Pamela Chally is the University of North Florida’s interim president.
The UNF board of trustees voted unanimously Aug. 12 for her to succeed David Szymanski, who stepped down as president Aug. 5 to become the full-time CEO and executive director of UNF MedNexus.
Pending approval by the Florida Board of Governors, Chally will begin her term Sept. 18.
Chally was recommended for the position by UNF board of trustees Chair Kevin Hyde.
“Dr. Chally has had a long and distinguished career at the University of North Florida, serving UNF with excellence since she arrived on campus back in 1993,” Hyde said in a news release.
“I am very grateful that Pam is willing to take on the role of interim president, and the board is confident in her ability to lead UNF while the search is completed for the University’s next president.”
Chally was interim provost and vice president of academic affairs at UNF from 2017 to 2019. She previously was the dean and a professor of nursing in UNF’s Brooks College of Health and has a doctorate in nursing from Georgia State University.
“It’s an honor to be named UNF’s interim president. I’m confident our amazing and hard-working team of faculty and staff will continue the University’s relentless pursuit of student success,” Chally said in the release.
During her tenure as dean, Chally raised more than $30 million in support of the Brooks College of Health, increased enrollment by more than 20% and added three new doctoral programs in nursing, nutrition and physical therapy.
As interim provost at UNF, Chally integrated Student Affairs into the Academic Affairs Division and improved state performance metrics by 34%.
In addition to her work at UNF, Chally has served on boards and advisory councils for Baptist Health System, Brooks Rehabilitation, Ronald McDonald House and Sulzbacher Center. Chally was a Women with Heart honoree by Volunteers in Medicine Jacksonville in 2018.
The board of trustees will meet in a few weeks to discuss next steps in the search process for UNF’s next president, the release said.