Touting itself as the “Gateway to the Gators,” Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Fla., has benefitted from its proximity to the University of Florida since its inception in 1965. Today, President Dr. Jackson Sasser says his college holds its own in terms of quality education and lofty expectations, and he credits his dedicated faculty and staff for setting the bar high.

“We are planted in the best center of learning in the state of Florida,” he says. “Of course, the faculty more than anything sets the culture of the college. It began by selecting highly credentialed individuals, and that tradition has continued for 40 years.”

Since 1965, Santa Fe College has grown from less than 1,000 students enrolled for its first semester to more than 18,000 students enrolled in credit courses, and an additional 12,000 taking non-credit classes. The college has three locations in Gainesville – the Northwest Campus, the Blount Center in downtown Gainesville and the Kirkpatrick Institute of Public Safety in East Gainesville. 

Santa Fe also offers classes at the Andrews Center in Starke, Fla., the Davis Center in Archer, Fla., the Perry Center for Emerging Technologies in Alachua, Fla., and the Watson Center in Keystone Heights, Fla. 

Sasser is the fourth president in the college’s 45-year history. He took this role 10 years ago, and he boasts more than 30 years of experience in education administration.

Faculty first

Throughout his career, Sasser has acknowledged that teachers will make or break the success of a college or university. He has been fortunate to work with dedicated faculty at every stop he has made, and Santa Fe College is no different.

One of the main characteristics of a good “learning leader,” according to Sasser, is enthusiasm for the craft. Sasser says the faculty members at Santa Fe College are dedicated to going to class or implementing their online lessons no matter what might be in their way – which might mean politely excusing themselves from an important audience.

“Regardless if the governor is on campus, or they’re in a meeting with me, good faculty will get up and go to class,” he says. “Our faculty knows the highest priority is leading that learning experience, so they go to class.”

Sasser also believes it is important to empower faculty throughout the college to determine what is best for students. This requires administrators like Sasser to step back and allow instructors to do what they do best.

“Presidents and provosts must understand the sacredness of the classroom, and by that I mean allowing faculty and the departments to decide what’s important,” he says. “The characteristic that has the most impact is enthusiasm. A president or provost must understand the sacredness of the classroom and get out of the way.”

A new world

Although Sasser takes a hands-off approach to curriculum development, he has implemented an initiative to “internationalize” courses across Santa Fe College. He says one of the biggest challenges the college faces is showing rural Floridian students how they are connected to the rest of the world, so he implores every faculty member to include current events topics in their syllabi. 

“Every employee, particularly the faculty, must understand the importance of international affairs,” he says. “The world is radically different than it was just last year. Look at the Arab Spring – what does that mean for our students?”

Sasser says the college was on the cusp of implementing such a policy when he joined Santa Fe a decade ago, but it was only instituted within certain aspects of campus life. Today, every course has some component of international affairs in its syllabus, and the college typically has at least four or five Fulbright scholars on staff every academic year. 

Raising expectations

Another aspect of education Santa Fe College aims to alter is the disparity between African-American male students and those of other races. In January, Sasser intends to launch the Democracy Commitment, which is a group on campus that will partake in civil engagement in the community to stress the importance of positive role models getting involved with these students.

“One of the great tragedies of American education is the lack of success of African-American males,” Sasser says. “A number of African-American professionals met with me privately, and to a person, they told me somebody intervened in their lives and taught them about expectations and motivations.”

Part of the Democracy Commitment includes closing the “digital divide” that exists for African-American males, Sasser adds. Santa Fe College is furnishing numerous churches and homeless centers throughout East Gainesville with hundreds of computers as the college undergoes technological upgrades. It will provide computer training, as well. 

“We are literally entering the lives of individuals for which equal expectation and equal motivation has not been provided,” he says. “This is the best time to be in the business. The opportunities for learning are occurring so fast, you’ve just got to hang on.

“This is the best day to be alive in our education,” Sasser adds. “The presidency allows you to have major influence.”