“I think the mindset has changed to where we look for opportunities, you know, if you’re a good leader, you’ll wake up every morning and say, help me see the possibilities today, before they become obvious to others.”
In episode 4 of the Long View podcast series, I was able to sit down with Dr. Devin Stephenson, the President of Florida Polytechnic University. My volunteer co-host was the smart, quipping, and always entertaining Jack Harrell, III, CEO of Harrell’s Fertilizer, a friend who is the chair of the Florida Polytechnic University Foundation Board.
Allen & Company and its employees have supported Florida Poly both financially and in various leadership roles since its inception.
Included here is a picture of Kim and me at the annual fundraiser 10 years ago. And as you may recall, a “Fantastic Education” is one of six pillars we have founded our family values upon, making the conversation a natural throughline to our Long View way of thinking.
Dr. Stephenson has been the President of Florida Poly for just over a year now and is only the second president of the young university. If you didn’t know, Florida Poly is the state’s only public university that is dedicated 100% to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). At the onset of the podcast, you will get to hear about how Dr. Stephenson got started in the administration of higher education and the growth and development of the university. You will also hear him talk about his business background and a results-oriented mindset.
You will hear us discuss some of the directions the university is headed, such as developing programs that focus on science in healthcare, as well as a new partnership with Disney.
In this segment, we also discuss why Polk County was the perfect fit for this university—from the location, being in the “High-Tech Corridor” between Tampa and Orlando, to the philanthropic culture of the people within the community itself. Even though Florida Poly may still be relatively new compared to our other local schools, I believe that it absolutely has the potential and opportunity to have as big of an impact on our community.
We explored how Florida Poly is an incredible economic driver for the community.
While it is great that we have been able to recruit many of these bright, young people to Polk County for these few years of college, it is even greater to hear Dr. Stephenson talk about how they are helping these students not leave for other communities after they graduate. We also unpack how Florida Poly is approaching the rapidly growing Artificial Intelligence (AI) field, including a project with Sheriff Grady Judd and the sheriff’s office.
Dr. Stephenson shares some great insight in the podcast regarding how they are approaching AI at the university, as he says, “You don’t need to be afraid of AI, because it is going to drive the future. You need to think about it as a thought partner”.
I enjoyed getting to speak with Dr. Stevenson, as well as Jack, about this great university that is in our backyard. Check out the Long View podcast series and give this most recent episode a listen!
September 2025
