Kudos and clown shoes take spotlight for 2025 SF Convocation
August 25, 2025
The 2025 Santa Fe College Convocation opened with an illustration — and illumination — through a ballet performance and a song that proclaimed, “I won’t lose my way if I can see the light.”
“Santa Fe, you are that light,” SF President Paul Broadie told a crowd of faculty, staff, students and stakeholders August 22 in the Jackson N. Sasser Fine Arts Hall, driving home the core value that continues to distinguish the award-winning institution as it unveils Vision 2030, the strategic plan for the next five years.
“We keep students at the center of everything we do,” Broadie said. “Like we did with the 37 seamless degree tracks to transfer into the University of Florida. We’ll keep finding ways to support our students. I’ll keep talking to our impressive student body to hear what they need to improve their learning experience.”
Keynote Speaker Dustin Portillo, entrepreneur, former Ronald McDonald clown and author of “It’s Okay To Be An Idiot,” encouraged the SF audience to never let work overshadow fun. Portillo wrapped up his remarks by coordinating a mass cold-call to someone in each person’s contacts list, many chatting with a colleague just seats away.
The theme of this year’s Convocation, “Organizational Resilience,” was expressed through initiatives like an academic master plan that seeks to provide a more curated student experience and increased mentorship, programs and facilities that target emerging labor markets like the new Heavy Diesel Mechanic Training and Certification Program, and the Ralph. W. Cellon Jr. Institute for Skilled Trades and Advanced Manufacturing, and a campus culture that continues to be student-centered in every aspect.
Santa Fe College Foundation President Rod Smith spoke about the priority of being an educational community with a vast safety net of services. “Santa Fe students, we have your back,” Smith assured.
President Broadie also disclosed a 2025 groundbreaking for a cutting-edge automotive training facility, slated for completion in 2027.
He announced more faculty hires to meet the needs of growing enrollment, and he lauded the SF faculty and staff for their part in the college’s accolades, like the recent Carnegie Classification as an Opportunity College, and for receiving the inaugural 2025 “Impact and Success Award” for the Southern Region from the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). SF was among five colleges (one in each region) to be honored.
“We don’t chase those; we just do our work,” Broadie said. “We don’t look for these; they look for us. It’s an acknowledgement that the work this college is doing is above and beyond.”
Internally, Professor Clay Smith (English), Joseph Jester, Executive Assistant to the VP for Student Affairs, and SF Athletics Director Chanda Stebbins were honored with the “You Are Santa Fe” award for the lasting impact they made on students and the college. The Mathematics department, represented by Chair Adam Christopherson, brought home the college’s “Impact” award, for improving student outcomes in mathematics.
