USF UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA MAGAZINE
USF Alumni Association Celebrates 50 years
Est. 1969
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE of the USF ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
FALL 2019
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
USF THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE of the USF ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
FALL 2019
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA MAGAZINE
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FEATURE
6-17 Cover story:
50 years of your Alumni Association
Double-Cover: Turn the magazine over to read about how USF deploys a variety of resources to help students dealing with anxiety, depression and other issues.
From 1960s holiday dinner-dances to 21st century email advocacy campaigns, alumni have stayed connected in support of their alma mater. A look back – and forward – as your USF Alumni Association marks its golden anniversary.
FOREVER BULLS 5 18 20
Your 2019 Alumni Association board
24 26 30
Where’s Rocky?
Homecoming 2019 Perfect chemistry: Tony Moré, ’64, alumnus profile
Chapters & societies Class notes FALL 2019 3
5
minutes with
MERRITT
My fellow Bulls, AN EXCITING NEW SCHOOL YEAR IS WELL UNDERWAY and I look forward to watching it unfold, but today I’m also looking back. Marking the 50th anniversary of your USF Alumni Association calls to mind the generations of Bulls and USF friends whose vision and volunteerism, generosity and resourcefulness have made us a full-fledged partner in our university’s success. Through the association, Bulls have come together since 1969 to help USF flourish by giving of their time, treasure and many talents. This is an especially proud time for me. During our golden anniversary, I’m the 56th association board chair/ president! (If you’re missing the significance of that, remember what year USF was founded.) I was honored to be asked to extend my term through December 2019 because I truly love to serve in this leadership position. Where else do you get the privilege of giving back to an institution that gave you so much, and do it by connecting with more than 348,000 of your closest friends? To that end, our busy fall got off to a spirited start even before students returned for classes. In August, the Greater Tampa Alumni Chapter threw its fourth annual Bulls Block Party. USF flags hung from the old brick buildings along 7th Avenue in Tampa’s historic Ybor City and everywhere I looked I saw green and gold caps, shirts, jewelry – even socks. Hundreds of proud Bulls turned out and helped the chapter raise money for a variety of good causes, including its scholarship fund. That push has put the Tampa chapter
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
close to the endowment level of $25,000 – a tremendous accomplishment! The following day, a couple thousand Bulls headed to Tropicana Field for the 12th USF Day with the Rays. We watched President Steven Currall throw the first pitch like a pro, got our free custom Rays/USF ball caps, and enjoyed some pregame socializing at Ballpark & Rec. My 5-year-old future Bull, Logan, was thrilled to be the official ball girl, placing the game ball on the mound and hollering “play ball!” into the mic to get things going. We got to do all that with discounted game tickets that also put money in the alumni association’s coffers. Football season kicked off Aug. 30 and a week later, 400 Bulls converged on Georgia Tech for the first of two away-game tailgates. Our USF Tailgate Tours make for a great getaway and our student-athletes really appreciate seeing so many fans in the stands. The next tailgate weekend is Oct. 18-19, when the Bulls take on Navy in Annapolis, Md. Of course, the biggest alumni engagement event of the year is right around the corner. I hope you’ve marked your calendar for Homecoming, Oct. 6-12 (pages 18-19). On Oct. 10, we’ll celebrate our three 2019 Distinguished Alumni – Joanna Sigfred Fowler, ’64, a National Medal of Science recipient; Gilbert King, LHD ’14, Pulitzer Prizewinning author; and Geraldine I. Twine, ’78, MA ’81 and MS ’88, a trailblazing nursing leader. We’ll also recognize the years of service and leadership provided by our Donald A. Gifford Service Award recipient, Dr. Anila Jain, ’81, and Richard A. Beard III, our Class of ’56 Award recipient. The following night, come eat, drink and connect with your fellow alumni at the Welcome Home Party on the front lawn of the Alumni Center, and on Oct. 12, visit our Spirit Tent in the Raymond James Stadium Bull Zone for free swag before the big game. I hope to see all of you at these events. Connecting with fellow Bulls is always a lot of fun and, more important, it connects us with our great university. That’s one way we, like the generations of Bulls before us, support USF. As I close this final USF magazine letter as chair of your alumni association, I want to thank you for the opportunity to serve. I can’t imagine a better way to give back to the university that changed my life than by volunteering with our amazing USF Alumni Association. Happy 50th and go Bulls! Merritt Martin, ’04 and MPA ’06 Chair, USF Alumni Association board of directors Life Member No. 2327
FOREVER BULLS vice president for USF Advancement and the association executive director. The board sets policy and guides the direction of the association as it builds mutually beneficial relationships between USF and USF alumni. Front row, left to right: Monique Hayes, ’01, secretary; Randy Norris, ’79, chair elect; Merritt Martin ’04 and MPA ’06, chair; April Monteith, ’01 and MBA ’03, past chair Second row, left to right: Maggie Fowler, ’93; Liz WootenReschke, ’01 and MPA ’06; Luz Randolph, ’06 and MEd ’08; Fadwa Hilili, ’13 and MAcc ’15; Travis McCloskey, Tampa student government vice president; Brielle Iacobino, USF Tampa Ambassadors president Third row, left to right: Andrew Jones, ’11; Lauren Shumate, ’10 and MA ’14; Christine Turner, ’97; Ruben Matos, MPH ’92; Justin Geisler, ’04 and MBA ’06; Dr. Valerie Riddle, ’84 and MD ’89
Meet your 2019 Alumni Association board THE USF ALUMNI ASSOCIATION’S BOARD of directors includes alumni who’ve demonstrated a firm commitment to USF’s success and are association Life Members and Circle of Excellence donors. It also includes the USF System president, or designee; a member of the USF Board of Trustees; and two students – the Tampa student government vice president and the USF Tampa Ambassadors president. Non-voting, ex-officio directors are the senior
Back row, left to right: Arthur Bullard Jr., ’74 and MBA ’82; Andrew Ketchel, ’10 and MPA ’12; Brigid Merenda, ’97; Bruce Van Fleet, ’73; Bill McCausland, MBA ’96 Not pictured: Dr. Steven Currall, USF System president; Joel Momberg, USF Advancement and Alumni Affairs senior vice president and CEO of the USF Foundation; Bill Mariotti, USFSM ’15, treasurer; Troy Dunmire, ’00; Maribel Garrett, MA ’95; Karla Stevenson Mastracchio, ’03; Tonjua Williams, MA ’96
Serving Bulls through life’s biggest moments. Proud sponsor of the USF Alumni Association for over 20 years. Call 1-800-922-1245 today or visit www.TheAIP.com/USF Life • Health • Dental • Vision • Disability • Long-Term Care
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FALL 2019 5
FOR 50 YEARS YOU’VE PUT THE ‘GO’ IN GO BULLS A look back as your Alumni Association marks its golden anniversary
By PENNY CARNATHAN ’82, LIFE MEMBER
W
e were underdogs from the get-go. When USF appeared on the scene in 1956, our siblings already had decades on us – two had more than 100 years of legacy-inspired loyalty and entrenched football programs to fan that devotion. USF, meanwhile, threw open the doors of higher education to first-generation college students and older adults with jobs and families, most of them commuters more likely to view their university experience as a means to an end. And our founding president firmly opposed the distraction of intercollegiate sports. But Bulls have been uncommonly dedicated advocates of their alma mater. Our earliest graduates knew that great universities grow from a foundation of proud, connected alumni, so they organized beach picnics and barbecues. Then and now, they reached into their wallets to create opportunities for current and future students. They locked arms in defiance against those who would harm their fledgling university. On Nov. 4, we celebrate 50 years of alumni support via the USF Alumni Association. The results have been
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
nothing short of astounding. USF today is a Preeminent Florida Research University ranking among the top public universities in the nation for student success, research and value. It has an annual economic impact of $4.4 billion, and its graduates include some of the most accomplished professionals in their fields, from education and engineering to architecture and the arts. With 350,000 alumni, we have well-established chapters and societies across the country and around the world. “Our alumni became fiercely loyal and that’s absolutely critical; if alumni don’t care about their school, no one else will either,” says Joe Tomaino, ’71, Life Member, the Alumni Association’s first executive director, and 1979 Distinguished Alumnus. “Donors and politicians are always looking at university alumni and asking, ‘Do they really care? What are they doing that shows they care?’ You need a strong alumni association to build that affinity and engage alumni in ways that make it clear they love their university.” The USF Alumni Association incorporated on Nov. 4, 1969, but its work began years earlier – before the first graduate ever received a diploma. One evening in February 1963, months before the first Commencement, seven students who’d completed their studies met to consider their roles as alumni. The group
reflected USF’s non-traditional appeal: Six of the seven were married women, including the late Lucas King, 57 at the time, and the late Evelyn O’Neal, 45. Both teachers and USF’s first and second graduates, the two are remembered each year with the alumni association’s King-O’Neal Scholar Award, first presented in 1965 to the graduate with the highest grade-point average. Today, all graduates with a 4.0 GPA receive the honor. Those early planners deferred most decisions until after Commencement in December, but set $5 (about $42 today) as the minimum donation for membership in the future association. They agreed to ask the USF Foundation, which would oversee the association, to enroll the university in the American Alumni Council, and to plan a fall cruise for all graduates – an “alumni planning outing.” President John Allen didn’t want to wait. In July, he appointed 11 students to an alumni association steering committee. “I was tapped by John Allen to corral alumni,” recalls committee member Julian Piper, ’63, Life Member. He was 21 at the time, president of USF’s Young Democrats and Jewish Student Union, and would become the first president of the association’s board of directors. The first in his family to attend college, Piper found in USF a way to afford the cost of tuition. He could save money living with his parents while bagging groceries 24 hours a week. Eager to get on with life, he plowed through his degree in three years while also participating in clubs. But when Allen asked him to help create an alumni association, he didn’t hesitate. “I was very proud and pleased to do whatever and pave the way for everyone who came afterward,” says Piper, who went on to become a successful Tampa Bay lawyer. On Dec. 21, 1963, on the eve of USF’s first Commencement, the
steering committee and 128 “active members” – those who’d paid $5 – affirmed the association’s by-laws at a celebratory banquet. By 1966, volunteers had launched a bi-monthly newsletter, The Golden Horn. They held receptions for new graduates, hosted holiday dinner-dances and “alumni weekends” featuring faculty lectures, and started organizing alumni chapters. Help came from a Foundation employee, the late June Miller, who pitched in by serving as the hub for communications. Her meticulous recordkeeping included writing each member’s information on a 3-by-5 card, which she stored in a shoebox. In 1969, with total alumni approaching 10,000, the association incorporated as a nonprofit, becoming a legal entity. It got its first executive director, a gregarious and tireless fundraiser who believed whole-heartedly in what USF could become with support from its graduates. “What makes us different is those charter years,” Tomaino says. “Everybody struggled – the students, the staff, the faculty, everybody. We didn’t have a lot of money from the state. Our students were relatively poor. But USF became a little community and the alumni, they realize what a great opportunity they had at this university.” Over the course of 50 years, the alumni association would move from borrowed office spaces at various locations around campus to its own stateof-the-art, free-standing building. It would grow from a single employee, Tomaino, to 20, and from no organizations for students to three, including the popular and prestigious USF Ambassadors and the largest on campus, the Student Alumni Association. Along the way, the association would distribute nearly $6 million in scholarships while lobbying the state for everything from a football team to a new downtown medical school. “We’re in the business of chang-
ing lives and saving lives,” says Lee Patouillet, ’75, Life Member, the association’s second executive director. “In alumni relations you have a phenomenal impact on the future of the university, from the young people you coach and encourage who go on to do great things to the first-generation students who transform their lives – and their whole future family tree – through education. “And you can’t do any of it without engaged, connected alumni who are willing to invest their time, talent and treasure.” n
1960:
Future alumni association president Julian Piper, right, is featured in a bank ad celebrating the new university.
“… We shall need many interested and loyal alumni like yourself as we strive to build a distinguished university.” – Founding USF President John Allen 1966 thank you letter to donor FALL 2019 7
I’m so proud to have been there from the start! Julian Piper, ’63, Life Member Association president, 1963
1963
1964
July 25, 1963: Steering committee led by Julian Piper, ’63, begins laying the framework for the Association
Dec. 21, 1963: Members adopt by-laws Dec. 22, 1963:
325 charter class members graduate in first USF Commencement
Early alumni organized get-togethers such as the annual holiday dinner dance.
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
Cadwallader
Ashford
1965 April 18, 1965: First Outstanding Senior award (now Outstanding Graduate) goes to accounting major Richard Cadwallader, who died in 2013; first King-O’Neal Scholar (highest GPA) is physics and English major Bob Ashford, now a law professor at Syracuse University
January 1966:
First alumni newsletter publishes; Janet Lorenzo, ’63, wins the contest to name it The Golden Horn
Grant
Nov. 4,1969:
Alumni Association incorporates; future state senator John A. Grant Jr., ’64, Life Member, is board president FALL 2019 9
In the early years, each president and executive board chose a priority for their one-year tenure and achieved their objectives as time and resources allowed. There was often little continuity from year to year and goals changed with new USF administrations. During my term, we established the association’s first long-term strategic plan, with objectives and goals for three-to five-year periods. This allowed incoming leadership and USF administration to continue moving forward toward longer-term goals.
Ray Fleming, ’67 and MSE ’68 Association president, 1977
1972 June 1970: USF has 10,000 alumni 1971: USF President Cecil Mackey hires Joe Tomaino, ’71, as the association’s first executive director; lawyer John Bell, ’64, donates $100 to become first member of Tomaino’s Century Club, forerunner of the Iron Bulls Club October 1971: Pinellas County alumni form Association’s first official chapter
June 20, 1972: President Mackey and Tomaino launch the Telefund, a membership and fundraising drive, to raise money for the association’s new all-academic scholarship program July 6, 1972: Hillsborough County chapter alumni hold their first meeting
October 1972: Association opens membership to all former students, not just USF graduates
Jan. 6-14, 1973: Association hosts Homecoming activities for alumni for the first time
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
June 10, 1973: Malcolm K. Hayes becomes USF’s 20,000th graduate on his 26th birthday November 1975: Association offers 16 one-year, full-tuition scholarships
1976: First USF Day with the Rowdies soccer team Nov. 30, 1976: Association celebrates USF’s 20
th
anniversary by presenting its first 20 Distinguished Alumni Awards to graduates who have reached the pinnacle of success in their professions; U.S. Rep. Sam Gibbons, “the father of USF,’’ is the ceremony’s keynote speaker
1977: Total Association scholarship awards since 1973 reach $50,000 Sept. 1979: Joe Tomaino’s assistant, Lee Patouillet, creates and launches the USF Ambassadors student leadership group
1979 The association wanted to start a leadership development organization for students, but we didn’t have money for it. Association director Joe Tomaino and I made an appointment with executives of the major local department store, Maas Brothers, to ask if they’d sponsor it. To give them an idea of what we envisioned – students in professional uniforms serving as USF’s ambassadors – I borrowed a suit from the dean of the College of Engineering, who always wore beige slacks and a green jacket to USF events. Not only did Maas Brothers agree to sponsor the USF Ambassadors, they offered to give all of them green jackets and beige slacks or skirts. And that’s how the famous Green Jacket tradition began.
Anna Marie Ippolito, ’65 and MA ’72, Life Member Association president, 1979
1980 was the first full year of the USF Ambassadors attending alumni events, which was a big highlight. A personal favorite memory is the dedication of the Sun Dome before the USF v. Duke basketball game on Dec. 2, 1980.
James Loper, ’70 Association president, 1980 FALL 2019 11
May 23, 1981: Association presents its first Class of ’56 Awards, recognizing non-alumni for distinguished service to USF and the Tampa Bay area; the 11 recipients include U.S. Rep. Sam Gibbons; former USF presidents John Allen and Cecil Mackey; and New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner January 1984: 14 USF Ambassadors are selected to assist celebrities during the Super Bowl
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Endowed Alumni Scholarship was established during my tenure. It has provided more than 50 scholarships to students who represent the ideals and philosophies of Dr. King.
Oct. 1, 1987: USF gets its first specialty Florida license plate; $25 from each sale goes to the association for scholarships and academic and student programming
Les Miller, ’78, Life Member Association president, 1987
October 1987: Association announces the first USF logo credit card
Dec. 16, 1989: Tracy Tyson becomes USF’s 100,000th graduate
1987
1990 I was involved with the planning for the Gibbons Alumni Center, and we had some big hurdles to overcome. First, we wanted it to be on campus in a highly visible location and on a site that could accommodate parking for guests and events. USF land planners wanted it to be off campus – or not built at all. Fortunately, President Frank Borkowski, who put high value on the importance of alumni to USF’s future, agreed with us, and the Alumni Center’s location next door to the president’s house (Lifsey House) reflects that. It’s as symbolic as it is practical.
R. Patrick Hill, ’70, Life Member Association president, 1990
June 28, 1990: Sen. John Grant, ’64, and Beverley Grant, ’66, become Life Members No. 1 and 2 May 1991: Andy Mintzer, ’77 and MAcc ’78, Life Member, receives the first Donald A. Gifford Service Award, recognizing alumni for unparalleled service to USF
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
Alumni all over the state wanted football and it was something I’d been pushing for through the USF Green Jackets Club (now called the Bulls Club). When I joined the alumni association board, I was able to combine supporters under the flagship of the association. I worked with USF President Frank Borkowski, also a football supporter, and he implemented a feasibility study that found football would be a positive step for USF’s development. That really helped us. In January 1994, President Betty Castor came to USF and eagerly took up the cause. We reorganized our efforts and USF was approved in 1996 to start football.
