Thank You for Changing My Life “The Association’s Legislative Internship Program gave me an opportunity at a time when I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my future, and changed my life forever.” Evelyn Hale, Legislative Intern, 2002
The Legislative Internship Program is just one of the important programs that your membership makes possible. The Legislative Internship Program is designed to cultivate tomorrow’s leaders. Through your membership, the Alumni Association provides financial support and mentoring to enable students to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a part of the legislative process while working at the local and district offices of Florida’s United States Senators and Congressmen, members of the House of Representatives, the Tampa City Council, the Hillsborough County Commission, state agencies, lobbying organizations, and other local government offices.
W W W. U S F A L U M N I . O R G
c
CONTENTS FEATURES
10
16
18
24
24 College Sweethearts They enrolled at USF for an education, but were lucky enough to find the love of their lives while earning their degrees. With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, this seems like the perfect time to introduce some USF couples who share their lives and their Bull Pride. 10 From USF to the FBI More than two decades with the FBI took William Esposito, `70, from America’s underbelly to its marbled halls of justice; from undercover work with Midwestern mobsters to some of the highest profile criminal cases in modern history. 16 An Envoy of Hope Eric Bost, M.A. `85, U.S. ambassador to South Africa, feels like he is making headway on the main initiatives between the U.S. and South Africa: HIV/AIDS, economic development, education and counter-terrorism. 18 Delivering the Dream As a Cuban immigrant himself, Emilio Gonzalez, `77, leads the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service into a new era and brings a personal perspective to the hot-button topic of immigration reform.
3
7
20
6 Q&A with Itzak Perlman The violin virtuoso talks about The Perlman Music Program, which recently held a two-week winter residency at USF’s Sarasota-Manatee campus.
DEPARTMENTS 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
President’s Message News Roundup USF Spotlight News Roundup Letters to the Editor Where’s Rocky? Movers & Shakers Travel Program
13 20 21 21 30 35 36 37
Chapters & Societies Blast From the Past That Was Then; This is Now Share a Memory Class Notes In Memoriam Athletics Calendar
JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 1
Alumni Voice USF Alumni Association Gibbons Alumni Center University of South Florida 4202 East Fowler Avenue, ALC100 Tampa, Florida 33620 alumni@admin.usf.edu USFalumni.org
president’s message Hello Fellow Alumni,
Alumni Voice magazine is published four times a year in January, April, July and October by and for members of the USF Alumni Association. A $40 membership fee includes Alumni Voice magazine as a member benefit. Alumni Voice Magazine Editorial: Karla Jackson, kjackson@admin.usf.edu or Rita Kroeber rkroeber@admin.usf.edu Advertising: Rita Kroeber, 813-974-6312 or rkroeber@admin.usf.edu Design: McShane Communications Contributing Authors in this Issue: • Kathy L. Greenberg • Barbara Perkins • Natalie Schultz • Mary Patrick Walker Alumni Association Contact Information Executive Director: John Harper, `76 Membership: 813-974-2100 or 800-299-BULL Alumni & Student Programs: 813-974-2100 General Alumni Email: alumni@admin.usf.edu Giving/Scholarships: rsherman@admin.usf.edu or zcarr@admin.usf.edu USF Bulls License Plate: www.BullsPlate.org Alumni Association website: USFalumni.org Letters to the editor are encouraged. Please write to Karla Jackson at kjackson@admin.usf.edu or mail to the address at the top of the page. Views expressed in Alumni Voice magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the USF Alumni Association, the University of South Florida or the editorial staff. New Address? Moving? Update your official USF alumni record at myUSFbio.org or email your correction to alumni@admin.usf.edu. You also may remove the label and send it with your correct address to Alumni Voice, USF Alumni Association, 4202 East Fowler Ave. ALC100, Tampa, FL 33620.© 2007 All rights reserved.
2 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
What a great time to be a USF Bull! With the academic and athletic achievement of the past year, our name recognition is at an all-time high. Now it’s time for the Alumni Association to seize that momentum and take USF to the next level. The good news is that you can help. Our University has so many enthusiastic alumni who want to give back to their alma mater, but because we’re such a young institution, many people are unsure of how to help. You don’t have to fund a building or endow a professorship to make a difference in USF’s future (although we’d be thrilled if you did.) There are so many ways to support your university, such as: Get involved with an alumni chapter or society. The Alumni Association has two dozen chapters from as far away as Barbados to as close as Pinellas, SarasotaManatee, Polk, and, of course, Tampa. There’s also a roster of special-interest societies, including the Black Alumni, Geology Alumni, Business Alumni and several more. And, since the Alumni Association is a state-chartered nonprofit organization, some businesses will even give employees a few hours off each month to volunteer. Visit our website at www.USFalumni.org to learn how to get connected. Fund a scholarship or sponsor an event. You don’t have to be wealthy to make a real difference in the lives of our students.There are plenty of scholarship and sponsorship opportunities that match whatever you want to give. Contact Ron Sherman or Zakia Carr at (813) 974-2100 to see how you can help. Become a Life Member. Life member dues go toward the Alumni Association’s endowment, ensuring that there will always be an organization devoted to keeping alumni connected to each other and the University. Plus, you get extra points toward priority seating at sporting events. Show your Bull Pride. Wear USF apparel on game days and casual days. Alumni Association members get discounts at BullsOutfitter on Fowler Avenue. (Visit BullsOutfitter.com.) Talk up USF to prospective students and their parents. They may not realize that USF is ranked as one of the “Best 366 Colleges” in Princeton Review's 2008 Guide, or that it’s one of the top 63 research institutions in the country. Recruit fellow graduates. Tell your USF friends about the Alumni Association and how they can reconnect with their alma mater. Have them go to www.myUSFbio.org and update their contact information so they can get the latest news. With your help, we can show the world that it’s great to bleed Green & Gold! Your Friend,
Jeff Spalding, `87 Life Member Charlotte, N.C.
news
roundup
Understanding Red Tide Studying the causes and forecasting outbreaks of red tide is the purpose of the new Center for Prediction of Red Tides, which opened in November at USF St. Petersburg’s College of Marine Science.
A five-year, $1.25 million contract from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute will help finance the center. USF is matching the state’s contribution with a $400,000 computer cluster, along with staff support for the center. Red tides are natural phenomena caused by a microscopic organism, Karenia brevis, which produces a toxin that can kill fish, birds and marine mammals, such as dolphins and manatees. It can also cause respiratory problems in people.
Leadership and Policy Studies ranked tenth in faculty productivity. The rankings are based on scholarly publications, citation counts, research and grants.
USF Rises in Research Rankings The University is rocketing to the top ranks of the nation’s research universities. The National Science Foundation’s survey of federally financed research & development expenditures at universities and colleges for 2006 shows the University of South Florida at number 63, up three places from the previous year and the second highest-ranking university in Florida. The rise of USF is dramatic — it was ranked 130th in 2000 when Judy Genshaft became president at USF.
Help for Juvenile Diabetes
High-tech Military Center Opens The new C.W. “Bill” Young Hall has opened on the Tampa campus, a 53,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility that will be the new home of the Joint Military Leadership Center (JMLC) and USF’s ROTC programs. Congressman Young sponsored the federal grant that funded the building and its operation. The building has five classrooms and three lecture halls equipped for video conferencing for distance learning classes, as well as a weapons simulation room, joint cadet/midshipmen lounge, computer lab and library, public meeting spaces and office and storage spaces for the ROTC programs. The new building opens for classes this month.
Faculty in Top 10 in Chronicle of Higher Education The faculty of two of USF’s educational programs ranked among the Top 10 in the country in a recent report by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The College of Arts & Science’s Criminology Department was ranked seventh and the College of Education’s Department of Educational
The National Institutes of Health awarded $169 million to USF Health to coordinate and analyze results from a 10-year international study to determine the environmental causes of juvenile diabetes. Its goal is to prevent, delay or reverse type 1 diabetes mellitus. The 10-year award, to the team led by Jeffrey P. Krischer, Ph.D., is the largest in USF history. At clinical sites around the world, the study will screen 360,000 newborns in order to track 8,000 babies — eventually analyzing more than 100,000 lab tests. The study will seek to explain why some children get juvenile diabetes and why the incidence has doubled since the 1980s. Known as TEDDY, its the official title is “The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young.”
Entrepreneur Program in Top 10 USF had the ninth best graduate entrepreneurship program in the nation for 2007, according to the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine. The university’s program, which is just five years old, was included in Entrepreneur Magazine’s November issue, ranking the nation’s best educational programs. USF's graduate program in entrepreneurship is ranked number four among public universities in the U.S., and USF is the only Florida university to be included in the top 50 programs. CONTINUED PG 5
JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 3
�
USF spotlight
University of South Florida Alumni Board of Directors ___
President-Elect Michele Norris, ’99 Marketing
Secretary
• ACT (Alumni Connections Team)
Patrick Poff, ’92 English
• Awards
___
• Executive
___
• Long-Range Planning Committee
• Council of 100
Committee Highlight: The Council of 100 The Council of 100 is a group of alumni volunteers who have been or who are currently involved in the legislative process. These alumni have expertise in a wide variety of fields, including everything from education to the environment to the arts and industry. They serve in all facets of the legislature: as aides and committee staff and in influential positions, such as lobbyists and gubernatorial advisors. Council members are mentors for students in the Alumni Association’s legislative internship programs and assist the University with its legislative advocacy initiatives in the state Capitol.
___
Immediate Past President
___
Charley Harris, ’87 Business
• Membership Development & Benefits • Athletics Council
Treasurers
Treasurer Marie Edmonson, ’88 Accounting, MA ’90 Accountancy Co-Treasurer Anthony Sanchez, ’89 Accounting, MA ’90 Accountancy
• Governance
• Communications Council
___
Jeff Spalding, ’87 Computer Science & Engineering
These are the Standing Committees of the USF Alumni Association Board of Directors:
• Finance
President
___
Board Members
___
Brandon Aldridge, ’88 Communication Angie Brewer, ’82 Management, MS ’84 Management Roger T. Frazee, CFP, CLU, ChFC, CPA, ’71 Finance & Accounting Elizabeth Harmon, ’82 Mass Comm. Angela Horwitz, ’94 Business, ’98 MA Accountancy, Jon Hull, ’80 Geology Anila Jain, MD, ’81 Biology Stephen E. Johnston II, ’95 Political Science Jill Joyce, ’97 Finance, ’99 Accounting Brad Kelly, ’79 Accounting Brian Lamb, ’98 Accounting Mike LaPan, ’81 Management Mark Levine, ’74 Psychology Victor Lucas, ’85 Management Charles McArthur, ’76 Mass Comm., MS ’81 Advertising Diana Michel, ’88 Business Carla Saavedra, ’87 English Anthony Sanchez, ’89 Accounting, MA ’90 Accountancy John Charles Thomas, ’81 Mass Comm. David Seth Walker, ’01 MA History James Weber, ’77 Finance, MBA ’82 Business ___
Non-Voting Members of the Board
___
Kevin Borgic, USF Ambassadors Judy Genshaft, University of South Florida President John Harper, ’76 Mass Comm., Alumni Association Executive Director Leslie “Les” Muma, ’66 Mathematics, USF Foundation Board of Trustees Chairman Jeff Robison, University Advancement Vice President
�
4 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
news
roundup CONTINUED
Public Policy Programs Honored
The USF Alumni Association’s Public Policy Programs were named as finalists for the national CASE Edwin Crawford Award for Innovation for the second year in a row. The programs were nominated for their innovation in facilitating university legislative advocacy and state government relations. The programs include the Legislative Intern Program, Legislative Directed Study Program, and our Tallahassee Intern Program. The Association thanks the alumni Council of 100 volunteers, the Public Policy staff, and the more than 175 graduates who have helped make the programs worthy of national recognition.
