Anthony James Catanese is an American university administrator, author, and a former President and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the Florida Institute of Technology. Prior to his position at the Florida Institute of Technology, Catanese was President of

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Florida, Dania Beach, Davie, Florida, Davie, Fort Lauderd ...

. Catanese previously served as President and Chairman of the President's council of the

Sunshine State Conference The Sunshine State Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. All of its member institutions are located in the state of Florida, which is popularly kn ...

. He has also held university administration positions at

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

, the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

and the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. Catanese was Senior

Fulbright Professor The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

at the

Pontificia Universidad Javeriana The Pontifical Xavierian University (in Spanish Pontificia Universidad Javeriana) is a private higher education institution founded in 1623. It is one of the oldest, most traditional, and prestigious Colombian universities, directed by the Societ ...

in Bogotá, Colombia.

Education

Catanese received a bachelor's degree in city and regional planning from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

in 1963. He received a master's degree in urban planning from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

in 1966 and Ph.D. in urban and regional planning in 1969 from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

. Prior to his career in academic administration, Catanese maintained a private practice in design, planning and development.

Career

Catanese was provost of

, dean of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the

, associate dean of the School of Engineering and Environmental Design and James A. Ryder Professor at the

and professor and director of the Center for Planning and Development at the

. He has also held the position of Senior

at the

in Bogotá, Colombia. He served as the dean of the College of Architecture at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

from 1986 to 1989. During this term, he was also a professor of architecture and planning at the university. After his term at the University of Florida, Catanese began his term as President of

in January 1990. During his term as president, Catanese led an initiative to start a Division I football team at the university. In 2003, as a parting gift, the Florida Atlantic University foundation, a charitable foundation that supports the school illegally funneled $42,000 to Catanese for the purchase of a

Corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

. Police suggested that both Catanese and his wife be charged with felonies as a result of the scandal.''Palm Beach Post'': Police wanted felony charges for Catanese, wife. July 11, 2003. In 1998, prior to these allegations of misconduct, he was awarded the

Sons of Italy The Order Sons of Italy in America ( it, Ordine Figli d’Italia in America, OSIA) is the largest and the oldest Italian American fraternal organization in the United States. A similar organization exists in Canada. It has more than 600,000 me ...

Foundation Achievement Award. A year later, Catanese was awarded the '' Sun-Sentinel's'' Excalibur Award. Catanese was elected as a Fellow of the

American Institute of Certified Planners The American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) is the American Planning Association's professional institute. AICP certifies professionals in the United States in the field of town planning and assists planners in the areas of ethics, profess ...

in 2001. In 2002, he was named the most outstanding university president in the Southeastern United States by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), the largest association of educational institutions in the world. Catanese became the President of the Florida Institute of Technology that year. In 2003, Catanese assembled an administrative team at the university and appointed T. Dwayne McCay as provost and chief academic officer. During his term, Catanese increased the number of students attending the university and achieved and maintained a Tier 1 Best National University ranking from ''U.S. News & World Report''. He also expanded the athletic program to 21 sports and improved athletic facilities. He was elected as the President of the

for the 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 academic years. In 2008, construction on the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts began at the Florida Institute of Technology under Catanese. It is the only textiles center of its kind in Florida. Catenese launched a $50 million capital campaign for the university's Golden Anniversary that year. The following year the campaign exceeded its goal and raised approximately $60 million. The

Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida The Independent Colleges & Universities of Florida (ICUF) is an association of 30 private, educational institutions in the state of Florida. Like the 12 public universities in Florida, all ICUF schools are accredited Accreditation is the indepen ...

President's Council elected Catanese to serve a two-year term as chairman in 2010. He also served as president or chair of the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities and the Florida Campus Compact. In September 2011, Catanese was presented the Brevard Bar Foundation's inaugural Community Leadership Award. He was recognized for establishing a pre-law program at the Florida Institute of Technology and organizing an advisory committee of members of the Brevard Bar Association. Catanese was inducted into the Florida Institute of Technology's Sports Hall of Fame in February 2014 for his contribution to the university's athletics program. Under his presidential term, a football team, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, women's soccer, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis and men's and women's track & field were added to the university's athletics program. The following month, he was inducted into the Brevard Walk of Fame. The Brevard Walk of Fame recognizes leaders in Central Florida who contributed to the community. He has authored thirteen books, eighteen chapters in books, over sixty-five articles in academic journals and thirty-five research monographs.

Personal life

He is married to Sara Catanese and has three children.

References

External links

Florida Institute of Technology Office of the President

Florida Institute of Technology official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catanese, Anthony Living people Rutgers University alumni Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service alumni Presidents of the Florida Atlantic University University of Florida faculty Presidents of Florida Institute of Technology University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee faculty American chief executives of education-related organizations Year of birth missing (living people)