Richard Lane, ’68, Life Member Association president, 1992
During my presidency, I had the distinct pleasure – along with others – to work with the association board, staff and USF administration in developing the architectural design and choosing the architect for what was to become the Sam and Martha Gibbons Alumni Center.
Ken Rollins, ’64, Life Member Association president, 1991
1998
2000
Oct. 15-18, 1997: First fall Homecoming, SuperBull I, includes football and more activities for alumni
May 1998: The Sam and Martha Gibbons Alumni Center, a state-of-the-art 20,000-square-foot “home away from home” for alumni at USF opens following years of fundraising for construction
June 2000: Association launches its website, now usfalumni.org
FALL 2019 13
I have many special memories from my tenure on the board: • I had the privilege of working with Joe Tomaino (first executive director) as a student Ambassador and as an alumna, and with every executive director since, including today’s Bill McCausland, MBA ’96 • I was the first Ambassador to be elected chair of the association • I was chair when we cut the ribbon on the Gibbons Alumni Center expansion
Dr. Anila Jain, ’81, Life Member Association president, 2003
2003
February 2004: The Alumni Center expands, more than doubling in size
Oct. 15, 2004: Tamsen Fadal, ’92, receives the first Outstanding Young Alumni Award, recognizing alumni age 35 or younger who’ve demonstrated innovation, creativity and success in their careers Oct. 16, 2004: An annual tradition begins with the first USF alumni Homecoming “bead” created for alumni association members
2004 One of the highlights of my tenure was creation of the Student Alumni Association, which builds a relationship with our future alumni while providing them with programs that help them succeed as students.
(Right) Michele Norris, ’79, Life Member
Association president, 2008
As president, my favorite memories are attending the graduations. It is a distinct honor to be part of such a wonderful moment in so many lives. I teared up at the end of almost every ceremony, when the graduates celebrated, parents applauded, and we sang the Alma Mater.
(Left) April Monteith, ’01 and MBA ’03
Life Member, Association chair, 2017
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
May 2005: Alumni Voice newsletter launches July 2007: Alumni Voice magazine launches 2008: The association publishes the first Book of Bull to introduce students to USF traditions. Its predecessor was the Itty Bitty Book of Bull.
June 5, 2009: Dazaun Soleyn, ’14, Life Member, becomes the first member of the Student Alumni Association, which will grow to more than 6,000 – the largest student organization on campus
2008
2009
2011
Our board left some strong legacies, including the robust relationship we’ve forged with the university; new “seats at the university table;’’ the lead role we played during the budget cut crisis; the hiring of Bill McCausland, our transformational executive director; and the new credit card affinity relationship with our very own USF Federal Credit Union.
April 2, 2011: Association hosts its first fundraiser social, Bulls Around the World, which will later become Brahman Bash and then Green & Gold Gala
May 20, 2011: Association hosts first Life Member Appreciation Baseball Game, a free event for all Life Members, later revised to include all association members
Richard Heruska, ’11, Life Member Association president, 2011
FALL 2019 15
Feb. 13, 2012: Bill McCausland, MBA ’96, Life Member, becomes the association’s seventh executive director and immediately leads a successful alumni advocacy effort challenging disproportionate state budget cuts to USF August 2012: The association partners with the USF Federal Credit Union to offer a broad array of financial services, including new logoed credit and debit cards
April 12, 2013: Association hosts first USF Fast 56 awards, recognizing the 56 fastest growing Bull-owned or -led businesses May 1, 2013: The first alumni and students are inducted into the Order of the Golden Brahman, an elite organization whose members build and promote student and community relationships for the benefit of USF Oct. 22, 2013: As part of Homecoming festivities, the first Working Bulls Luncheon recognizes more than 3,000 USF graduates working at their alma mater
Nov. 19, 2013: The first Class Ring Ceremony offers a special presentation of official USF class rings Dec. 13, 2013: The first 50-year class reunion brings together members of the class of ’63 to become the first inductees in the Golden Guard Society
2012
2013
2019
October 2015: Alumni Voice and USF Magazine become a new publication, USF, the official magazine of the alumni association
Oct. 24, 2018: Cameron Weed, ’17, becomes Life Member No. 5,000
Sept. 2019: Association scholarship funds distribution exceeds $5 million
The Outstanding Young Alumni Awards became a separate ceremony and event during my tenure and we had a great, diverse inaugural class of recipients. We also achieved record revenues for the association and gained many new Life Members.
Jim Harvey, ’88, Life Member Association chair, 2016 16
UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
The highlight of my term as chair was the success of our revamped signature event, the Green & Gold Gala. The event now truly demonstrates our Bull pride while raising record revenue for scholarships.
Merritt Martin, ’04 and MPA ’06 Association chair, 2018-2019
TO PREEMINENCE
AND BEYOND
Where we are and where we are going
M
ouths often gape and eyes open wide in wonder when alumni return to USF for the first time in years. The campus is all grown up – almost beyond recognition for many. It has a metropolitan sophistication, with tall, contemporary buildings devoted to research and enhancing students’ lives; the sangfroid that comes with years of success; and trees, lots of leafy shade trees. Just as the university has matured and evolved, so has your USF Alumni Association. We took a big step toward a much larger role in the school’s growing success when university leaders brought a change agent on board in 2012. In hiring the association’s seventh executive director, they found a new leader for a new era, a man brimming with ideas gleaned from six years serving as chief operating officer of the University of Texas’ renowned alumni association, the 134-year-old Texas Exes. Bill McCausland, MBA ’96, Life Member, and a 1983 UT journalism grad, set out to refocus and rebrand the USF Alumni Association. He wanted to find ways to connect and engage even more Bulls and USF friends. But on day one, he faced a crisis. “February 13, 2012 was Bill McCausland’s first day as our new executive director, and it was also the day our Board of Trustees called an emergency meeting,” recalls Richard Heruska, ’11, Life Member, then president of the association’s board of directors. “The state had proposed huge budget cuts for USF, 60 percent of our state funding. It was a much bigger cut than they proposed for any other university. It was unfair and it would have been devastating for our students, the university, everyone.” Before he’d even unpacked his boxes, McCausland began to rally 270,000 USF grads around the world. That had never been done. While he wasn’t the only leader calling on Bulls to fight for their university, he and the association employed a different strategy. Using specialized technology, they contacted every Bull with an email address and made it easy for recipients to let their legislators know how they felt. And they did. “Tens of thousands of alumni sent emails and letters or made calls to elected officials, many of them because of the alumni association. That was a tipping point; the cuts didn’t pass,” Heruska says. Advocacy – protecting USF – would become a pillar of the association’s newly defined mission. USF clearly had impassioned alumni, but many weren’t sure about how to connect through the alumni association, and how that connection could make a difference. “Our first project was a branding initiative, an education campaign. We wanted to show alumni and USF supporters, and even our own staff, exactly what our mission is,” McCausland says. “We exist to help USF succeed. We do that by being a conduit for connecting alumni with each other and with USF. We create meaningful ways for Bulls to contribute: through advocacy, like rallying against budget cuts; by making an impact in important areas like student success; by showing off our USF pride; and by gathering with fellow Bulls to build bonds.” USF’s most important role is providing students with a worldclass education and the alumni association is keen on supporting
this, he says. “The better educated we are, and the better well-rounded our college experience, the more likely we are to be good, productive citizens. Whatever we do, whether we’re doctors or artists or stayat-home parents, we’re going to be better citizens, better people, because of our USF education. That’s good for the graduates, good for their families, and good for society.” McCausland next looked to the association’s leadership. He wanted to see a group that was more representative of USF students and alumni, a cross-section of colleges, class years, gender, ethnicity and skill sets. To achieve that, they would need to change the board of directors’ identification and election process. “We implemented a nominating committee to identify candidates from different backgrounds and with different strengths. The committee would vet candidates to ensure our directors better represent our alumni’s many perspectives and that they’re dedicated to our mission and USF’s success,” McCausland says. “We had to change the by-laws, and it took about a year, but I’m so proud of the result. Our board is very involved and each individual brings a special acumen to the job.” McCausland has also worked to expand and elevate the Association’s programs, events and communications. He and a staff of 20 have nearly doubled the number of annual activities, including adding the USF Fast 56 Awards and 50-year class reunions, and revising the Outstanding Young Alumni celebration, among others. They’ve added new programs, including a student-alumni organization, the Order of the Golden Brahman, which brings together students and alumni committed to lifelong advocacy for USF. All of the association’s existing programs have been upgraded and polished. The annual USF Alumni Awards event, for instance, once a casual afternoon barbecue, is today a prestigious reception and dinner, a major celebration reflective of USF’s most accomplished alumni and devoted supporters. Looking forward, expect to see more such growth, more events that surprise, delight and engage alumni and friends, and make them proud to be Bulls, McCausland says. He’d also like to one day have the resources to give the association’s 45 alumni chapters and societies around the country and the world even more hands-on time and attention. The groups, led by dedicated volunteers, plan athletic watch parties, scholarship fundraisers, community service and more for their local Bulls. He envisions a day when grads all over the world connect to USF through a geographic chapter in their own back yard. “Most USF grads really enjoyed their experience here, whether it was in the 1960s, ’70s or now,” he says. “It’s up to us to keep that emotional attachment going. USF’s continued success depends on it.” n FALL 2019 17
2019
Who let the Bulls out
Follow the herd to Homecoming!
Grab your plastic Bull horns, your Green and Gold garb, and your swankiest USF swag and come on home, Bulls! Homecoming 2019 is Oct. 6-12, and there’s plenty on tap for alumni. You won’t want to miss the big celebration in your honor, the Welcome Home Party with live band, food and games Oct. 11 on the front lawn of your Sam and Martha Gibbons Alumni Center. It’s a prime spot for bead-catching when the Running with the Bulls Homecoming Parade starts at 7 p.m., and the Herd of Thunder marching band always stops to give us a special performance. On Oct. 12, before the big game against the Brigham Young University Cougars, stop by our Spirit Tent in the Bulls Zone at Raymond James Stadium for free beads, class year stickers, special collector bead for Alumni Association members, and so much more. Here are just a few of the special events planned; find details and more events at Homecoming.usf.edu. Venues listed here are USF Tampa unless otherwise noted.
Monday, Oct. 7 HOMECOMING KICKOFF AND STAMPEDE COMEDY SHOW 7:30 p.m., Marshall Student Center Ballroom
Thursday, Oct. 10 CARDBOARD BOAT RACE TBA, USFSP Harbor Lawn/waterfront
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
USF ALUMNI AWARDS DINNER AND CELEBRATION 6 p.m., reception; 7 p.m. awards presentation, Marshall Student Center Ballroom, www.USFalumni.org/awards
HOMECOMING CONCERT 8 p.m., Yuengling Center, Details to come
online at Check for updates
g in m o c e m o /h u d e usf.
CURRENT MARK IN USE
Friday, Oct. 11 CARNIVAL AND STUDENT TALENT SHOWCASE
RUNNING WITH THE BULLS HOMECOMING PARADE
6:30 p.m., beads, floats, parade watch parties; parade runs east on Holly Drive to USF Genshaft Drive (formerly Maple Carnival, 3 p.m.-midnight; free Drive), south to Alumni Drive and west to rides, food available for purchase; Showcase, 9 p.m., Yuengling Center Leroy Collins Boulevard parking lot
WELCOME HOME PARTY Pre-parade party with live music by the Matt Winter Band, games, food concessions and more, 5-9 p.m., Gibbons Alumni Center lawn
Three hours before kickoff, Bulls Zone, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
HOMECOMING GAME Brigham Young vs. USF Visit GoUSFBulls.com for game time COLLEGIATE LICENSING COMPANY MARK and tickets
Saturday, Oct. 12 USF ALUMNI ASSOCIATION SPIRIT TENT Free USF swag; special collector beads for alumni association members – bring your membership card or download the Alumni Mobile App at www.USFalumni. org/MobileApp to access your virtual card!
COLOR, PMS 342 ‘USF’ GREEN
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Perfect
Tony Moré, ’64, pursued a career in science – and found it in the family bakery.
CHEMISTRY
By JOEY JOHNSTON ’81
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Photo: In 1973, Tony Moré, who has a PhD in chemistry, became a third-generation owner of the family business, La Segunda Central Bakery.
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ONY MORÉ GREW UP ON the mouth-watering fresh Cuban bread from Ybor City’s fabled La Segunda Central Bakery, founded by his grandfather Juan Moré than a century ago. But after he graduated from USF in 1964, the notion of working in the family business wasn’t so appetizing. “I helped out there while growing up, enough to know that it wasn’t for me,’’ he says. “It was too darn hot back there with those ovens.” Moré (pronounced more-ray) earned a bachelor’s in chemistry as a member of USF’s charter class and then a doctorate in organic chemistry at Florida State University. He taught high school chemistry and math before becoming an adjunct professor of chemistry at Hillsborough Community College. “My father had always wanted me to join the bakery, but I resisted,’’ says Moré, 76. “One day he called and said, ‘I know what you make as a teacher. I can give you more.’ Besides that, we want you here and need you here.’’ So Moré’s life changed. He and his cousin took over the bakery in 1973, becoming third-generation owners. His science background translated perfectly to baking, where quality and consistency require exacting standards and a respect for the importance of each ingredient. It was the perfect formula for pastries, cookies, brownies, sandwiches and, of course, Cuban bread. “As a chemist, he’s a perfectionist,’’ says his wife of 52 years, Judy. “Nobody does it the way he does it. He can taste a pastry or look at a loaf of Cuban bread and know exactly where it’s from and who made it. He knows when it’s not right.’’ Moré, who greatly expanded La Segunda’s menu of sweet baked goods, has assumed more of a supporting role in the past decade as his son, Copeland, became the bakery’s fourth-generation owner. Like his father, Copeland never saw himself in the family business, instead delving into commercial real estate. But after buying in he, too, set about growing the business, transforming La Segunda into a national enterprise.
UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
Ten years ago, the bakery produced about 6,000 loaves of Cuban bread a day. Now it’s at 18,000 to 20,000. La Segunda works with food distributors to ship the crusty, 18- and 36-inch-long loaves all over the country. They’ve also added La Segunda Bakery and Cafe, a popular South Tampa breakfast/lunch restaurant that celebrated its first anniversary on July 18. “We have a family business, but it’s a very strong brand, a very strong tradition and one that has a lot of potential for growth,’’ Copeland Moré says. “At the foundation of what we do, though, it’s really not a lot different than what my father, my grandfather and my great-grandfather did. “We know what got us here. When that Cuban bread comes out, it has to look right, feel right and taste right. We have customers who have been coming here with their grandmothers since they were little kids. They know. Our mission is to get it right every day. My father taught me that.’’ The bakery dates to the late 19th century when Juan Moré, a Spanish native, fought in the Spanish-American War in Cuba and discovered the distinctive local pan. He brought the recipe to Ybor City and joined a co-op of bakers and cigarmakers to open three bakeries — La Primera, La Segunda and La Tercera (The First, The Second and The Third). After two of them folded, Juan purchased La Segunda from his partners in 1915. Tony Moré’s father Anthony, one of Juan’s three sons, became part of the second generation of owners. While Tony vastly expanded the pastry offerings, his son has helped the bakery adapt to a modern era, including enhanced distribution and marketing, social-media promotion and potentially more satellite locations. But Cuban bread is Cuban bread — whether it’s 1915 or 2019. “Some things have changed a lot,’’ Tony Moré says. “Some things haven’t at all.’’ It begins with five ingredients: flour, water, salt, sugar and shortening. After mixing, yeast is added by the master bakers, many of whom have more than two decades of experience. The dough is shaped into loaves and a fresh palmetto leaf laid along the top. That holds in the moisture and creates the distinctive crack that runs the length of the loaf.
Photo: JAY NOLAN
FOREVER BULLS
FALL 2019 21
Photos: JAY NOLAN
FOREVER BULLS
Above: Bakers at La Segunda press fresh palmetto leaves into the Cuban bread dough to hold in the moisture. Center: During his leadership tenure, Tony Moré vastly expanded the bakery’s pastries and sweets. Bottom: La Segunda turns out upwards of 18,000 crusty loaves of Cuban bread each day.
