Governor names Heavener, Rosenberg to UF Board of Trustees

June 20, 2013

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday appointed two new members of the University of Florida Board of Trustees.

James W. “Bill” Heavener and Dr. Jason Rosenberg will succeed Michael Heekin and Alan Levine. Heavener and Rosenberg will serve terms that end Jan. 6, 2016.

UF President Bernie Machen praised Scott’s appointments.

“Jason has a deep appreciation for the unique opportunities afforded by a college education. In fact, he has been one of the most vocal and visible champions of the Machen Florida Opportunity Scholars program,” Machen said. “Bill, meanwhile, is uniquely familiar with the bonds between business, industry, universities, economic prosperity and educational opportunity. With ‘preeminence’ designation and so much support from our governor and state leadership, I’m confident both Jason and Bill will help us make the most of this period of remarkable opportunity for UF and for our state.”

Heavener, 65, of Winter Park earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from UF in 1970. He is a member of the Gator Boosters Inc. Board of Directors, a distinguished director and a Bull Gator, and has been a longtime supporter of UF athletics. Since 1992, he has served as co-chairman and CEO of Full Sail Real World Education in Winter Park. Heavener is a director and co-chairman of the Los Angeles Film School and the Los Angeles Recording School. He is the CEO of The Heavener Company, through which he holds and manages his interests in education, media production, Internet services, real estate franchising, publishing, banks and information technology.

Heavener is a member of the Warrington Business Advisory Council, the UF Foundation Board of Directors and the UF Alumni Association Board of Directors, and is president-elect of the Board of Directors of Gator Boosters Inc.

Rosenberg, 44, of Gainesville is a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon who specializes in microsurgical breast reconstruction for women with breast cancer. He practices with a multi-specialty group, The Orthopaedic Institute, in Gainesville, and is chairman of the Florida Board of Medicine. He also serves as president of the UF Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Rosenberg earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in anatomy from UF before receiving his medical degree from the UF College of Medicine in 1995. He then completed a residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Shands at the University of Florida serving as chief resident in 2002. Rosenberg was invited to serve on the full-time faculty at the UF College of Medicine as an assistant professor of plastic surgery. In 2005, Rosenberg joined a private practice multi-specialty group of physicians and surgeons in the Gainesville community.

He is a major in the Air Force Reserve and has participated in international reconstructive surgery missions both with the Air Force and with nongovernmental organizations in South America as well as Southeast Asia.

The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.