Student Success and Well-Being Deputy Chief of Staff Mark Gumble Retires  

The Division of Student Success and Well-Being says farewell to Deputy Chief of Staff Mark Gumble on Nov. 6 after two decades of service. Gumble’s 20 years at UCF were defined by an unwavering commitment to students, leaving behind a powerful legacy of student-focused programs and collaboration. 

Gumble’s journey to UCF began by coincidence.  

“I was looking for new opportunities when I heard two people talk about UCF in a matter of four months. When a job opened up I had to throw my hat in the ring,” he recalls. Drawn by the university’s growth and opportunities, he joined as the director of Academic Services for Student Athletes. 

Gumble began his career in higher education as head wrestling coach at his alma mater, Binghamton University in New York. That’s where he discovered his passion for academic support for student athletes.  

“The light bulb went off that this was what I was supposed to be doing,” he says. 

This realization spurred him to launch Binghamton’s academic support program, setting the stage for his focus on student success at UCF.  

Gumble’s innovative approach to student success at his alma mater and as an academic advisor at San Diego State University led to the creation of programs focused on inclusion and support at UCF. He is particularly proud of helping launch UCF’s Inclusive Education Services (IES), a program enabling students with intellectual disabilities to participate in the college experience.  

“This is one of the last groups of people in our society to gain access to higher ed,” he observed, highlighting the barriers the program helped break down. Another key initiative he helped lead was a mentoring program specifically designed to support male students struggling academically. 

He credits the mission to serve students and the powerful culture of collaboration as the driving forces that defined his time at UCF. He highlighted the effort and teamwork he’ll miss most, noting, “Some problems are just too big to solve alone.” 

Though his time at UCF is ending, Gumble has no intention of slowing down. He plans to lean even more into volunteer wrestling coaching and continue mentoring individuals through his church.  

Gumble’s focus on relationships and making a lasting impact is the lesson he hopes to leave behind. He once learned the concept that “you are your brand” from a student, and his two decades at UCF prove it. Gumble’s brand is one of student advocacy, collaboration, and a constant drive to make the higher education experience accessible for every student, because, as he puts it: “At the end of the day it’s the people…the job was always about the students. Setting them up for success is what we’re here to do.”