Nonprofit health school names new Clearwater president

Ultimate Medical Academy, a nonprofit higher education institution that trains students for health care work, appointed Shadel W. Hamilton as president of its Clearwater campus.

As the academy's Clearwater campus president, Hamilton will maintain it as a hub of academic excellence, student engagement and community impact, academy officials say.

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Ultimate Medical Academy is an accredited, nonprofit educational institution. In addition to offering diploma and degree programs, the academy says it works closely with health care companies to connect students directly to job opportunities.

Hamilton returns to Florida after serving as vice president at Columbia College Global in Missouri since 2022. Before his Columbia work, Hamilton worked seven years in executive roles at Saint Leo University in Central Florida.

From 2019 to 2022, he served as senior associate vice president of worldwide operations for St. Leo, directing operations of 15 locations in five states for 10,000 online students.

Hamilton worked as associate director of academic services for Purdue University Global's Fort Lauderdale location, where he began in 2005 and moved to St. Leo in 2012. He has served as a board member at the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa.

Ultimate Medical Academy says Hamilton brings two decades of experience in higher education, "specializing in multi-campus management, project and change management, and strategic partnerships." The academy says Hamilton is dedicated to community engagement as well as diversity, equity and inclusion.

The appointment comes after the academy added two board members in January, Karen Jones, a logistics executive at Ryder, and Dr. Shelley Wells Collins, the associate chief medical officer of University of Florida Health. 

Based in Tampa and operating for 30 years, the academy offers "hands-on learning" at its main campus in Clearwater. It also offers content through interactive programs via an online campus.

The academy says it has more than 85,000 alumni and more than 14,000 students nationwide.