Pictured Above: If confirmed by the state Senate, Will Weatherford (left), the managing partner of a private investment firm, will replace longtime trustee Byron Shinn of Bradenton.
Left image courtesy of Weatherford Capital
Right image courtesy of Shinn & Co
By Nancy McCann
Will Weatherford, a Tampa-based businessman and former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, has been appointed to the USF Board of Trustees by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
He will replace Byron Shinn, a certified public accounting executive from Bradenton who has served two five-year terms on the board.
Shinn, a 1979 USF graduate, is partner-in-charge of the Bradenton and Sarasota offices of an Alabama-based certified public accounting and advisory firm and former chairman of the Manatee County Chamber of Commerce.
He was appointed to the trustees in 2010 by then-Gov. Charlie Crist and reappointed five years later by then-Gov. Rick Scott. Shinn is also chair of the USF Sarasota-Manatee Campus Advisory Board.
Weatherford, 41, who lives in Wesley Chapel, served in the Florida House from 2006 to 2014 and was House speaker during his last two years.
He is now managing partner of Weatherford Capital, a private investment firm founded in 2015 by Weatherford and two brothers.
The firm has offices in Tampa and Dallas, its website says, and Weatherford is “primarily responsible for deal sourcing, investor relations and providing strategic guidance” to companies in the firm’s portfolio.
He serves on the boards of TECO Energy, Metropolitan Ministries and Jacksonville University, where he earned a bachelor’s in international business. He also serves on the host committee for this year’s Super Bowl, which will be played in Tampa on Feb. 7.
The Weatherford appointment, which must be approved by the state Senate, comes as key Pinellas County elected officials grumble about the way USF leaders are handling consolidation of the three campuses.
For weeks, state Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, has called out the USF leadership and said its performance “calls for a deep dive” into the Board of Trustees, the 13-member group that governs the university.
“Will (Weatherford) is a good choice” for the board, Brandes said in a text to The Crow’s Nest. He “brings a unique wisdom to the USF board.”
Brandes also said he “fully expects the governor to make additional appointments to the USF board who will cast a bold vision for the future of USF.”
“We continue to press the governor to install strong leadership that represents the best interests of USF students and faculty while supporting our thriving community,” he said.
“Great pick,” tweeted Rep. Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, who is speaker of the House. Like Brandes, he has signaled that he is annoyed by the way USF leaders are treating the St. Petersburg campus.
Weatherford “will make an excellent addition to the USF Board of Trustees,” Sprowls said. “Go Bulls!”
Six of the USF trustees are appointed by the governor and five by the state board that oversees the state’s 12 public universities – and all 11 must be confirmed by the Florida Senate. The presidents of the USF Faculty Senate and Student Government are also trustees.
Shinn and trustees Chair Jordan Zimmerman are serving terms that expired in 2020. The terms of five other trustees will expire this year.
