Associate Vice President of Communications
Steve is responsible for helping to guide UF’s overall communications strategy; advising and supporting university leadership, faculty and staff in interactions with the news media, public and social media; playing a leadership role in crisis management, and ensuring unity and consistency in overall university messaging. He works closely with his fellow communications leaders across UF, including those at UF Advancement, UF Health, IFAS and the University Athletic Association, as well as academic leaders in UF’s 16 colleges and departments.
Steve began his UF career in 1996 as News Desk Editor and Senior Writer in what was then known as UF News & Public Affairs. Before joining UF, he spent nine years as a reporter at The Tampa Tribune covering a variety of beats throughout West Central Florida. As a student, he also wrote for the Independent Florida Alligator.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science with a special concentration in Soviet and Eastern European Studies and his master’s in mass communication, both from UF. He also has served as an adjunct lecturer in UF’s College of Journalism & Communications, where he taught classes that included Reporting Lab, Magazine and Feature Writing, and Mass Media & You.
A proud Gator parent, he and his wife, Ann-Marie, a UF faculty member and director of UF’s Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, have two children: Alex, a U.S. Navy pilot, and Anna Kate Edgemon, an assistant professor at the University of Mississippi.