FGCU students, faculty, staff and Southwest Florida community members gathered on Jan. 12 for the presidential installation of Dr. Aysegul Timur. She is the first female in the permanent presidential position and fifth overall president of the university.
The ceremony was held in Alico Arena followed by a lunch at the university soccer complex.
President Timur was voted into office on May 4, 2023 by the University Board of Trustees and her presidency was confirmed by the Florida Board of Governors on June 22, 2023. Her first official day in office was July 1, 2023.
Her presidency follows that of Dr. Michael Martin who was present at the event along with FGCU’s founding president Dr. Roy McTarnaghan and FGCU’s third president, Dr. Wilson Bradshaw. The university’s second president, Dr. William Merwin, died in 2011.
Similar to a commencement ceremony, the installation was a formal event that began with a faculty and dignitary processional. Many FGCU officials gave speeches prior to the inaugural address including the President of the Florida Senate, Ms. Kathleen Passidomo and the Chancellor of the State University System of Florida, Mr. Raymond Rodrigues, who graduated from FGCU in 2017 with his Master in Public Administration.
In her inaugural address, President Timur addressed the Southwest Florida community and thanked her friends and family for their continued support.
“You [the Southwest Florida community] welcomed me and my family 25 years ago, you adopted me as one of your own and, as I look out around the room today, I see so many of the people who took me under their wings,” she said. “You helped raise me. And I want you to know that I am proud to call Southwest Florida home.”
President Timur has made it a point to prioritize engaging with students on campus and said she plans to continue doing so throughout her presidency.
According to the Coordinator of University Communications & Media Relations, Pamela McCabe, President Timur has officially been operating as the university’s president since she began her time in office in July, but this ceremony was strictly ceremonial and a celebration of all that she has done and will continue to do in her role.
