Mark Richt to Speak at Degrees to Jobs Summit
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – University of Miami head football coach Mark Richt will be a speaker at the Degrees to Jobs Summit on May 25-26, Florida Governor Rick Scott announced Thursday.
Richt is scheduled to participate in a panel on leadership and team building with Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher and Florida head coach Jim McElwain. The Degrees to Jobs Summit is meant to bring together Florida business leaders and education officials to better connect Florida students with meaningful jobs when they graduate. The Degrees to Jobs Summit will be held at Universal Studios in Orlando.
“Over the past five years, we have turned our economy around with the hard work of our skilled workforce, job creators, and educators, but we still have more work to do,” Governor Scott said. “We want businesses to know that Florida graduates are ready to fill jobs in high-demand fields as soon as they get their diplomas. The Degrees to Jobs Summit will connect members of Florida’s education system and business leaders to discuss how we can better prepare students to get a great education in a high-skill, high-wage career and graduate with a great career in the Sunshine State.”
In addition to Richt’s panel, other headlining speakers include Gloria Flach, COO of Northrop Grumman, Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO of Gallup, Brandon Busteed, Gallup Executive Director of Education and Workforce Development, and General Lloyd Austin III, Former Commander of the United States Central Command.
University of Miami Director of Athletics Blake James announced Richt as the 24th head football coach in Miami Hurricanes history on December 4, 2015. A graduate of the University of Miami, Richt returned to his alma mater after leading the University of Georgia football program for the previous 15 years, compiling a 145-51 overall record and an 85-40 mark in Southeastern Conference play, winning two SEC championships, six SEC East titles and nine bowl games and finishing the season in the Associated Press Top Ten rankings seven times.
Richt’s .740 winning percentage ranks fifth-best among active FBS head coaches and he is tied for ninth among the winningest head coaches in SEC history. Richt is one of only seven head coaches in SEC history to record four straight 10-win seasons (2002-05). During his tenure on the sidelines in Athens, 82 of Richt’s players were selected in the NFL Draft over the last 15 years, including eight chosen in the 2002 and 2013 NFL Drafts – the most Georgia players ever selected in a single year.
Richt played quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes under legendary head coach Howard Schnellenberger. He spent most of his career at Miami as a backup to former Buffalo Bills star Jim Kelly. In one of Richt’s years at Miami, his teammates included Kelly, Vinny Testaverde and Bernie Kosar and quarterbacks coach Earl Morrall.
