Shaping the future

Martha Dunagin Saunders came to higher education later in her career after working in public relations, journalism and advertising. But once she had that first experience in the classroom, she knew she had found her home.

“I really liked the environment and felt like I was good in it,” she explains to The CEO Magazine.

She wasn’t alone in recognizing that she was a natural fit in the profession. After moving through the academic ranks at the University of West Florida (UWF), the then president told her she would make a good president. His words inspired her, and within six months she landed her first provost role.

Three years later, she moved into her first Chancellor role at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and a Presidency followed at the University of Southern Mississippi, after which the plan was to retire.

But she answered the phone and was invited to return to UWF.

“Of course, I love the place so much, I came back,” she says, describing her appointment as President in 2017.

What she thought would be a short term has become eight years and counting.

Leaving her mark

As its name suggests, of the 12 public universities in the state of Florida, UWF is the most western, in Pensacola on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1967, it’s also younger than the state’s flagship universities. The university has, she says, grown as it should.

“I’m the sixth President, and each has left an important mark,” she explains.

The first president’s vision was for a center of intellectual development in the heart of its campus – a 647-hectare nature preserve that Saunders describes as a beautiful little center out in the woods. The second president put academic teeth in UWF’s programs.

“He put tremendous rigor in our programs, and I would hold ours up for quality against any,” she says.

His successor’s legacy was to open UWF’s doors to the world.

“He built big international programs that are still very strong,” she says.

The fourth’s imprint?

“Dragging us into the modern world, technology-wise. He positioned us as an early adopter in online learning, which made a huge difference when the COVID-19 pandemic hit,” she says.

The fifth president, and Saunders’ predecessor, built up a more traditional environment.

“She introduced football and created a sense that students can really come and live on campus, join a fraternity and play tuba in a band, whatever they want to do,” she explains.

Leading edge

So what is Saunders’ goal during her tenure at UWF?

“To put us on the map. We are a good university, but people need to know about you,” she says, a lesson she knows all too well from her PR days – it’s not good enough just to be good.

When she took up the presidency, UWF was already enjoying recognition within its individual academic endeavors, such as health, science, cybersecurity and engineering, but now the university is garnering wider national recognition, she explains.

For the past few years, it has been a top 10 Top Public School in US News and World Report rankings. Given Pensacola’s military heritage, Saunders also understands how important it is that UWF is one of the best in the nation in terms of support for veterans.

The university’s culture has also been recognized: in 2024, it was named as a ‘Great College to Work’ for the 12th year.

“I think that pleases me more than anything because I have influence over that,” she says with a smile.

With a student body of 15,000 and 500 faculty, Saunders knows that UWF is not the largest, richest or oldest university in Florida. Where it does have the leading edge, however, is in its agility.

“Traditional universities don’t move real fast. It would take 18 months to have a baby if a university had to do it!” she laughs. “But UWF can move when industry tells us to.”

An example she points to is how AI is being embedded into every single major.

“It’s a nice place to be a President when you can move that quickly,” she says.

“I can pick up the phone and have the leadership in my office in a couple of hours; we can make a decision and go.”

High impact

Saunders, who still tries to lead lessons wherever possible, says that AI is a wonderful tool.

“We are making sure our students know how to best use it without foregoing thinking,” she says.

UWF is also ensuring its students graduate with soft skills and what Saunders calls “high-impact practices”.

“Every student is expected to have two high-impact practice experiences before they graduate, and we’re thinking of raising that to three,” she explains.

Internships, undergraduate research, study abroad and service learning all count – and Saunders knows such programs set UWF graduates apart at the hiring table from data.

“One of the ways we are measured by the state is in the percentage of students who are employed a year after graduation, and we have led the state for the past three years,” she says.

So high is the reputation of its graduates that employers are reaching out to connect with them while they are still students. The encouragement from the industry has been very rewarding, she says.

It’s just one of the ways Saunders’ passion continues to burn for higher education.

“There’s a culture where you make things happen,” she enthuses. “All these young folks that have big plans for their lives – they don’t know what it is, but it’s going to be big, and you’re here to open doors for them.

“You cannot have a bad day on a university campus. You can have a hard day, but you’re surrounded by hope.”