Rate My Professor Sandra Robinson

Sandra L. Robinson served as Dean of the College of Education and Human Performance at the University of Central Florida for 17 years, from 1997 to 2014. Appointed by Provost Gary Whitehouse effective June 30, 1997, she provided visionary leadership that elevated the college's graduate programs to national prominence. Under her tenure, the Counselor Education program achieved a No. 7 national ranking in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools 2015 list—the highest ranking ever for a UCF program—while the Special Education program rose to No. 12, up four spots from the previous year. The college overall ranked No. 98 nationally. Robinson's administrative acumen fostered excellence in teacher preparation and human performance disciplines.

Key achievements under Robinson's leadership include the establishment of the UCF Teaching Academy, the creation of the Morgridge International Reading Center—supported by the largest philanthropic gift in the College of Education's history from John and Carrie Morgridge—and the comprehensive remodeling of the Education Complex. She secured a $10 million federal Race to the Top grant to launch the Resident Teacher Professional Preparation Program (RTP3), which trained 140 STEM-degree holders to become educators in partnership with Central Florida school districts including Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Lake counties. In 2010, she convened Florida's 11 education deans and LSU professor George Noell for a workshop on teacher evaluation strategies, following her discussions with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. As Second Vice Chair of the Florida Education Standards Commission, she delivered remarks and led tours of innovative facilities like the UCF Teaching Academy. In August 2014, Robinson transitioned to executive director of the Morgridge International Reading Center and the Toni Jennings Exceptional Education Institute, where she directed data evaluations for the MIRC-Istation project assessing elementary reading interventions in comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, and phonics. Her career profoundly influenced education policy, literacy advancement, special education, and STEM teacher development in Florida.