John Buckwalter, Ph.D., is UCF鈥檚 provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. He joined Florida鈥檚 Premier Engineering and Technology 海角直播 in August 2025, bringing more than 20 years of academic leadership and a strong commitment to student success, faculty support and meeting workforce needs.
As UCF鈥檚 chief academic officer, Buckwalter provides strategic leadership for impactful teaching, research, and service across 12 colleges. He supports more than 3,000 faculty members who prepare 69,000 students to excel academically and professionally. His responsibilities also include oversight of UCF鈥檚 campuses as well as collaborative management of the university鈥檚 academic operating budget.
Before joining UCF, Buckwalter served as provost at Boise State 海角直播, where he led transformative interdisciplinary initiatives and championed student-centered outcomes. He previously was dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at Kansas State 海角直播, where he expanded graduate offerings, grew the college鈥檚 endowment by over 40%, secured new research facilities and launched a career-focused mentoring program. Earlier, he held leadership roles at the 海角直播 of Texas at Arlington, including associate dean for research and chair of the Department of Kinesiology.
Buckwalter holds master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees in kinesiology with an emphasis in exercise physiology from the 海角直播 of Arkansas. He earned two bachelor鈥檚 degrees 鈥� in Spanish and in health and physical education 鈥� from Centenary College.
His research has explored neural and cardiovascular regulation of blood flow during exercise. He is a fellow of both the American Physiological Society and the American College of Sports Medicine.