Manny Diaz Jr. aims to elevate UWF through military ties, sports and development

Diaz spoke on the importance of maximizing the university's potential -- from military partnerships to graduation rates and athletics.

"We're going to be student focused, we're going to be focused on economic development," Diaz said. "Focused on putting UWF on the map and focused on quality."

Diaz's introduction as interim president comes amid a major shift at the university, as seven of the 12 trustees on the UWF board were appointed this year by Governor Ron DeSantis.

Counting Diaz, there are now five university presidents in Florida who are former GOP officials.

In march, Governor DeSantis spoke on the expectations to come at UWF.

"University of West Florida, buckle up," he said. "You're gonna see a lot of changes there for the better."

WEAR News asked Diaz about this.

• WEAR News: "From your perspective, what are the biggest changes that need to come here to maximize that potential?"
• Diaz: "I think like I said from the beginning, we have to recognize the achievements and recognize where the institution has come. I think anybody whose been here a long time, and looking at it, you've seen the development of the institution."

Diaz pointed out UWF's newest metrics that rank the school the third best overall public university in the state.

While he says it would be easy to keep the status quo, Diaz believes it's important to continue raising the bar.

"The best defense is to play offense," Diaz said. "So you have to continue to look for ways to improve on that."

Speaking of offense and defense, UWF athletics is poised to expand their national presence under the interim president.

While much of the community already embraces the Argos, Diaz says he feels the market value could reach new heights.

"Athletics is a branding apparatus as well as something for our students," he said. "If we can win, be out there, it raises people's awareness of UWF and our intention is to maximize that."

Diaz's term as interim president lasts one year.

For now, the focus is on delivering results as the university searches for a permanent president.

"Sometimes the ball doesn't bounce your way, but as long as you can walk away and know you've put everything you've had with the time you've had into it, then I think you're going to be happy with the results," Diaz said.

Diaz will receive a base salary of $643,000, but that can be extended if he's named the permanent replacement.