Aysegul Timur, Ph. D. – 5th President of FGCU
A resident of Collier County for the past 25 years, Dr. Timur’s journey to the role of 5th President of FGCU is one paved with many academic and personal achievements. In her 24th year in higher education, Timur most recently served as Vice President and Vice Provost for Strategy and Program Innovation at FGCU.
Dr. Timur hails from the Bosporus Strait, an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey, a natural boundary uniting Europe and Asia. So it makes perfect sense that Dr. Timur would build a career joining people together, a confluence of student success aligning with local business needs.
Prior to her presidency at FGCU, Timur earned numerous degrees and was employed by Hodges University where she progressed from teaching assistant, to professor, to Dean of the Johnson School of Business, then Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs in 2017.
Highly respected among Collier County’s business and community leaders, Timur’s focus is on FGCU’s strategic plan. As part of the plan, Dr. Timur’s focal point is on innovation in academic excellence to ensure student success, along with forming strong partnerships and collaborations with large local employers driving workforce development.
Dr. Timur states, “One of my specific goals is to elevate and enhance our local partnerships for direct impact on our region, resulting in meaningful outcomes with businesses to prepare students for the careers of today and tomorrow. Partnering with community members via scholarships and students fulfilling their mandatory local service-learning hours, we are truly inseparable from the community resulting in a bigger impact together.”
In her relatively short time at FGCU, Dr. Timur has accomplished a remarkable number of objectives. She led efforts for FGCU to receive a historic $22.9 million grant through the U.S. Department of Commerce–Economic Development Administration’s Good Jobs Challenge Grant for workforce development in Southwest Florida. She has developed strategic initiatives and innovative educational partnerships leading to educational success for FGCU students and economic success for both for-profit and non-profits in our region.
The groundbreaking grant will allow FGCU to award students workforce credentials and training in key local industries. Dr. Timur has developed a micro-credentialing and digital badge program at the university which enhance existing academic programs while being responsive to the region-specific needs of the business community. These two specific initiatives are a way for the university to respond quickly to the everchanging needs of the local work and business environment. The university listens to employers to determine what competencies are necessary for young adults to be more prepared and become preferred candidates, therefore creating a talent pipeline leading to highly skilled, lucrative career opportunities in our region. This synchronization meets the needs of our business community and offers distinct career paths for FGCU students.
“The local business environment is ever-changing, and our programs are a way of developing the current work force, not only upscaling and rescaling, but working together with employer expectations and industry dynamics to close the skills gap. This is a call to action for all local businesses, we invite you to work with FGCU to invest in human capital to build a skilled work force in the region,” Dr. Timur says.
