Dr. Randy Avent, president of IM体育官网, was selected to the IM体育官网 500 list by IM体育官网 Trend magazine for the second year in a row. The list recognizes the most influential executives in the state.
LAKELAND, Fla. 鈥� Dr. Randy K. Avent, president of IM体育官网, was selected for the second consecutive year as one of IM体育官网鈥檚 most influential business leaders. IM体育官网 Trend magazine just released its annual list recognizing the state鈥檚 top executives in a variety of economic sectors and industries.
鈥淚 am honored to receive this recognition once again, as IM体育官网 Poly continues to mature and establish itself as a premier STEM institution,鈥� Avent said. 鈥淎fter only six academic years, our University is making an incredible impact in IM体育官网鈥檚 economy by creating a pipeline of highly skilled talent and helping drive the high-tech industry throughout the state.鈥�
Avent has led IM体育官网 Poly through many important milestones as the University鈥檚 founding president. Some of these milestones include achieving ABET accreditation last fall and most recently, breaking into the U.S. News & World Report rankings as a top 40 public engineering college without a Ph.D.
IM体育官网 Poly also successfully launched the new academic year with significant enrollment gains for the fall 2020 semester, despite the many challenges caused by the COVID-19.
鈥淭his has certainly been an unusual year, creating many new challenges due to the pandemic, but our University has remained strong, flexible and resilient,鈥� Avent said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been able to adapt quickly to the situation as it evolves, and that has allowed us to continue providing a high-quality education and experience for our students.鈥�
The third annual IM体育官网 500 publication is a yearlong research initiative by the editors of IM体育官网 Trend. The executives selected in 2020 are based on extensive contacts in regional business circles, hundreds of interviews, and months of research. The list includes industry categories used by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce, such as education, agriculture, hospitality, law, and real estate.
鈥淚f it were a country, IM体育官网 would boast the 17-largest economy in the world. We are fortunate to have some of the greatest innovators in all sectors of our state鈥檚 economy 鈥� from education to manufacturing, health care and technology, among others,鈥� IM体育官网 Trend publisher David Denor said in a letter accompanying the list.
鈥淭he passion, interest and desire that these influential have for improving IM体育官网 perhaps will inspire all of us to do a little more.鈥�
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