Shaw to leave FSU PC

PANAMA CITY — Florida State University Panama City Dean Ken Shaw announced Monday he would leave the school to take a position as president of Southwestern Adventist University, according to the university.

Shaw, who has been with the school since he completed his doctorate at the University of Georgia, will assume his new role on July 1. Shaw has served as dean since 2009, and he was associate dean for academic programs from 2000 until 2005.

An interim dean has not been named.

“I have worked at FSU Panama City for 25 years, and it is with mixed emotions that I make the decision to leave,” Shaw said in a prepared statement released by the school. “I am excited about what the future holds, but I will deeply miss the friendships I have developed here.”

Activity at FSU Panama City has increased significantly under Shaw, who served as acting dean in 1998 and again in 2005-06. The campus now offers 23 full-time programs and employs 30 full-time faculty. Enrollment has jumped to 1,600 in fall 2013 since fall 2008, when 985 students enrolled.

Associate Dean Steve Leach called Shaw’s leadership a blessing to the school and the community.

“For 25 years, this campus and the Panama City community have been blessed by the leadership of Dr. Ken Shaw. Many significant changes have taken place as a result of his vision of the Panama City campus as an intellectual focal point for Bay County area,” Leach said in a prepar3ed statement. “He will be dearly missed, but we wish him the very best as he takes on a new set of challenges.”

The FSU Board of Trustees in 2010 approved the establishment of the College of Applied Sciences, which now offers three bachelor’s programs, a master’s program and two certificate programs. Since 2012, a campaign has raised almost $2.9 million toward the Endowment of the College of Applied Sciences.

“FSU Panama City is much bigger than any one person, and I have all the confidence that the campus will continue to be successful,” Shaw said. “It has been a real pleasure working here for the past 25 years.”