Biography

Nina Leonard, Ed.D., is the Director of Academic Success Coaching assigned to the Barry S. Miller College of Business and the Rosen College of Hospitality Management within the Division of Student Success and Well-Being. Dr. Leonard has over a decade of experience in higher education, including admissions, academic advising, orientation programming, at-risk student initiatives, scholarship funding selections and appeals, training/development, teaching, coaching, and mentoring. Before her 12+ year tenure at UCF, she worked at the University of Florida, the University of North Florida, and the University of South Florida. Dr. Leonard graduated from UCF’s 2019-2020 Leadership Empowerment Program and was selected as the 2020 UCF Pegasus Advisor Award recipient, earning her national recognition by NACADA, The Global Community for Academic Advising. In her previous role, as Director of Academic Advising and Retention Services within the College of Business, Dr. Leonard oversaw all advising and study abroad services, including supervision and leadership for six professional advising staff members and 17 peer staff. This included reviewing incoming/outgoing exchange program applications, course evaluation management, catalog updates, and creating partnerships with departments to ensure consistency in policy application. Dr. Leonard revamped the Office of Professional Development advising services which increased student interaction by over 79% within her first year. Student satisfaction rates were 98.59% for advising and 91.67% for study abroad. Dr. Leonard led her team in achieving numerous awards, presenting at conferences, and piloting new programming. She also taught freshmen seminar courses at both the University of South Florida (University Experience) and UCF (SLS 1501: The Business Edition). Her current role includes oversight and leadership for Academic Success Coaches assigned to the Miller College of Business and the Rosen College of Hospitality Management. Dr. Leonard is excited about this model in its efforts to allow Academic Success Coaches in all colleges to create meaningful relationships with their students through reduced student-to-staff ratios. There remains a strong partnership between the Colleges and ASCs assigned. Dr. Leonard remains committed to supporting the students, leadership, staff, and faculty of the colleges she oversees in her role within the Division of Student Success and Well-Being.