Meet new Florida Tech President John Nicklow, who's getting his feet wet on campus
Seated in the Florida Institute of Technology's presidential office, John Nicklow pulled out his phone and scrolled through a calendar screen loaded with back-to-back-to-back meetings and appointments, each highlighted in yellow.
“This is today. It goes from early mornings to 12-, 13-hour days. And that's been pretty standard," said Nicklow, who moved from Louisiana to the Space Coast in mid-June and started work July 1 as Florida Tech's new president.
Nicklow — an engineer by trade who was president of the University of New Orleans — likened his inaugural days at Florida Tech with "drinking from the fire hose" as he introduced himself to faculty, community and business leaders, and local politicians.
Among his initial off-campus visits: Blue Origin, Groundswell Startups, OneWeb Satellites and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
“Let me talk about being present: Things don't happen unless you're there. So my motto is, 'Be everywhere all the time.' Which obviously is not possible — but as much as possible: Be present. Be part of the conversation," Nicklow said.
"Visibility leads to greater impact. And that's what we're trying to do," he said.
Nicklow succeeds T. Dwayne McCay as Florida Tech's sixth permanent president. McCay served from 2016 until he resigned in March 2022, saying he needed to spend more time with his family.
Robert King served as interim president from July 2022 during the past year while a seven-member search committee conducted a nationwide search for McCay's successor, ultimately choosing Nicklow over a field of 112 candidates.
King, a former chancellor of the State University of New York, was hired as an interim with the understanding that he would not be eligible for the permanent position, Florida Tech spokesperson Wes Sumner said. King is now an educational consultant who serves on the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges board of directors.
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Fall semester classes kick off Aug. 21 on campus. And Florida Tech will mark its 65th anniversary this academic year. Planning is underway on commemorative activities.
The private Melbourne STEM university offers more than 180 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs, in addition to minor and certificate programs, at four colleges: the College of Aeronautics, Nathan M. Bisk College of Business, College of Engineering and Science, and College of Psychology and Liberal Arts.
Looming large on the list of past presidents are Jerome Keuper, the university founder who saw enrollment skyrocket from 225 students in 1958 to more than 7,500 by 1983, and Anthony Catanese, who raised about $250 million and led a wave of facilities construction on and off campus during his tenure from 2002-16.
“The more I learn, I am just so impressed and amazed at the work being done here. The talent, the expertise and the presence of alumni in our industry and businesses in the area is amazing," Nicklow said.
"First impression? 'Wow. Absolutely wow,'" he said.
A Message from President Nicklow, July 25 2023
As his first month at Florida Tech comes to a close, President Nicklow takes a moment to share some observations, updates, and even his social media handles with the university community.
Posted by Florida Institute of Technology on Tuesday, July 25, 2023
About John Nicklow
Nicklow, 53, started his career as an environmental engineering officer with the U.S. Public Health Service. Hanging on a wall behind his desk inside the John E. Miller Office Building are his framed degrees: Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in civil engineering from Bucknell University and a doctorate in civil engineering from Arizona State University.
He is a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a diplomate of the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers.
Before his seven-year presidential tenure at the University of New Orleans, Nicklow served as provost, vice chancellor for academic affairs and chief enrollment officer at Southern Illinois University.
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One of Nicklow's key goals: Elevate Florida Tech's stature to attract more students and partnerships.
"I don't ever want to hear somebody say we're the best-kept secret. That's not a compliment. I don't think any business leader would tell you that it's a compliment," he said, laughing.
Nicklow said he wants to boost communication between Florida Tech and its alumni. More than 68,000 students from more than 120 countries have earned degrees over the decades.
“If your alma mater never contacts you, you're not going to be very engaged," Nicklow said.
"I want them to talk about Florida Tech. I want them to be proud of the degree on their wall. I want them to be an influencer when they're talking to other potential college students, when they're looking for business partners," he said.