Bridging the Healthcare Gap USF Health students opened the first free student-directed health clinic Oct. 2 to serve uninsured patients in the university community area. The Bridge Healthcare Clinic is the brainchild of four medical students, from left, Shelby Kent, Samuel Crane, Waldo Guerrero and Omar Hammad, who wanted to get hands-on experience as physicians while providing much-needed health care to an underserved population. Students participate directly in the care and planning of patient’s health visits. Patients are seen by a team including a patient coordinator, a third or fourth-year medical student, a first or second-year medical student, a social worker and an attending clinician who oversees the diagnosis. Along with primary care, the clinic provides access to medications, social services, physical therapy, health education, health screenings, vaccinations and other public health services. Housed in the health department’s University Area Community Health Center, the clinic is just blocks away from USF’s Tampa campus and is open from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays. The Bridge Healthcare Clinic is sponsored by USF Health, the Florida Department of Health, Quest Diagnostics, Allscripts, and the American Medical Association.
test for early detection of ovarian cancer using a patient’s urine sample. There is currently no approved test for early detection of ovarian cancer. The National Cancer Institute estimates 15,280 women in the U.S. will die from ovarian cancer in 2007. "We're very excited," said, Valerie McDevitt, director of the Division of Patents and Licensing for the USF Research Park. "It's a local company so we're hoping for good things. We want to support local businesses. This could help large numbers of women and it is part of USF President Judy Genshaft's mission to promote biotech at USF."
Education Professor Wins Top Honors Liliana Rodriguez-Campos, an assistant professor in the educational measurement and research department at USF’s College of Education was honored with the American Evaluation Association’s prestigious Marcia Guttentag Award. The award is given to a promising new evaluator in recognition of outstanding scholarly contributions made within the first five years of receiving an advanced degree in evaluation. The American Evaluation Association is an international professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration of program evaluation, personnel evaluation, technology, and many other forms of evaluation. The USF College of Education is ranked in the top 20 percent of graduate schools in the country by U.S. News & World Report and is now the seventh largest public college of education in the nation.
Bowl Not So Sunny for Bulls The USF Bulls football team fell short of its first 10-win season with a 56-21 loss to Oregon in the 2007 Brut Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas on New Year’s Eve. The Ducks (9-4) scored 28 straight points in the third quarter to snap a four-game post-season losing streak, their first bowl win since beating Colorado 38-16 in the Fiesta Bowl after the 2001 season.
Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer
Oregon made it look easy against the Bulls (9-4), who boasted one of the nation’s better defenses. The Ducks were up 46-14 at the half. Bulls QB Matt Grothe left late in the third after being tackled while scrambling.
An aggressive, silent killer of women could soon be caught and identified much faster thanks to new technology developed at USF.
The 49,867 fans were treated to lots of penalty flags. The teams combined to break the Sun Bowl record for total penalty yardage – 202 penalty yards – before the first half ended.
The University’s Division of Patents & Licensing entered into a partnership with Largo, FL.-based GeoPharma, Inc. to acquire worldwide patent rights of a
“If people said it wasn’t a positive season, I’d be a little disappointed,” Bulls coach Jim Leavitt told CBS Sports. “We’ve never won nine games in 11 years. I think it was a heck of a season.”
JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 5
letters editor
to the
An “Old Coach” Looks Ahead I graduated in 1981 from the Sarasota campus. Like many others, I’ve been very excited about the football program and supported it early on. I was able to come back to Tampa with my wife, Lesa, for the Bulls Roast and Homecoming game for the first time since 2004. It was great to take part in campus activities again! We had a great time with the other alumni and the students we spoke with were friendly and very positive about their educational and social experiences at USF. It makes you proud. Being an “old coach,” I know this team and this university will do great things in the future. Stirling “Bud” Boomhower Class of 1981
Did You Wear the Green Jacket? The 2007-08 USF Ambassadors have had a great year helping with events like Homecoming and Grad Fest, traveling to away football games with the Alumni Association and, of course, doing crazy things like our traditional Green & Gold Campus Scavenger Hunt. I cannot believe it is time to recruit the next group of Ambassadors. While we are looking at the future of Ambassadors, we also want to look at the past.
6 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
We would really like to kick off the upcoming year with a special event. We are planning a Spring Banquet in April and it is our wish to make it an “Ambassadors’ Reunion” where we can meet as many former Ambassadors as possible. It is a great way for current and former Ambassadors to meet each other and stay connected to the University that has been so important to us all. If you would like to attend, or if you are interested in helping us plan this special event, please contact the Director of Campus & Student Relations, LaToya Dowdell, at (813) 974-1877 or ldowdell@ admin.usf.edu. We look forward to seeing you there! Here’s to “The Spirit of USF!” Sabsina Karimi Vice President, USF Ambassadors Class of 2009
We Want to Hear from You! Alumni Voice welcomes your comments, compliments, criticisms and conjectures. You can email publications editor Karla Jackson at kjackson@ admin.usf.edu or write to us at: USF Alumni Association, Attn: Karla Jackson, 4202 E. Fowler Ave. ALC100, Tampa, FL 33620-5455.
rocky?
where’s
1. Rocky the Bull shares a stogie with actor and USF Class of 1994 alumnus Mark Consuelos and friends at the Alumni Association’s Tailgate party before the Rutgers game. Rocky has since given up cigars. Submitted by Jody Glassman, right, of the USF Alumni Association’s D.C. Regional Chapter.
Cheri and Doug Woolard, USF athletic director, and former USF A.D. (and Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end) Lee Roy Selmon, display some Bull Pride at the Rutgers Tailgate.
2. FROM LEFT:
3. Running backs coach Carl Franks, left, and safety’s coach Troy Douglas, served as Rocky’s wing men in New Jersey.
2 1
3
Andrew Ketchel, tight end, Ryan Schmidt, offensive guard, and Jacob Sims, offensive tackle, made sure that Rocky observed curfew before the Rutgers game.
4. FROM LEFT:
4 5
5. A die-hard Bulls fan, who couldn’t make it to New Jersey for the Rutgers game, held her own private “watch party” with Rocky at the Renaissance Hotel at International Plaza.
Send us your pictures with Rocky to use in the magazine! Submit your photos to: Karla Jackson at kjackson@admin.usf.edu
JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 7
movers
shakers
Dr. Ralph Wilcox became USF’s new provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs this month, replacing Dr. Renu Khator, who was named chancellor of the University of Houston system and president of the University of Houston. Dr. Wilcox has served as a professor and vice provost at USF since 2003, with primary responsibilities in policy analysis, planning and performance. He has been USF’s principal liaison to the Florida Board of Governors and provided oversight for institution-wide strategic planning enrollment planning, and legislative budget matters. Prior to that, he was interim vice president and campus executive officer at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, and has held tenured faculty and administrative appointments at the University of Houston, the University of Memphis, and Hofstra University.
Dr. William T. Hogarth of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been appointed as interim dean for USF’s College of Marine Science. Hogarth served as the assistant administrator for Fisheries at the National Marine Fisheries Service since 2001. His service with the National Marine Fisheries Service began in 1994, and since then he has held a number of administrative posts, including regional administrator of both the Southwest and the Southeast regions. He replaces Peter Betzer, who retired after 36 years at USF. Donna Elam, associate director for program development and external affairs for the USF College of Education’s David C. Anchin Center, is the new chairperson of the Florida Commission on Human Relations. Elam, also a visiting faculty member at the College of Education’s Institute for At-Risk Infants, Children & Youth and Their Families, served as vice-chair of the commission for the last two years. Elam is nationally recognized as an expert on diversity and cultural competence training for governmental,
8 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
business, community and educational agencies. Elam received the prestigious Gandhi, King, Ikeda Award given by Morehouse College and the FBI Directors Award for her efforts as a member of the U.S. Attorney General’s Hate Crimes Working Group.
David Klement, longtime Editorial Page editor of the Bradenton Herald, is the new director of the Institute for Public Policy and Leadership (IPPL) at USF’s Sarasota-Manatee campus. He will lead the institute in meeting its goal to help shape the future social, economic, physical and government environments that influence the lives of citizens in the southern Tampa Bay region. For 30 years Klement directed the Herald’s opinion pages, writing most of the newspaper’s editorials and chairing its Editorial Board, which sets the paper’s editorial position on public policy issues. He came to the Bradenton Herald from the Detroit Free Press, where he served in a variety of editing positions and shared a Pulitzer Prize awarded to the newspaper’s staff in 1968 for coverage of the 1967 Detroit riots. He began his newspaper career at the Daily Oklahoman in Oklahoma City. Patricia Emmanuel, MD, professor and chief of infectious diseases in the Department of Pediatrics, has been named the new associate dean for clinical research at the USF College of Medicine. In addition to her role as associate dean, Dr. Emmanuel will direct the new Clinical & Translational Research Institute — a resource for USF physicians, students, residents and fellows conducting investigator-initiated or externally-funded clinical or translational research. Dr. Emmanuel is the principal investigator for federal
research grants totaling nearly $8 million. She recently received a prestigious NIH Fogarty International Center grant to create an interdisciplinary training program focused on detecting, treating and preventing HIV/AIDS among adolescents in India. She directs USF’s nationallyrecognized Tampa Bay Adolescent Medicine Trials Unit, one of 15 NIH-funded clinical sites across the country providing comprehensive services to HIVinfected adolescents.
Dear Alumni & Frien
ds of USF:
As USF initiates its educational group travel program, I inv ite you to join me on what likely will be th journey you have eve e most incredible r taken. It’s a disco ver y experience that wil and inspire you. It’s l amaze and delight a tour to Russia sc you, educate heduled for June 15 27 , 2008. Having spent the pa st 40 years studyin g and visiting Russ and can honestly te ia, I am well-versed on its history and cu ll you that there ha lture, s never been a bett country and unders er time to experienc tand firsthand its e this fascinating dramatic transfor mation from comm In addition to joinin unism to capitalism g you on all of the . excursions, I will pre into what we see. I sent short lectures also will be available that offer further insight for daily discussion one discovery after s throughout the jou another as we travel rney. Each day will Russia’s rivers and offer visit: • Kizhi Island, with its wooden churche s constructed by Ru — without the us ssian masters in th e of nails e 18th century • Lake Onega, one of the largest and most beautiful lakes in the world • The historic capit als of Moscow and St. Petersburg, often referred to as the gre • Peter’s Palace, wit atest cities in Russ h its breathtaking ia parks and spectacu lar fou nt ains • The State Herm itage Museum, home of the greatest co llection of impression • Red Square, The ist art in the world Kremlin and numero us ot he r his torical sites in Russ countryside. ia’s bustling cities and quiet Please join me for wh at I believe is an ex traordinary travel op of exploration and portunity — 13 ful education in one of l days the most exciting na tio ns in th e wo rld. I look forward to tra veling with you in Ju ne!
