CPA
Full Sail University
Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer
Debbie Magruder currently serves as the Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Full Sail University, an award-winning entertainment media college in Winter Park, Florida. She has been with Full Sail University for over 30 years acting as the Chief Financial Officer of Full Sail for 24 years and the Chief Administrative Officer for 5 years. Debbie directs the administrative, financial, human resource and compliance & regulatory departments at the University. In this role, she oversees the accounting department to include all financial reporting and modeling, accounting, compliance and regulatory matters and the human resource department. She manages the university’s corporate insurance and the university’s employee benefits to include all health insurance plans and 401K Plan administration for over 2,500 employees.
Her career began at Full Sail University in 1989 while she was also completing her fifth year accounting requirements for the CPA Exam at Stetson University. In 1992, she pursued a public accounting career at a full-service CPA firm, Randolph, Swain, Tallent & Whitehead, LLP. In November 1995, she passed all four parts of the CPA examination and later in January 1996, Debbie returned to Full Sail University. Debbie has a BBA degree in Accounting from Stetson University.
In 2016, she was nominated for and completed the Leadership Stetson University program. Also, in 2016, she was recognized with the Administrator of the Year award from the Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges (FAPSC). She has been nominated for the Girl Scout’s of Citrus Council Women of Distinction award. In 2021, she was awarded the Distinguished Volunteer of the Year from the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC). In 2022, she completed the Leadership Winter Park program, Class XXXII. In 2023, she was awarded the 2023 Vicky Raymond Helping Hands Award by CECO, Conductive Education Center of Orlando.
In addition to her career achievements, she is a board member on the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design Board of Directors in Lakewood, Colorado and a board member of the Mead Gardens Botanical in Winter Park, Florida. She serves on the Florida Credential Review Committee. She is a past Executive Committee board member and Treasurer of the Winter Park Florida Chamber of Commerce, a past board member of the Stetson University Alumni Association and was a member of the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) Financial Review Committee for over ten years. She is the former Chair of the CECU Federal Regulatory Committee and a current member of the CECU Federal Legislative and Regulatory Committees. She is a member of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA), Financial Executives International (FIE), and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) and the Florida Institute of CFO’s (fiCFO). She is a licensed CPA in the State of Florida and has held this active license since 1995.
