U.S. EPA official named director of UF Online

March 26, 2015

A director with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been named assistant provost and director of UF Online, the University of Florida’s online bachelor’s degrees and programs.

Evangeline Cummings will assume her new position effective July 1.

Cummings has served as the director of the Strategic Management Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C., since 2008. She has worked with EPA since 1999 in several different roles including special assistant to the agency’s chief information officer.

Throughout her federal service, she has worked at a national level with top political appointees and career leadership across each of EPA’s programs and 10 regional offices to deliver cross-program initiatives.

“Her experience in relationship building, strategic planning and effective implementation will serve her in good stead in this startup phase of UF Online,” Provost Joe Glover said.

Cummings received her master’s degree in environmental science and policy from Johns Hopkins University and her bachelor’s degree in political science from UF.

"I am so very thrilled to be returning to the University of Florida family,” Cummings said. “I am looking forward to bringing my experiences in designing and implementing national initiatives to UF Online. This is an exciting time for UF and I am pleased to be able to work with such an outstanding group of people to take this program to its next level."

Launched in January 2014, UF Online offers 15 bachelor’s degrees fully online and is one of the first such programs in the country offered by a major public research university. It now counts more than 1,000 students enrolled.

In February, UF launched the Pathway to Campus Enrollment, or PaCE, program, which offered more than 3,000 applicants admission to the university if they agree to complete their first 60 credits of coursework as UF Online students before transferring over as traditional residential students. Up to 45 of those credits can come from Advanced Placement or dual enrollment.