Provost’s Seminar Series is hosting FGCU President Aysegul Timur, Ph.D. Dr. Timur will lead “FGCU – Your University” talk on Thursday, January 15, 2026, 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m., in AB9 (The Water School), Room 106.   More about the speaker: Dr. Timur was selected to become Florida Gulf Coast University’s fifth president on May 4, 2023. Her presidency was confirmed by the Florida Board of Governors on June 22, 2023. In her most recent role, Timur served as Vice President and Vice Provost for Strategy and Program Innovation at FGCU, where she has worked since 2019. Dr. Timur received her Ph.D. in Business Administration, majoring in Economics, from the University of South Florida, and both her MBA and bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration from the University of Istanbul. Her achievements have been widely recognized, earning accolades such as being listed in Naples Illustrated’s Top 100 in 2024 and receiving the Leadership Legacy Award from Leadership Collier Foundation in 2023. Before joining the university, she held a variety of faculty and executive leadership positions in higher education, including full professor of economics and Dean of the Johnson School of Business at Hodges University.

Provost’s Seminar Series is hosting Brian Fonseca, Ph. D., Director of the Jack Gordon Institute for Public Policy and the Executive Director of Cybersecurity@FIU at Florida International University. Dr. Fonseca will lead the discussion “Securing the Digital Future: Threat Landscape, AI Workforce, Cyberhygiene, and Geopolitics,” on Thursday, January 29, 2026, 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m., in AB9 (The Water School), Room 106. More about the speaker: Dr. Fonseca is Director of the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy and an adjunct professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University’s (FIU) Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs. He is the founding Executive Director of Cybersecurity@FIU, FIU’s university-wide interdisciplinary emerging preeminent program. Brian also serves as a Cybersecurity Policy Fellow and International Security Fellow at the D.C.-based think tank New America. His analysis has been featured in local, national, and international media and he serves as the on-air political analyst for South Florida’s WSVN-Fox News. Brian has testified before the U.S. Congress in 2019 and 2021. His recent publications include two edited volumes titled Culture and National Security in the Americas (Lexington Books, 2017) with Eduardo A. Gamarra and Democracy and Security in Latin America (Routledge, 2021) with Orlando Perez and Gabriel Marcella, and he is co-author of The New US Security Agenda: Trends and Emerging Threats (Palgrave, 2017) with Jonathan Rosen. Brian’s technical expertise and publications focus largely on U.S. and Latin American governance, national security, and foreign policies, with particular focus on Venezuela, China, Russia, and cyberspace. Brian joined FIU after serving as the Senior Research Manager for Socio-Cultural Analysis at United States Southern Command’s Joint Intelligence Operations Center South (JIOC-S). Brian holds degrees in International Business and International Relations from Florida International University in Miami, Florida, and attended Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, and National Defense University in Washington D.C. From 1997 to 2004, he served in the United States Marine Corps and facilitated the training of foreign military forces in both hostile theaters and during peacetime operations.

Provost’s Seminar Series is hosting Dr. Steve Knott, Emeritus Professor of History, US Naval War College. Dr. Knott will lead the "Conspirator-In-Chief: Conspiracy Theories and the American Presidency" seminar on Thursday, February 12, 2026, 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m., in AB9 (The Water School), Room 106.   More about the speaker: Stephen Knott, Ph.D., recently retired as a Professor of National Security Affairs at the United States Naval War College in Newport, RI. Prior to accepting his position at the Naval War College, Knott was Co-Chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. He is the author or co-author of eleven books dealing with the American presidency, the early republic, and American foreign policy. His most recent book, Coming to Terms with John F. Kennedy, was published in October, 2022.

Join your fellow Palmetto Hall residents & RA Hunter for a night of karaoke! Make connections, learn about what FGCU has to offer, and sing your hearts out!

Come thru sessions are a space where you can be yourself, meet new people, and have real conversations. Whether you're looking to make friends, share your story, or just have fun, each session is designed with students in mind.

Join your fellow Palmetto Hall residents and RA Savannah for Besties & Boards! Spend the night sipping on hot chocolate and creating a vision board!