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Next, the loaves are placed in front of high-powered fans, which hardens the exterior, producing a crusty outside and soft interior. They’re individually hand-placed into the hearth, where they bake for about 45 minutes. “There are a lot of imitators out there, but we use only the finest quality ingredients and everything is made to our specifications,’’ Moré says. “The best shortening. The best flour. We have equipment nobody else has. We don’t take shortcuts. “People do it differently, then wonder why the bread doesn’t taste the same. Here, we have a way of doing things and it has worked for more than 100 years. I suppose you could compare it to the way I was trained in chemistry and science at USF. Those principles didn’t change either, and that seems like it was a long, long time ago.’’ Moré remembers intimate classroom settings and only a handful of buildings during his time at USF. Back then, looking northward revealed miles and miles of undeveloped land. He recently visited the campus and could barely believe his eyes. “So many buildings, so much growth,’’ he says. “I’m proud of my school. USF has grown into something very special.’’ The same can be said for La Segunda Central Bakery, thanks to generations of Morés who could never shut the door entirely on those hot ovens. n
UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
UNIVERSITY BEAT
with Mark Schreiner
NEWS JAZZ NPR CLASSICAL WUSF.ORG A Service of the University of South Florida
FALL 2019 23
With more than 348,000 alumni around the world, Rocky finds friends wherever he travels. If he jumps in the suitcase on your next trip, pops up at a wedding, or photobombs an event, email your highresolution pictures (300 ppi) and details to Penny Carnathan at pcarnathan@ usf.edu, or mail to her at USF Alumni Association, 4202 E. Fowler Ave. ALC100, Tampa, FL 33620-5455.
a
a It’s a proud day for Rocky as he joins
military veterans on their way to visit their respective war memorials in Washington, D.C., courtesy of the nonprofit Honor Flight South Florida. Rocky and volunteer Lisa Kaufman Schaller, ‘95, escorted Vietnam veteran Frank Gartin, U.S. Navy.
b Rocky checks out the multi-millionyear-old logs at Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona with, at left, Bob Blain, ’78 and MBA ’96, and future Bull Grace Blain, and. right, Ryan Blain, ’02, and future Bulls August and Ellis Blain. c Rocky and Kevin Shendok, ’91 and
’93, Life Member, find plenty of local flavor to sample during the 110th annual Rotary International Convention in Hamburg, Germany.
d On a post retirement trip this sum-
mer, these two diehard Bulls forgot to pack their plush Rocky! So Dr. Judy Genshaft, Life Member, and Steve Greenbaum, Life Member, found his cousin, Toro Loco, in Pamplona, Spain.
Where’s 24
Rocky?
UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
e At a family reunion in Lotloton, Siquijor, Philippines, Amabel McCormick, ’93 and MPA ’04, shows husband Gerry Jr., son Kyle and Rocky her dad’s boyhood backyard-with-a-view. f The views are nonstop as Gene Dressler, ’69, Life Member; Becky Dressler, ’69 and MA ’76, Life Member; and their favorite little Bull visit Santorini, part of the Cyclades group of Greek islands in the southern Aegean Sea. g Tripping back through time, Rocky
joins, from left, Richard Stein; Leslie Stein, MA ’73, Life Member; and Kathy Betancourt, ’67 and MA ’70, Life Member, in the shadow of the ancient Acropolis of Athens.
FOREVER BULLS b
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Chapters &
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Societies The Alumni Association’s geography-based chapters and interest-based societies provide ways for Bulls and friends to stay connected and support USF no matter where they live. Volunteer group leaders plan activities and programs designed to make an impact on USF’s success; protect and promote USF; and to keep Bull bonds strong. Whether they’re raising money for a group scholarship fund, getting together for a tailgate, or pitching in on a community service project, these alumni and friends have a great time sharing their Bull pride!
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Philadelphia Chapter alumni meet up with Bulls from New Jersey for a Philadelphia Phillies game. More than 40 people turned out for a green, gold – and red – tailgate before the Phillies took on the Miami Marlins.
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Members of the Greater Tampa Chapter show off a check representing the money they’ve raised since 2016 through their annual Bulls Block Party in Ybor City. A portion of those proceeds goes to the chapter’s scholarship fund, which has almost reached $25,000 – the level required for it to become endowed.
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A proud Bull crowd settles in for USF Day with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Jacksonville-St. Augustine Chapter’s hometown team. The group got special ticket pricing and a shout-out on the Bragan Field jumbotron. A portion of ticket sales went to the group’s scholarship fund.
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
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FOREVER BULLS c
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d The LGBTQ+ Society and Pinellas
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Chapter team up to share the pride at the St. Pete Pride Expo, part of the state’s largest Pride festival. Volunteers from the two alumni groups braved the June heat to give away plenty of Bulls swag.
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Summer marks the start of a new year for chapters and societies, and the Latino Society kicks it off in style with a social at Bodega Seminole Heights, a Tampa Latin American eatery.
Email your high-resolution photo (300 ppi) and details to Penny Carnathan at pcarnathan@usf.edu or mail them to her at USF Alumni Association, 4202 E. Fowler Ave. ALC100, Tampa, FL 33620-5455.
FALL 2019 27
Chapters & Societies
No matter where you live, you’ll always be
a Bull! Anthropology Alumni Tyrone Gray tgray@usf.edu Architecture Alumni David Hunter David.Hunter@morganstanley.com
Music Alumni Arupa Gopal Tanya Bruce usfmusicalumni@ gmail.com
LGBTQ+ Alumni Todd St. John-Fulton usflgbtqalumni@outlook.com
Patel College of Global Sustainability Julie Cornwell Arnel Garcesa pcgsnetwork@gmail. com
Library and Information Science Megan O’Brien usflisalumni@gmail. com
The USF Alumni Association has alumni chapters all over the country. We also have college and special-interest societies for like-minded alumni. It’s easy to get involved. Just email the contact person of the group you’d like to visit.
Interest-Based Groups
Latino Alumni Melizza Etienne Luz Randolph USFLatinoAlumniSociety@gmail.com
Black Alumni Erica Dailey usfblackalumnisociety@gmail.com
Entrepreneurship Alumni Jordan Casal jcasal@ardentandbold. com
College of Business Alumni Samantha Fitzmaurice sfitzmaurice@usf.edu
Geology Alumni Matt Wissler usfgas@gmail.com
Engineering Alumni Robert Andrew swantekjr@gmail.com
Kosove Scholarship Alumni Justin Geisler justingeisler@hotmail. com
Psychology Alumni Vicky Phares usfpsychba@gmail.com
Lockheed Martin – Oldsmar Brent Lewis brent.a.lewis@lmco. com
Public Administration Alumni Mike Rimoldi mike@rimoldiconstruction.com
Mass Communications Alumni Janet Scherberger USFmasscommalumni@gmail.com
Public Health Alumni Natalie Preston-Washington npreston@health.usf. edu
Medicine Alumni Catherine Warner cwarner1@health.usf. edu
Rugby Alumni James Callihan Sean Masse usfbullsrugbyalumni@ gmail.com
USF St. Petersburg Heather Willis hlwillis@usfsp.edu
Geographical Groups Asheville, N.C. Chad Johnson USFAshevilleBulls@ gmail.com Atlanta Lara Martin usfalumniatlanta@ gmail.com Austin, Texas Brett Bronstein usfaustin@gmail.com Broward County Ruth Rogge ruthrogge@gmail.com Alan Steinberg usfbrowardalumni@ gmail.com Charlotte, N.C. Marisa Varian usfcharlottebulls@ gmail.com
What Will Your USF Legacy Be? Making a planned gift can help advance the future of USF while providing potential tax and income benefits to you. Download our free Estate Planning Guide at usfgiving.org to get started. A few easy ways to give: •
Designate the University of South Florida Foundation, Inc. as a beneficiary in your will or trust
•
Contribute to USF from your IRA or other retirement plan assets
•
Donate appreciated assets such as stock or real estate to USF
University of South Florida Foundation, Inc. 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, ALC100, Tampa, FL 33620 P: 813-974-8761 F: 813-974-8855 E: Planned_gifts@usf.edu
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
Chicago Kate Duffy usfchicagoalumni@ gmail.com
Greenville, S.C. Mike Nascarella Michael.nascarella@ gmail.com
Dallas/Fort Worth Heather Agatstein hwa2@usf.edu
Houston Heather Agatstein hwa2@usf.edu
Miami-Dade County Carlos Rodriguez USFmiamialumni@ gmail.com
D.C. Regional Genevieve Borello usfbullsdc@gmail.com
Indianapolis Rasheite Radcliff USFIndyAlumni@gmail. com
Nashville, Tenn. Melinda Dale nashvilleusfbulls@live. com
Jacksonville-St. Augustine Ellen Rosenblum usfjax@gmail.com
New Orleans Tyrone Gray tgray@usf.edu
London Raquel Collazo londonusfalumni@ gmail.com
New York City Kevin Reich usfalumniny@gmail. com
Denver Matt Sprigg Msprigg24@gmail.com Fort Myers/Naples Heather Agatstein hwa2@usf.edu
Los Angeles Garin Flowers gann.flowers@gmail.com
Orlando Stephen Simon usfbullsorlando@gmail. com
Polk County Richard Weiss polkalumniusf@gmail. com
Palm Beach County Jon Rausch USFbullspbc@gmail. com
Raleigh, N.C. Benjamin Wadsworth bwadswor@mail.usf. edu
Pasco County Samantha Cleveland sdpimentel@usf.edu
San Diego Josh Vizcay josuevizcay@gmail.com
Philadelphia Mike Waterhouse usf.tri.state.alumni@ gmail.com
Sarasota-Manatee Courtney Hawk cfhawk@mail.usf.edu
Saudi Arabia Hussein Alrobei alrobei@mail.usf.edu Tallahassee Alexa Mitsuda usfalumnitally@gmail. com Tampa (Greater Tampa) Samantha Cleveland sdpimentel@usf.edu
Pinellas County Gary Crook usfpinellas@gmail.com
RIDE
#
WITH
PRIDE
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Choose pride.
ORDER NOW BULLSPLATE.ORG
FALL 2019 29
Class Notes 1970s THOMAS OLDT, Political Science ’72, is president-elect of The Florida Bar Foundation, a nonprofit that provides funding for legal aid, among other assistance. He serves as a registered representative and general securities principal and is a bar foundation fellow.
1980s COL. CARL E. BERTHA, Mechanical Engineering ’89, MA ’98 and PhD ’00, retired from the U.S. Army Reserve after 30 years of service. He will continue to serve a professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy. HEATHER FIORENTINO, Elementary Education ’84, received the 2019 Distinguished Alumna Award from Pasco-Hernando State College in Florida. She is a former Florida state representative and was the first woman to serve as Pasco County’s superintendent of schools. DR. PENNY HEINRICH, Management ’89, joined Intercoastal Medical Group in Sarasota, where she is creating a hematology and oncology specialty. She continues to maintain her own practice, Suncoast Cancer Institute in Sarasota. DAVID HOLLENBERG, Engineering Technology ‘85, has joined RBC Wealth Management as a financial advisor in Florham Park, N.J. He previously worked at Merrill Lynch. KAREN KERR, Nursing ’84, was named president of Bartow Regional Medical Center in Bartow, Fla. She is also president of South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City, Fla.
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
DAVID L. MCQUADE, Finance ’86, was named to Forbes’ list of Best-In-State Wealth Advisors. He’s a senior vice president of investments and senior portfolio manager in Fort Myers, Fla., for The McQuade Group of UBS Financial Services Inc.
1990s DAVID BREITWIESER, Finance ’90, Life Member, was named chief investment officer at Grove Bank & Trust in Miami-Dade County, Fla. Previously, he headed BNY Mellon Wealth Management’s Fort Lauderdale, Fla., office. SHELLEY BROOKS, Accounting ’94, joined the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County as vice president of finance. She previously held an executive position at ShelterBox USA, an international disaster relief charity. KENDALL J. BROWN, Marketing ’91, Life Member, was promoted to director of operations for Universal Window Solutions in Sarasota. He was the company’s top sales producer for 2017 and 2018. JAMES CORAGGIO, Broadcast-Program and Production ’94, MEd ’02 and PhD ’08, was named vice president of community impact at the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay. He was previously vice president of strategic impact at St. Petersburg College. EILEEN DELUCA, English Education ’94, was named provost at Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers, Fla. She was previously the college’s associate vice president.
SCOTT GLASER, Interdisciplinary Social Sciences ’99, Life Member, joined ESPN Events as executive director of the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa. He was previously associate executive director of the USF Alumni Association.
Send us your class notes! Send Class Notes submissions and high-resolution (at least 300 ppi) photos to
MARK GORDON, MBA ’95, was elected vice president and general manager of thermal management systems for AMETEK, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based global manufacturer of electronic instruments. He was previously president and CEO of Consolidated Aerospace Manufacturing, LLC. ERIC HALL, Biology ’97, MEd ’06 and PhD ’14, joined the Florida Department of Education as chancellor for innovation. He held a similar position in the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. SANDRA LARSEN, Civil Engineering ’98, retired as assistant city engineer after 30 years as a Sanibel, Fla., employee. Larsen completed many major projects, including installing and administering Sanibel’s first computer network, and designing a major sewer expansion. LAURIE LITTLE, Elementary Education ’94, was hired as director of federal programs for Peoria Unified School District in Arizona. Previously, she served as principal of Frontier Elementary in Peoria, Ariz. BILL MCCAUSLAND, MBA ’96, Life Member, was promoted to vice president and executive director of the USF Alumni Association. He has been the executive director of the Alumni Association since 2012. JOHN MERRILL, Economics ’94, was promoted to chief financial officer of Park City Group subsidiary ReposiTrak, Inc., a platform for monitoring food supply chains. He previously served as the Utah-based company’s senior vice president for finance.
pcarnathan@usf.edu or mail to Penny Carnathan, USF Alumni Association, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., ALC100, Tampa, FL 33620-5455
FOREVER BULLS
TRACY NEAL, Accounting ’92, is a 2019 Tampa Bay Business Journal CFO of the Year. She is the CFO of SUN ’n FUN Fly-In, Inc. in Lakeland, Fla. ROLLIN NORDGREN, MEd ’94 and PhD ’01, was named the dean of education at Piedmont College in Demorest, Ga. He previously worked at Cleveland State University as an associate professor of education and department chair, and director of undergraduate curriculum. TYRA READ, General Business Administration ’97, has joined Creighton Construction & Development as an in-house real estate attorney in Cape Coral, Fla.
TEDDY REED, Special Education: Learning Disabilities ’99, was named the veterans services officer at the University of Southern Mississippi Center for Military Veterans, Service Members and Families. He has more than 30 years of service with the U.S. Coast Guard and Coast Guard Reserves.
2000s DODE ACKEY, Finance ’02 and MBA ’04, was appointed CFO of ADS Group – African Development Solutions – in Dakar, Senegal. He was previously a senior control specialist with Tampa-based HealthPlan Services. MARIO A. BRINGAS, Finance ’00, is president of ServisFirst Bank’s new southwest Florida market. ServisFirst is a subsidiary of ServisFirst Bancshares in Sarasota. He previously served in the same capacity for Synovus Financial Corp. JASON BROUGHTON, MPA ’01, was appointed Vermont state librarian by Gov. Phil Scott. He was previously the interim Vermont state librarian. KERI GUILBAULT, MEd ’06, was named director of science and education for American Mensa and received the 2019 American Mensa National Service Award. She is an assistant professor of gifted education at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. BLAKE GUTHRIE, Mass Communications ’04, has joined Outback Bowl as director of community partnerships. He was previously director of community engagement and development for Irish 31 Pub House & Eatery in the Tampa Bay area. ANISSA HOHNSTREITER, Nursing ’05, joined the otolaryngology (ears, nose and throat) department at two Watson Clinic locations in Lakeland, Fla. She is a licensed advanced registered
BRADLEY SCARBROUGH, Elementary Education ’91, was named principal of Buffalo Creek Middle School in Palmetto, Fla. He previously served as the school’s assistant principal. CHRISTI BATEMAN STUA, Psychology ’96, has received the Certified Public Manager designation from Florida State University. She has worked for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice for 18 years. BEATRIZ VIAMONTES, Accounting ’95, MAcc ’97 and MBA ’03, Life Member, is the new chief financial officer at the Lions Eye Institute for Transplant & Research in Tampa. YINONG YANG, MS Botany ’90, received the 2019 Research Innovators Award from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. He is a Penn State professor of plant pathology.
nurse practitioner. CRAIG MCGHEE, MPH ’04, was named chief ambulatory officer for Akron (Ohio) Children’s Hospital. He will oversee operations of all medical and surgical subspecialty practices and rehabilitation. HEATHER MITCHELL, Physical Education ’04, joined the USF Foundation as a development specialist with the Office of Gift Planning. She was previously the assistant director of prospect research/senior research analyst in Advancement Operations from 2004-2009.
DENNIS MURPHY JR., MBA ‘03, was named a Banker of the Year by the Florida Bankers Association. He is president, CEO and a co-founder of Gulfside Bank in Sarasota. KATHRYN PARSONS, Mass Communications ’06, was promoted to senior director at ChappellRoberts in Tampa. She has been with the advertising agency for more than 10 years and leads its public relations division. MARCY RINGDAHL, MA Reading Education ’06, was named principal of Riverview Academy of Math and Science in Riverview, Fla. She has worked with Hillsborough County Public Schools for 12 years. LAURA (NEWHOOK) RUDEN, Mass Communications ’09, was promoted to senior director at ChappellRoberts in Tampa. She has been with the advertising agency for more than 10 years and leads its social media division. She is a past member of the Florida Board of Governors. JASON STRICKLAND, MPA ’03, Life Member, was appointed director of communications at the Veterans Health Administration Office of Community Care in Denver. He was a 2018 Leadership VA Fellow and served for 20 years in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. LUIS VIERA, History ’00, Life Member, was listed as one as Tampa Bay’s 25 Most Powerful Politicians by FloridaPolitics.com. He serves on the Tampa City Council.
2010s SHEYLLA ACEVES, Political Science ’16, joined Williams Parker for its 2019 summer associate program. A law student at Florida State University, she serves on the advisory board for Tiger Concrete and Screed LLC in Lakeland, Fla. YARELIZ RAMIREZ AGOSTO, Business Analytics and Information Systems ’17, MBA ’19 and MS ’19, has joined the Miami Heat basketball team as an IT manager.
