University of Miami names interim president Joe Echevarria to the top job permanently

The University of Miami has named Joe Echevarria, who has been serving as interim president, the president of the university.

The university says the decision was made in consultation with deans, faculty representatives and student leaders unanimously approving the appointment during a vote on Friday morning.

Echevarria, 67, has been serving as the interim president of the University of Miami since former president Julio Frenk stepped down in June. Frenk is now the chancellor at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Before serving as interim president, Echevarria was the CEO of the University of Miami, a position created in 2022 by Frenk, which expanded Echevarria's job as CEO of UHealth, UM's medical arm, to oversee the university. Echevarria is UM's second Latino president.

Echevarria grew up in the South Bronx, but came to Florida in the 1970s, earning his bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Miami in 1978.

He spent over three decades of his business career working for Deloitte LLP, one of the largest consulting firms in the world.

After his retirement from consulting, Echevarria served on the University of Miami board of trustees before taking on other leadership roles.

"He is a proven leader, and we are fortunate that he has agreed to serve his alma mater with clarity, conviction, and a deep sense of commitment," said Manny Kadre, chair of the University of Miami Board of Trustees in a statement.

Some professors who spoke to the Miami Herald on the condition of anonymity expressed concern over the fact that Echevarria has not worked within academia, but rather in the business world.

But ultimately, his track-record working at the University outweighed those concerns.

"We are confident that, under his steady leadership, the U will continue its journey toward excellence and continuous improvement," said Kadre in his statement.

Scotney Evans, associate professor of educational and psychological studies and first vice chair of the faculty senate, said that although there is a sense that this is a nontraditional hire for a president since he is not an academic, this is "a really positive move for the university to lift up somebody who really cares about the university and is excellent at running a complex organization."

The University of Miami has 19,000 students and 17,000 employees and was recently ranked 63rd in the nation by the US News and World Report Rankings.