Just 8 Months Into the Job, U. of Central Florida’s President Resigns

Dale Whittaker, president of the University of Central Florida, will resign from his position on Tuesday, according to his resignation letter to the Board of Trustees and his public announcement.

Whittaker took the helm of the 66,000-student university less than eight months ago, after serving as its provost and executive vice president. Last year the state’s auditor general reported that the university had used $38 million from leftover state operating funds for a new building, Trevor Colbourn Hall, a move that violates state rules, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Since then Whittaker and other current and former administrators have faced intense scrutiny from lawmakers.

Whittaker was supposed to testify before the state’s House Public Integrity and Ethics Committee on Tuesday, but on Monday night the meeting was suddenly canceled. The committee also sent subpoenas to a former trustee and several former administrators, the Sentinel reports.

In his resignation letter, Whittaker wrote that he was stepping down so that “the relationship between UCF and the Legislature can be renewed.”

He also wrote that the institution had made changes in response to the problems brought forward by the new construction.

“However, despite my work to find and solve these problems,” he wrote, “it has been made clear to me that for UCF to succeed with our state leaders in the future, new leadership is required.”

Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz is breaking-news editor. Follow her on Twitter @FernandaZamudio, or email her at fzamudiosuarez@chronicle.com.

Correction (2/20/2019, 9:58 a.m.): A previous version of this article stated that Dale Whittaker was president of the University of Central Florida for just six months. He served as president for closer to eight months, starting July 1, 2018. The article has been corrected.