Dr. Victor Pep pard Victor Peppard, Ph.D.
Professor of Russian and Chair, Departm ent of World Languages, USF P.S. This tour has pr oven to sell out qu ickly, so I urge you to reserve your space today by callin g the USF Alumni Association’s tour operator, Alum ni Holidays International, at 80 0-323-7373 or vis it
www.ahitravel.com/us
faa.
JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 9
Feature Story
The year was 1970. Richard Nixon sat in the White House, Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” spun on turntables and “Love Story” mesmerized movie goers. K
I
n Tampa, William (Bill) Esposito graduated from USF with a bachelor’s degree in political science. His next stop: the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA, where he would spend 18 weeks training to earn a position with the agency. It was the first step of an amazing career that has taken Esposito from America’s underbelly to America’s marbled halls of justice, from undercover work with Midwestern mobsters to working on some of the highest profile criminal cases in modern history and receiving the FBI’s highest medal for bravery. Through it all he has never forgotten his Tampa roots. “I tell everyone I went to the Harvard of the South,” said Esposito, a longtime
10 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
member of the USF Alumni Association. Esposito’s career started while the FBI was still run by J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover believed in teaming rookies with veteran agents to further the learning experience and training. “Agents were issued the FBI standard firearm and required to dress in suits, white shirts and lace-up shoes,” says Esposito. But when he reached his first assignment in New Orleans, his new, experienced partner told him, “get rid of the suits and get yourself a snubnose.” Assigned to general criminal work in New Orleans, Esposito quickly learned that suspects who committed crimes in the southeast United States eventually made their way to the French Quarter, where the FBI had a few bartender-
K
informants. So, apprehending fugitives meant waiting for them to show up in the Big Easy. Although, Esposito added, “It was exciting to go running along rooftops.” After a year in New Orleans, Esposito transferred to Detroit. There, he worked in white collar and organized crime, including tracking fugitives from the U.S. radical group, The Weathermen. While in Detroit, Esposito worked undercover at a racetrack. He did another undercover stint at an athletic club that was a popular hangout for Detroit mobsters. “This undercover work was new for the FBI,” said Esposito. During Hoover’s regime it wasn’t allowed. However, after Hoover’s death in 1972, the FBI was doing more and more undercover work, like setting up storefront operations to recover stolen goods. Esposito’s proficiency at undercover work got him transferred to the nation’s capital. “A new unit to oversee all undercover units was
set up in Washington, D.C. I moved there to help oversee the planning and organizing,” said Esposito. In his 27 year career with the FBI, from October 1970 to October 1997, Esposito worked in New Orleans, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Cleveland, Baltimore, San Diego, Panama, Italy and Columbia. Esposito also received the FBI Medal of Valor, the highest medal awarded in the FBI for bravery. He got the award “for a shooting incident that occurred in 1987. A bank robber had a live bomb on him,” Esposito calmly explained. “I shot him, apprehended him and took the bomb away. It was a mercury switch with 18 sticks of dynamite.” And in 1989, Esposito was in Panama for Operation Just Cause, the United States invasion that deposed dictator Manuel Noreiga. As head of the FBI’s white collar crimes unit
Bill Esposito worked on many high-profile cases during his career at the FBI,including tracking The Weathermen and dealing with Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 11
Esposito managed the FBI unit that tracked down the infamous Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.
K
in the early 1990s, he developed the FBI’s strategy for dealing with major systematic frauds, from the savings and loan crisis to health care fraud, telemarketing fraud and public corruption. Esposito eventually ran the criminal division unit that solved the Unabomber case within a year, arresting Theodore Kaczynski at a remote cabin in Montana on April 3, 1996. He also oversaw the manhunt for spree killer Andrew Cunanan, who killed five people in a threemonth period in 1997, including famed fashion designer Gianni Versace.
bought out MBNA, Esposito retired from the credit card industry. He has since reunited with Freeh as an associate of the Freeh Group International. The consulting company specializes in compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which states that if a U.S. company is operating in a foreign country, it can’t do business through bribery. “Companies hire us to ensure they are operating legally,” said Esposito. “Between Louis and me, we have contact with police forces worldwide.”
When Esposito retired from the FBI in 1997, he had reached the highest ranking non-political position in the FBI, deputy director. He ran the day-to-day operations of the FBI – “It’s like COO of the FBI,” he said – and reported directly to FBI director Louis Freeh and Attorney General Janet Reno.
Esposito, a father of four and grandfather of three, currently lives in Delaware with his wife and two teenage sons. However, he still has connections to Florida, where his daughters live. He said he was recently contacted by a member of the Alumni Association’s Philadelphia Chapter who called “out of the blue” having “heard there was a fellow grad in the area. It’s a good way to keep in touch with people.”
After the FBI, Esposito took a position with credit card company MBNA as director of corporate security. He then held positions in facilities and human resources and eventually became vice chairman in charge of all administrative services. When Bank of America
Esposito has followed the Bulls recent gridiron success and thinks that it “makes it easier to do recruiting because of the name recognition.” He said that while USF had only golf and soccer while he was a student, he still remembers it as a “great campus with great weather.”
12 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
K
chapters & societies No matter where you live, you’ll always be a Bull!
Education Alumni Freda Abercrombie aber2@aol.com
The USF Alumni Association has alumni chapters all over the country. We also have college and special-interest societies for like-minded alumni.
Engineering Alumni Gene Balter gene.balter@hdrinc.com
Florida Chapters
Geology Alumni Jon Hull jhull@qore.net
Tampa Jim Johnson jimusfsig@yahoo.com
Honors Alumni Lisa Provenzano Heugel lproven1@tampabay.rr.com
Brevard John Carpenter j-carpenter2@ti.com
Kauffman Alumni Allen Clary gaclary@yahoo.com
Barbara Lyn barbaralyn.com
It’s easy to get involved. Just email the contact person of the group you’d like to visit.
Societies Anthropology Alumni Anne Bretnall anniebret@bellsouth.net Architecture Alumni Adam Fritz adam@cgharchitects.com Black Alumni Felecia Brantley lbtdfmu18@hotmail.com Brian Campbell bcamp10331@aol.com Business Alumni James Gossett jgossett@fadv.com
Tania Ulinski tdulinski@yahoo.com Kosove Alumni Justin Geisler justingeisler@hotmail.com LGBT Alumni Marion Yongue myongue@wedu.org
Lynne Carlson LCarlson@tempest.coedu.usf.edu Jerry L. Miller jerry.miller@db.faneuil.com
Broward Sara DuCuennois ducuenno@nova.edu Emerald Coast/ Northwest Florida Peter J. Kemp peter.kemp@wachoviasec.com Fort Myers Sanjay Kurian Skurian@becker-poliakoff.com
Members of the Sarasota-Manatee Chapter get their game on before the Bulls stomped UCF in October.
JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 13
chapters & societies Hernando Belinda Nettles Scipi8@cs.com
Barbados Junior Browne junior.browne@gmail.com
Jacksonville Louis B. Richardson louinjax@comcast.net
Charlotte, N.C. Jeff Spalding jeff.spalding@peak10.com
Ellen Rosenblum ellenmarkmatt3@yahoo.com
Chicago Karla Stevenson karla.stevenson@gmail.com
Sarasota/Manatee Derek Williams dwilliams@moseleyinvestment.com Miami Ruben Matos captram02@yahoo.com Carlos Rodriguez RODVOLL@aol.com Ocala/Marion Kathleen & William Bellamy icchoice-kathie@earthlink.net Orlando Kevin Krause kkrause2@hotmail.com Pinellas Audrey Gilmore usf1@tampabay.rr.com Polk Randy Dotson randy.dotson@gmail.com St. Lucie Frank Pennetti franker@adelphia.net
National & International Chapters Atlanta Denise Dimbath denise@crowngeorgia.com
From left, Alan Steinberg, `78, friend Carol Nunez, Sara DuCuennois, `99 and Shekeria Brown, `99, of the Broward County Chapter, share a drink the night before the FAU game.
E
14 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
D.C. Regional Rajiv Dembla rajiv.dembla@gmail.com Dallas Lisa Lacy lisa.lacy@tx.rr.com Denver Mile High Mark A. Thompson Brahman95@msn.com
Members of the new Emerald Coast/Northwest Florida Chapter gather at Beef O Brady’s in Spanish Fort, Alabama, to watch the USF vs. U Conn. game. From right are Peter J. Kemp, `05, Bernie Wachter, `71 and his wife Joan. The restaurant is owned by Nick Kessler, `03. F
Indiana Jeremy Sims jsims@shepherdins.com New York Valerie Berrios valerieberrios78@hotmail.com
Raleigh, N.C. Bob Cohn Bob.Cohn@smithbarney.com
Michael Simpson Michael.Simpson@gs.com
St. Louis Jennifer Bradshaw Jenbshaw@charter.net
Philadelphia/South Jersey Brandon Aldridge aldridgb@toysrus.com
Mark Greenspahn markgstl@aol.com
Erik Thoreson, formerly a director of counseling at USF, holds a one-man watch party at his home in Norway. His son, Kristan Thoreson is a Class of `95 alumnus.
D
E The staff at the Hillsborough license tag office in downtown Tampa love selling Bulls plates to USF fans.
Board of Governors Chancellor Mark Rosenberg, far left, and his staff in Tallahassee support the Bulls in the land of the Seminoles.
D
A Rita Miller Blank, `71, Cassie Streeter Oransky, `71, Beverly Leibowitz Wickson, `73, Andrea Boris Felder, `71, Jane Cherof Schagrin, `71, Alisa Stein Newbauer, `72 and Susan Genzier Sternstein, `72.
F Kim Celenza Hermelyn, `92, chills in her Bulls visor while on vacation in Atlantis in The Bahamas.
D Judge John E. Jordan, `80, stands front and center for his alma mater on the cover of the Orange County Bar Association’s publication, The Briefs.
JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 15
By Karla Ja
Feature Story
c
on ks
C l as s o f 1 9
88
An
ENVOY
Hope
of
S
outh Africa is a nation of maddening contradictions: a landscape of stunning vistas threatened by climate change and rampant pollution, ongoing violent protests in the name of political progress and a government in denial about AIDS, a viral death sentence that infects one-fifth of its citizens, resulting in one of the highest mortality rates in the world.
