President


SCF President Dr. Carol Probstfeld

State College of Florida, Manatee - Sarasota President

A Message from the President’s Office 

On September 26, 2023 SCF President Dr. Probstfeld announced her retirement, effective July 1, 2024, following a 22 year tenure with the College.

The SCF District Board of Trustees will decide at a future meeting on a process for selecting the next president. Information will be shared when available.


The SCF District Board of Trustees has procured the services of Myers McRae Executive Search and Consulting to assist with the search for SCF’s seventh President.

On Wednesday, March 20, 2024, the SCF District Board of Trustees unanimously agreed to invite three Presidential search finalists to SCF.

All forums are open to faculty, staff, students, and community members. QR codes and links will be displayed at each forum or in the chat box for those online via Teams so that participants can access feedback forms. There will be a different code and link for each finalist.

This is your opportunity to provide feedback about the finalists. The SCF Trustees look forward to receiving your valuable input regarding the next president of SCF.

The schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, March 26 – Tommy Gregory, JD

10:00 – 10:45 am – Venice Campus – Selby Room 801/811 and via Teams
2:45 – 3:30 pm – Bradenton Campus Forum – LLC 143/146 and via Teams

Tommy Gregory is a senior executive leader with 30 years of experience in a variety of leadership positions, including contracting officer, prosecutor, instructor, course director, general counsel, law firm partner and legislator. Tommy has a strong record of success leading teams and advising senior leaders in high-profile, high-pressure situations. His leadership skills were developed working with and for military general officers, CEOs, fighter pilots, law enforcement officers, astronauts, governors, and legislators. Tommy is currently a commercial litigation attorney in Sarasota and Chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the Florida House of Representatives. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Air Force Academy and a law degree from the University of Texas. Tommy served on active duty in the Air Force for 20 years and deployed in support of Operation Southern Watch, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom. His wife, Erica, is also a retired Lieutenant Colonel. They met as cadets at the Air Force Academy, both served 20 years on active duty and have been married for 28 years. They have 3 sons. Two of their sons graduated from SCF Manatee-Sarasota and Florida State University. Their youngest son is attending the Air Force Academy this fall.


Wednesday, March 27 – Dr. Martyn R. Clay

10:00 – 10:45 am – Venice Campus – Selby Room 801/811 and via Teams
2:45 – 3:30 pm – Bradenton Campus Forum – LLC 143/146 and via Teams

Dr. Martyn R. Clay has served as President of Hillsborough Community College’s (HCC) Plant City campus since July 2012. He has 30 years of experience in higher education, including 18 years as a senior administrator at multi-campus colleges ranging in size from 4,000 to 40,000 students. Dr. Clay has 20 years of experience within the Florida College System acquired during eight years at St. Petersburg College and 12 years at HCC. He also has three years of teaching experience within the State University System at the University of Florida. Before becoming Campus President, Dr. Clay served in positions of increasing responsibility in academic and student affairs at three separate colleges. He has been both a Vice President of student affairs and an academic Provost. Dr. Clay has an enthusiasm for building and strengthening relationships with business and industry and understands the importance of college programs to regional development. He has secured multi-million dollar grants and large private donations to enhance academic programs and make college attainable for deserving students. In addition to conventional academic pursuits, Dr. Clay developed a top-tier collegiate high school, as well as the first baccalaureate programs ever offered by a community college in Florida. He is highly involved in professional and civic pursuits, as well as political circles. He earned a Bachelors Degree at Bucknell University, a Masters Degree at Webster University, and a Doctor of Education Degree at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dr. Clay is retired from active duty in the United States Army where he began as a platoon leader in the 82nd Airborne Division. He ended his military career as a senior battlefield system chief training division and corps commanders and their staffs. Dr. Clay’s desire to become President of SCF stems from his love for the region, his passion for graduating students with marketable skills, and his appreciation for the contributions SCF makes to Manatee and Sarasota counties. He and his wife, Evelyn, have been a team for 40 years and have two children and four grandchildren. During his spare time, he enjoys time with family and taking donors on offshore fishing trips where he spends as much time as possible.


