Dr. James Richey

The goal is to design programs that will provide students with in-demand job opportunities after graduation and provide businesses with the workforce they need in today’s global economy.

“Our four-year programs are making a significant difference in peoples’ lives, giving them the ability to advance their careers, and giving business and industry the skilled employees they need to grow and prosper,” says Richey.

“The impact will resonate for generations to come, benefiting individuals, their families and the state of Florida.”

In all, the College launched more than 60 new academic programs the past decade with input from business and industry leaders in Brevard County and East-Central Florida.

Those relationships created a major effort to develop high-tech career programs with many students serving apprenticeships at major employers like Lockheed Martin at the Kennedy Space Center where they are receiving hands-on training on NASA’s Orion Spacecraft that will take astronauts back to the moon.

The College has also made major strides in online learning, with more than 370 courses and 40 Bachelor Degrees, Associate Degree, and College Certificates offered completely online.

These and other efforts have earned EFSC recognition as one of the leading state colleges in Florida.

In another area, Richey has undertaken a major building plan to make the College a center of higher education and workforce development well into the 21st century, completing a 10-year plan for the Melbourne Campus and launching a new vision for the Cocoa Campus.

Highlights include:

• State-of-the-art Health Sciences and Public Safety Institutes that educate the next generation of healthcare professionals and first responders.
• An Aviation Center that trains students to become aviation and aerospace technicians and mechanics, supporting new human spaceflight endeavors at Kennedy Space Center. 
• New facilities for Innovative Technology, Advanced Manufacturing, and Aerospace Excellence.
• A nationally recognized Cybersecurity Center and cutting-edge Robotics and Mechatronics Labs.
• A Fire Training Center that trains firefighters for all 13 Brevard County cities and Brevard Fire-Rescue.
• A new Student Union that is the vibrant center for collegiate life, and athletic programs with national championship teams.
• Two new Student Housing Residence Halls, providing students the chance to live on campus and be more fully immersed into college life.

The College accomplished all the above and more while not raising tuition for 11 straight years, making it among the most affordable institutions of higher education in the nation.

Importantly, EFSC also prides itself on cultural diversity, with minority student enrollment at an all-time high.

In still other areas, Richey has created a wealth of new services to help students succeed. They include:

• A Career Planning and Development Center which has served more than 100,000 students since its inception in 2012, providing them critical skills to enter the workforce and perform at a high level on the job.
• A Military and Veterans Service Center which annually assists 1,000 veterans and their dependents attending EFSC to make sure they receive the benefits they deserve from the Veterans Administration and the G.I. Bill.   

Richey earned a Bachelor Degree in Accounting from Michigan State University in 1985, and a Juris Doctorate Degree from the Ohio State University in 1988.

He is admitted to practice law in Florida and Massachusetts, is a member of the United States Tax Court, Florida Bar Association and a former member of the Judicial Nominating Commission for the Fifth District Court of Appeal, and former chair of the Grievance Committee of the 18th Circuit Judicial Court.