That mix of pain and promise is exactly what appeals to the USF alumnus who serves as the United States Ambassador to South Africa, Eric M. Bost. “People at the State Department will tell you that I have one of the best posts in the entire world,” says Bost, who was back on USF’s Tampa campus during an October visit to the United States. “It’s the fourth largest U.S. post in the world. I supervise over 1,000 employees. I have three consulates. I have some of the top notch staff from the 26 agencies that I supervise: the CIA, the FBI, Commerce, Treasury – all of those are there. And it’s a beautiful exciting country – 13 years from apartheid.” By appointing Bost as ambassador in 2006, President Bush got a two-for-one deal. Bost’s wife, Dr. Rosemary Brownridge, is one of the world’s foremost experts on AIDS and HIV. “I think that’s why the President and Secretary Condoleezza Rice chose us to
16 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
Ambassador Bost loves to photograph South Afr ica’s beautiful scenery. He sho t this seascape in Cape Town.
go,” says Bost, 54, who graduated from USF in 1985 with a Master’s degree in Special Education from the College of Education. “I have very fond memories of my time here,” the ambassador says. “I remember having to study really hard. I received a really good education here. I don’t think you appreciate it at the time, but once you leave, you have a greater appreciation for it.” Bost worked for Bush while he was governor of Texas and also served as U.S. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services. It was during his time as under secretary that he was introduced to
South Africa. He made two trips to the evolving nation at the southern tip of the African continent, collaborating with their government on nutrition programs for students. Considering its history of political upheaval, dealing effectively with the South African government is no easy task, as many a diplomat will attest, including Bost himself. “The thing about South Africa is that because of their strategic location on the continent, given their economy, given they are the wealthiest country in Africa, given their leadership role in A.U. and the U.N. Security Council, they are very popular,” Bost explains. “Everybody wants a piece of them.” Even so, Bost feels like he is making headway on the main initiatives between the U.S. and South Africa: dealing with HIV/AIDS, improving trade and economic development, encouraging equality in education and promoting international counterterrorism efforts. “We’ve done a significant amount of outreach in terms of building those relationships and, for the most part, our relationship is positive,” he says of South African President Thabo Mbeki’s administration. “It’s positive in terms of working with them and supporting some of the efforts that are mutually beneficial for both our governments and countries.” Mbeki’s recent actions toward acknowledging the causes and treatment of AIDS after years of denial and superstition about the disease could indicate that U.S. influence – in the form of $90 million in aid in 2007 alone – is beginning to make a difference. Bost was in the U.S. last fall to address a different initiative: trade and economic development. He spoke to several dozen CEO’s of top American companies including Boeing, Motorola and Kellogg about opportunities for investment in South Africa, where a quarter of the population are unemployed and half live in poverty, despite the country’s growing economy and rich natural resources.
Ambassador Eric Bost spent a day at USF’s Tampa campus during an October visit to the United States.
“There are 600 U.S. companies in South Africa that employ over 100,000 people and so we’re working toward expanding opportunities for U.S. businesses to grow there,” Bost says. When he’s not busy negotiating with South African leaders and managing a staff of thousands of government officials, Bost likes to do a little light reading and take photographs, one of which accompanies this article. “The Cape of Good Hope is just an absolutely gorgeous place,” he says. “When you go… you will say to yourself that there is no place I have ever been in my entire life that is as beautiful as this place and I’ve been to 80 countries around the world.” In many respects, South Africa is not so different from the U.S., Bost says. “It’s a very modern country. English is the primary language. The stores tend to be very modern, especially those in Johannesburg, and Cape Town,” he says. The biggest difference, aside from some of the customs and food, is that the stores close early and people drive on the left side of the road. “That takes a little getting used to,” he says. “But I love it. I am very blessed and very proud to be able to serve my country in this position.”
JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 17
Feature Story
the
Delivering
dream By Karla Jackson Class of 1988
W
hen Emilio Gonzalez was invited to the White House to discuss the position of Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, he thought President Bush was simply looking for his input on potential nominees. As a former member of the National Security Council, Gonzalez was a trusted friend and advisor to the President. He knew President Bush valued his opinion. What he didn’t expect was to be offered the post himself. “I thought it was actually for somebody else, then they asked me to take it,” Gonzalez, 51, recalled during a recent visit to USF. “I thought about it – but not for long because they needed a quick answer. Immigration is a very complex issue and I thought I could make a difference.” A USF Class of 1977 grad, Gonzalez was confirmed as USCIS director in December 2005, leading an organization of more than 15,000 employees. He brings a personal perspective to the role as a man who was born in Havana and whose family fled Cuba in 1960 after the revolution. “There’s sort of a political schizophrenia about immigration. Everybody loves immigrants, but they hate
immigration,” Gonzalez says. “If you personalize it and say, ‘My mother came from Germany’ or ‘My grandparents came from Poland,’ then they get it. They understand how important immigration is to our country.” Gonzalez’ father was in the tobacco business, which is why the family wound up in Tampa, a major player in the tobacco industry during the 60s. Gonzalez attended St. Lawrence Catholic School, then Tampa Catholic, before enrolling at USF at age 17, immediately after graduating high school. He finished USF in three years with a degree in International Studies – an interest of his from a young age. “It wasn’t like we talked politics over the dinner table,” Gonzalez says. “It was more like, ‘You better study hard and make something of yourself’ over the dinner table.” He worked and played hard while he was at USF, joining the ROTC and meeting his wife of now 29 years, Gloria Maria, a Class of 1978 graduate with a degree in elementary education. “It was a much different school then,” he says. “It was primarily a commuter school … so it was a very detached experience. But I still remember fondly the professors I
OOOOO 18 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
had and the courses I took,” specifically those with Professor Abdelwahab Hechiche, who is still with the University.
formed and it’s tough to move people from one side to the other,” he says. Even so, Gonzalez says that Congress has sent a clear message about their expectations of his agency.
Gonzalez went into the Army after graduating from USF and he and Gloria Maria spent three blissful years as newlyweds in paradise.
“They want to see a much stronger border security force. They want to see a more robust interior enforcement,” he says. “I think once the U.S. citizens are comfortable that we’ve done what we can on the border, there’ll be a much more reasoned approach on a comprehensive immigration plan.”
O
“It was the honeymoon tour,” he says. “We were a USCIS Director very carefree couple living in Emilio Gonzalez presides over a Hawaii.” From there, he moved naturalization to the Army’s military ceremony in Miami intelligence corp. He earned and takes a minute Master’s degrees from both to chat with a Tulane and the U.S. Naval War new citizen. College and served as an Army attaché in El Salvador and Mexico. He followed his Master’s degrees with a Ph.D. from the University of Miami and twice taught Spanish and Latin American Studies at West Point.
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
“You get spoiled because you’re literally teaching a class full of valedictorians. It’s very impressive,” he says of his time at the famed military academy. Gonzalez was leading the Office of Special Assistants for the Commander in Chief of U.S. Southern Command in Miami when President Bush appointed him as Director for Western Affairs at the National Security Council, where Gonzalez served as a key foreign policy advisor.
“From a national security perspective, we need to know who lives here,” he says.” We have a population the size of Belgium that lives inside the United States and we have no idea who they are, where they live, what they do or what they look like. We owe it to our citizens to do what we can to check them out.” Like many people of Cuban descent, Gonzalez is wary about the state of his homeland now that Fidel Castro’s brother, Raul, is handling the reins of government.
“Working at the NSC is a lot of fun, but it’s a real drain on your personal life,” he says. “I kept missing too many important events in my kids’ lives.” Gonzalez and his wife have two daughters, Gloria, now 24 and Victoria, 23. He left Washington in 2003 and parlayed his international expertise into the private sector, working as a consultant for the Miami-based law firm, Tew Cardenas, where he was happily employed when he received that pivotal call from the White House in 2005. The challenge of leading the United States’ immigration department in a post-9/11 milieu piqued Gonzalez’ sense of duty. “It’s a tough issue. Everybody’s opinions are already
He is a strong proponent of President Bush’s guest worker program, which some critics construe as a move toward legalizing illegal immigrants. Gonzalez sees it differently.
“We have a situation now where for all intents and purposes, one dictator has handed off power to another dictator,” he says. “The transitional Cuban government needs to have a dialogue with its own people and make amends for 50 years of dictatorship by developing some ways for the people to participate in their future.” He has no family left in Cuba; his interest in the issue is professional. “I think all democracies have a vested interest in promoting democracies because only then do you have stability. Democracies don’t wage war on other democracies.”
OOOOO JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 19
1980 A Blast from the Past ! U.S. PRESIDENT: Jimmy Carter
VICE PRESIDENT: Walter Mondale UNEMPLOYMENT: 7.1% FIRST CLASS STAMP: ¢15
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME (current dollars): $17,710
IN THE NEWS: Actor-turned-politician Ronald Reagan is elected President in a landslide; the FBI’s undercover operation Abscam (for Arab scam) results in the arrests and resignations of a dozen public officials; the United States boycotts the Summer Olympics in Moscow in protest of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
IN SCIENCE: Janice Brown, a 98-lb.former teacher, makes the first long-distance solarpowered flight in the Solar Challenger; Voyager I reaches Saturn, returning data on its 14 moons and more than 1,000 rings.
IN THE ARTS: John Lennon of the Beatles is shot dead in New York City on December 8th; Norman Mailer is awarded a Pulitzer Prize for “The Executioner’s Song;” Billy Joel wins a Grammy for Album of the Year for “52nd Street.” 20 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
AT USF: USF Sun Dome inflated; total number of buildings on all USF campuses reaches 148; Small Business Development Center established within College of Business Administration; Graduate School is created.
By Natalie Shultz Class of 2008 It is now January 2008, which also happens to be my official last semester at USF. I, Natalie Shultz, am graduating, and I am still having difficulty coming to terms with that.
And one of us will move in. Danesis is a Tampa native just like Cristal and me, and although she has worked for ophthalmologists since high school, and originally wanted to follow in their footsteps, she had a change of heart about a year ago, and now wants to become a nurse practitioner. In her future, she resolves to:
Around this time, most of us make New Year’s resolutions: lose weight, save money, get better grades, blah, blah, blah. This New Year, however, is different for my friends and me because it is particularly symbolic of what awaits us at the end of this semester — new beginnings.
1. Get into a nursing program, ideally at USF. 2. Buy a condo in South Tampa. 3. Open a medical spa. 4. Find the man of her dreams. 5. Plan a wedding.
I have shared the past three years with my two best friends at USF, Danesis Socorro and Cristal Bermudez. We met during the Panhellenic Formal Sorority Recruitment in the summer of 2004, and we all became Tri Deltas together. “D” and Cristal are not only my best friends, but also my sisters.
“I just want to be successful in whatever I do and be able to support myself. I want to follow my dreams, find “the one,” and plan a big, beautiful wedding, where my best friends and I can reunite,” Danesis says.
And now, as our future flashes in front of our eyes, we’ve decided to share our resolutions one last time, just as we have every year since we began college.
Time flies by. We’ve shared our ups and downs, but more importantly, we’ve shared the unforgettable experience of going through college together at USF. We’ll grow older and somewhat wiser (at least we like to think so). We’ll meet new people and face new challenges and opportunities. Friendships may come and go, and so may New Year’s resolutions. But those worth keeping will last forever.
One of us will move away. Even as a four-year-old, I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up: move to New York City and work in the media. Now, at 21 years old, I still want to write, but I also realize that if I want to survive in the Big Apple, I will need a bigger income. Yet every time I think about graduation and the future ahead of me, I have a mild anxiety attack. Mostly, it is the uncertainty, and the fact that I am not in complete control of the future. My resolutions, therefore, are to: 1. Pass the LSAT exam this summer. 2. Get accepted at a law school in Manhattan. 3. Find a “deal” on an already overpriced, shoebox-size apartment in New York City. 4. Be hired at a magazine in the interim before I start law school. 5. Not lose touch with my best friends (even if we live on opposite ends of the planet). Another one of us will move out. Cristal is also a mass communications major, but went the broadcast journalism route. She has performed both on stage and on camera since she was a kid, and wants to combine her love for cooking, performing and business. Cristal’s resolutions are to: 1. Have a healthier lifestyle. 2. Spend more time on herself. 3. Attend culinary school. 4. Invest more. 5. Open a restaurant. “I dream big to challenge those who’ve always deemed my goals impossible. There’s no point in dreaming if you are just settling for what is attainable,” Cristal says.
