TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa inaugurated its 11th president Monday.

Teresa Abi-Nader Dahlberg was ceremonially welcomed as the school’s first new president in nearly 30 years.

What You Need To Know

Dahlberg will be the university’s first female president. She is succeeding longtime UT President  Ronald L. Vaughn.

With a background in engineering and more than two decades in higher education, Dahlberg said being the first woman in a position isn’t a first for her. Most recently, she served as the first female provost at Texas Christian University.

Dahlberg was a music therapy major in 1979, her first year at Carlow College (now University) in Pittsburgh. 

Dahlberg started meeting students, staff and faculty last summer.

“I think my best skill set is listening and making connections between different people and programs and different points of view and aspirations,” she said. “I ask a lot of questions. It might take a while, but then common ideas start to come up.”

Dahlberg calls herself a first-year student as she leans into the University community, so she shares an empathetic bond with every Spartan and has some advice specifically for her fellow first-years. 

“Go to class. Do your homework. Meet your teachers in their office hours…. But also have fun, and don’t worry about how nervous or awkward you might feel because everybody else is feeling that way, too.”