FALL 2019 31
Class Notes KRISTINA BAINES, PhD Applied Anthropology ’12, was awarded a 2019 Course-Hero Woodrow Wilson Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching. She is an assistant professor of anthropology at Guttman Community College in New York City. FREDERICK BARTELT, Mathematics ’10, married Christianne Gates in Charleston, S.C. He is the associate pastor at Ascension Lutheran Church in Brookings, S.D. JEREMY BERGER, Global Business ’16, USF St. Petersburg, was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia list. He is the co-founder and COO of Arival Bank and the portfolio director of Life. SREDA, both based in Singapore. SYEDA SUNDAS BOKHARI, MBA and MS Finance ’12, has joined the Tampa office of VanEck Associates Corp., an asset-management firm based in New York. AYANA CLARK, International Studies ’14, received a Leadership Achievement Award from Western Michigan University-Cooley Law School. She also received the Alumni Distinguished Student Award. DANIEL DORMAN, Finance and Management ’15, was promoted to senior financial analyst at PepsiCo. He previously served as the company’s supply chain financial analyst. JANINE FILS, Marketing ’14, was hired as a media planner at Habas Media Miami. She previously worked as an assistant media planner at Mediagistic marketing agency in Tampa. TABATHA GERRY, Interdisciplinary Social Sciences ’14, was promoted to detective sergeant in the Lee County Sheriff’s Department of North Carolina. She graduated from basic law enforcement training in 2017. NICHOLAS GHIBAUDY, Management and Marketing ’16, is a marketing manager at Littledata, an ecommerce analytics company with offices in New York and Europe. Previously, he worked at Tampa Bay-based CEA Marketing, where he was the content marketing lead and copywriter. DAKEYAN GRAHAM, PhD ’15, was named 2020 Florida Teacher of the Year. He teaches instrumental music and leads the marching band at C. Leon King High School in Tampa. RALPH HERZ, Accounting and Finance ’16, has joined Bacardi Limited as a senior analyst in corporate development. He’s a former USF Muma College of Business 25 under 25 honoree.
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WAINELLA ISAACS, MS Engineering Science ’17, received the Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for the Future Fellowship for Women in STEM. She is a doctoral student at USF in civil and environmental engineering. KATIE KICKLIGHTER, MS Sport and Entertainment Management and MBA ’19, has joined the Tampa Bay Super Bowl LV host committee as manager of hospitality and events. She was previously assistant tournament manager for the Women’s Final Four Tampa Bay organizing committee. REED KOEHNLEIN, General Business Administration ’17, USF Sarasota-Manatee, has joined BallenIsles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., as a golf course assistant superintendent. COURTNEY KRAMER, Management and Marketing ’15, MBA ’17 and MS ’17, joined IRONMAN as a social media specialist for its Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon Series events. JORDAN KUTNER, Health Sciences ’17 and MHA ’19, was promoted to operations and organizational development manager with Gastro Florida in Tampa. BRITTANY MARSHALL, MPH ’12, was selected as a recipient of de Beaumont Foundation’s first 40 under 40 in Public Health list. She is a program manager for the Centers for Disease Control Foundation, where she is analyzing the capacity of 20 state and local health departments to address the effects of climate change on health. JESSICA MARTINEZ, Mass Communications ’18, was promoted to donor communications specialist for USF Health Development and Alumni Relations. She was previously a communications and marketing intern for that unit. EVAN MCCULLOUGH, Management ’14, USF St. Petersburg, has joined USF St. Petersburg as an advancement administrator. He previously served as a development officer for USF’s College of Arts and Sciences. JASON MORRIS, Psychology ’11, USF St. Petersburg, has joined USF St. Petersburg as an executive administrative specialist. He previously worked at USF St. Petersburg College of Arts and Sciences as an office manager.
NEVENA PEHAR, Psychology, International Studies and Music ’12, Life Member, was promoted to associate director of the USF Office of Annual Giving. She joined the team in 2016. MÓNICA RESTO-FERNANDEZ, Civil Engineering ’16, received the 2019 William Brewster Snow Award from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. She is pursuing a master’s degree in environmental engineering at Mercer University in Georgia. KAYLA E. RICHMOND, Political Science and Management ’10, was placed on the 2019 Florida Super Lawyers list as a Rising Star, an honor given to less than 2.5 percent of attorneys in the state. CHRISTINA (CROSBY) RUSSELL, MBA ’10, is the new CEO of Sola Salon Studios in Denver. Previously, she was the CEO of Pure Barre fitness franchises. AUGUSTIN SANCHEZ, Communications ’16 and MA ’18, has joined USF football as a quality control assistant. He was a linebacker for the team for four years. CASSANDRA SANCHEZ, Accounting and Finance ’14, has joined GP Fund Solutions, serving the private equity industry, as an associate fund controller. She was previously a Muma College of Business 25 Under 25 honoree. DR. MALLORY SMITH, Biology ’11, has joined the staff of Animal Hospital in Waynesville, N.C., as a veterinarian. Previously, she worked as a veterinary assistant at Westbay Animal Hospital in Bradenton. BENJAMIN SORRELL, Social Science Education ’11, has joined Syprett, Meshad, Resnick, Lieb, Dumbaugh, Jones, Krotec & Westheimer, P.A., in Sarasota as an associate attorney. Sorrell is a member of the Young Lawyers Division of the Sarasota County Bar Association. MELISSA THAMMAVONGSA, Public Health ’15, is the new assistant director of development at the USF College of Behavioral and Community Sciences. She previously served as USF World’s international alumni officer.
FOREVER BULLS CHIP WHITWORTH, MBA ’12, was promoted to director of Tampa Electric Company’s Big Bend Power Station. He’s been with the utility since 1977 and was formerly manager of operations at the Big Bend plant. ASHLEY YOUNG, Business Economics ’15 and MA ’18, is the new director of engagement at Climate Futures, a public platform for climate data developed by the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine. She is a former USF Muma College of Business 25 Under 25 honoree.
In Memoriam CHARLES R. ADAMS, Political Science ’76 and Criminology ’78, June 23, 2019 WILLIAM I. AGUSTIN, Finance ’18, June 6, 2019 JOSEPH H. ALFONSO JR., MA Guidance and Counseling Education ’78, April 30, 2019 JAMES “JAMIE” ANDREWS JR., General Business Administration ’81, April 13, 2019 EVERAD ARCHER, Criminology ’78, April 14, 2019 DON BANKS, Mass Communications ’84, Aug. 4, 2019 MANUEL BENITEZ, MA Distributive and Marketing Education ’71, June 1, 2019 CAROLE M. BLANCHARD, Physical Education ’63, June 3, 2019 MAJ. DAVID T. BOND, Mass Communications ’73, April 15, 2019 BRIG. GEN. (RET.) THOMAS E. BOWEN, Accounting ’90, Life Member, April 15, 2019 RICHARD CARTER JR., Finance and Management ’82, April 11, 2019 PATRICIA A. CATALLO, MS Nursing ’04, May 15, 2019 LAURA CERWINSKE, Art ’69, July 5, 2019 PAMELA CHAMBERLAIN, Finance ’72, April 10, 2019 MARY N. CHANDLEY, MA Reading Education ’73, June 9, 2019 WILLIAM G. CHERNECKY, English ’87, MA ’89 and PhD ’93, April 20, 2019 RACHEL COLEMAN, Nursing ’09 and MS ’17, July 19, 2019 JUDGE ROBERT P. COLE, History and Social Sciences Interdisciplinary ’71, July 8, 2019 RONALD D. DANIEL, History ’78, June 8, 2019 CYNTHIA R. DAVIS, Special Education ’97 and MEd ’04, July 18, 2019 DONALD H. DAVIS, English ’98 and MEd ’69, May 8, 2019 CHRISTOPHER DECHOW, General Business Administration ’12, June 10, 2019 MARTHA B. ENDRESS, Elementary Education ’67, May 13, 2019 MARTHA EWING, General Business Administration ’93, May 29, 2019 JULIE (THOLL) FENSKE, Psychology ’65 and MA ’99, April 6, 2019 DORIS (HAMPTON) FERNANDEZ, Elementary Education ’74, July 22, 2019 SUZANNE A. FISCHER, Elementary Education ’71 and MEd ’78, July 6, 2019 ROBERT W. FISHER JR., Political Science ’00, June 4, 2019 JOHN C. FOLLMAN JR., History ’98, May 14, 2019 ADAM T. GENDREAU, Accounting ’17, USF St. Petersburg, May 2, 2019 JEANNE GILLEY, Elementary Education ’69, May 25, 2019 KAREN E. GUITO, Interdisciplinary Studies ’93, April 20, 2019 JULIA A. HAMILTON-SIMPSON, Political Science ’74 and MA ’77, April 9, 2019 PATRICIA A. HERIG, MA Elementary Education ’75, May 26, 2019 EDWARD C. HERRANZ SR., MA Guidance and Counseling Education ’69, June 7, 2019 JEFFREY M. HOFF, Management ’98, June 12, 2019 WILMA C. HOWELL, Business and Office Education ’70 and MEd ’73, May 25, 2019 ROBBYN WALSH HOWIE, Interdisciplinary Sciences ’98, July 12, 2019 HAIBIN “BEN” HUANG, ME Chemical Engineering ’94 and PhD ’97, July 12, 2019 CHARLES B. JAMES, Marketing ’69, June 3, 2019 JEFFREY S. JOHNSTON, Marketing ’82, July 3, 2019 RODRIGO JURADO, Philosophy ’80 and Physical Education ’81, Life Member, June 28, 2019
JOHN H. KAELBER II, MBA ’78, June 26, 2019 JUDITH A. KARGMAN, Library and Information Science ’69, April 9, 2019 STANLEY LEBOSS, English Education ’72 and MEd ’73, July 12, 2019 MARLENE K. LEE, MA Library and Information Science ’83, June 24, 2019 MARIAN LISWITH, Sociology ’87 and MA ’87, July 5, 2019 CURT T. LOCKHART, Management ’95, July 5, 2019 THOMAS D. MASTERSON, Sociology ’72, July 14, 2019 STEVEN M. MCCULLUM, Criminology ’00, July 26, 2019 JOANN (MARTIN) MCKENNA, Distributive and Marketing Education ’71, July 25, 2019 SHEILA MCNEILL, MEd ’84 and PhD ’87, July 20, 2019 JOHN D. MILAM, Finance ’69, March 6, 2019 JOANNE (MCCARTHY) MILLER, MA Special Education ’75, April 27, 2019 JOAN Q. MINNIS, Reading Education ’78 and DEd ’11, May 20, 2019 EUGENE A. MOORE, MBA ’00, June 26, 2019 RITA A. NIRO, Political Science ’88 and MEd ’13, June 8, 2019 DR. TIMOTHY D. O’LENIC, Chemistry ’83 and MD ’87, May 22, 2019 BRIAN T. PARKER, MA Applied Anthropology ’94, May 2, 2019 SUSAN A. PENN, Early Childhood Education ’74, June 12, 2019 FREDERICK T. PLUMB, Interdisciplinary Social Sciences ’92, April 13, 2019 MARK C. RICHMOND, Marketing ’77, May 29, 2019 WILLIAM E. ROBERTS SR., MA Guidance and Counseling Education ’81, June 19, 2019 JUDITH (FREEMAN) SAUERS, MS Speech and Language Pathology ’88, July 10, 2019 DOROTHY (GIBBS) SAVIO, Social Sciences Interdisciplinary ’79 and MA ’81, July 6, 2019 JUDITH B. SELLERS, Early Childhood Education ’72, April 17, 2019 TRACY S. SELLS, Management Information Systems ’08, June 20, 2019 HEBER B. STONE, Physical Education ’67, June 13, 2019 PAUL J. SULLIVAN, Engineering Technology ’73, July 12, 2019 WILLIAM A. SWAIN, Sociology ’85, July 3, 2019 DEBORAH TROSTLE, Special Education ’76, July 8, 2019 SHANE T. TURNER, Management ’01, April 22, 2019 MARIDELL H. WEAVER, Nursing ’81, May 15, 2019 CHARLES E. WEBBER JR., Management ’71, May 16, 2019 SHARON WEEKS, French ’69, Life Member, July 24, 2019 SANDRA (FOX) ZAPPINI, Theatre ’88, July 10, 2019
Faculty and Staff DR. HENRY W. BOYCE JR., Director Joy McCann Culverhouse Center for Swallowing, June 3, 2019 JOE CATHEY, Maintenance Mechanic, July 29, 2019 MAX C. DERTKE, Dean Emeritus, Florida Mental Health Institute, May 8, 2019 RALPH E. FEHR III, PhD ’05, Professor, Electrical Engineering, July 19, 2019 WESLEY FRUSHER, Computer Technician, July 25, 2019 LOUIS C. JURGENSEN, Professor Emeritus, Business Administration, May 20, 2019 DR. BORIS G. KOUSSEFF, Professor Emeritus, Pediatrics, July 15, 2019 LESLIE MCCLELLAN, Professor of Education, June 16, 2019 JOANNE VACCARO-KISH, Fiscal and Business Analyst, April 16, 2019
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USF UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA MAGAZINE
MENTAL HEALTH
Helping students navigate the stress of college, life
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE of the USF ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
FALL 2019
Show Your Bull Pride with the ® USF Rewards Visa ! USF FCU is celebrating our 60th Anniversary this year, proudly supporting alumni, faculty, staff and students of the University of South Florida.
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USF F E DE R A L C R E D I T U N I O N
USF
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE of the USF ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
FALL 2019
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA MAGAZINE
FEATURE
28
28 Cover story:
Double-Cover: Turn the magazine over to read about the 50th anniversary of the USF Alumni Association.
Mental Health
Photo: CSILLA ARI D\`AGOSTINO, CC BY-SA
USF deploys variety of resources to help students dealing with anxiety, depression and other issues.
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DEPARTMENTS 4 From the President 6-9 First look
Photo: RYAN NOONE | USF News
Csilla Ari D`Agostino performing some cognitive tests on the waterproof iPad in front of the Aquarius habitat.
10-19 University 10
Csilla Ari D’Agostino describes her work beneath the ocean’s surface.
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Research at USF could make the ear ‘young’ again.
20-23 Athletics 24-27 Philanthropy
Cover: ANNE SCOTT | USF Photo: YinYang | iStock
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Photo: RYAN NOONE | USF News
From the President
Dear alumni, friends and supporters of USF: WELCOME TO A VERY SPECIAL ISSUE of USF Magazine. It has been designed with two covers because we wish to share two important stories with you. One celebrates a very distinctive occasion: the 50th anniversary of the USF Alumni Association. As you read, you will enjoy recalling some of the great alumni events throughout the past half-century. Our other main story, which begins on page 28, offers a detailed look at the mental health concerns of students and how the university is addressing their needs. With the new academic year under way, many USF students are living away from home for the first time. Like me, many of you can remember what that feels like – there’s excitement, but also understandable uncertainty, fueled by questions about academic expectations and career prospects as well as how to find one’s community, among many other complex dynamics. In 1977, I spent my freshman year at Kansas State University, so I understand the challenges of navigating a large public institution. As I was adjusting to my new environment, I too was thinking about my academic and career paths. I was studying architecture, but also found myself drawn to psychology, which was partly from exposure to my father’s job working with patients in a community mental health center. Although I initially wanted to be a clinical psychologist, I eventually focused on organizational psychology – the psychology of the workplace. Whether they are just starting their college careers or they are in graduate school, whether at USF or at universities across the country, more students today are grappling
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
with anxiety, depression and substance abuse. Helping them address their mental health concerns is a key component of USF’s holistic student success initiative. Across our campuses, we are devoting an array of resources, including telehealth through the Counseling Center, health and wellness satellite centers – visited by 10,000 students last academic year – and Mental Health First Aid Training for faculty and staff. More than 500 faculty and staff have volunteered for this intensive training since it was first offered in 2018. We know that helping students manage a wide range of issues, which also can include homesickness, time management, finances, relationships and grades, will help them persist to graduation. As Rita DeBate, one of our health and wellness experts, says, “This is a community and we take care of each other.” I share Dr. DeBate’s passion for helping students feel like they have a strong support network at USF. Our efforts extend into middle school. As you will learn on page 15, College of Education faculty members are partnering with Pasco County Schools to train 600 teachers on how to identity the warning signs of mental health risk in their students. This is a wonderful example of the important outreach our faculty engage in with area schools and communities. Also in this issue is a story about a valuable partnership that is helping students at USF St. Petersburg prepare for careers in finance. More than a year ago, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation awarded a $500,000 grant that established the Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Center in the Kate Tiedemann College of Business. Since then, the center and its faculty have been giving students the tools to manage stock investments while spearheading initiatives that advance financial literacy in the community. We also value the tremendous community support for USF Sarasota-Manatee’s students, particularly during the signature fundraising event, “Brunch on the Bay.” I am looking forward to my first opportunity to attend this fun and worthwhile event on November 3, and encourage you to join us for great food, a great time, and most importantly, the chance to help our deserving students. The details are on page 19. Philanthropic support makes a meaningful difference for our students and faculty every day. We are extremely grateful for the recent $10 million gift from the Taneja Family Foundation to name the Taneja College of Pharmacy. This is the largest philanthropic gift to a pharmacy school in the state of Florida, and it will make a significant impact on generations of students to come. You can learn about the generosity of Jugal and Manju Taneja on page 24. This was a truly transformational gift. Cheyenne and I have now settled into the Lifsey House on the USF Tampa campus. We continue to be deeply impressed and grateful for the warmth of the university and Tampa Bay communities. Thank you for welcoming us and for your continued support for USF. GO BULLS!