Campus facilities to be reviewed
As an early task, Nicklow plans to launch a master plan to assess infrastructure across the university's 130-acre campus. Sumner said no such physical-asset planning effort has been done during his 15 years at Florida Tech, if not longer.
"I'll give you an example. We need more housing. And there is no doubt about it," Nicklow said.
"So where is that housing (going to go)? How is it built? How do we do it in a sustainable way, in a resilient way? What we can't do is just say, 'I need more lab space,' or 'I need more housing,' and just plop it down in the middle of everything without thinking about a broader vision," he said.
"It cannot be fragmented," he said.
Nicklow said he hopes the campus master plan will help set long-term infrastructure priorities to be funded and built in phases, perhaps in five-year increments.
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To help guide strategic planning, Nicklow launched a wide-ranging 40-member steering group in mid-June that is researching various university topics and due to report back this fall. This group is collecting input from students, faculty, staff, alumni, business partners, top employers and city leaders.
He said he hopes the steering group helps answer the question: Who are we going to be in 2040?
“If you want a graduation rate of 90%, then what do we have to do right now? What progress has to be made this year? And how to do it?" Nicklow asked.
"I think that's fundamental. You don't start designing whole systems in any business without understanding who you are," he said.
Athletics under assessment
Nicklow played right offensive tackle on the football team at Bucknell, a Division I school that competes in the Patriot Conference.
Florida Tech's roster of 11 Division II varsity sports doubled to 22 sports by 2015 during Catanese's tenure. But amid a series of cutbacks, that number had tumbled back down to 11 Sunshine State Conference varsity sports by last July.
Nicklow did not have specifics available, but he said athletics are under assessment. He said he wants the Panthers to be more competitive — but under a business model that makes financial sense.
The university remains embroiled in a federal Title IX lawsuit spearheaded by the Friends of FIT Rowing Association alumni group after the athletic department demoted the men's and women's rowing squads to club sports.
In February, a federal judge in Orlando ordered Florida Tech to reinstate the men’s rowing team to varsity status. Men’s cross country has also returned as a varsity sport after joining the lawsuit, with running programs expanded to include men's varsity indoor/outdoor track.
Nicklow said Florida Tech will be Title IX-compliant this fall.
"I want other teams to be afraid to play Florida Tech. When they come here, I want other teams to be a little bit scared about what they're walking into because we're so competitive," Nicklow said.
Plans for public engagement
Nicklow delivered a speech Saturday at the Eddie Lee Taylor Sr. Community Center in Melbourne. The center hosted One Community Day, an event aimed at strengthening families in South Melbourne and northern Palm Bay.
Saturday, Nicklow also spoke during his first commencement ceremony in the Clemente Center. He will participate in a Cocoa Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce "State of the Schools" panel discussion from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Eastern Florida State College-Melbourne Student Union.
Speaking engagements in September include a Space Coast League of Cities meeting, a Neighbor Up Brevard breakfast, and the Melbourne Regional Chamber's annual retreat in Jupiter.
Nicklow plans to shoot monthly videos to address the campus and alumni communities. His Instagram and Twitter/X handles are @FloridaTechPrez.
His wife, Stacy, earned a doctorate in American literature from SIU and spent nearly 20 years teaching in the classroom, serving as a tenured faculty member at Shawnee College in Illinois. Their son, Ethan, a Duke University graduate, is studying biomedical engineering at the University of Virginia.
Florida Tech presidents
Jerome Keuper: 1958 to 1986.
John Miller: 1986 to 1987.
Lynn Weaver: 1987 to 2002.
Anthony Catanese: 2002 to 2016.
T. Dwayne McCay: 2016 to March 2022.
Marco Carvalho: March-July 2022 (acting president).
Robert King: July 2022-June 2023 (interim president).
John Nicklow: July 1 to present.
Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Meet new Florida Tech President John Nicklow: 'Be everywhere all the time'
