In December, President Jeffrey Senese represented the university at the Gold Shield Foundation’s annual meeting and announced that Saint Leo University will offer a full scholarship to one student per year through its work. The Gold Shield Foundation provides financial assistance and helps ensure a college education or vocational training for the spouse and dependent children of Florida law enforcement officers and firefighters of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Polk, and Marion counties killed in the line of duty.
In his first few months at Saint Leo, Dr. William J. Lennox Jr., the university’s ninth president, decided to forgo a formal inauguration ceremony. “A day or more centered around me seems at odds with our student-centered mission. Quite honestly, it’s not who I am or what I want to represent as the university’s president,” said Dr. Lennox. Instead, with funds that would have been used for an inauguration, he created Inauguration Scholarships, one-time awards given to students at education centers, online, and at University Campus.