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University of Florida PresidentDr. J. Bernard MachenBernie Machen has served as the president of theUniversity of Florida since January of 2004. Duringthat time, he has strengthened the university’s threecore missions of teaching, research and service – whiledeveloping a fourth mission of economic development.2014 SPRINGCommencement4Thanks to his leadership, the university has improvedits standing in the national higher education rankingsand increased its positive influence on Florida’seconomy and quality of life. Today, despite the loss ofabout a third of its state allocation to annual budgetcuts, UF is more comprehensive and dynamic than atany time in its 160-year history.Milestones of Dr. Machen’s tenure include:• Growth in annual research funding from$470 million in 2003-04 to $644 million inthe current fiscal year.• More than 2.8 million square feet in newconstruction on campus, including nearly600,000 square feet of new research space.• Completion of UF’s $1.7 billion capitalcampaign.• The 40-acre public private partnership knownas Innovation Square and the Innovation Hubtechnology incubator.• UF’s first major medical research facility outsideGainesville, the UF Research and AcademicCenter at Lake Nona in Orlando.• The Machen Florida Opportunity Scholarsprogram, enabling the enrollment of more than2,600 low-income students who are the first intheir families to attend college.• The spring-summer Innovation Academy forentrepreneurially minded undergraduates.Dr. Machen also reorganized the UF Health ScienceCenter, strengthening the ties between UF and theShands family of hospitals. He emphasized clinicalresearch through the Clinical and TranslationalScience Institute. Also, the UF Health Shands CancerHospital was completed under his watch.Elsewhere at the university, Dr. Machen createdthe Bob Graham Center for Public Service and theClaude D. Pepper Older Americans IndependenceCenter. His administration has been marked bya strong commitment to environmental causes,including a university-wide sustainability institutethat is considered a model in public higher education.The UF Water Institute was created during his time atUF, and a UF nature preserve was designated as oneof the first National Science Foundation-sponsoredNational Ecological Observatory Network sites.Prior to his arrival at UF, Dr. Machen served for sixyears as president of the University of Utah, wherehe is credited with expanding its health sciencesprogram, stabilizing the university’s finances andbolstering diversity.From 1995 to 1997, Dr. Machen was provost andexecutive vice president for academic affairs at theUniversity of Michigan, and from 1989 until 1995,he served as dean of Michigan’s School of Dentistry.From 1983 to 1989, he was professor and associatedean at the University of North Carolina ChapelHill’s School of Dentistry.Dr. Machen has held several prominent positions innational higher education leadership. Since 2005,he has served as a member of the National SecurityHigher Education Advisory Board. He chaired theBoard of Directors of the National Campus Compactfrom 2002-2004 and served as a member of the boardbeginning in 1998. Additionally, beginning in 2010,he served as president of the Executive Committeeof the Southeastern Conference and chair of theSoutheastern Conference Academic Consortium.In 1987, Dr. Machen was president of the AmericanAssociation of Dental Schools. From 1992 to 1995, hewas a member of the National Academy of Science’sInstitute of Medicine Committee on EducatingDentists for the Future. He has a past appointment aschief of the Department of Extension Service at theU.S. Army Institute of Dental Research.A native of Greenwood, Mississippi, Dr. Machen grewup in St. Louis. After attending Vanderbilt Universityfor his undergraduate studies, he earned his doctor ofdental surgery degree from St. Louis University andhis master of science degree in pediatric dentistryand doctorate in educational psychology from theUniversity of Iowa.Dr. Machen and his wife, Chris, a former neonatalintensive care nurse, live in Gainesville. They havetwo sons: Lee, an engineer at Intel in Portland;Michael, an attorney in Chicago; a daughter,Maggie, a veterinarian and resident in small animalcardiology at the University of Pennsylvania; and fourgrandchildren.