Henry Mack, an assistant secretary in the Department of Labor and former candidate for Florida Gulf Coast University president, has been recommended by Gov. Ron DeSantis to serve as Florida's next education commissioner.
Mack, who previously served four years as a vice chancellor in the state's Education Department, was also a 2023 runner-up in Florida Gulf Coast University's presidential search.
Mack is currently assistant secretary for the Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration.
In that role, he has advanced policies that integrate education and labor systems to expand registered apprenticeships, accelerate credential attainment, root out waste and fraud in the nation's unemployment insurance system and align training with high-demand industry needs.
In 2019, Mack was selected by DeSantis to be senior vice chancellor for the state Department of Education. He was responsible for Florida's workforce education strategy, budget, operations, policy and finance, grants and administration. With the governor's office, he was responsible for all higher education and workforce education legislative and policy priorities.
He also served as a vice president for workforce education and innovation at Broward College and oversaw career and technical education programs, the development of new baccalaureate degrees, and the college's business incubator and accelerator.
In 2023, Mack lost the Florida Gulf Coast University presidentcy by one vote of the school's Board of Trustees. The post went Aysegul Timur, then FGCU's vice president and vice provost for strategy and program innovation. During the search process, Mack described himself as an "innovator, a disruptor and a relationship builder."
In a statement, Mack said it was a "profound honor" to earn the governor's recommendation.
"For more than two decades I had the privilege of teaching in Florida, helping students think critically about education, policy and the good life," he saud. "As chancellor, I worked to align our entire K-20 system with workforce needs, and at the U.S. Department of Labor I have continued breaking down the artificial walls between education and employment so that every Floridian — and every American — has clear pathways to high-wage careers. I am ready to bring that integrated vision home to serve Florida's students, parents and teachers and strengthen our workforce and economy."
Mack earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in philosophy and theology from the Catholic University of America and his doctorate in education administration and the philosophy of education from the University of Miami.
"I am confident Dr. Mack will build on Florida's record of success in education," DeSantis said in a statement. "He shares our commitment to parental rights, school choice, eliminating radical ideologies from the classroom, and preparing every student for success in the workforce and in life."
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