Steve Currall USF President
INNOVATION IMPACT
Growth fuels opportunity
Photo: ISTOCK
THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF USF innovation efforts has grown at a rapid pace, increasing by more than 45 percent over the last three years to $582 million annually, according to a new analysis by the Washington Economics Group. The Miami-based consulting firm reports the upward trajectory of the USF innovation enterprise continues to support and strengthen the economic development strategy of the Tampa Bay region and Florida’s growing economy. While the new analysis focuses solely on innovation, the USF System’s overall annual economic impact is measured at $4.4 billion. The Washington Economics Group analyzed the productivity of the USF Research Park; the university’s Technology Transfer Office, which manages new inventions from USF faculty and students; and USF’s Tampa Bay Technology Incubator, which is overseen by the USF Office of Corporate Partnerships. Among the report’s key takeaways: • USF’s innovation enterprise sustains more than 4,000 public and private sector jobs (an increase of 35 percent from 2016), and returns more than $71 million in tax revenue to local, state and federal coffers (an increase of 37 percent since 2016). • $548 million of the USF innovation enterprise’s annual impact is in the immediate Tampa Bay region, where approximately 1,992 people are directly employed in jobs that have been created in the university’s innovation enterprise. Another 2,068 related jobs are sustained among partner organizations and businesses that provide goods and services to USF innovation operations.
• Of the jobs created by USF innovation statewide, 82 percent are in the knowledge-based services sector, which includes life sciences companies, IT operations, financial services and professional and administrative services. Knowledge-based services also have a significant spillover effect on tourism, services, real estate, transportation and other key sectors in Florida’s economy, the report noted. USF President Steve Currall says the report provides important insight into the wider value that USF creates as a research institution with a strong culture of innovation. “One of the most important roles research universities serve is in creating and fostering new ideas that fuel economic development through collaboration and commercialization,” Currall says. “This analysis shows how USF’s innovation enterprise has become a vital catalyst for the larger innovation ecosystem, which is creating unprecedented opportunity for the Tampa Bay region and the state of Florida.” Paul Sanberg, USF senior vice president for research, innovation and knowledge enterprise, says the report confirms the importance of USF working to optimize its creative technological assets to build wider economic and societal impact. Not only do USF’s commercialization activities increase employment opportunities in high-wage occupations across the region and state, Sanberg says the USF innovation enterprise helps create an environment that attracts new companies and a growing pool of highly skilled professionals that can sustain a modern economy. USF has also ranked among the top 10 of American public research universities in generating new U.S. patents for the past nine years. The three-year analysis in the report does not include USF’s research contracts and grants or research expenditure dollars.
USF is published quarterly by University Communications & Marketing and the USF Alumni Association for alumni, friends and members of the USF community.
University Communications & Marketing Chief Marketing Officer Joe Hice AVP Public Relations and Communications Kim Hill USF Alumni Association Executive Director Bill McCausland, MBA ’96 Communications Director Rita Kroeber USF Content Editor Tom Woolf Design Editor Anne Scott Alumni Content Editor Penny Carnathan ’82 Contributors Elizabeth L. Brown; Vickie Chachere; Matthew Cimitile; Freddie Coleman; Csilla Ari D’Agostino; Elizabeth Engasser ’15; Dylann Furness; Aaron Hilf; Joey Johnston ’81; Allison Long; Kiley Mallard; Tina Meketa; Keith Morelli ‘78; Jay Nolan; Ryan Noone; Erin Ryan, class of ’20; Carrie O’Brion; Sandra C. Roa; Rich Shopes; Sarah Worth ’86; Tom Zebold USF System Administration Steven C. Currall, President Ralph Wilcox, Provost and Executive Vice President David Lechner, Senior Vice President for Business and Financial Strategy Charles Lockwood, Senior Vice President for USF Health Paul Sanberg, Senior Vice President for Research, Innovation & Knowledge Enterprise Joel Momberg, Senior Vice President for University Advancement and Alumni Affairs Martin Tadlock, Regional Chancellor, USF St. Petersburg Karen Holbrook, Regional Chancellor, USF Sarasota-Manatee USF Board of Trustees Jordan B. Zimmerman ’80, Chair Leslie Muma ’66, Vice Chair Michael L. Carrere Britney Deas Stephanie E. Goforth ’82 Mike Griffin ’03 Oscar Horton Deanna Michael Harold W. Mullis, Esq. John B. Ramil ’78, MCE ’00 Byron E. Shinn ’79 Charles Tokarz Nancy H. Watkins ’82 Contact USF University Communications & Marketing 4202 E. Fowler Ave., CGS 301 Tampa, FL 33620-4301 (813) 974-4014 or ucm@usf.edu Contact the USF Alumni Association Gibbons Alumni Center 4202 E. Fowler Ave., ALC100 Tampa, Florida 33620-5455 (813) 974-2100 • (800) 299-BULL (2855) alumni@usf.edu Update your contact information: www.myusfbio.org Reprint policy: USF encourages reprinting articles in their entirety. Permission may be obtained by contacting ascott@usf.edu.
FALL 2019 5
Photo: RYAN NOONE | USF News
First Look
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
PRESIDENT STEVE CURRALL AND HIS WIFE, CHEYENNE, greeted students and families during residence hall move-in a few days before the start of the fall semester.
FALL 2019 7
First Look
LOOK OUT YBOR CITY MORE THAN 1,000 USF ALUMNI AND FRIENDS took over Tampa’s historic Ybor City for the fourth annual Bulls Block Party hosted by the Greater Tampa Area Alumni Chapter. With 11 venues participating, the August event was the largest Block Party yet. Bulls in USF caps and jerseys filled the third floor of the historic Italian Club for a rousing kickoff party, then poured onto 7th Avenue for an afternoon of camaraderie and USF pride. They included Lisa Andino ’13, Life Member, and Fernando Rodriguez, pictured right. (The Italian Club is reflected in the window.) The event raised nearly $18,000 for the chapter’s scholarship fund, USF Athletics, and the chapter. Over the course of four years, it has raised a total of $42,000. “The chapter’s goal for the Block Party is to bring a game day, tailgate-like atmosphere for alumni, fans and community members to Ybor City. It’s a great time of year to celebrate the kickoff to football season,” says Zach Pietrzyk, ’11, Life Member, one of the organizers. “We want to provide an event to help alumni reconnect with other Bulls who share their passion for USF and excitement for the upcoming football season.” S-O-U-T-H F-L-O-R-I-D-A! Gooooooo Bulls! 8
UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
FALL 2019 9
Photo: JAY NOLAN
Photo: NASA
University
FROM THE CONVERSATION
The stress of extreme living underwater for simulating upcoming Moon missions AS NASA PREPARES TO RETURN TO THE MOON in the next couple of years and possibly even establish bases, it needs a better understanding of how the human body performs in such an inhospitable habitat. To that end, two astronauts, two researchers (including me) and two technicians participated in a program called NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operation (NEEMO) in which we descended 62 feet below the ocean’s surface this past June, to spend nine days living in a tiny capsule that mimics what life might be like in the tight quarters of a Moon base. I am a neuroscientist, and our team`s research during this mission focused on assessing how humans react to the high-stress, extreme environment while having a heavy workload. Taken together, these experiments should establish a baseline for how the human body functions in extreme environments. These data should help NASA find ways that astronauts and aquanauts can improve physi10
UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
cal and mental performance, while protecting the brain, in both genders during future undersea and deep space exploration missions.
Laboratory under the sea So how did I, a neuroscientist specializing in manta ray brains and behavior and diving physiology, become a crew member for NASA’s NEEMO 23 mission? In 2017 I coordinated research projects and was a support diver for a NEEMO project. As NASA prepared for the next mission, it needed to find a nonastronaut crew member with a strong dive background, operational experience from field work and relevant academic background. It turned out that I was a good fit. A couple months after NEEMO 22, to my surprise, NASA invited me to join the NEEMO 23 crew. The NEEMO mission takes place at the Aquarius Reef Base, located 62 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It is the world’s only undersea research station that replicates space mission conditions, including the opportunity to experience weightlessness. NASA has been sending teams of “aquanauts” on the NEEMO undersea expeditions to Aquarius Reef Base since 2001, to train astronauts, test space devices and study the physical and psychological toll of living and working in extreme environments. During NEEMO 23, my crew mates were Samantha
Above: Csilla Ari D`Agostino and her teammate carry out experiments outside their undersea habitat.
Photo: CSILLA ARI D`AGOSTINO, CC BY-SA
Cristoforetti, who holds the record for the longest uninterrupted spaceflight of a European astronaut; Jessica Watkins, NASA astronaut candidate; and Shirley Pomponi, a marine biologist. Two male habitat technicians, Mark Hulsbeck and Tom Horn, were also part of the expedition. My goal during our mission was to understand psychological changes in crew members in this high-stress environment. For nine days the six of us were isolated from the rest of the world, in a confined space, as we made time-sensitive decisions that had serious consequences. Our team constantly grappled with technical difficulties and a large workload. We also experienced physical exhaustion that might have affected our performance. Just like space missions, there was no opportunity to return to the surface, and our mistakes or equipment failure could have been fatal.
Underwater science I studied how stress, team dynamics and workload affected performance. I also explored how strength, dexterity and sensory functions change while living and working in Aquarius. For my research we collected data on our cognitive performance – reaction time, short-term memory, decision-making and risk tolerance – inside the habitat and during extravehicular activities. The purpose of the extravehicular activities is to simulate spacewalks for up to five hours a day. At night, I also used a remotely operated vehicle as part of my National Geographic Open Explorer project to monitor the seafloor to find sponge spawning events (when sponges release sperm and eggs so my crew mate could attempt in situ fertilization), collect plankton samples and detect biofluorescent marine organisms that emit light around the habitat. Our team also focused on sleep quality, changes in inflammation markers in the blood, heart rate, the microbes inside our bodies – also known as the microbiome – and body composition. By the end of the day we quickly fell asleep. We did not even notice that we were underwater. We also tested a portable scanning electron microscope for the first time underwater, tracking augmented reality devices, simulating a lunar landing and testing a space exercise machine and a lunar evacuation system to transport unconscious astronauts. For me, the most challenging aspect of this mission was taking stairs with the heavy gear entering the water: The heavy (32 pounds) helmet put a lot of pressure on our neck and back muscles in addition to the 50-60 pounds of dive gear plus 20 pounds of extra weight to simulate the conditions that would be experienced on the Moon.
needed. I later heard that my productivity earned me a lot of cheering and jumping around on land at the mission control, which made me really happy. During our mission we had to adapt quickly to new situations. And we were constantly in problem-solving mode, addressing issues alone, with the help of teammates or with the surface support. Probably the most dangerous part of the mission was the last 17 hours. We had to go through a strict decompression protocol to remove the nitrogen that accumulated in our bodies while breathing air under high pressure. They slowly reduced the pressure inside the habitat, which created the risk of water entering the habitat; and we were breathing pure oxygen for an hour, which increased the chance of getting seizures from central nervous system oxygen toxicity. Fortunately, we all returned safely. Now there are a lot of data waiting to be analyzed in the following months. I hope that our team’s effort will improve the safety and efficiency of future space and underwater missions. – Story by CSILLA
Above: Csilla Ari D`Agostino performed the first ever underwater electron microscopy experiment inside the Aquarius habitat.
ARI D`AGOSTINO
Research Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of South Florida
Difficult moments The most difficult and memorable moment of this mission occurred when, after some malfunctioning equipment was fixed at the last minute, I was able to finish the experiments during my extravehicular activities shift, crazily collecting samples and performing tests that the team
Reprinted with permission from The Conversation
FALL 2019 11
Above: USF Distinguished University Professor Tim Dixon, while on a research trip to Greenland. Middle: Researchers fly to a remote part of the glacier to install instruments. Bottom: NASA photo shows the Jakobshavn Glacier.
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ENVIRONMENT
Discovery aids modeling of ice sheet loss GREENLAND’S MORE THAN 860,000 SQUARE miles are largely covered with ice and glaciers, and their melting fuels as much as one-third of the sea level rise in Florida. That’s why a team of USF geoscientists’ new discovery of one of the mechanisms that allows Greenland’s glaciers to collapse into the sea has special significance for the Sunshine State. In research published in Nature Communications, a group of scientists led by USF Distinguished University Professor Tim Dixon uncovered a process that can control the “calving” of glaciers – when large chunks of glacier ice collapse into the sea, forming icebergs like the one that sank the Titanic. The team’s discovery will help the scientific community better model future Greenland ice loss and sea level rise. Glacier calving is one of the more dramatic aspects of climate change. Depending on the height of the glacier, calving can be akin to an ice structure the size of a tall skyscraper falling into the sea. Dixon’s team caught one such calving on video. “Iceberg calving has been challenging to model,” Dixon says. “One of the big unknowns in future sea level rise is how fast Greenland falls apart, and iceberg calving is one of the least understood mechanisms.” The team ventured to Greenland in the summer of 2016 to install a new radar system to better understand the process. In particular, they wanted to monitor formations known as pro-glacial “mélange” (from the French word for mixture), a combination of sea ice and icebergs in front of the glacier. The mélange can be tightly packed
UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
in the long, narrow fjords that front many of Greenland’s glaciers that meet the sea. Scientists have long known that mélange can impede glaciers as they move toward the sea, but they haven’t had the data to fully understand the phenomenon. Dixon’s team developed a new radar-based approach to precisely measure elevations of the mélange in front of Jakobshavn Glacier, a major outlet glacier on Greenland’s west side. Using analytical techniques developed by USF doctoral student Surui Xie, the scientists measured the height of the mélange. The scientists found a thick mélange wedge pressed up against the glacier in late
University spring and early summer. During this period, no icebergs calved, the scientists observed. Once the wedge thinned and melted by mid-summer, calving began in earnest. “On the surface, this mélange is a subtle thing – it appears almost flat – but underwater, there are huge variations,” Dixon says. “It’s really the underwater part that is pinning the glacier back and preventing it from calving. By precisely measuring the surface elevations, we were able to get a handle on the much bigger sub-surface variations, which define mélange thickness.” Earlier this spring, NASA scientists reported Jakob-
shavn Glacier, which has been Greenland’s fastest-thinning glacier for the last 20 years, was slowing in its movement toward the ocean in what appears to be a cyclical pattern of warming and cooling. But because Jakobshavn is still giving up more ice than it accumulates each year, its sheer size makes it an important factor in sea level rise, the NASA scientists maintain. “Our study helps understand the calving process,” Dixon says. “We are the first to discover that mélange isn’t just some random pile of icebergs in front of the glacier. A mélange wedge can occasionally ‘hold the door’ and keep the glacier from calving.” – VICKIE CHACHERE | Research and Innovation
THE BUSINESS OF SPACE
Interactive NASA exhibit to visit business college HAVING ALREADY VISITED SUCH EXOTIC PLACES as the moon, Venus, Mars and even an asteroid named Eros, NASA now has plans to land a little closer to home: Touch down is expected at USF and the Muma College of Business’ breezeway in November. Destination Station is an interactive exhibit that will explore USF and Tampa for a couple of days beginning on Nov. 5. Various break-out sessions are still being formulated, but one is the business of space and will discuss the wide-open entrepreneurial opportunities available now that the private sector is more involved in launches and the research being conducted on the International Space Station. “We are thrilled to have the premier space program on the planet visit us here at the USF Muma College of Business this fall,” Dean Moez Limayem says. “Throughout the years, many have believed the field of space travel and exploration belonged to the government and, for the most part, it has. “But now, commercial entities are playing more of a role in the efforts not only to make space more accessible to more people, but to investigate interplanetary travel and maybe even one day colonization,” he adds. “The private sector is taking over the market and this will energize forward-thinking entrepreneurs who have been waiting their turn to break into this historically innovative field, both on the engineering side and the business side.” The International Space Station (ISS) was established to enable research that will lead to commercial applications. The space agency recently announced its support for more commercial allocation on resupply missions and that commercial companies are making it easier for various markets to take part in space commerce. Already SpaceX and Blue Origin have invested in launch and manufacturing facilities. Private companies now build space capsules and deep-space crew transports, rockets and satellites. While many states and nations may only dream of getting into the space industry, Florida al-
ready has an advantage with Cape Canaveral and the block of supporting industries located here. The Destination Station exhibit includes a roundtable discussion that will focus on the current efforts and future of market forces related to space. Other breakout discussions include life sciences, remote sensing and advance materials. Destination Station is a national awareness campaign and traveling exhibit of NASA and the ISS National Lab that promotes research opportunities and educates communities about activities and life on board the ISS. The Tampa visit will include eight to 10 NASA professionals and one astronaut. The event is sponsored by the Muma College of Business, the Course of Action Foundation and Stewart Middle Magnet School’s John Glenn Top Gun Academy. The exhibit also will visit the Stewart Middle Magnet School during its stay in Tampa. The exhibit doesn’t just offer insights and descriptions of what is done in space, but it also fields ideas and inspiration from entrepreneurs, engineers and others who come to visit the exhibit. They are looking for input on ways to identify possible marketing and communications opportunities. The main goal, however, is to raise community awareness and support for space activities. “Having NASA stop here at this vibrant college of business, where cutting-edge research touches on all aspects of commerce, is a unique chance to bring science and business together to create a win-win-win situation for our students, faculty and our valued partners beyond the university,” Limayem says. – KEITH MORELLI ’78 | Muma College of Business
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Photo: SANDRA C. ROA | USF News
University Right: Robert Frisina, center, works with Olukemi Akintewe in the USF Global Center for Hearing Research.