But all of us will move on, in one way or another.
MemorE y SAHAR Excerpts of memories from members of the USF Alumni Association.
Dr. Frank Clearer, chairman of the department of mathematics (1964), is in a very major way responsible for whatever success I may have had as a businessman in my 31 years with IBM and six years with AT&T. Fortunately, I was able to express this to him in a phone call in the early 90s just prior to his passing. He was a mentor, a man of integrity who set very high standards and was always willing to help a struggling student. Ed Timmons `64 / Annual Member My memory is of being asked to lead the audience in singing the USF Alma Mater at the first NCAA basketball game in the university’s history. My Alpha Tau Omega fraternity brothers Joel Weldon, John Stephens and I had gotten the attention of organizers by performing the “Wayne Hugoboom Classic” in perfect three-part harmony for the Greek Sing competition. We won the Greek Sing – of course – and the basketball team won their first-ever game! Chris Houtchens `72 / Annual Member
JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 21
with
Q : How does the program locate deserving students
itzhak perlman
A : Applicants find us. Word of mouth, I suppose. We look for students who have something individual to say as players and who already have a certain amount of technical expertise that enables them to say it.
and what qualities do you look for in an applicant?
Q : Do you ever see a student who reminds you of yourself as a child?
The renowned violin virtuoso and his wife, Toby, who is also an accomplished violinist, spent two weeks in December at USF’s SarasotaManatee campus, holding a Winter Residency with the 40 gifted young musicians who comprise The Perlman Music Program, an incubator for the next generation of classical musicians.
A : Not yet. Q : Have there been any surprises when dealing with today’s youth? A : I am constantly pleasantly surprised by the wonderful children who come to The Perlman Music Program. Year after year, we get students who are not only serious musicians, but who are responsible young people with good values, concerned with the state of the world, and interested in making it a better place.
Music Program? How long has it been in existence?
Q : What is it like to take a group of young musicians on a national or international tour? Are there any unexpected joys or challenges?
A : The Perlman Music Program was started 14 years ago by my wife, Toby. Since her days as a student at The Juilliard School, she had a dream about starting her own pre-college program. A visionary, to say the least, she made her dream a reality.
A : It’s more fun than you can possibly imagine. Sometimes there is a language challenge, but the students never fail to bond through the music. Intense and lasting friendships are made and everyone is enriched by the experience.
Q : What prompted the creation of the Perlman
22 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
Q : Have many of the program’s students gone on to successful musical careers?
A : We are still a young program, so many of our students are still in school. Of the ones who are out of college, all but a few are making lives in music, many are already quite successful.
Q : Why did you choose Sarasota for the program’s Winter Residency? Do you spend much time in Florida?
is the product of a society that ignores its largest single minority. Shame on us.
Q : Many people don’t realize that you’re a singer as well as musician and conductor. Do you enjoy performing as a singer? A : At The Perlman Music Program we sing in chorus every day. I love it and on occasion I also participate in a faculty Barber Shop Quartet, but it’s all for fun. In terms of serious singing as a soloist, I have done that only a few times. I love it, but I don’t pretend to be a singer.
A : I wish I could claim the credit for having had the idea for the Winter Residency but I can’t; it was not my idea. The Sarasota Residency was the dream of Van Wezel Hall board member Dr. David Klein.
Q : Do you have a favorite performance or recording that you’ve done?
Q : You’ve been a staunch advocate for the disabled. What do you feel is the most pressing issue facing people with disabilities?
A : Listening to my own CDs is not a pleasant pastime. While I might feel that what I hear is O.K., I always tend to feel that it could be better.
A : Public awareness is a central issue, and through heightened awareness, the public will become acquainted with the enormous problem of access. Although steps have been taken to improve the plight of the disabled, access (or, better said, the lack thereof) continues to be a major obstacle. No one, unless they have experienced the feeling of not being able to enter a space or take part in an activity because of an architectural barrier, can fully comprehend the frustration, hurt and anger that
Q : Who do you enjoy listening to? A : The old timers: Heifetz, Rubinstein, Menuhin, Horowitz are always startling and wonderful to revisit. I have always been, and am now, in love with Ella Fitzgerald. For more information about The Perlman Music Program, visit www.perlmanmusicprogram.org.
JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 23
Feature Story
24 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
Ashlie (`93 & `98) and Ron (`97) Wheat, are 10-year USF Alumni Association members and Bulls season ticket holders. They can be found at most of the tailgate parties, often with their three children - Jason, 8, Alex, 5, and Emily, 8 months – in tow. They are huge Bulls football fans and keep scrapbooks full of photos and mementos of all the games they’ve attended since the very first one in 1997. Ashlie and Ron met as USF students at Lorenzo’s, a now-defunct restaurant on Dale Mabry Highway. What began as “love at first sight” culminated in marriage after Ashlie earned her M.S. in Nursing in 1998. Ron is a College of Business grad who works for Bank of America Investment Services. Ashlie’s life has revolved around USF since she moved to Tampa from Erie, PA. During her undergraduate years, she lived on campus and was a resident assistant. She now works as a staff nurse at Shriners Hospitals for Children
on the Tampa campus. Once the kids are a little older, she plans to get a doctorate in nursing and has set her sights on becoming a USF professor. Ron also plans to return to USF to get his MBA. “We feel that we set a good example for our children by continuing our education,” says Ashlie. “We both support our respective colleges, as well as donate to the Athletic Fund. We were at the first football game in Houlihan’s Stadium, which was awesome! We traveled to see USF beat Pitt and went to the first bowl game in North Carolina. We’ve been very proud to be part of the new USF tradition and look forward to more to come!” Of course, they’d love for their kids to become second-generation Bulls. “We have a while until our Baby Bulls will be off to college, but we would be very pleased if they wanted to attend USF.”
� All of the members of the Wheat family wear green and gold with great pride.
JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 25
It’s tempting to make a pun about “amor,” which means “love” in Spanish, but we’ll
the Ambassador Society. They are also Life Members of the Alumni Association.
refrain, even though Jack (`87) and Cindy (`88) Amor are shining examples of their surname.
The Amors were engineering co-op students together at Tampa Electric Company (now TECO) during school. Jack, with TECO now for 24 years, is director of the TECO Energy Foundation. Cindy, who has been with TECO for 22 years, is manager of organizational effectiveness.
Both started out as engineering students at USF, as well as being active in Greek life on campus. Jack and Cindy met through fraternity and sorority events given by their respective organizations, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Alpha Delta Pi, and soon found that they had a lot in common. They were both born and raised in Tampa, both had fathers who were born in Cuba and their families knew a lot of the same people. Even their mutual friends had an inkling they might be well suited for each other and made sure that Jack and Cindy met. Turns out their friends were right. The couple married in 1990. During their time at USF, the Amors served as Ambassadors, an Alumni Association-sponsored student organization that taps the best and brightest to act as a liaison between the student body and the community. They wore the signature green jackets proudly and still support
� Jack & Cindy Amor have been staunch supporters of the USF Ambassadors program.
26 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
The Amors try to make as many of the football and basketball games as they can, usually with their two children, Robbie, 14, and Jennifer, 9. Cindy is also the Advisory Board chair for the College of Engineering’s Industrial & Management Systems Engineering (IMSE) department, which brings her to campus at least once a month. And she serves as a resource and mentor for engineering students.
John (`76) and Cindy (`74) Harper first met and dated in high school in New Jersey, but wound up at USF through different routes. When they arrived on campus, they had no intention of being a couple, says John, now executive director of the Alumni Association. Their romance rekindled during a lonely Thanksgiving away from home. John and Cindy have been together ever since, raising two daughters while traveling all over the country for John’s previous employer, GTE. The family has lived in North Carolina, Hawaii and Texas, with two tours in Tampa, where their girls, Heather, 26, and Cameron, 23, became very familiar with USF through their parents’ efforts. “We were involved in a lot of activities at USF. They grew up at
USF, applied and were admitted,” John says. “We were really happy about that.” Heather graduated in `03 and Cameron in `06. John was retired when he was asked to serve as the interim leader of the Alumni Association. “I got hooked,” he says. “I threw my name in the hat with the competition” for the executive director’s post. After an extensive national search, it was decided that the best candidate for the job was already doing it. John’s title became official in June 2007. “USF means quite a lot to me,” he says. “The education I received more than prepared me for my career. I received a very solid education. The friendships I made are still part of my network in Tampa Bay and around the country.”
� John & Cindy Harper were thrilled to have their daughters graduate from USF.
JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 27
As members of USF’s inaugural Charter Class, Lew (`64) and Judy (`65)
Matt earned a Bachelor’s in Marekting in `91, and Ashley, a Master’s in Social Work in `98.
Wallace, were among the first couples to meet and fall in love at USF. They started dating freshman year and spent lots of time in the old University Center game room with their respective social clubs, Enothe and FIA, which stood for Friendship in All.
Lew, a psychology major, credits USF with helping him secure a job with IBM that led to a 34-year career traveling among five continents. After retiring from IBM, he went to work for AT&T for eight more years before retiring for good. Judy, who taught school for years, still works part-time as a remedial reading teacher. The couple, who are Life Members of the Alumni Association, love to travel and spend time at their second home on Gasparilla Island.
“We couldn’t have fraternities or sororities because we hadn’t had a graduating class yet,” Judy recalls. They, like many students of the time, became close friends with the center’s first director, Phyllis Marshall. The building was renamed in her honor in 1989. She passed away in February 2005. “We miss her,” Lew says. The Wallaces raised two children, Matt, 38, and Asheley, 36, who are also proud graduates of USF.
28 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
� Lew & Judy Wallace can’t get over how much USF has changed since they attended.
It was Jammie Faircloth’s successful completion of her undergraduate studies at USF in 1995 that brought her and
she says. “I was so highly prepared to enter the workforce and I learned so much to apply in the classroom.”
husband Brian together. They met at her graduation party. USF would figure into their lives again three years later when they became the first couple to marry in the brand new Gibbons Alumni Center.
Like our other alumni couples, Jammie and Brian hope their two children, Zachary, 4, and Andrew, 2, will attend USF some day. “I’m going to guide them in that direction,” Jammie says.
Jammie says it was “a magical and memorable” wedding because of the beauty of the building, which offered a relaxed, yet elegant setting for their nuptials. Jammie’s roots are entwined throughout USF. Her father, James Watkins, served on the Alumni Association Board, her sister and uncle are both graduates, and she has a cousin who is currently enrolled. Brian, who owns a custom home building company, has taken courses at USF as well. Jammie, a Life Member of the Alumni Association, is now a teacher in Valrico. She earned a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from USF in 2001. “I am honored and proud to tell people that I’m a USF graduate,”
� Jammie & Brian Faircloth were the first couple to be married in the Gibbons Alumni Center.
JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 29
classnotes 60s
Joel D. Jackson, `64, was promoted to executive director of the 1,000-member Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association. He served as director of communications for the Florida GCSA since January 1998. He also writes for The Florida Green, Golfdom, Florida Golf Central and Florida Turf Digest magazines. Jackson retired from the Walt Disney Company in December 1997. Ken Rollins, `64, Tampa Museum of Art interim executive director, was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Florida Art Museum Directors Association at its meeting on Sept. 18, 2007. To be eligible for the award, a museum director must have served at least 25 years as a museum professional and have made significant contributions during his or her tenure. Michael Houllis, `68, is now selling his family’s famous Greek chicken-lemon-orzo soup in a can under the name It’s Greek to Me Foods. The Houllis family owned and operated Island House Restaurant on Clearwater Beach until it closed in the early 90s. To learn more about the soup, visit www.itsgreektomefoods.com. Robert F. Meyer, `69, authors Appointment in Riyadh, a novel that deals with the secret rescue of four U.S. hostages being held in Saudi Arabia in 1997. The hostages were located and rescued by four former Green Berets without Saudi or U.S. government approvals. It hits the bookstores in spring of 2008. Meyer was a Green Beret for four years and served in the Army reserve while attending USF.
70s Bud Nocera, `71, VISIT FLORIDA’s President and CEO, was selected as the Travel Industry of America’s (TIA) State Tourism Director of the Year. Nocera was presented the award during the association’s annual Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations held in Phoenix, Arizona. The State Tourism Director of the Year Award
30 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
was developed to honor an individual that has clearly influenced the obvious and measurable improvement of a state or territory’s “travel and tourism profile” with their leadership. Nocera is a 36-year veteran of the tourism industry, including leadership positions in Fort Myers and Jacksonville, Florida.
Fred R. Bassett, Ed.D., B.A. `75, recently retired as Superintendent of Beechwood Independent School District in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky. He is now working as the Program Director for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Cincinnati. James D. Tagliarini, `75,
Becker has been with Atlanta’s 11Alive since 1988. Her broadcast career began in 1978 in Jacksonville, Florida at WTLV-TV. She later moved to KTHV-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas where she remained until 1981 when she joined WSB-TV in Atlanta. In 1999, Jill received the Emmy for “Best News Anchor” for the southeast region from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Aside from her work at the station, she also is active in charities that benefit pediatric cancer treatment and research. She is married and has two sons, Gregory and Matthew.
80s
retired as a captain from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office after 33 years of service. He’s now owner of Realty Service of Tampa Bay, Inc. He was the first president of the Florida Narcotic Officer’s Association and is considered the founding father of the organization, which began in 1992.
Stirling Boomhower, `81, was one of 14 hurricane recovery coordinators who received recognition and an award from the Governors Hurricane Recovery Fund and the Points of Light Foundation for continued involvement in community disaster recovery at the Governors 2007 Hurricane Conference.
Dale Pilkington, `77, was promoted to
Kevin J. Martinez, `81, is president and
president of Argo Group’s U.S. operations. Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. is an international underwriter of specialty insurance. Pilkington, an insurance industry veteran with almost 30 years experience, was president of Argo Group’s Excess & Surplus Lines business segment and President of Colony Insurance, a unit of Argo Group’s E&S segment.
Cindy Aaronson, `78, is a 2007 recipient of the prestigious Young Investigator Award granted by the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD). NARSAD is the world’s largest donor-supported organization dedicated to funding research on psychiatric disorders, and its award grantees represent the best in the field – those who are doing the most innovative and promising research. Aaronson, a researcher at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York, is studying the brain’s activity during panic attacks, as well as a possible genetic basis for panic disorder and depression. Her research could lead to the development of successful therapeutic mechanisms for coping with panic and anxiety. Jill Becker, `78, is co-anchor for “11 Alive News Today” from 5-7 a.m. Monday through Friday.
CEO of Premium Capital Management, LLC. The firm advises high net worth clients on option strategies for their portfolios and is based in Atlanta, GA.
Penny Carnathan, `82, received a firstplace award for narrative feature writing in the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors’ 19th annual writing competition. Carnathan wrote her winning story, “Something Beautiful in Her Wake,” about Susan McGovern, a Tampa woman who organized her own ’living wake’ when she learned she was dying of cancer.
Ann Liguori, `82, one of the original sports talk show hosts at WFAN 660AM in New York, the first all-sports radio station in the nation, got an exclusive interview with the top tennis player in the world, Roger Federer during the U.S. Open. The interview aired on WFAN Radio and on www.wfan.com and is still available to hear on www.annliguori.com. An updated edition of Ann's book, A Passion for Golf, Celebrity Musings About the Game, is also available on her website.
Don’t be shy Alumni! We’d like to include your news and photos in Class Notes. Send in your information to: kjackson@admin.usf.edu or you can mail your information & photo to Karla Jackson: USF Alumni Association Gibbons Alumni Center ALC100 University of South Florida 4202 E. Fowler Ave. Tampa, FL 33620-5455
Debra Merskin, `83, is an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon in Eugene. After finishing her bachelor’s degree, she became a broadcast media buyer for W. B. Doner and Company in St. Petersburg. After two years at Doner, she became a media director for another St. Petersburg ad agency and later for a Tampa agency. She joined UO in 1993 and teaches advertising, among other subjects. She holds a master’s degree in liberal arts from USF St. Petersburg and a doctorate in mass communication from Syracuse University. Emory Welch, `83, is a partner in Velocity Sports Performance, a training center that helps athletes get faster, stronger and more explosive. Welch and partners Dr. Joseph Zamzow and Dr. Mike Majette opened the center in November 2006 in Lakeland. The center provides sports performance enhancement and fitness training for youth and adults at every skill level, specializing in enhancing speed, power and agility. They also have a specialized golf program. Welch is also the CEO of Central Florida Human Services Inc., as well as the CEO of Mountain Youth Resources in western North Carolina. He and his wife, Jan, `82, live in Lakeland with their kids Haley and Buddy.
Stan Wurm, a `83, graduate of the College of Business, is a sales representative for Ceridian, a human resources company in St. Petersburg and a real estate consultant for Bindman Bruzas Realty, also in St. Pete, as well as a property appraiser. His son Jonathon expects to transfer from St. Petersburg College to USF in the fall of 2008. Carlos Granda, `84, joined the ABC7 “Eyewitness News” Team in Los Angeles as a general assignment reporter in April 1998. He has been nominated for five Emmy awards and won an Emmy for his series on the homeless called “My Home is the Street”. Granda began his career at WINK-TV, the CBS affiliate in Fort Myers, Florida. At ABC7, Carlos has reported on the 2000 Democratic and Republican conventions, election day in Austin, Texas, Elian Gonzalez’s deportation and
The World Trade Center attack, and several stories about the Al Qaeda prisoners at the Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba.
Ken Smith, `86, is an anchor for WRAL TV in Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
Outside of work, his passions are playing guitar, photography and spending time with his wife and two daughters.
principal of Blake High School in Tampa. Last summer, she hosted U.S. Rep. George Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, who represents parts of Hillsborough, Pinellas and Manatee counties in Congress, at Blake for a discussion with local educators on the reform of the No Child Left Behind Act.
Mark Manitz, MBA `84, was appointed to BankAtlantic’s executive management committee as chief retail banking executive. Manitz will be responsible for overseeing BankAtlantic’s store network, which includes over 100 stores throughout Florida. Manitz has 25 years experience in banking, most recently as president and CEO of Bank of Florida, Southeast. Prior to that, he spent the majority of his career at Bank of America. Manitz serves the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society as a board member and finance committee member and is also a board member and finance committee member for Jack and Jill’s Children’s Center.
Josette Urso, `80 & MFA `84, recently exhibited her work in two galleries: “Layering Space, Reconstructing Time-Collage“ at the Kleinert/James Arts Center in Woodstock, N.Y., and ”Have a Seat! The Beylerian Collection of Small Chairs” at The Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. Urso was also part of a fall exhibition at the Landing Gallery in Rockland, Maine that featured six artists with Maine connections, called “Landscape: Theme and Variation.”
Steve Dewsnap, `85, was named chief information officer of Mace Security International, Inc. A former captain in the U.S. Air Force, he has 18 years of experience in accounting and IT management, including software implementation, information system audits and business development. Dewsnap also is a co-founder of Microliance, LLC, an information technology consulting firm specializing in software implementation and enhancements, and information system audits. Through Microliance, he has been an IT consultant with Mace for approximately five years and is now leaving Microliance to join Mace full time. He is also a CPA.
David Lewis, `86, was recently named president/CEO of the Northwest Valley Chamber of Commerce in Surprise, Arizona.
Jacqueline Haynes, `87, is
Jim Atchison, `88, was recently promoted to president and chief operating officer for Busch Entertainment Corp, the family entertainment division of Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. He was previously general manager for Sea World. Michael Dreyer, `87 & MSEE `89, was promoted to senior vice president of Laird’s Electromechanical Components & System Divison. Previously he was vice president and general manager of Laird Technologies Thermal business unit.
Therese Cullen Seal, `89, was inducted into the U.S. Swim School Association Hall of Fame on Oct. 26, 2007. The U.S. Swim School Association Hall of Fame honors individuals who have at least 20 years experience and have made exceptional contributions to the swim school profession and learn-to-swim industry. Seal founded Seal Swim School in 1979 and her business has developed into one of the largest learn-to-swim programs in Florida. She co-authored Swim Safe Little Seals, a child’s introduction to water safety. Seal also launched an educational water safety program that is modeled after the book. She is a member of the United States Swim School Association, an American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor Trainer, a competitive sailor and has been a certified lifeguard for over 30 years. She resides at her lakefront home in Odessa, Florida. She enjoys spending time with her five children, their spouses and her grandchildren.
JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 31
classnotes 90s
Devin Cuyler, `90, is a partner
in the Corporate & Securities Group at Reed Smith LLP in the San Francisco office. Reed Smith is one of the 15 largest law firms in the world. He was formerly a partner in the Global Sourcing Practice in the San Francisco office of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. His practice focuses on global technology transactions, particularly global sourcing, licensing, sales and distribution arrangements. Cuyler earned undergraduate degrees in biology and philosophy from USF in 1990 and his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from John Marshall School of Law in 1994.
Marie Edmonson, `88 & M.A. `90, a member of the USF Alumni Association board of directors, recently passed the national Certified Fraud Examiner's exam. Vince Hughes, `90, a certified mortgage planner with First Gulf Bank, recently transferred to the Spanish Fort Branch located next to the Eastern Shore Centre in Alabama. Hughes has more than 18 years in the mortgage and banking industry. He lives in Fairhope and is married with two children
Stephen Roggenbaum, M.A.`91, was appointed to the Governor’s Suicide Prevention Coordinating Council. He is an assistant in research at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute at USF. His term runs through July 1, 2011.
Steven K. Brown, `92, was appointed president and CEO of Cygnus eTransactions Group, Inc., a ticketing and e-commerce company. Brown has 18 years of experience in the theme park industry, including executive responsibility for ticketing at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. He graduated with a B.S. in Marketing from USF and received his MBA at Emory University.
Dana Ludwig, `92, is a vice president with Brown and Brown Insurance in Pinellas County. Susan Runfola, `92, is a network administrator for CS&L and recently passed both the Microsoft Small Business Specialist Certification and the
32 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
Professional Accountants’ Network Consultant exam. Runfola has been with CS&L, a full service Certified Public Accounting firm, since 1997.
the American Society of Naval Engineers; and a member of the American Society of Military Comptrollers and the Society of American Military Engineers.
