscape and to the aviation and aerospace industries that have become a major part of the state's economy, from Jacksonville's military installations to the Space Coast.

His military background may also resonate in Jacksonville, which is home to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport and a large population of active-duty service members, veterans and military families. Universities in the region compete to enroll and support students connected to those installations.

Pay and contract terms

Shannon's agreement sets a base salary of $750,000, with a potential annual performance bonus capped at $225,000, according to The Spinnaker's reporting on the contract. His current salary at the University of North Georgia is $360,200, according to the same report.

The UNF package is in line with the rising cost of hiring university presidents in Florida, where compensation for campus leaders has climbed in recent years as the state's universities compete nationally for executives. State law caps the portion of a university president's pay that can come from state funds, with the remainder typically paid from university foundation or other non-state sources.

Shannon's interim predecessor, Angela Garcia Falconetti, earns $600,000 a year under a one-year agreement that runs through Feb. 15, 2027, according to The Spinnaker. Her compensation also included a relocation payment and monthly car and housing allowances.

By those figures, Shannon's base pay at UNF will be $150,000 higher than the interim president's salary and more than double what he earns in Georgia. Supporters of higher presidential pay argue it is necessary to recruit experienced leaders; critics, including some faculty groups across the state, have questioned the gap between executive and faculty compensation.

A transition that began with a move to USF

Background: UNF's leadership change began when former president Moez Limayem left Jacksonville to become president of the University of South Florida. His departure set off the interim appointment and the national search that ended with Shannon's selection.

Falconetti, a UNF alumna and Jacksonville native who previously served as president of Polk State College, assumed the interim role on Feb. 16, 2026. During her tenure she outlined goals focused on enrollment growth and the student experience, according to campus coverage.

Limayem's move to Tampa was itself part of a broader reshuffling of university leadership across Florida, where several campuses have hired new presidents since 2022. Each of those hires has gone through the same two-step process of trustee selection followed by Board of Governors confirmation.

With Shannon not starting until January, Falconetti will continue to lead the university through the fall semester, giving the incoming president several months to prepare for the move from north Georgia to Jacksonville.

UNF by the numbers

UNF reported record enrollment this fall, with more than 18,900 students, according to the university. The campus sits on the Southside of Jacksonville and is one of the newer institutions in the State University System; it was established by the Legislature in 1969 and opened to students in 1972.

The university is best known for programs in business, nursing, transportation and logistics, and its role in supplying graduates to Northeast Florida's health care, finance and port economies. Its growth tracks the broader population boom in the Jacksonville metro area and in fast-growing neighboring counties such as St. Johns and Clay.

UNF has also sought to raise its profile within the state system, where performance-based funding ties a portion of state money to metrics such as graduation rates, retention and post-graduation employment. Improving on those measures is likely to be a central expectation for the new president.

The university also competes for students with a growing set of options in the region, including Florida State College at Jacksonville, private Jacksonville University and the University of Florida's planned graduate presence in downtown Jacksonville. How UNF positions itself among those institutions will be one of the strategic questions facing its new leader.

How the Board of Governors works

Background: The Florida Board of Governors was created by a 2002 constitutional amendment approved by voters to oversee the State University System as a single coordinated system. The board has 17 members. Fourteen are citizen members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Florida Senate, and the remaining seats are held by the commissioner of education, the chair of the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates and the president of the Florida Student Association.

The board sets systemwide regulations, approves new degree programs, allocates performance-based funding and submits the system's legislative budget request each year. Confirmation of university presidents was added to its responsibilities in recent years, giving the statewide board a direct say over who leads each campus.

The Sept. 30 meeting in Gainesville also included a budget and finance committee session ahead of the full board meeting, according to the board's published schedule. Shannon's confirmation was one of the most closely watched items for Northeast Florida, where business and civic leaders had closely followed the presidential search since it began in the spring.

Board members have described presidential confirmation as a way to ensure campus leaders share the system's priorities, including student outcomes, affordability and alignment with Florida's workforce needs.

The Florida context

Shannon will join a State University System that has undergone sweeping change under Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature. Recent laws have restricted diversity, equity and inclusion spending, reshaped general education requirements, expanded post-tenure review and given the Board of Governors and trustees more authority over academic decisions.

Several Florida universities have also changed leaders in the past few years, with trustees frequently turning to candidates from outside traditional academic paths, including former elected officials and military officers. Shannon's mix of military service and university administration fits within that pattern while also bringing a sitting president's experience.

Board of Governors members have emphasized workforce alignment, cost control and student outcomes as priorities for campus leaders. Those priorities are expected to shape the expectations UNF trustees set for Shannon's first years in office.

Background: Other recent changes include a 2022 law requiring post-tenure review of faculty every five years and a 2023 law that barred state universities from spending on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Campus leaders, including new presidents, are responsible for carrying out those requirements and reporting compliance to the Board of Governors.

What's next

Shannon is scheduled to begin as UNF president on Jan. 4, 2027. Until then, Falconetti remains interim president, and the university is expected to plan a transition period that includes meetings with faculty, students, community leaders and donors in Jacksonville.

Shannon will also need to step down from his post in Georgia, where the University System of Georgia will begin its own process to name a successor at the University of North Georgia.

Once in office, Shannon's early agenda is likely to include sustaining enrollment growth, improving the university's standing on state performance metrics and preparing UNF's priorities for the 2027 legislative session in Tallahassee.

Faculty, students and Jacksonville business leaders will be watching how quickly Shannon builds relationships in a city where UNF plays a growing role in workforce development, and how he balances local priorities with the statewide expectations set in Tallahassee.