PATENT PENDING
Hope for the hearing-impaired THE FIRST-EVER MEDICATION to treat age-related hearing loss could potentially receive FDA approval through a comprehensive study being conducted at USF. Robert Frisina, chair of the USF medical engineering department and director of the USF Global Center for Hearing and Speech Research, and his team were awarded a U.S. patent for his theory that you can slow hearing loss by combining supplements for the hormone aldosterone with anti-inflammatory medications, such as aspirin or ibuprofen. Aldosterone is a naturally occurring steroid that influences sodium and potassium regulation in the body, including the inner ear used for hearing. Its level typically decreases as we age, impacting auditory perception. “Our novel idea, embodied in the new patent, involves boosting aldosterone to young adult levels, to make the ear ‘young’ again,” Frisina says. The research is part of a five-year, $9 million grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health to USF’s Global Center. Since its renewal launch in 2016, the study has included pre-clinical trials on mice. The aging mice received subcutaneous, time release aldosterone treatments for four months, equivalent to about seven-eight years of treatment for people. Frisina and his colleagues found untreated aging mice experienced a 50 percent decline in aldosterone compared to young adult mice. However, following treatment, the levels rose to a near normal range. It’s important to note that
the hormone supplement did not induce potential negative side effects, such as elevating blood pressure. Most importantly, the treated mice did not undergo age-related hearing loss during the study, whereas the control mice did suffer from continued age-linked hearing impairment. Frisina’s team is now in the process of licensing the patent and if successful, will then conduct four levels of FDA human clinical trials in collaboration with the pharmaceutical company doing the licensing. Once the drug is FDA-approved, it would then be available to the public. Its eventual commercialization could be life-changing for many, as age-related hearing loss is the No. 1 communication disorder of the elderly population, and impacts more people than any other neurodegenerative disease of aging.
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
– TINA MEKETA | USF News
Our novel idea, embodied in the new patent, involves boosting aldosterone to young adult levels, to make the ear ‘young’ again.” – Robert Frisina
Photo: COLLEGE OF NURSING
COMMUNITY RESOURCE
Student mental health focus of Pasco training TO ADDRESS THE GROWING MENTAL HEALTH needs of middle school students, USF researchers are partnering with Pasco County Schools to train teachers in how to identify and improve student mental health problems. The project, Improving Access to Mental Health Services through Teacher Training and Universal Screening, is led by College of Education faculty members Nathaniel von der Embse and Shannon Suldo. The research team will train approximately 600 Pasco teachers on how to identify the warning signs of mental health risk in their students. “Not only should a child feel physically safe at a school, but they should feel emotionally safe as well,” von der Embse says. “This program goes a long way toward meeting that goal.” The research team is training school leadership in Youth Mental Health First Aid, an evidence-based program that reviews child development and helps identify common mental health challenges. The program will be rolled out in schools across Florida over the next five years, von der Embse says. It’s one of the first in the state to provide research-backed strategies and yearround support for participants. “We ask so much more of educators than we did 10, 15 or 20 years ago,” von der Embse says. “Educators now are an educator, a parent and a psychologist all wrapped up in one in their classrooms. We know that kids have a lot of mental and behavioral health challenges… and we’re really trying to support teachers in these new roles and capacities that we ask of them.” Upwards of 20 percent of children will have a significant mental or behavioral health problem, von der Embse says, but in an average school, only 20 percent of those students who show symptoms are identified and provided with services by a mental health professional. During the school year, training and resources provided by the USF research team will empower teachers to improve student access to school and community-based mental health services through training in data-based decision-making, verbal de-escalation strategies and how to coordinate treatment among mental health professionals. Bayonet Point Middle School Principal Shelley Carrino, MEd ’06, says teachers building positive relationships with their students is critical to ensuring learning takes place in the classroom, and that the partnership with USF will provide knowledge and additional resources for the school’s staff to put a focus on the mental health and well-being of its students. – ELIZABETH ENGASSER ’15 | College of Education
DISTINGUISHED CAREER
Nurse scientist inducted into international hall of fame USF COLLEGE OF NURSING PROFESSOR CECILE LENGACHER received one of nursing’s highest professional achievements this summer when she was inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame. Lengacher is among 23 other nurse scientists in Sigma Theta Tau International’s (STTI) latest class of honorees. The winners represent Australia, Canada, Sweden and the United States. The lifetime commendation recognizes nurse scientists whose work has made a significant and sustained impact on global health and a positive influence on others through mentorship. “I’m very grateful and very humble,” Lengacher says. “This wonderful honor is the international recognition of my research supporting the significance of complementary alternative approaches to assist cancer patients. This is the highest honor I could ever receive in nursing.” The induction ceremony took place during the organization’s 30th International Nursing Research Congress in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Lengacher has been a nurse scientist at USF for 25 years. She also holds the Lyall and Beatrice Thompson Nursing Professorship in Oncology. Her distinguished investigative career has focused on bio-behavioral clinical trial intervention research, including psycho-oncology, psychoneuroimmunology, and complementary alternative medicine, emphasizing the link between physiological, cognitive and psychological outcomes among cancer survivors and caregivers. As a result of Lengacher’s research, she has transformed models of care for delivery of mindfulness-based stress reduction, providing scientific evidence for improvement of symptoms and biological effects of this non-pharmacological treatment for patients and caregivers. She also is a faculty member at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, serving in its programs of Health Outcomes and Behavior, Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Clinical, and Population Sciences Division and Integrative Medicine. – ELIZABETH L. BROWN | College of Nursing
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Photo: Courtesy of USFSP
University Students work in the Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Center.
LEARNING TO INVEST
Center boosts students’ finance knowledge WHEN RECENT ALUMNI gave feedback on USF St. Petersburg’s finance program, some pointed to a particular element that gave them an edge when entering the job market. “Working in a wealth management center and the direct experience of managing financial investments made them stand out,” says Huijian Dong, associate professor of finance and director of the Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Center. More than a year ago, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation award-
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The hands-on knowledge you attain from managing a real portfolio is extremely valuable when pursuing careers in finance.”
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– Sri Sundaram
UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
ed a $500,000 grant that established the Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Center in the Kate Tiedemann College of Business. Since then, the venue and its faculty have given college students the tools to manage stock investments while spearheading initiatives that advance financial literacy in the community. The center is equipped with the resources and technology utilized by financial experts around the world. It features a custom-designed trading room equipped with computers that have extended monitors for vital splitscreen display and an LED ticker that streams the latest stock market information and public data powered by St. Petersburg company Intrinio. The center provides the space for teams of students to use the knowledge they acquire in class to make compelling stock valuations and presentations, earning the right to have their suggested stocks purchased with real money from a student-managed investment fund. The Kate Tiedemann Student Managed Investment Fund was seeded by an initial gift of $250,000 from donors Kate Tiedemann and Ellen Cotton and matched by a $250,000 investment by Lynn Pippenger. The fund has invested in 11 stocks so far. As the main purpose of the fund
is educational, the investors selected a diverse array of companies, where students experience the full range of research, strategies and emotions of investing in the stock market. “Faculty and students work together to pick the stocks we think have qualities that stand out. We then help students polish their thoughts when they pitch their recommendations to a panel of business leaders in the community,” Dong says. Such programs and student-managed funds have become signature elements of many top-flight business schools around the country and are an invaluable training tool for aspiring financial professionals. “There is a great need in our community for investment management and financial planning,” says Sri Sundaram, dean of the Kate Tiedemann College of Business. “The hands-on knowledge you attain from managing a real portfolio is extremely valuable when pursuing careers in finance.” The student-managed fund, which is very similar to a mutual fund, plays a significant role in bridging the gap between finance theory and investment practice. Students identify and employ strategies to achieve a goal for the fund, and then defend why they are investing in specific securities or commodities. They meet with an advisory
– DYLLAN FURNESS | USF St. Petersburg
SUSTAINABILITY
USFSP biodigester reduces food waste FOOD WASTE IS A MAJOR environmental issue that can largely go unnoticed and unaddressed. But students at USF St. Petersburg are tackling the problem by installing an innovative system that will naturally break down non-edible food on campus – the first of its kind at a Florida university. Called the ORCA system, the biodigester uses oxygen, water and microorganisms that flourish in cold water to decompose foods, from fruits and breads to eggs and chicken bones. The system, funded by the university’s student green energy fund (SGEF), will be able to break down as much as 15 pounds of food an hour and could divert more than 2,000 pounds of the university’s food waste per year from landfills. According to the United Nations (U.N.) Food and Agriculture Organization, 30 percent of food is wasted globally across the supply chain, ending up largely in landfills where it decomposes slowly and releases methane, a greenhouse gas that is more potent than carbon dioxide. Food waste contributes up to eight percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the U.N. has stated if food waste was a country, it would be the third highest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet. “Every place that makes and prepares food obviously throws some of its items away, which in turn becomes a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change,” says Emma Jacobs, a sophomore at USF St. Petersburg and vice president of SGEF. “The ORCA will decrease the amount of food waste at the university while also reducing our carbon footprint.” Here is how it works: Food waste from the university’s cafeteria will be collected and loaded into the ORCA unit, which will reside in the dishwashing area of the cafeteria. The ORCA breaks down the food waste into smaller and smaller pieces until it is eventually transformed into a liquid effluent. The effluent – composed largely of water with broken down fats, proteins and minerals – is then safely filtered through a screen and discharged through the existing
plumbing infrastructure and into the sanitary sewer system. Unlike other food waste biodigesting systems, the microorganisms in the ORCA thrive in cold water, saving both energy and money with no need to heat water. The digestion process is aerobic, meaning driven by oxygen, and therefore does not produce methane. Currently edible food leftovers at the university are collected and donated to local shelters by a student-led food recovery club. The ORCA will sustainably address the disposal of non-edible waste. Louis Duran, general manager of dining services at USFSP, estimates that the university cafeteria generates about 40-50 pounds of non-edible food waste per week. “Most of the food waste produced comes from preparing the foods, such as peels from vegetables,” Duran says. “We will educate our dining staff to now put this waste into bins throughout the day that will be dumped into the ORCA rather than in the trash.” Students with SGEF will spend this semester educating all students on the new system. The goal is to instruct them to leave any uneaten food on their plate when returning it to the dishwashing conveyor belt, so this waste can be put into the ORCA. “A lot of sustainability is about educating on doing things differently, so we will spend the semester informing our student body about this new way of sustainably disposing of food,” Jacobs says. SGEF will also track data, which the ORCA calculates, such as the amount of food waste that is being diverted from landfills, to show the full environmental impact of the system. – MATTHEW CIMITILE | USF St. Petersburg
Photo: YINYANG | iStock
group every quarter to receive feedback, defend decisions and are held accountable for those decisions. Two cohorts of students in finance and investment analysis classes – along with those in a Student Managed Investment Fund group – have utilized the center and its resources to date. Half of the $500,000 grant from Bank of America went toward operating the Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Center, including bringing on Dong and Xiaomin Guo, an instructor of statistics who manages the center and provides technical and academic support to students and visitors. The other half supports financial literacy initiatives modeled after Bank of America’s Better Money Habits® curriculum. “Everyone needs a firm understanding of financial literacy in order to plan for short-term and long-term needs,” Sundaram says. Last spring, the center welcomed around 20 high school teachers from Pinellas County schools for a daylong professional development training. These economics teachers, who represent nearly every high school in the county and teach roughly 20,000 students a year, educate their students on personal finance, which has become a curriculum requirement in the state. “People really first start earning money when they are in high school, but they don’t really understand how to take care of it, or how to responsibly use a credit card or take out student loans,” says Matthew Blum, high school social studies content supervisor for Pinellas County schools. “Understanding these concepts is really important to our students because they know they have to learn more about them as they move through life.” During the training, Dong highlighted the financial literacy resources and assistance available to teachers through the center and detailed core concepts of financial planning and wealth management. He also provided hands-on examples to support the work of teachers when putting together lessons on personal finance. “Teachers are looking for resources on very practical knowledge to educate their students on things such as how to get a car loan and the interest rate on that loan,” Dong says.
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Photos: USF SARASOTA-MANATEE
University
Above: Jody McBrien, USFSM School of Education professor, with children at the Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana.
TEACHING AND RESEARCH
McBrien focuses on refugees JODY MCBRIEN LEARNED TO APPRECIATE how difficult refugees’ lives could be as a doctoral student in 2001 when she volunteered as a tutor for a refugee organization. Since then, she’s traversed war-torn areas and resettlement camps globally to chronicle refugees’ lives. “Some of their background stories are devastating,” says McBrien, a professor in the School of Education at USF Sarasota-Manatee. “They’ve also dealt with discrimination from some of their U.S. peers and teachers, particularly Muslim students.” Concern for refugees has become a focus for McBrien. She’s visited nine countries over the past 17 years to re-
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We must learn from one another. It’s important to consider successful programs so that we can compare and adapt best practices.”
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
– Jody McBrien
search and evaluate educational policies and identify best practices. Her book, Educational Policies and Practices of English-Speaking Refugee Resettlement Countries (Brill/ Sense), released in June, examines academic challenges spurred by this issue from the perspective of the six English-speaking refugee resettlement countries: the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Her work appeared in USF Sarasota-Manatee’s newest issue of Research: USFSM. “Resettlement countries have similar challenges,” McBrien explains. “We must learn from one another. It’s important to consider successful programs so that we can
– RICH SHOPES | USF Sarasota-Manatee
Opposite page: McBrien works with volunteers at the Ritsona Refugee Camp in Greece.
Right: McBrien’s new book.
Photo: ANNE SCOTT | USF
compare and adapt best practices.” For example, New Zealand, where she was a policy fellow in 2014, has a uniform English language program implemented nationally. “Unfortunately, we do not have anything like it in the states, so we keep reinventing the wheel.” McBrien says USFSM’s administrative team has been “incredibly supportive” of her work, underwriting some of her international travel and giving her flexibility to pursue her research. Since joining the faculty in 2005, she has produced more than 40 research publications, with over 1,400 citations from international scholars. “In March 2019, I was surprised with an invitation by the Turkish government to pay for my travel to Istanbul in April to consult about best educational practices for Syrian refugees,” she says. “Turkey currently resettles the largest number of refugees in the world. I was honored. My dean and chancellor are fully supportive.” Her refugee studies also influence her lessons in the classroom, where she urges students to venture outside their daily routines and imagine life from a refugee’s perspective. “I want my students to experience something outside of their beliefs and perspectives,” she says. In addition to her teaching and research, McBrien actively promoted last year’s World Refugee Day commemoration at USFSM and recently was awarded a USF Nexus Initiative grant. “Our understanding of refugees and who they are is problematic,” McBrien says. “Unfortunately, there is so much misinformation, and many people have come to believe refugees are terrorists. In fact, refugees flee terrorism. Citizens need correct information about how much refugees appreciate resettlement in the United States to begin their lives anew, how hard-working they are, and how much they contribute to the U.S.”