Patricia DiCarlo, `93, is a senior producer
Brian Brenneman, `94, vice president and
for CNN’s “Situation Room.” She previously was an associate producer for the Oprah Winfrey program in Chicago and before that was executive producer for news for WTTG television in Washington, D.C. She won the School of Mass Communications Outstanding Alumnus Award in 2007.
wholesaler in Franklin Templeton Investments’ New York Stock Exchange Division, has been awarded the Investment Management Consultants Association’s Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) designation. Brenneman, who joined Franklin Templeton in 2001, is based in St. Petersburg and is responsible for promoting Franklin Templeton investment solutions to financial advisors on the west coast of Florida. The CIMA designation identifies those individuals who have met the rigorous experience and ethical requirements, have successfully completed investment management coursework and have passed the CIMA examination.
Charlotte Schulz, MFA `93, has a solo show at the prestigious Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefied, CT through June 2008: “Charlotte Schulz: An Insufficiency in Our Screens.” Her work was also featured in an article in the spring 2007 issue of Drawing magazine, entitled “Space, Charcoal, and the Mind of Charlotte Schulz.” Ret. Rear Admiral Gerald Woolever, `93, of the U.S. Coast Guard, was named senior executive account manager for the Department of Homeland Security Programs business area of Harris Government Communications Systems. He is based in the company’s Falls Church, Virginia office. Previously, Woolever was senior vice president of the Field Operations division at Innovative Logistics Techniques, Inc. and before that was the program executive at The Boeing Company for USCG initiatives. Woolever held numerous leadership assignments while in the U.S. Coast Guard, including assistant commandant for Human Resources; commander of the 9th District, with responsibility for operations on the northern maritime border of the U.S.; director of Coast Guard streamlining; chief of acquisition; and commander, Maintenance and Logistics Command Pacific. He has a B.S. in Engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Rochester, and an MBA from USF. He is on the board of directors for EADS North America; a member of the HLS Executive Committee for the National Defense Industrial Association; a member of the board of directors of the National Capital Council Navy League of the U.S.; a member of
Barbara Emener-Karasek, M.A. `95, married Tony Karasek in St. Augustine in 2007 and they moved to Ponte Vedra Beach. She recently joined the PGA Tour as director of corporate marketing and leads strategic marketing and activation planning for PGA Tour official marketing partners. Previously, EmenerKarasek was senior manager of consumer marketing for NASCAR, and led national, regional, grass roots and Hispanic marketing efforts, including the year-end Champions Week events in New York City. Prior to working for NASCAR, she held numerous positions with the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Steve Johnston, `95, founded Home Discovery, a real estate firm that was featured in The Wall Street Journal recently as one of five Top Real Estate Teams in the Nation: #5 for Sales Volume & #7 for Transaction Sides. Diana Allan, `96, joined the Gulf Coast Museum of Art in Largo as director of development. She will be responsible for the museum’s annual benefit event, grant writing, sponsorship opportunities and overall management of the development department. She previously worked as annual giving officer at St. Anthony’s Health Care Foundation and manager of annual giving at All Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Jamie Clark, `96, was recently nominated for
two prime time Emmy Awards for a show called “Eureka” and another called “Drive.” He also does visual effects work for film and television and occasionally writes for magazines.
Sharon Epps, `96, has been accepted as a Fellow in the Association of Research Libraries Leadership and Career Development Program. Maryellen Mott Allen, `97, was appointed reference librarian with a focus on distance education at the Gorgas Library at the University of Alabama.
Matthew Harbert, `97, CFA, was awarded his charter by the CFA Institute in the fall of 2007. Matthew is currently an analyst with CapTrust Financial.
Marnie Levy, `97, is a television director/technical director at The Weather Channel in Atlanta, GA. She works on the latest show “Abrams and Bettes: Beyond the Forecast” along with directing the “PM Edition” and “Evening Edition” shows at the Weather Channel. She has been a television director for 10 years, previously working with the Sally Jesse Raphael Show in New York City, WPTV NewsChannel 5 in West Palm Beach, Florida and WTVT FOX 13 in Tampa.
Robert Piccirilli, `97, joined CapTrust Financial Advisors, LLC, as a consultant in the Wealth Advisory division. His primary focus is on creating investment strategies for affluent families and individual clients. Prior to joining CapTrust, he was a private investment management (PIM) portfolio manager with the Tampa branch of Wachovia Securities for seven years, and he was with UBS Paine Webber's Private Client Group for three years.
Dr. Timothy Shelton, `97, completed his physical medicine and rehabilitation residency from Emory University in July.
Lea Umberger, `98, recently designed sets for “A Line in the Sand,” presented at the NYC Midtown Fringe Festival.
Nancy N. Bostock, `99, was elected chairperson of the Pinellas County School Board on Nov. 20. Bostock was elected
to the school board in 1998, 2002 and 2006. She served as chairperson in 2004-05 and vice chairperson in 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2006-07. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and earned a master’s degree in education from USF. A former teacher, she also works with the Junior League, the MOMs Club, R’Club, HeadStart and the Guardian ad Litem Program, and volunteers at her children’s school.
Casanova Nurse, `99, of KHCW-TV has earned the American Meteorological Society’s Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) designation, a professional recognition of the quality of his weather broadcasts. Casanova is one of five broadcast meteorologists in Houston, Texas, to earn the new designation. Casanova earned his certificate of the Broadcast Meteorology Program from Mississippi State University in 2003 and was an intern in the weather offices of Tampa television stations WTVT-TV and WFLA-TV before becoming a meteorologist at WTXLTV in Tallahassee in 2003. Casanova joined Houston’s KHCW-TV in 2006.
00s Gail McDonald-Chang, `89 & MPH `00, received her fellowship from the Academy of General Dentistry at a convocation ceremony in June in San Diego, CA. She is an associate with Dr. Angela Tomlinson.
Lecia Fahie, `93 and M.A. `03, a teacher at Witter Elementary, was a finalist for the 2007 Ida S. Baker Award. The award, named after USF College of Education Class of 1975 alumna, Ida S. Baker, recognizes teachers who are working to improve the quality of life for minorities by helping to close the achievement gap in academics. Fahie has a B.A. in Criminology and an M.A. in Elementary Education from USF.
Tina James, `00, is the community relations manager for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Previously, she was communications manager for United Arts of Central Florida. Prior to that, she worked for Nickelodeon Games and
Sports and also for the Orlando Magic (NBA) for two years.
Randall Lo, `00, is an associate strategy director for Universal McCann advertising in New York City. He previously worked for Carat advertising and was a media planner for Grey Advertising in New York Charity Cosby Arthur, `01, is a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office community resource officer and writes a column for The Tampa Tribune.
Erin Bishop, `01, was married to Manuel Dejesus on Oct. 6, 2007 in Charlotte, N.C. The couple honeymooned in the Mayan Riviera, Mexico. He is a graphic designer and she is a second grade teacher. Suzanna Cimato, `01, is an editor for Spectrum Productions in Tampa. Nancy Fredericks, MLIS `01, is the branch manager of the Land O’ Lakes Library in Land O' Lakes, Florida. Prior to that, she was a youth services librarian for Pasco County Library Cooperative and a reference librarian for Hernando County Library System. She was elected as an American Library Association Councilor-at-Large for a term that runs until 2009. Patty Kim, `01, has joined the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute as a media relations coordinator. Previously, she was the health and fitness reporter for The Tampa Tribune.
Zuber D. Mulla, MSPH `94 & PhD `01, and his colleagues recently completed a study of patients hospitalized throughout Florida for invasive infections caused by group A Streptococcus, also known as the “flesheating” bacteria. They found that patients who had the “flesh-eating” manifestation were almost six times as likely to have had a recent blunt trauma. Mulla is an associate professor and the director of epidemiologic research in the department of OB/GYN at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in El Paso. The study has been accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed journal Annals of Epidemiology.
Julie Sheil, `01, is a librarian in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Laura Lee Shields, `01, has been sworn into
JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 33
classnotes the Florida Bar as an attorney at law. She was also recently sworn into the U.S. District Courts for both the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida. Shields attended Barry University for law school, graduating in 2007. She is a plaintiff’s attorney specializing in personal injury and products liability.
Misty Spencer, `01, is director of Corporate Centers for Ideal Image Development Corp. She is responsible for overseeing operations for all the company’s corporate centers. Spencer, who has been with Ideal Image since 2005, earned a B.S. in Business from USF and an M.A. in Sports Management at UNLV.
Hiroko Watanabe, M.A.`91 & `01, is currently teaching Japanese at Middleton High and Tampa Bay Tech and playing the piano for her church. Roy Balleste, `02, is the director of the Charles M. and Hilda H.M. Law Library and assistant professor at the University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law, in Washington, D.C. Joanna Norcross Coke, `02, graduated with an MFA from Louisiana State University Baton Rouge and is now a working professional artist with a studio in the Sarasota area. She teaches private and group art classes.
Michael Giel, BA `02, joined the Jacksonville office of McGuireWoods LLP, where he will practice in the complex commercial litigation department.
Ryan Haczynski, `02, a Religious Studies major and an English teacher at Durant High School, won $50,000 on the ABC show, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.“ Freda Scott, M.Ed `02, was named to Who’s Who Among American Teachers & Educators 2006-07. Ms. Scott has a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from the USF St. Petersburg campus. She is a member of the Alumni Association's Pinellas County Chapter. Matt Spoor, MBA `02, was named Tarpon Springs City Manager in September. Spoor, 30, was formerly the city’s leisure services director. He lives in St. Petersburg, with his two children
34 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
and his wife, Laurie.
Abby Kennedy, `03, won a national award from the National Council of Teachers of English for using multimedia in the classroom. Recently she was featured on Channel 10 for the work she does with podcasting and kids at Pasco High School. Kennedy also is a College of Education doctoral student.
Javier Leiva, `03, is a producer for Running Pony Productions, a major cable production firm in Memphis, Tenn. He was previously a promotions producer for a Clear Channelowned television station in Memphis and, before that, a videographer and editor at WNCT television in Greenville, N.C. He won a Telly Award in 2003 for producing “Our Town: Sarasota,” an hour-long documentary that aired on WUSF television.
David J. Lienhart, `03 has joined the firm of Roetzel & Andress as an associate in the firm's Orlando office. Lienhart will concentrate his practice in the areas of commercial bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, representing secured and unsecured creditors. He earned his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Virginia and his B.A., summa cum laude, from USF. Dana Cavalea, `04, is now the director of strength and conditioning for the New York Yankees. He also has worked with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Bluejays. He’s currently completing his Master's degree in Sports Performance and Injury Prevention at Cal U. He holds certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association, National Academy of Sports Medicine and the United States Weightlifting Association. Monica A. Johnson, `04, is a communications specialist for Emory Radiology in the School of Medicine at Emory University. She previously was a brand manager for Busch Gardens.
Cammie L. Krusoe, `04, died in September 2007 as a result of a pedestrian accident in Tampa. Her family created a School of Mass Communications scholarship fund in her name. Jenny Binaghi Lichtenwalner, `04, is a reference librarian at the Scotch Plains Public Library in Scotch Plains, N.J. She also manages
the ILL and YA programming.
Laurie Starck, `04, is enrolled at New York University Law School, studying international law. She was previously a project manager at Epic Systems Corporation in Madison, Wisconsin.
Olivia Turner, `04, is lifestyle director for BridgeWater, Lakeland. She was previously an account executive with Title Clearinghouse. Nancy Comingore, MBA `05, has been promoted to branch manager of People’s Bank in Venice, FL. Comingore joined People's in January as an administrative assistant to the lenders. She has more than 16 years of banking experience.
