UF listed among top 10 public university employers

As the University of Florida rises in stature in a variety of educational fields, Forbes magazine recently recognized the university as one of “America’s Best Employers” in its annual ranking of large and midsized organizations. UF came in sixth among public universities and 17th among all universities that made the list.

In partnership with Statista, a market research company, Forbes identified those companies best liked by employees to determine the 2019 rankings. Ratings were based both on opinions of those working within the organization itself as well as nominations from individuals working for other organizations within each industry.

“The University of Florida is committed to being competitive among our peers in terms of workplace culture, compensation and benefits,” said Jodi Gentry, UF vice president for Human Resources. “This combined with the high quality of life Gainesville and the state of Florida provide make UF a desirable place to work.”

Over the past two years, UF has undertaken a major push to hire 500 new faculty and rose to No. 8 among the nation’s top-10 public universities in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” list. As it rises in national stature, UF will rely on the factors that already make it a top employer among its peers while seeking additional ways to improve in order to both recruit new talent and retain those who are already here.

Some of the factors that make UF a great place to work include:

• A highly desirable geographic location with access to more than 160 state parks, dozens of theme parks and hundreds of miles of ocean beaches
• Florida is one of only seven states without income tax.
• A wide range of benefits offerings
• Highly competitive health plans offered for a relatively low contribution percentage on the part of employees
• A rapidly expanding campus designed with collaboration in mind
• Robust city planning designed in close partnership with the university
• Year-round sunshine

“While we are pleased to celebrate the many ways UF is already a great employer, we know there is more work to be done to ensure we are recruiting and retaining the very best faculty and staff,” said Gentry. “This is why we are evaluating our leave programs and developing a ‘total rewards’ compensation strategy in an effort to continue to meet the evolving needs of the higher-education workforce.”