SIGNATURE FUNDRAISING EVENT
Bank of America becomes Brunch on the Bay title sponsor USF SARASOTA-MANATEE’S SIGNATURE fundraising event for student scholarships, Brunch on the Bay, will feature a premier partner, Bank of America, as title sponsor of this year’s event. The Bank of America Brunch on the Bay is set for Sunday, Nov. 3, on the USFSM campus. “The organizing committee has developed sponsorship packages based on the annual cost of tuition at USFSM,” says Lee Williams, regional vice chancellor for advancement and alumni engagement at USFSM. “For example, a $5,000 sponsorship covers the majority of tuition expenses for one year, and that level of sponsorship corresponds to a table of eight at Brunch, plus considerable recognition and exposure through the event.” Sponsorship levels range from $2,500 for a half table to $25,000, which covers slightly more than four years of tuition and includes two VIP tables. For more information, visit http://usfsm.edu/brunch or call (941) 359-4603. Co-chairs for the 2019 event are USFSM alumni Lauren Henry ’16, Life Member, and Pete Petersen ’15. The team hopes to build on last year’s success, when more than 870 supporters attended the event, raising more than $325,000. Since its inception 26 years ago, Brunch has provided more than 1,800 scholarships for USFSM students, most of whom are from Sarasota and Manatee counties. “We’re thrilled to partner with Bank of America to raise scholarships for local students, including many who are the first in their families to attend college,” Williams says. “We appreciate all of our corporate and individual donors who have generously contributed over the years – enabling students to graduate and succeed in their careers. Most of those students remain in the region and give back to our communities.” Brunch showcases USFSM’s role as a local university that provides a preeminent, affordable education for students who become valued members of the workforce and vibrant contributors to the Sarasota-Manatee community. – RICH SHOPES | USF Sarasota-Manatee
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Athletics LEADERSHIP
Michael Kelly marks one-year anniversary
Photo: ERIC YOUNGHANS | USF News
AUG. 6 MARKED the one-year anniversary of the start to Michael Kelly’s tenure as USF’s vice president of athletics and his busy, first full-season run with the Bulls was memorable. In 2018-19 competition, USF women’s soccer, softball and men’s tennis teams achieved excellence by winning regular season or postseason American Athletic Conference titles. AAC accolades also included 18 Bulls being named to all-conference first teams while USF collected conference coach/coaching staff, player or rookie of the year honors 11 times. Five Bulls earned All-America recognition and six USF programs ranked in the top 25 nationally at some point in the season. That list of teams included football, which gave Bulls fans some pretty cool bragging rights before making a bowl game appearance for the fourth straight year. On the way to starting the 2018 season at 7-0, USF football became the fastest FBS team to reach 150 program wins in state of Florida history. Men’s basketball showed it’s a team on the rise by setting a school record with 24 victories and won it all in the College Basketball Invitational. Along the way, men’s basketball saw a 49 percent increase in attendance at home games, which was a trend in other sports. Football attendance was up an average of 7,000 fans per game (third-largest increase nationally) and popular women’s basketball saw its home attendance figure grow even more by 19 percent. Under Kelly, USF continued to shine in the classroom, extending the department’s grade-point average streak above 3.0 to nine straight terms over the course of a record four straight years. USF playing a major role in “Team Tampa Bay” is highly important to Kelly and the Bulls made him proud with student-athletes and staff logging in 4,277 hours of community service. USF was honored to join forces with the Tampa Bay Sports Commission and Amalie Arena in hosting the NCAA Women’s Final Four, which earned great praise for the Bay at the end of the basketball season. Whether it was at events, or through his Bull Speed Ahead podcast, Kelly was always interacting and informing Bulls supporters on important USF topics. Kelly proudly talked about the program setting new support records with more than $14 million raised in the past year from 3,828 donors. Donations included a record number of gifts of more than $50,000 while another notable milestone was reached with a total of 111 Iron Bulls supporters, a 30-person increase. Support for the USF Football Center continued with committed funds for the project topping $20 million. USF Athletics also has a record number of corporate sponsors thanks to its strong partnership with Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment. Speaking of partnerships, USF has a new flagship radio station for football in 95.3 WDAE, which is the largest sports radio station in the Bay area. Additionally, Bulls fans worldwide can follow the program even better after USF Athletics added a second channel to its groundbreaking digital listening offering on iHeartRadio. Year 1 under Kelly’s leadership definitely showed USF Athletics’ future is a bright one for the new season and beyond. – Stories by TOM ZEBOLD | USF Athletics
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
Evelyne Viens
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Viens, Hauksdottir named to MAC Hermann Trophy watch list USF SENIORS EVELYNE VIENS AND ANDREA HAUKSDOTTIR earned notable national recognition before soccer season when they were named to the 2019 Women’s MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. USF was one of only 14 programs in the nation to have multiple women’s watch list selections for the most prestigious individual award in college soccer that is presented annually to the most outstanding male and female players of the year. Head coach Denise Schilte-Brown describes Viens and Hauksdottir as “hard workers and selfless teammates.” Semifinalists (15 women, 15 men) will be named on Dec. 3 and finalists (three women, three men) will be announced on Dec. 13. The winners will be honored on Jan. 10 during the Hermann Trophy press conference and awards banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. Viens (L’Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec, Canada) earned a spot on the
Andrea Hauksdottir
Hermann Trophy Watch List for the second straight year after becoming USF’s first two-time All-American last season. The forward finished the 2018 campaign as the NCAA statistical champion for points (2.47) and goals (1.05) per game. Also during her fantastic junior year, Viens set new USF records for single-season goals (20), season points (47) and career goals (48). The American Offensive Player of the Year’s six game-winners tied the USF record for the most in a season program history, a milestone Viens initially reached in 2017 before becoming the Bulls’ first-ever All-American. Hauksdottir (Kopavogur, Iceland) was named to the Hermann Trophy Watch List for the first time in her career after earning The American Midfielder of the Year honors in 2018. Last season, Hauksdottir started all 19 games for the Bulls and ranked second on the team with seven assists on the way to becoming an all-conference first team selection for the second straight year. Hauksdottir led the team in minutes played (1,632) and scored five times to help USF lead the nation in scoring offense with 2.84 goals per game. Both Hauksdottir and Viens were rewarded for their solid junior seasons with All-South Region First Team honors by the United Soccer Coaches.
Jenkins a ‘perfect fit’ for track and field/cross country NEW BULLS HEAD COACH ERIK JENKINS is bringing plen-ty of championship-winning experience to the USF men’s and women’s track and field/cross country program. Jenkins arrived in Tampa this summer after 11 highly successful seasons as the head track and field/cross country coach at Western Kentucky. During that time frame, Jenkins led the Hilltoppers to 30 Sun Belt and Conference USA team championships, was named conference coach of the year 21 times and was honored as the USFTCCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year five times. Individual success under Jenkins’ watch was certainly a norm for WKU. Since 2008, Jenkins coached seven conference freshmen of the year, 26 conference most outstanding performers, 84 All-Americans, 215 NCAA preliminary participants and 121 NCAA final competitors. Jenkins also guided the Hilltoppers to 174 individual and 22 relay championships. Along with leading his student-athletes to lots of NCAA glory, Jenkins also has coached five Olympic Trials qualifiers, four World Championship qualifiers and two Olympians.
“Erik has a proven track record of excellence and has instilled a championship mindset and culture as head coach at Western Kentucky,” Michael Kelly, vice president of athletics, says. “His ability to recruit and develop talented student-athletes, along with his strong ties to the state of Florida, makes him the perfect fit to lead our track and field and cross country programs.” Jenkins, a Quincy, Fla., native, is happy to be back in the Sunshine State after gaining more than two decades of solid experience at Western Kentucky. Prior to becoming a head coach, Jenkins was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Hilltoppers from 2000 to 2007. Before that, he was a four-year letter winner and six-time all-league performer for WKU from 1995 to 1999. Jenkins won a Sun Belt long jump championship and was named Performer of the Meet while qualifying for the NCAA Championships in 1999. His athleticism also was utilized in the 200 and 400 meters along with on WKU’s 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay teams. Now he’s ready to help the Bulls reach new heights in their respective events and on the cross country trails. “I will lead this program with unwavering passion and a strong sense of purpose,” Jenkins says.
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Photos: Courtesy of USF ATHLETICS
NEW COACH
Photos: ULF NILSSON
Athletics MEN’S GOLF
Bergstrom leads Sweden’s amateur team to title SWEDISH STANDOUT ALBIN BERGSTROM rewrote the record books during his fantastic freshman season at USF and added another incredible feat to his golf resumé this summer. Back on the course in his hometown at Ljunghusen Golf Club, Bergstrom played a pivotal role in Sweden’s 2019 European Amateur Team Championship victory over England. “It was absolutely an amazing feeling to win the European Team Championship, especially doing it on my home course in front of family and friends,” he says. “Overall, I ranked this title really high just because it was 58 years ago the last time Sweden won this tournament and of course because it was back home in Sweden.” Bergstrom brought home Sweden’s first title in the event since 1961 by defeating England’s Ben Jones in the final match, much to the enjoyment of his large cheering section. “The match between Ben Jones and me was incredible. I think when I two-putted on 16 to secure the victory, both players had made six or seven birdies on the last 12 holes,” Bergstrom says. “I’m really happy that people took time to go out and support me the last day. It was around 300 people who followed me the last round, which helped a lot.” Success in Sweden followed Bergstrom’s impressive first collegiate season with the Bulls that was capped off with Division I PING All-America honorable mention and Golfweek All-America Third Team accolades. Bergstrom also was unanimously selected as American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year and to the all-conference team on the way to reaching numerous new program milestones. The member of Sweden’s junior national team set new USF records for season scoring average (70.0) and rounds of par or better (24). Bergstrom also broke the program’s 54-hole scoring record for a par-72 tournament with a 15-under 201 in his nine-shot individual victory at the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate in March. Bergstrom’s solid play continued in the postseason when he registered his team-leading seventh top-10 finish in 11 events at the Stanford Regional. The Division I PING All-Southeast Region Team member carded scores below 70 twice on the NCAA Regional stage, increasing his eye-catching total to 16 rounds in the 60s during the season. By season’s end, Bergstrom was the third-highest ranked freshman in the nation, moving up to No. 37 on the Golfstat chart. He also made a monumental climb in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), skyrocketing from No. 755 last summer all the way up to No. 36 by the end of this June.
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
Albin Bergstrom
Team Sweden
“It was amazing and I couldn’t imagine that (success) when school started one year ago,” he says. “It really helped me through the season and gave me confidence.” The Bulls’ rising star has high expectations for himself and the team after the program made its seventh straight NCAA Regional appearance this past spring with no seniors in the lineup. “My goals for the upcoming season are to be able to start in every tournament and play good golf both for myself and the team,” Bergstrom says. “Also, to be able to reach the NCAA Championship, which we unfortunately missed by seven shots last year.”
FOOTBALL
Players debut adidas’ lightest-weight uniform ESPN CAMERAS ROLLED AT Raymond James Stadium as USF football played in prime time against then-No. 19/17 Wisconsin in a highly anticipated season opener that saw the Bulls sporting cutting-edge threads. USF had the honor of being selected to debut the new adidas WVN A1 uniform, which is the multinational corporation’s lightest-weight game uniform to date. This season, head coach Charlie Strong’s Bulls are the only team in the nation wearing the latest addition to the adidas A1 uniform franchise. “We are very excited that in the second year of our partnership with adidas our football team will be the only one in the country wearing their lightest- weight uniforms,” Michael Kelly, USF’s vice president of athletics, says. “We look forward to the Bulls looking great and feeling great in the new lightweight, breathable material.” USF’s new uniforms feature four-way stretch woven fabric, combined with stretch mesh paneling throughout the jersey and pant. The uniform upgrades provide the Bulls with an elevated range of motion, compression fit and superior ventilation. Not only are the uniforms comfortable, but they’re also stylish with the Bulls’ new green (home) and away (white) designs featuring a gold horn on each shoulder in a metallic Framis material developed in Israel. The reflective, gold metallic material also highlights numbers and lettering on the uniforms. Check out the Bulls and their new unis in person during the remainder of the regular season schedule at Raymond James Stadium. USF’s home slate includes clashes with BYU (Oct. 12), Temple (Nov. 7), Cincinnati (Nov. 16) and Memphis (Nov. 23). Purchase tickets online at USFBullsTix.com or by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls.
Photos: Courtesy of USF ATHLETICS
– Stories by TOM ZEBOLD | USF Athletics
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Philanthropy
$10 MILLION GIFT
A landmark day for USF, College of Pharmacy USF HAS RECEIVED A $10 MILLION GIFT from Taneja Family Foundation to name the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy. The donation, made through the USF Foundation, is the largest philanthropic gift to a pharmacy school in the state of Florida. “This is a landmark day for the University of South Florida and our College of Pharmacy,” USF President Steve Currall said, in announcing the gift. “The Tanejas are investing in our vision to build a world-class health care system that will benefit generations to come. We are incredibly grateful for their passion for education, their generosity and for the transformative impact they will make on the lives of so many in the future.” 24
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The college was established by the Florida Board of Governors in 2009 and welcomed its charter class in August 2011. From the start, it set out to build an innovative program that would be a pacesetter in both pharmacy curriculum and clinical experience. Since opening to the charter class of 53 students, the college has steadily progressed with key accreditation and academic milestones. Today, the Taneja College of Pharmacy welcomes 100 new students each year for its PharmD program, and has expanded its offerings to include master’s degrees suited for students interested in pursuing a professional degree program, an advanced degree, a degree focused on research, or a degree for those interested in working in the pharmaceutical industry. As result of the gift, the Taneja College of Pharmacy will move into the new USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute facility under construction in downtown Tampa. The building is scheduled to open in late 2019, with pharmacy students tentatively expected to
Photos: FREDDIE COLEMAN and ALLISON LONG | USF Health
Left: Manju and Jugal Taneja surrounded by family members, pharmacy students, and (from left) Dr. Charles Lockwood, senior vice president of USF Health; President Steve Currall; and College of Pharmacy Dean Kevin Sneed. Right: Jugal and Manju Taneja Below: Pharmacy students show off their new college patch.
start classes there in fall of 2021. “We have seen many amazing philanthropists take our colleges and programs to the next level,” said Joel Momberg, USF Foundation CEO and senior vice president of advancement and alumni relations. “It is our honor to recognize such donors and their incredible support by lending their names to the colleges and programs they hold dear. Thank you to the Tanejas for their heartfelt gift in support of our students, USF, and our community.” “Jugal and Manju support philanthropic efforts across this region and are keenly aware that their gift supports more than brick and mortar, but also innovative approaches to pharmacy education, research and clinical care,” said Charles Lockwood, senior vice president of USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine. “We are honored they chose us, chose Dr. Sneed and chose our USF Health College of Pharmacy for their gift. We are also thrilled that the Taneja College of Pharmacy will move into our new facility in downtown Tampa, sharing intellectual
and innovative space with the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, our Heart Institute, and our close partner Tampa General Hospital. Imagine the possibilities with these programs under one roof.” Already a leader for attracting Florida’s best pharmacy students, the appeal of USF’s pharmacy school will grow greater with this philanthropic endorsement, said Kevin Sneed, dean of the Taneja College of Pharmacy and senior associate vice president for USF Health. “We’ve become a much sought-after program, a destination for those seeking an amazing, forward-thinking pharmacy program,” Sneed said. “The generosity of the Taneja family and their incredible support for what we already provide our students will elevate our program further and help us continue to revolutionize health through empowerment and innovation.” – SARAH WORTH ‘86 | USF Health
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A BIG BOOST FOR
BUSINESS Monica Wooden learned the value of giving back at a very young age SUPPLY CHAIN AND LOGISTICS is a multibillion-dollar industry that created 30,000 jobs in Florida alone over a two-year period. “Ninety percent of everything in the world is shipped,” says Monica Wooden, co-founder of MercuryGate International, a global provider of cloud-based transportation management solutions. “So providing supply chain curriculum and degrees and being able to put more people into those professions will truly keep the U.S. in an incredible growth position.” Wooden has watched over the last two decades as the supply chain field has grown from “one step above the janitor to sitting at the executive table.” Similarly, her involvement with USF allowed her to witness the upward trajectory of the university over the last few years.
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Providing supply chain curriculum and degrees and being able to put more people into those professions will truly keep the U.S. in an incredible growth position.” – Monica Wooden In 2012, Wooden was instrumental in the formation of the USF Center for Supply Chain Management and Sustainability, the first of its kind in Florida. Over the years, Wooden has provided software licensing and in-kind support, served as a guest lecturer and offered internship and job opportunities for USF students. The center now has five leading researchers on logistics issues (up from one when it was founded), and will soon begin offering both an undergraduate major in supply chain management and logistics and a master’s degree in the subject. Learning the university would soon be offering degrees in supply chain management and logistics inspired Wooden to step up in a big way.
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In April, she made a $5 million gift to the center for scholarships, research and other expenses, as well as a named professorship. The center was renamed the Monica Wooden Center for Supply Chain Management and Sustainability in her honor. “My gift to USF was inspired from watching them build the program. It gives the students who attend that college the best chance to seek employment and also be able to have a good life and help others,” she says. Giving back is nothing new to Wooden. It’s something she learned from a very young age. Wooden grew up in New York as the youngest of five children. Her eldest sister – 17 years her senior – served as a kind of second mother, and Wooden describes watching her volunteer with the Jaycees. When Wooden wasn’t allowed to join Little League, her sister started Cinderella Softball so she could play. “I learned how to be a volunteer watching my sister,” she says, explaining her first volunteer experiences were as a student with different nonprofits. As an adult, she volunteered for many years for New Tampa Little League and Wharton High School athletics. “If it’s not money, you give time. If you don’t have time you give money. And now I have both,” says Wooden, who adds that she and her family decided together to support causes in five major areas: advancing women in business, developing the supply chain field, assisting a dog rescue, combating domestic violence and ending human trafficking. Wooden started MercuryGate International in 2000, right as the dot com bubble burst. She and her cofounder, Steven Blough, were able to get the company off the ground through the financial investment of family and friends, and Wooden worked for three years without pay to get the business up and running. When she sold MercuryGate 18 years later, those same investors along with many employees – 40 people in all – became millionaires. The investors who bought MercuryGate asked Wooden why she gave away so much of her company. Her response: “Why not?” “This again, that whole idea of sharing and creating a world of win-win-win. It’s not all about me. It’s about
Photo: USF FOUNDATION
Philanthropy
everyone else,” Wooden says. Having witnessed the rise of supply chain and logistics in the professional ranks, Wooden says she wanted to help raise awareness among college students of the field as a lucrative and satisfying career. Wooden has also seen an increase in the number of women joining the field. “Supply chain is STEM – it’s science, technology, engineering and math – but in the College of Business,” she says. “So you don’t have to be a full-out engineer, but you have to be analytical and you also have to have good communication skills. So you have to be an introvert and an extrovert.” Wooden hopes to see USF’s program become one of the top 10 supply chain programs in the world and feels like the university, being a large research institution located in a metropolitan area, is in a unique position to do just that. “I think they have a better chance of being able to make the program not just strong academically, but also practical with the connections to businesses in this area,” she says.
Though she is not an alumna, Wooden says she feels like one from living in the community and watching both of her children earn degrees from USF. “It’s what this university has accomplished over the past couple of decades to truly transform itself into a preeminent university where many lives have been positively impacted,” she says. And thanks to the Monica Wooden Center for Supply Chain Management and Sustainability, there will soon be many more. – KILEY MALLARD | USF Advancement
Above: From left, USF benefactor Les Muma ‘66, Life Member, USF Board of Trustees vice chair; Wooden; Frank Morsani, Life Member, USF benefactor; Moez Limayem, dean of the Muma College of Business.
