Sansom joins the college ranks

November 19th, 2008 | Category: Florida Politics Blog

State Rep. Ray Sansom was sworn in Tuesday as House Speaker. That same day, he became vice president of a state college he helped create.

But the news was not released until today by Northwest Florida State College, and even soon after it did not travel far external Niceville. Sansom, R-Destin, will earn $110,000 as vice president for development and planning. He starts Dec. 1.

According to a news release, Sansom will address "sustainability and growth issues as the college prepares for the training,

education, and support responsibilities that will outcome from the location of the U.S. Army’s 7th Special Forces Group to Eglin Air Force Base from Fort Bragg, N.C., and the opening in the county by 2011 of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Integrated Training Center."

Northwest Florida State College was previously Okaloosa-Walton Junior College and Sansom attended in the 1980s. But he had a role in getting a bill passed that elevated the school to a state college.