Thursday, March 28 – Dr. Anthony J. Iacono

10:00 – 10:45 am – Venice Campus – Selby Room 801/811 and via Teams
2:45 – 3:30 pm – Bradenton Campus Forum – LLC 143/146 and via Teams

Dr. Anthony J. Iacono became the third president of County College of Morris in September, 2016. He is the former Vice President of Academic Affairs at Indian River State College. He is committed to the mission of community colleges because of their ability to change lives and strengthen communities. As the chair of the New Jersey Presidents’ Council – consisting of all higher education institutions in N.J., the vice-chair of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, board member for the state’s technology consortium NJEdge, and a board member for NJBIA and the NJ Council for the Humanities. Dr. Iacono is committed to leading with impact. He has been recognized by NJBiz as one of its Power 50 Educators for the past five years and has been named on NJ-ROI’s Influencers in Higher Education list for the past three years. Iacono has received numerous recognitions from the U.S. House of Representatives, the N.J. Legislature, and from many community organizations in Morris County. Dr. Iacono received his Ph.D. in American History from Mississippi State University, his M.A. and B.A. in American History from the University of Central Florida, and his Associate in Arts degree from Indian River Community College. During his presidency, CCM became a nationally ranked college, achieved the highest graduation rates among New Jersey’s two-year schools, generated funding for four buildings and became a state and national model for workforce education. Dr. Iacono is convinced that the keys to success are rooted in faith, life-long learning, a robust work ethic, strong community partnerships, and understanding the responsibility of caring for others.


About SCF President Dr. Probstfeld

Dr. Carol F. Probstfeld is the sixth president of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. Established in 1957, SCF is the area’s oldest and largest public college with more than 50,000 graduates. With campuses in Bradenton, Venice and Lakewood Ranch and an online presence, SCF serves 14,300 credit students annually and another 11,600 noncredit participants. Dr. Probstfeld was named SCF president in January 2013.

Dr. Probstfeld came to SCF in 2003 as vice president of business and administrative services where she oversaw the budgets and administrative operations for SCF, a $100 million enterprise that makes a $432 million annual economic impact on the region. The College prepares students for university transfer with its Associate in Arts degree or for immediate employment with 30 workforce Associate in Science degrees, 5 Baccalaureate degrees and 36 certificate programs.

As SCF president, Dr. Probstfeld is committed to building and nurturing relationships and focusing on enhancing the student experience. Her 25 years of higher education experience at small private institutions and large public colleges includes a track record of fostering collaboration and community partnerships.

Dr. Probstfeld led SCF’s efforts to Boldly Engage its students, faculty, staff, and community partners to achieve the goals of the college’s 2015-2020 Boldly Engaging strategic plan. Her efforts resulted in multiple significant achievements in the five-year plan, including the purchase of property for a future Parrish campus, the addition of signature programs to the Venice Campus, multiple successful strategic enrollment initiatives, and the creation of a Leadership Development program to mentor future College leaders, among many other accomplishments. She now looks to Boldly Lead our community’s higher education efforts through the College’s 2021-26 Boldly Leading strategic plan.

Dr. Probstfeld led SCF’s efforts to manage the COVID-19 pandemic on its campuses. As part of the 2016-2021 strategic plan, SCF moved all its information technology servers to the cloud, giving it the required bandwidth and connectivity to successfully transition to all online classes in Spring 2020. She directed SCF’s Return to Campus Task Force to create a plan for a safe environment for employees and students on its campuses and piloted the plan with a successful return for students and employees to campus in June 2020. She directed the creation of a Fall 2020 schedule that let students choose how they wanted to attend classes – face to face on campus, online, or the newly offered format of Go Live with SCF Online. More than 90 percent of SCF students surveyed in the fall reported they felt safe on SCF campuses.

Her efforts led to SCF receiving a $500,000 grant from the Florida Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund to provide rapid credentialing opportunities to help underemployed or unemployed community members in the College’s service area transition to new occupations.

Under her leadership, the SCF Foundation exceeded its revised fundraising goal for 2020 to support SCF students impacted by the pandemic’s economic impacts. The Foundation was forced to cancel three major fundraising events due to COVID-19 and revised its annual goal from $2.5 million to $1.75 million. The Foundation nearly reached its original goal with $2.4 million for the year, including a 4.4 percent increase in employee participation.

Dr. Probstfeld served as the Florida College System Activities Association President (2017-18) and the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation Chair (2016-17). She provided statewide leadership to the Florida College System as Council of Presidents Chair (2015-16) and Policy and Advocacy Chair (2014-15). She is active in several local organizations, including the Manatee Memorial Hospital Board of Governors and the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Probstfeld was a member of Leadership Florida Class XXXIV.

Before coming to SCF, Probstfeld served as vice president for finance and administration, chief financial officer and treasurer for Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, Calif., and Notre Dame College of Ohio in South Euclid, Ohio.

Dr. Probstfeld is from Whittier, Calif. She received her doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Argosy University, an MBA from John Carroll University, and bachelor’s degrees in Accounting and Marketing from California State Polytechnic University. Dr. Probstfeld enjoys attending student plays, concerts, ball games and club events and speaking with community groups. When her busy schedule as SCF president allows, she hones underwater photography skills while diving. She lives with her husband, Bill Murphy, and their “fur kids” – Kelly, a red smooth-coated Brussels Griffon, and Monte, a Yorkshire Terrier.


Inauguration of Dr. Carol F. Probstfeld, November 8, 2013