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NAVIGATING COLLEGE LIFE AMONG THE KEYS TO ENHANCED STUDENT SUCCESS HAS BEEN A HEIGHTENED FOCUS ON STUDENTS’ MENTAL HEALTH
By TOM WOOLF
P
aul Dosal, USF’s vice president for Student Affairs and Student Success, empathizes with students who struggle academically because of anxiety and depression. He knows all too well what that feels like. After graduating high school, the Tampa native elected to pursue his bachelor’s degree at a large university out of state. As a first-year student, he struggled with English composition. He was uncomfortable in his residence hall. He was homesick, and he was depressed. “Nobody reached out to me,” he recalls. “The university didn’t care. When I left, who noticed? Nobody. And even if somebody had noticed, what might they have said? ‘He was a minority first-generation student. He wasn’t ready.’ ” Dosal left that university after his freshman year, enrolling at a 600-student college in North Carolina. It was the perfect fit. And, after earning his bachelor’s degree – as if to prove a point – he returned to the large institution he first attended for his advanced degrees. Dosal’s personal experience helps inspire his commitment to ensuring students’ needs are being addressed holistically – a commitment that is shared throughout the university and that has earned national recognition. Since 2013, student success has been the university’s No. 1 strategic goal. The results have been striking: USF has raised the six-year graduation rate from 51 percent to 73 percent, and it has eliminated the achievement gap by
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race, ethnicity and income. Among the keys to the enhanced student success has been a heightened focus on students’ mental health needs, which have grown in recent years at USF and nationally. According to Dosal, a variety of issues can impact student success that are not directly related to academics. “Telling a student to go see their academic adviser may not be the answer,” he says. “That may be part of it, but what’s underlying the problem may be something very different and that means the treatment may need to be different. That understanding plays into the development of our case management approach to ensure multiple offices are sharing information about a particular student.” Various national studies reflect students’ main mental health concerns as well as the increasing demand for services: • The Center for Collegiate Mental Health’s 2018 annual report found that college students seeking treatment (and the professionals who treat them) continue to identify anxiety and depression as the most common concerns for seeking treatment, among dozens of other concerns. The report incorporates data provided by 152 college and counseling centers, describing 173,964 unique college students seeking mental health treatment. • In the 2018 American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment, more than 60 percent of undergraduates reported feeling overwhelming anxiety any time within the previous 12 months. • A 2019 study by the University of California, Berkeley, reported that nationally, the percentage of students
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Illustration: ANNE SCOTT | USF iStock photo: Yuri_Arcurs; map, DNY59
who reported being diagnosed or treated for anxiety disorder in the last 12 months doubled between 2008 and 2016 from 10 percent to 20 percent. Some studies and media reports have characterized the situation as a “crisis” or “epidemic.” Scott Strader, director of USF’s Counseling Center, disagrees. “In college mental health generally, I think the crisis is a lack of resources,” he says. “Here, we are better resourced than a lot of universities our size.” Ben Locke, senior director of Counseling and Psychological Services at Penn State University, leads the Center for Collegiate Mental Health, which is housed at Penn State. The center, which has been producing its annual report for 10 years, is an international practice-research network of nearly 500 colleges and universities, including USF. “One of my areas of frustration in the coverage of mental health in college is it being framed as an epidemic or a crisis,” Locke says. “I really take issue with that.” For the past 15-20 years, a great deal of money has been spent throughout the country on reducing the stigma attached to mental health. Those efforts, Locke believes, have helped students become more comfortable with seeking help. “We have been decreasing negative judgments of people around mental health and we’ve been actively training
“
We’ve done a really good job at reducing stigma, talking with students about seeking help. Parents are more willing to recommend that, as are students’ friends.” At USF, the Counseling Center experienced an 11 percent increase in the number of students receiving mental health services from 2017-18 to 2018-19. During the same time period, the number of on-campus mental health appointments attended by students grew 15 percent. The Counseling Center has between 23 and 25 fulltime clinicians, several who are part time, as well as an extensive training program for master’s and doctoral students, along with post-docs. The average wait time for a non-crisis counseling appointment was 4.75 business days in 2018-19, compared to 6.35 business days the previous year. At similarly sized universities nationally, the wait time in 2018 was 8.5 days. Walk-in students who are in crisis are seen within an hour of their request for assistance. When the Counseling Center is closed, telephone support is available immediately. “We’re not unlike any other outpatient center,” Strader says. “Most of what we see is anxiety and depression. About half of the students we see are adjusting to a new setting, they aren’t sure what’s expected of them and their parents aren’t here, so there’s anxiety attached to that. The other half that we see involve issues students bring with them to college, such as family issues or childhood
This is a community and we take care of each other.
all ages of people to refer themselves and their friends for help,” Locke says. “Secondary school systems, even middle schools, have student referral programs. The students who are coming to college grew up in an era where talking about distress is normal.” According to the American Psychological Association’s 2018 “Stress in America – Generation Z” report, more than a third of both Generation Z and Millennials reported receiving treatment or therapy from a psychologist or other mental health professional at some point in their lives. Locke says that on university campuses, “No one planned ahead for the receiving systems, which have just been flooded. The mantra that this is a crisis is a reaction to the scarcity principle. When something becomes scarce, people freak out. “More students than ever are coming forward with a genuine need for help, and they can benefit from receiving that help,” he adds. “Institutions have to grow their mental health services to respond to this new demand. Most institutions have been doing that, but not all of them.” Strader also points to the fact that more students are enrolled in college compared to 20 years ago. “For them to be successful, the supports have to be there,” he says. “Just the sheer number of 18-to-25-yearolds now in college is going to affect demand for services. 30
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– Rita DeBate trauma. We do see some exacerbation of that once they get here.” Other common causes of anxiety include homesickness, financial worries, pressure for grades and relationship problems. And social media. “Social media is a big piece and it’s multi-faceted,” Strader says. “One of my concerns is what I call the comparison factor. We always put our best face out on social media. When students are feeling even typical anxiety, such as during their adjustment to college, what they see on social media is that everybody is having a great time. That leads to ‘how does my life match up?’ It’s a real thing. It’s also a real thing in terms of how much time students spend on social media. I’ll encourage my clients to try to find more balance in how they use their time. And then you see their anxiety when you suggest they cut back on social media.” At USF St. Petersburg, the Wellness Center experienced a 30 percent increase in students utilizing its services from 2017-18 to 2018-19. “I believe our increase is similar to other campuses, in that more students are in need of services, more students are willing to seek help and more students are getting referred for services,” says Anita Sahgal, Wellness Center director. She adds: “We continue to see what is most common
Photo: RYAN NOONE | USF News
Left: Counseling Center Director Scott Strader says anxiety and depression are the most prevalent issues among students.
on college campuses: anxiety, depression, social concerns and identity concerns. Our campus also sees a lot of students who have experienced some sort of trauma, which can require more extensive treatment.” Discussions are underway with health and wellness offices on the Tampa campus about collaborations in several areas starting next year, including wellness coaching and Mental Health First Aid Training. Brett Kemker ’92, regional vice chancellor for academic and student affairs at USF Sarasota-Manatee, also says that it is “becoming less taboo” for students to ask for help when struggling with anxiety. While he hasn’t seen a dramatic increase in students seeking counseling, available at nearby New College of Florida, there’s no question that their many responsibilities do cause stress. “The average age of our student population is 26-27, and so we have students with lots of responsibilities,” he says. “They don’t just have part-time jobs, they are working full time in a career. They have a family, and they are taking courses at night. The stress component is a big factor as students manage all the balls they have in the air.” In an effort to better address students’ anxiety issues on the Tampa campus, the university has implemented Mental Health Well-being for Success, or MWell4Success. Rita DeBate, associate vice president of health and wellness and a professor in the College of Public Health, developed the program. It has three tiers: Increasing mental health literacy by providing training to all incoming students; extending the Counseling Center hours and establishing satellite stations for coaching, counseling and relaxation; and implementation of coordinated care management for students with the greatest mental health needs. DeBate says that some students were seeking counseling “for things they didn’t need a therapist for, such as time management, communications, relationship skills. Those were causing anxiety, but they were sub-clinical.
What we proposed in MWell4Success was health and wellness coaching. By bringing in health coaches to see those students, we could free up time for counselors to see higher-risk students.” The three satellite wellness centers are located at USF Health, The Village residence hall complex and the Marshall Student Center. The goals are to increase access to services and to reduce stigma. “Some students would not go to the Counseling Center,” DeBate says. “But the message we’ve been giving to students is that if you go to a satellite center that has coaches, counselors, yoga and a relaxation station, no one would know who you were seeing.” The satellite centers remain open until 8 p.m. so students won’t miss class or work. During the last academic year, 10,000 students visited the centers. An initiative introduced during the summer, and continuing this fall, is designed to encourage more male students to engage in what DeBate refers to as “help-seeking behaviors.” Nationally, and at USF, males are far less likely to ask for help than female students. Posters installed in men’s restrooms in the Campus Recreation Center encourage them to take advantage of campus resources, particularly those available online, if they feel like they are struggling. DeBate hopes that the many efforts designed to address students’ mental health needs, part of the overall student success initiative, demonstrate how much USF cares about the well-being of all students. “When I was an undergraduate in New York, college wasn’t treated as a community,” she says. “USF is a community, and we have to take care of all aspects of our community members’ lives. That’s what brings me joy: Knowing this is a campus but we don’t walk around like that’s all it is. This is a community and we take care of each other.” FALL 2019 31
Photos: AARON HILF | USF News
Several issues led doctoral student Wainella Issacs to attend counseling.
Student is ‘open book’ about her struggles
W
ainella Isaacs isn’t shy about discussing mental health issues she has confronted in recent years. “I’m an open book about my struggles,” she says. A native of Guyana, South America, Isaacs came to USF in January 2015, earning her master’s degree in engineering science, with a concentration in environmental engineering, in 2017. She anticipates earning her doctorate in environmental engineering next May. In addition to her studies, Isaacs is a graduate assistant in the College of Engineering’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion Programs. She has dealt with several issues, including imposter syndrome – where people doubt their accomplishments and fear being exposed as a fraud; worries about finding a job; family challenges; and feelings of isolation. While most studies of student mental health focus on undergraduates, there are some studies that suggest the
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issues Isaacs faced are common among graduate students. Nature’s 2017 survey of science doctoral students, which included 5,700 students worldwide, showed high levels of satisfaction with doctoral programs overall. However, “More than one-quarter listed mental health as an area of concern, and 45 percent of those (or 12 percent of all respondents) said that they had sought help for anxiety or depression caused by their PhD studies.” For Isaacs, the sense of isolation began during her first semester at USF. “I came in the spring semester, most students start in the fall,” she says. “I didn’t have a sense of community, I felt isolated. After spring break, I discussed my struggles with a professor, who brought me to a lunch with other graduate students. I had my first community and I wasn’t feeling as isolated.” But, late in the fall of 2015, other issues created a new level of stress. There were family challenges. And Isaacs realized that with all the time she was devoting to teaching and the needs of her students, as well as her research, she was sacrificing time for herself. In search of ways to manage her anxiety, Isaacs visited USF’s Counseling Center. Within 30 minutes of her arrival, she was introduced to a counselor who served as a mentor for the next three years. Sometimes they met on a monthly basis, other times, every two or three weeks depending on Isaacs’ anxiety level. She also participated in group counseling for a semester.
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Prioritizing your mental health is necessary for achieving your limitless potential. – Wainella Issacs
Now, Isaacs says, “I’ve learned to manage any curve ball. As I tell others, your worst day only lasts 24 hours.” She sees other doctoral students struggling at times – “all five members of my research group are in counseling.” “You worry about what you are going to do with your life as you finish your last year of school,” Isaacs says of herself and her peers. “You ask yourself if you will get a job, if you have the necessary qualifications and experience. You ask yourself if you are doing enough, publishing enough.” She uses her experiences to help fellow doctoral students. “I am happy to help reassure them that they are not alone, that feeling overwhelmed is not abnormal,” she says. “Some of them are lacking community, just as I was. I encourage them to talk with other people in their program.” Rita DeBate, associate vice president of health and wellness and a professor in the College of Public Health, also serves as a health and wellness coach. “About three-fourths of the students I have seen as a coach are graduate students,” she says. “They were experiencing a lot of stress.” DeBate says that being a coach means offering guidance, rather than telling a student what to do. “You’re their ally, you’re there to help them explore why they’re stressed out, why they’re not doing well,” she says. “Some students would get to the point of saying that they stopped attending a class because they don’t like it. In that case, I would refer them to career services or to counseling. A faculty member might think that a student who misses class is just being lazy. It could be so many other things.” Isaacs encourages students who may be struggling to seek help. “I knew I needed help, and I asked for it,” Isaacs says. “Why would I not want to spend an hour talking to an outside source who is trained to help? People self-impose a stigma about getting help.” She believes that as she continues her pursuit of “mastery of self,” she is empowering others to do the same. “Prioritizing your mental health is necessary for achieving your limitless potential,” Isaacs says. – By TOM WOOLF
MOST COMMON CONCERNS* 2018
2019
1. Anxiety 2. Depression 3. Relationship Problem 4. Stress 5. Academic Problem 6. Family
1. Anxiety 2. Depression 3. Relationship Problem 4. Stress 5. Family 6. Trauma
*Students who received mental health services, USF Tampa Counseling Center
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WHAT USF IS DOING USF TAMPA
Counseling Center
I
Success and Wellness Coaching
As part of the MWell4Success initiative, all USF students have access to this service. Coaching is a personalized process that empowers students to work toward any area of improvement, including health, wellness, relationships, time management and academics.
Mental Health Literacy Training
This is an online training program for faculty, staff and students. It is designed to increase knowledge regarding signs and symptoms of psychological distress, how it impacts students, and what can be done when they identify a student of concern.
Illustration: ANNE SCOTT | USF iStock photo VMJones; map, DNY59
n addition to individual counseling sessions, the center offers a range of group counseling opportunities. They include: Men’s Group, Balancing Emotions, LGBTQ+, Total Nourishment, Our Voices (for marginalized populations), Entre Familia (Among Family) for LatinX students, and Focused Brief Group Therapy. There also are drop-in groups, such as Emotional Expression through Art and Mindfulness Meditation. “Groups can be helpful in teaching skills and they bring together students who are struggling with similar issues,” Director Scott Strader says.
“It helps reduce stress levels when students see they’re not the only ones struggling.” Some students do make use of the center’s Therapist Assisted Online (TAO), which offers a library of interactive resources. Strader notes that online resources serve as a helpful adjunct to regular treatment. The Counseling Center has introduced telehealth, which provides individualized treatment for students who may not be able to visit in person. “We’re doing it to increase access, for example, for para-professional students who are in class or clinic all day,” Strader says. “It’s not necessarily for students who are living on campus. It really is designed for those who can’t get to the Counseling Center on a regular basis.”
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Mental Health First Aid for Higher Education
reasons including but not limited to: relationships, depression, anxiety, grief, substance abuse and eating disorders. The number of visits a student receives varies, but the center provides up to 12 counseling sessions depending on the needs of the student. The Wellness Center also advises two student organizations: PEERS, a group focused on health promotion and building healthy lifestyles through programs and education; and Active Minds, a group focused on breaking barriers around stigma and education about mental health issues.
Center for Student Well-Being and REACH
Student Outreach & Support (SOS)
Since 2018, the Counseling Center has offered this voluntary eight-hour course for faculty and staff. First introduced in Australia in 2001 and adapted in the U.S. in 2009, the course teaches participants how to approach, support and help those in mental health distress or crisis. To date, more than 500 faculty and staff have taken the course. It typically is offered three times each semester, but the Counseling Center also will schedule departmental trainings as requested.
The center offers workshops, presentations and awareness campaigns on wellness topics. REACH – Responsible Education and Action for Campus Health – is a student-run organization sponsored by student government and the Center for Student Well-Being. REACH members promote holistic wellness through educational presentations and campus events.
Student Health Services & Psychiatry
Case management services evaluate individual mental health needs and provide assistance in accessing services. Psychiatrists are available to evaluate and treat mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, bipolar illness or thought disorders. Post-doctoral psychologists provide counseling that utilizes brief therapy techniques to improve well-being.
Student of Concern Assistance Team/ Student Outreach & Support
The Students of Concern Assistance Team (SOCAT) is the behavioral intervention team for the USF Tampa campus. The SOCAT committee provides assistance and support to Student Outreach and Support (SOS) for students of high concern. SOS is the case management office for SOCAT that provides direct services to all active USF Tampa students who exhibit or identify difficulties related to personal, emotional or behavioral distress.
USF ST. PETERSBURG Wellness Center
The Wellness Center offers individual, couples and group counseling for students, Therapist Assisted Online and a wellness room that has a biofeedback program for stress management. The center also provides QPR, a gatekeeper training for working with students who may have thoughts of suicide. Staff members are licensed and experienced mental health professionals from the disciplines of counseling and clinical psychology. Psychological trainees, under the supervision of licensed professionals, also provide services. Individual counseling can be sought for a variety of
The office is a student-first direct care coordination team that supports students in managing stress that impacts their academics and overall health and wellness. SOS case managers meet with students to: • Identify the student’s strengths and needs • Develop action plan to increase the student’s overall health and wellness • Coordinate linkage with appropriate support services on/ off campus • Assess risk to self/others and threats to campus • Advocate for students within the university and community • Assist the student in navigating the university system • Foster self-advocacy through skill building via direct case management meetings
USF SARASOTAMANATEE Resources
Students have access to a wide variety of counseling, wellness and health services through the Counseling & Wellness Center (CWC), located at nearby New College of Florida. The following counseling services are available to current USFSM students: • Initial evaluation • Brief individual counseling • Brief couples counseling (both members of the relationship must be USF students) • Group counseling • Therapist Assisted Online (TAO) • Crisis intervention • Psychiatric services • Wellness workshops
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