UF President Names Dr. Elizabeth Capaldi As Next Provost

July 15, 1996

GAINESVILLE —University of Florida President John Lombardi today announced that the school’s next provost will be Dr. Elizabeth “Betty” D. Capaldi, a respected educational leader whose current titles include psychology professor, director and special assistant to the president.

“After an extensive national search which saw an outstanding group of candidates come to campus for interviews, I am delighted to announce the selection of Dr. Elizabeth D. Capaldi as provost,” Lombardi said Monday. “Dr. Capaldi’s achievements and experience in this and equivalent universities clearly established her as the leading candidate for this position.”

Capaldi will start Wednesday as UF’s second-in-command, the next step in her career in Gainesville that started in 1988 when she left her job as head of Purdue’s department of psychological sciences to become a professor at UF.

At UF, she quickly climbed back into administration, directing the universitywide self-study for reaffirmation of the university’s accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1991. That year, she was also appointed as a special assistant to the president for the Florida Quality Evaluation Project, an internal planning and evaluation project that measures all aspects of the university.

In 1994, she became director of UF’s Office of Institutional Research and chaired the Enrollment Management Council.

“I’m thrilled,” Capaldi said after learning Monday of her promotion to provost and vice president for academic affairs. “I think it’s a wonderful opportunity and a great privilege to serve UF. I look forward to working with and representing the faculty, staff and students here.”

Her responsibilities will mirror her experiences at UF that allowed her to become familiar with all of UF’s many facets and made her a valuable asset to the university in dealings with state and national government and education leaders.

“Of all the people at UF, she’s one of the best informed, if not the best informed on issues in higher education,” said David Colburn, a UF history professor who was on the search committee that recommended four finalists to Lombardi. “She was my top choice.”

Lombardi said he talked to more than 40 people on campus — including search committee members, deans and vice presidents — before making his final selection.

“Together, they clearly indicated a strong consensus for Dr. Capaldi’s leadership,” Lombardi said. “Her innovative style, her demonstrated commitment to the academic values of teaching, research and public service, and her wide experience in working with internal and external constituencies of this institution all recommended her to the university community. I am delighted that Dr. Capaldi is willing to help the University of Florida continue its growth and development as our provost.”

“I think Dr. Lombardi has made an excellent choice,” said Paul Doering, a distinguished service professor in pharmacy who had never met Capaldi before serving on the provost search committee.

“I’ve been on the faculty of the University of Florida for 20 years and have come to appreciate the enormity of this campus,” he said. “Dr. Capaldi has a very good command of the data that keeps this university going.

“I think the faculty on this campus are very fortunate that she is also a very skilled researcher and educator,” he said.

Born and raised in New York City, Capaldi received her B.A. in psychology from the University of Rochester in 1965 and her doctorate in experimental psychology from the University of Texas in 1969. She was on the faculty at Purdue University (1969-1988), as assistant professor (1969), associate professor (1974) and full professor (1979).

Her first administrative appointment was assistant dean of the Graduate School (1982-1986) at Purdue. In 1983 she became head of the department of psychological sciences until leaving for UF in 1988.

Capaldi’s research is concerned with why we like the foods we like, or more generally, with how motivation can be learned. She has contributed over 60 chapters, and articles, co-authored an introductory psychology textbook now in its fourth edition, and edited two books on the psychology of eating. She is associate editor of Psychonomic Bulletin & Review and a consulting editor for the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes.

She currently serves on the Governing Board of the Psychonomic Society and on the Board of Directors of the American Psychological Society, of which she is also secretary. Capaldi has been elected to Fellow status in the American Psychological Association, American Psychological Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and served as president of the Midwestern Psychological Association.

At Florida, Capaldi has served in a variety of administrative and university service roles. She has had significant responsibility for a number of initiatives at UF. Along with development of the Florida Quality Evaluation Project, she had helped coordinate the Teaching Incentive Program, the Time to Degree project, and the University Tracking Program for undergraduate education.

She has worked closely with IFAS and the Health Center on a range of budget and legislative issues, and has developed excellent and effective working relationships with external constituencies, especially with the legislative and Board of Regents staffs.

Capaldi replaces Andrew Sorensen, who left UF last week to become president of the University of Alabama.