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University of Florida

Remembering Dean Emerita Lucinda Lavelli, champion for the arts


The College of the Arts mourns the loss of Dean Emerita Lucinda Lavelli, who passed away on November 24, 2025. 

Dean Emerita Lavelli is remembered warmly for her steadfast leadership throughout more than a decade of service as dean of the college, her powerful arts advocacy and the enduring support she provided to the College of the Arts following her retirement. 

“Lucinda’s reputation and vision brought me to the University of Florida, and while she retired at the end of my first year as her associate dean, her impact as a mentor and friend continued,” said College of the Arts interim dean, Jennifer Setlow. “She was a passionate advocate for the college and for the critical role of the arts, and her impact on the trajectory of our college is ongoing. She will be deeply missed.” 

In 2006, Lavelli succeeded Donald McGlothlin to become the third dean in COTA’s 50-year history as an independent college at the University of Florida. She retired in 2018.

Throughout her 12-year tenure as dean, Lavelli coupled her attributes as a determined, strategic and thoughtful administrator with unwavering advocacy for the arts, both at UF and on the national stage, earning the moniker “Wonder Woman of the Arts.” 

COTA’s “Wonder Woman” dean led the college through a transformational decade, imprinting a legacy that lives on in the numerous programs and initiatives she spearheaded. Dean Emerita Lavelli’s scope of impact at the University of Florida includes: 

  • Launching the Creative B Summer Program in 2010. The program connects faculty and students from disciplines across the university to engage in interdisciplinary research, and brings national and international guest artists to Gainesville to generate new research and create public cultural offerings in collaboration with UF faculty and students during the Summer B term.  
  • Championing the Creativity in Arts and Science Event (CASE) series in collaboration with Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science for Life Program at UF. 
  • Participating in the Science, Engineering and the Arts Change (SEA Change) Committee, which brought together faculty from disciplines across the university to develop and disseminate innovative, cross-disciplinary ideas for research, teaching and service. 
  • Serving as a founding institutional member of the Arts Alliance for Research Universities (a2ru). 
  • Joining the Congressional Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) Caucus with Representative Ted Yoho to advocate for the arts’ role in STEAM education. 
  • Working with UF Office of the Provost, the University Athletic Association and private donors to secure funding to build the Gator Marching Band Practice Field. 
  • Working with Senator Keith Perry to secure planning phase funding for the new UF School of Music Building. 

Prior to joining the University of Florida in 2006, Lavelli held leadership roles in higher education arts administration as the director of the School of Dance, Theatre and Arts Administration at the University of Akron, and as the provost and vice chancellor for arts and academics at North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston Salem. 

Upon arriving in Florida, she served locally as a member of the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce and Gainesville Women’s Forum, as well as on the board of directors for Dance Alive and the Cade Museum, and as an honorary executive board member of the Star Center Theatre.  

Following her retirement from the College of the Arts in 2018, Lavelli’s late husband, Kenneth Webster, M.D., who preceded her in death this year, made the lead gift to establish the Lucinda Lavelli Business of the Arts Fund which continuously supports business skill development and entrepreneurship in the arts at UF COTA.  

“Lucinda took great pride in championing the arts at UF, and she was a dedicated and effective advocate for COTA, whether through advancing excellence in arts education or supporting the college’s vibrant public programming in the arts,” said Interim Provost Joe Glover. “Everyone who studies or enjoys the arts at this university benefits from her leadership, vision and tenacity. She will be missed.”