Jesse Scheckner
The University of West Florida has a new Chief Audit Executive: David Bryant, who comes to the job after more than two decades working in a similar capacity with Escambia County Public Schools.
Bryant takes over for Cindy Talbert in the key leadership position, which is responsible for overseeing audits, investigations and internal compliance across the institution.
He officially began May 12. Talbert is retiring after a 15-year tenure marked by high regard from colleagues and state officials.
UWF President Martha Saunders praised Talbert’s legacy and expressed confidence in Bryant’s ability to continue and build on her work.
“We rely heavily on the expertise of our Chief Audit Executive and will greatly miss Cindy Talbert,” Saunders said. “David is a good fit for UWF.”
Bryant brings nearly 21 years of experience from the Escambia School District, where he worked as Director of Internal Auditing. In that role, he led financial investigations, financial disaster recoveries and risk assessments, operational and compliance audits.
He also provided actionable recommendations on those and other issues to the district’s senior management — a skill that UWF trustee Chris Young, who helped lead the hiring process, believes is aligned with the university’s goals.
“His extensive experience in audit and compliance, combined with his deep ties to our community, make him uniquely qualified to support the University’s mission of accountability and excellence,” Young said in a statement. “I am looking forward to working with Mr. Bryant and am confident he will provide strong, objective leadership.”
Bryant’s new gig with UWF is something of a homecoming. He’s a double alumnus, holding both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from the institution. His credentials include certifications as an internal auditor, public accountant, fraud examiner, government financial manager, government audit professional and in risk management assurance.
“I have dedicated my career to internal auditing in the education field,” Bryant said in a statement. “I look forward to adding my expertise to the strong leadership team at my alma mater. Great things are happening at UWF, and I am excited to contribute to its continued success.”
Bryant joins the university during a period of change and political scrutiny at UWF. In January, Gov. Ron DeSantis named conservative think tank members to the school’s Board Trustees as part of his broader effort to infuse Florida’s higher education system with right-wing values.
One of them, Scott Yenor, resigned in April amid widespread criticism over his past sexist remarks and comments the Jewish Legislative Caucus decried as antisemitic. Votes on him and other DeSantis nominees failed to make it to the Senate floor.
The school also received high marks in November, when a new study by the Military Times ranked it eighth-best in the nation for military veterans. In December, UWF announced that Denise Soares would serve as its first Dean of the new School of Education.
UWF has since scored a major grant to help study early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, landed a top scientist as the administrator overseeing its research projects and was named a “high spending” research institution by the Carnegie Foundation.
UWF also added a new respiratory care program to its College of Health, received a $500,000 endowment from lawyer John Merting and hired Alex Smith as Director of External Affairs.
