Alexander N. Cartwright, President
Alexander Cartwright was selected as UCF’s sixth president by the UCF Board of
Trustees on March 20, 2020. He began his role on April 13, 2020, bringing with him more than 20 years of higher education leadership experience.
Under Dr. Cartwright’s leadership, UCF is growing as Florida’s Premier Engineering and Technology University — a place where ambition turns into action and knowledge transforms into breakthroughs. With imagination and collaboration, UCF is boldly inventing the future by advancing industries and technologies that move the world forward. Already recognized as one of the nation’s most innovative universities, UCF is committed to academic and research excellence that unleashes the potential of students, faculty, employees, and the community.
As a first-generation college student whose journey to higher education was not traditional, Dr. Cartwright prioritizes creating pathways to student success.
An internationally recognized researcher and scholar in the area of optical sensors, Dr. Cartwright is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, SPIE, and the National Academy of Inventors. He is a prior winner of both the National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award. In addition, he earned the 2002 SUNY Chancellor’s award for excellence in teaching.
A native of the Bahamas, Dr. Cartwright holds a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Iowa. He and his wife Melinda have two children, Alyssa and Andrew, and a rescue dog, Artemis.
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