T.J. Couch, Jr., `94, MBA `05, has been elected to serve as treasurer of Tampa’s Life Enrichment Center. Couch also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and is vice president of the University Commercial Center.
Kristyn Horton, `05, is employed at Tribridge, a Microsoft-partnered consulting firm in Tampa. Dustin Robbins, `05, was recently hired as an Intervention Specialist at ACTS (Agency for Community Treatment Services) in Tampa.
Catherine “Cat” Thompson, MFA `05, had a solo exhibition at Undercurrent Arts in Miami in the fall of 2007.
Meagan Albright, `06, was the first place winner of the 2007 Public Library Association annual feature article contest. She was awarded $500 for her article, “The Public Library’s Responsibility to LGBT Communities - Recognizing, Representing and Serving,“ which was published in Public Libraries, Sept/ Oct edition. Albright is the youth services librarian at the Alvin Sherman Library for Nova Southeastern University in Broward County.
Stephanie Farina, `06, interned at Chicago’s historic Goodman Theatre in sound design.
Albert Gibbs II, `06, was named to the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s 30 Under 30 Class of 2007. The annual list features up-and-comers in their respective fields. Gibbs works for PMSI, a provider of integrated workers compensation services.
Meg Kribble, `06, is a reference and instructional services librarian in the Shepard Broad Law Center at Nova Southeastern University in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area.
Ellen Landa, `06, is a reference librarian for
Ben Grant, `07, is a copywriter at Schifino Lee Advertising and Public Relations in Tampa. Amanda Hall, `03 & MBA `07, accepted an administrative
Palm Beach County.
fellowship position with BayCare Health System.
Elizabeth Mckenna, `06, is marketing
Kara Holland, MFA `07, and
director for Invisible Fence in Tampa.
Lisa Murison, `06, is a public relations coordinator for Carowinds, a 108-acre theme park located on the border separating North Carolina and South Carolina. She lives in Charlotte. Matt Townsend, `06, is an editor at the Florida Real Estate Journal in Winter Haven.
Marissa Ball, `07, won an award to attend the Association of College & Research Libraries conference in Baltimore as well as the Shirley Olofson Memorial Award from the American Library Association to attend the national conference in D.C. Belise Borroto, `07, is the producer for the “Pilas Pilar Pregunta” segment, which airs twice weekly during prime time news on WVEA, Tampa Bay’s Univision affiliate. She also is a full-time family development specialist at Everyday Blessings and assists the adoption and foster care agency’s executive director with public relations as needed. In addition, she is a freelance public relations writer for a local artist who invented “resist painting” and who teaches disadvantaged children his technique, and then dedicates the murals they complete to the city and mayor of Tampa and to other area individuals and organizations.
Alyson Boucher, `07, is an associate news producer for WBNS television, the CBS affiliate serving Columbus and central Ohio. Stanley Bukowski, `07, was named a King O’Neal Scholar in August, a title bestowed upon students who complete their USF coursework with a 4.0 GPA. Presented by the USF Alumni Association, the King O’Neal Scholar Award is named after Lucas King and Evelyn O’Neal. Scott Butherus, M.A. `07, is a content producer for TBO.com in Tampa. He covers sports.
MFA candidate April Childers exhibited their work at the highly respected Miami gallery Locust Projects. Holland and Childers were in “Rediviva,“ an exhibition that ran from July 14 until August 31. Also featured were former MFA students The Fluff Constructivists and Noah Doely. The USF artists contributed to an installation that included a series of sculptures and drawings based on the debris scattered over Nacogdoches, Texas, in 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated while re-entering earth's atmosphere.
Ann Stephanian Kale, `07, a Manatee County substitute teacher and children’s book author, has written Going to College with Grandma based on her experiences at USF. The septuagenarian was an honors student at USF Sarasota-Manatee and a William G. Selby and Marie Selby Achiever.
Sharon R. Lee, `07, a teacher at Brandon High, won the 2007 Florida Council of Teachers of English Teacher of Excellence Award and was one of the two runners up for the Teacher of the Year award.
Keri Logan, `07, previously Keri Dhondup, joined Eckerd College in St. Petersburg as the new instructional services/ science librarian on July 1, 2007. She’s one of five full-time librarians, and the liaison for the Natural Sciences Collegium.
Shawn Nazario, `07, is a production assistant at WFTS television, Tampa’s ABC affiliate.
Bruni Oquendo, `07, is a sales and marketing representative for WTTA television in Tampa.
Arleen Spenceley, `07, is an editorial assistant for the St. Petersburg Times. She wrote a major article for the Times’ editorial section in August.
Naomi Williams, B.A. `07, is the recipient of the Leland Hawes Undergraduate Essay Prize in Florida History. She won the award for her paper “The Struggle for Gay Rights in Tampa and Hillsborough County: 1989 – 1995.“ Williams received the prize and $500 award at the annual meeting of the Tampa Bay History Center last January.
In Memoriam Jeanne Hall Traugott, `71, Dec. 2 Steven Alan Oransky, `72, Dec. 12, 2006 John Conrad Borden, `73, Dec. 2 John Charles Osborn, `74, Nov. 23 Amy L. Welsh, `00, Sept. 18 Cammie Krusoe, `04, Sept. 12 Debra Twine Williams, `07, Nov. 5
athletics By Kathy L. Greenberg Class of 1993
Basketball is more than just a sport for Stan Heath, the new head coach of USF’s men’s basketball team. It’s a vehicle for imparting lessons that the 43-year-old has translated into a life philosophy. “I’ve found a balance through sports. I know how quickly things change. So I enjoy the moment and have a positive outlook on life,” Heath says. His strategy clearly works, because it’s led to a head coaching career, national recognition as a top recruiter and a close-knit family with wife, Ramona, and sons Jordan, 16, and Joshua, 12. In turn, these qualities are a great asset to USF’s athletics department. Heath’s success story began in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan, where his father, Stan Heath Jr., instilled in him a strong work ethic and a passion for basketball. While he enjoyed playing and watching the game, Heath also appreciated the discipline required to succeed in the sport. By his own experiences and his father’s example, he learned to “work hard, fight through adversity, never give up and exceed expectations.” From 1984 to 1987, he was a three-year letterwinner at Eastern Michigan University, where he received his undergraduate degree in 1988. Before earning a master’s degree in sports administration from Wayne State University in 1993, he had already begun coaching professionally. His first college-level position was as assistant coach at Hillsdale College in Michigan, and he quickly advanced to associate head coach at Wayne State University, followed by Bowling Green State University and Michigan State University. Heath scored a place at Michigan State in 1996 with an odd if not memorable tactic that shows just how determined he is. He requested a mannequin’s arm from a shopping center and sent it to Spartans coach Tom Izzo. An accompanying note read, “I’ll give my right arm to work with you.” Izzo hired him. In 2001, he landed his first college-level head coaching job at Kent State University. He led the Golden Flashes to a 30-6 record and an Elite Eight appearance. One year later Heath
36 ALUMNIVOICE I JANUARY 2008
moved to the University of Arkansas, where he elevated the Razorbacks to a competitive team. Arkansas made it to an SEC Championship game and then earned two NCAA Tournament berths in 2005 and 2006. Heath’s strong record caught the eye of USF director of athletics Doug Woolard. In April 2007, the university hired him as head coach for the men’s basketball team. Though reluctant to make predictions, his vision for the Bulls reflects the high standards he’s applied to his career. “I’m trying to build a culture of winning, but my players also know that they’ve got to get the job done in the classroom,” Heath says. Heath’s value system is perhaps most evident in the personal connections he makes with his players. During his five-year tenure at Arkansas, he gained a reputation as an outstanding recruiter, courting some of the best young athletes in the country. In 2003, 2004 and 2006, his signing classes were ranked among the top 15 in the nation. Through regular communication and a show of genuine interest in the lives of these young people, Heath has discovered the key to forging lasting associations and impacting the world of college basketball. “Recruiting is about relationships. The individual and family need a trust level with the recruiter. It’s an inside-outside theory: start in the back yard and work out,” says Heath. From the basketball court to his own back yard, his life philosophy comes full circle. When not coaching or recruiting, he plays basketball with his boys, attends shows at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and enjoys the city’s fine restaurants. And though a dedicated sportsman, he says his favorite hobby is family. “I value what’s important— family and relationships,” Heath says.
calendar
your membership in action
JANUARY 13 14 16 21 22 24 26 26 31 31
Atlanta Chapter: Atlanta Hawks vs. Chicago Bulls, 2 p.m., Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA. University Lecture Series: Maya Angelo, 7 p.m., Sun Dome Arena; $5 for alumni with ID; $10 for the public. New York Chapter Networking and Wine Tasting, 6 p.m., Divine Bar West, 236 W 54th Street, New York, N.Y. All USF campuses are closed for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Tampa Club Young Professionals Networking Mixer, 5:30 p.m., Bank of America, Downtown Tampa. RSVP to renate@thetampaclub.com University Lecture Series: Jerry Springer, 8 p.m., Sun Dome Corral; $3 for alumni with ID; $8 for the public. Broward Chapter: Breakfast with the Bulls, Time and location to be determined. Contact usfbrowardalumni@hotmail.com for details. Gasparilla Pirate Fest and Invasion, 11:30 a.m., Downtown Tampa. Visit http://www.gasparillapiratefest.com/ for details. USF Career Networking Fair, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Sun Dome. Visit http://www.career.usf.edu/ for details. Alumni Awards Nomination Deadline, award forms can be downloaded at http://www.usfalumni.org by clicking “Alumni Awards” under Quick Links.
FEBRUARY 9 16 22-23 25
Atlanta Chapter: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Atlanta Thrashers, 7 p.m., Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA. Geology Alumni Society Banquet, 6 p.m. Location to be announced. Visit http://www.usfalumni.org/Geology for details. USF Alumni Association Board Meetings, Sarasota-Manatee Campus. Contact Jenny Cater at (813) 974-9127 or jcater@admin.usf.edu for details. 3rd Annual LEGS Golf Tournament, 12:30 p.m., Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club. Contact Bev Jewesak, `86, at (813) 974-5390 or bjewesak@admin.usf.edu for details.
MARCH 1 4 6 13 14 15
College of Education Children’s Festival, 11 a.m., Tampa Campus. Contact Paulette Walker at pwalker@tempest.coedu.usf.edu for details. University Lecture Series: Spike Lee, 7 p.m., Sun Dome Corral; $3 for alumni with ID; $8 for the public. Business Etiquette Dinner, 5:30 p.m., Gibbons Alumni Center, Tampa Campus. Visit http://www.career.usf.edu/ for details. BIG EAST Fan Extravaganza, Madison Square Garden, New York City. Visit www.USFAlumni.org for details. BIG EAST Career Fair, Madison Square Garden, New York City. Visit http://www.career.usf.edu/ for details. Atlanta Chapter: St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Downtown Atlanta. Visit http://www.usfalumni.org/Atlanta for details.
Event dates and details are subject to change. Please visit the Alumni Association website at www.USFalumni.org for the latest information.
JANUARY 2008 I ALUMNIVOICE 37
USF Alumni Association Gibbons Alumni Center University of South Florida 4202 E. Fowler Ave. ALC 100 Tampa, FL. 33620-5455 Membership Renewal Date:
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID TAMPA FL PERMIT NO 923