Matthew Theriot’s voice is never the loudest in the room. He’ll choose a seat in the middle of the conference table, not at the head. He listens more than he talks. He’s more likely to ask an open-ended question than deliver a directive.
His style is to speak selectively. Purposefully.
The new dean of the College of Health Professions and Sciences (CHPS), Theriot has two decades of administrative leadership experience at large research universities. He’s directed academic programs, boosted enrollment, implemented new curricula and created innovative faculty development programs.
However, Theriot will tell you that what he’s most proud of professionally is not so much what he’s done, but how he’s collaborated with others to translate ideas into action.
“My favorite memories are of the teams I’ve built and the people I’ve worked with, the different projects, the successes we’ve had, and the journey we took to get there working together,” Theriot says. “Sometimes, I think I’m prouder of the experience than I am of the product.”
Since being appointed interim dean last July, Theriot has grown the college’s research infrastructure, invested in interprofessional education initiatives, and bolstered faculty and staff engagement activities.
“These are invaluable services that have really significant real impact on people’s lives.” — Matthew Theriot, College of Health Professions and Sciences dean
He’s laser focused on raising the bar for the college’s strategic initiatives, which center around health education, research, clinical practice and service.
A key partner in the Academic Health Sciences Center and the UCF Health clinical enterprise, CHPS’ expert faculty clinicians and graduate students treat thousands of patients yearly at the Physical Therapy Clinic, Communication Disorders Clinic and the Aphasia House. Theriot sees potential for growth.
“These are invaluable services that have really significant real impact on people’s lives,” he says. “There may be opportunities to enrich those experiences and expand those services to be available to more people.”
He’s also advancing the college’s unique work in healthy aging and, in recent months, facilitated a series of information-sharing sessions with college researchers who leverage technology to find new innovations to improve quality of life and longevity.
Students will soon have more learning opportunities. The college has four new graduate degrees and two new undergraduate interdisciplinary degrees on the horizon, all developed to meet workforce demands for future healthcare providers and educators.
“I’m trying to find the ways that we can make the strongest contributions, identify opportunities for us to lead when we can, and forge partnerships with medicine and nursing, and Student Health Services,” Theriot says.
With 230 faculty and staff and almost 6,300 students, CHPS spans a range of health and wellness disciplines: health sciences, social work, athletic training, physical therapy, kinesiology and communication sciences and disorders.
“I’m trying to find the ways that we can make the strongest contributions, identify opportunities for us to lead when we can and forge partnerships.” — Matthew Theriot, College of Health Professions and Sciences dean
“Matthew has gained a deep understanding of our college,” Associate Professor of Physical Therapy Matt Stock says. “His clear vision, transparency and honest communication reflect an approachable leadership style that makes him ideally suited to support faculty, staff and students during this pivotal time.”
Theriot describes his leadership style as people-centered, grounded in his core, non-negotiables. These are the things he won’t budge on: authenticity, honesty, transparency, accessibility, empathy and accountability.
They stem from his orientation as a social worker. Perhaps not surprisingly, he chose a field that centers around connecting with and empowering others.
“If you’re going to know me as a leader, you’re going to know me as a person,” says Theriot, who as interim kept a full calendar of attendance at events ranging from tailgates to community presentations to birthday celebrations. The emails and updates he sends collegewide are laced with humor, puns and light-heartedness. Events at the college featured coffee chats and ice cream cart visits. He kicked off his remarks at an alumni event by emerging from the college’s hologram machine.
“Part of my leadership style, part of the way I relate to people, is being human,” he says. “That’s just who I am.”
“Part of my leadership style, part of the way I relate to people, is being human. That’s just who I am.” — Matthew Theriot, College of Health Professions and Sciences dean
Since the beginning of his career, Theriot has wanted to immerse himself in classrooms and campus life. He earned a bachelor’s in social work, gaining experience as a school social worker and counselor and then serving as a teaching assistant while working on his graduate degree at the University of Texas at Austin.
He enjoyed teaching other students more than he expected.
“I just found myself very invested in what I was doing and the quality of my teaching and my interactions with students,” he says. “I was still a student while I was working with these students, so I did a lot of reflection about what I liked and didn’t like in my own class experiences.
His next stop would be the University of California, Berkeley, where he would earn a doctorate in social welfare and prepare to become a professor.
Theriot spent a decade teaching at the University of Tennessee while ascending through a series of leadership positions, serving first as the social work undergraduate program director then doctoral program director.
He infused pop culture and creativity to make learning more interesting for students. His class, Maniacs and Psycho Killers, covered mental health and mental illness, integrating video clips from popular horror movies and using the film’s characters as models and points of reference. The wildly popular class filled each semester.
“I loved the idealism of students, especially in social work, with students coming in who really want to make a difference and really want to change the world in big or small ways,” Theriot says. “Being able to help shape their passion and give them skills and knowledge and theoretical background to be more effective with what they wanted to do was really very rewarding for me.”
His next six years saw him excel in executive leadership roles: associate provost for teaching and learning innovation, vice provost for faculty affairs and associate provost for faculty development and strategic initiatives. He led a two-year, campus-wide effort to develop a comprehensive quality enhancement plan — an initiative designed to both meet accreditation standards and provide a roadmap for continued improvements.
Theriot joined UCF in 2021 as the director of the School of Social Work where he promoted interdisciplinary research and created the Center for Professional and Community Education. Under his tenure, the Master of Social Work program jumped to an all-time high of No. 67 in the U.S. News & World Report graduate rankings, placing it in the top 25% of programs nationally for the first time.
Assistant Professor of Social Work Susanny Beltran says Theriot finds a strong balance between emotional intelligence and strategic thinking.
“Matthew’s leadership style is collaborative, compassionate and clear.” — Susanny Beltran, assistant professor
“Matthew’s leadership style is collaborative, compassionate and clear,” Beltran says. “He makes others feel genuinely heard and valued, while still confidently guiding the team toward a shared vision.”
Away from campus, music is a huge part of Theriot’s life and family. He and his wife of 26 years, Emily — a former art and music teacher — will vacation this summer by going on “tour” with their teenage daughter, whose School of Rock band will perform in venues across the southeast. When she began learning the bass guitar, Theriot picked up the guitar. His son, a student at the University of Florida, plays the drums. Theriot’s oldest daughter, a senior at the University of Virginia, is a talented singer.
“We’d be a great band, but they’ll tell you the reason we’re not is because I can’t keep up,” Theriot says. “I’m mostly self-taught. And it shows when I play.”
As a leader who understands the power of collaboration in music and academia, Theriot looks to continue to build a culture where every voice contributes to the college’s collective rhythm and progress.
“I want CHPS to be, and CHPS will be, a destination of choice for faculty and staff — a place where people come and they feel supported, valued and appreciated in the work that they do,” he says. “They see the opportunities for growth and how they can achieve their goals being part of this college.”
