President

Giving in honor of President Annarelli

When Eckerd College’s sixth president, James J. Annarelli, Ph.D., retires on June 30, 2027, he will conclude an extraordinary 37 years of service to the College. For nearly four decades, alumni, parents, students, and friends have come to know Jim through a variety of roles: as an academic coordinator and faculty member in the Program for Experienced Learners (PEL), and later as the assistant director of PEL; as the inaugural associate dean and director of the College’s Center for the Applied Liberal Arts (CALA); for 20 years, as Eckerd’s vice president for student life and dean of students; and ultimately, as president.

Throughout his presidency, Jim has remained committed to expanding opportunities for students. Two priorities that have been particularly meaningful to him are increasing scholarship support for first-generation students and expanding Eckerd’s global education opportunities.

First-generation Eckerd students hold special significance for President Annarelli and his wife, Anna Sorrentino Annarelli, because they are themselves first-generation scholars. In 2022, they established the Annarelli Family Endowed Scholarship for First-Generation Scholars in honor of their mothers, who believed strongly in the transformative impact of higher education.

Additionally, under President Annarelli’s leadership, Eckerd has strengthened its commitment to ensuring that every eligible student can study abroad. A recent $5.5 million commitment from Trustee Emeritus Bud Risser and his wife, Fran, has provided significant support for that goal. In response to the Rissers’ extraordinary gift, Eckerd has committed to matching their $5.5 million gift by 2030 through fundraising for Global Education.

Your one-time gift of any size in honor of President Annarelli—or monthly recurring gift of $37 in tribute to his years of service to the College—will support the students and programs that have been so important to him and will help to ensure that the distinctive curricular and co-curricular programs of Eckerd College are accessible to all students and that these programs will endure into the future.