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Yentes to Retire from Webber International

Posted by Bob Gernert on October 22, 2007 at 3:36 pm

Rex R. Yentes, President of Webber International University in Babson Park, today announced his intention to retire. In his seventeen year tenure, Yentes changed the face of the quiet lakeside campus, offering its first MBA degree and more than doubling the size of its student body. Celebrating its 80th year of operation, the University was the first private college chartered as a not-for-profit school under Florida’s then new educational and charitable laws. A women’s college until 1971, the University now boasts men and women from some 37 different countries.

When Yentes took over the University in 1990, it had only 219 students and was struggling. Yentes added men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track and field, baseball, softball, and football to recruit students and enhance student activities and development. He also added an MBA program, added three major scholarship programs, and built most of the campus’ major buildings.

Yentes will remain the University’s President through October 31st, 2008. This will allow him to oversee the completion of the University’s two new student housing buildings as well as to launch the largest capital campaign in the University’s history. Both in honor of his contributions to the University and their desire for a smooth transition, the Board of Trustees has asked Yentes, and he has consented, to assume the position of President Emeritus after his retirement.

Yentes said the search for a successor would begin immediately. He did not provide further details about this process but stated that information regarding the search would appear on the University’s web site (www.webber.edu) by the end of the week.

In addition to his role as president of Webber International, Yentes was involved in economic development activities as well as serving on the Tourist Development Council of the Central Florida Development Council.

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