COLLEGE OF MARINE SCIENCE WELCOMES NEW DEAN THOMAS FRAZER BRINGS REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE AND WORLD-CLASS CREDENTIALS Carrie O’Brion
After a global search, the University of South Florida announced in June the appointment of Thomas Frazer, PhD, as the new dean of its internationally recognized College of Marine Science. Frazer brings a wealth of experience to the position and most recently served as the State of Florida’s first Chief Science Officer in the Department of Environmental Protection. Frazer spent more than 20 years at the University of Florida (UF) and held leadership positions in the university’s Water Institute, the School of Forest Resources and Conservation and the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. He was also the director of the School of Natural Resources and Environment. He arrives at the College of Marine Science at an important moment and has been tasked with strengthening the college’s national and global profile. The College has been the focus of increased attention after USF President Steven Currall and Provost Ralph Wilcox announced the creation of several academic clusters on the St. Petersburg campus, which includes a proposed Interdisciplinary Center of Excellence in Environmental and Oceanographic Sciences. Frazer earned his bachelor’s degree in marine fisheries from Humboldt State University, his master’s in fisheries and aquatic sciences at UF and his doctorate in biological sciences from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Throughout his career, he has produced nearly 200 publications, including peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, reports and technical papers, and has garnered extensive federal and state grant funding to support his research, which includes work on the ecology of coral reefs, water quality and restoration of degraded 44 | INNOVATIONS MAGAZINE
ecosystems. He replaces Jackie Dixon, PhD, who served as College of Marine Science dean since 2011 and has returned to the faculty. We caught up with Frazer to discuss his first few months at USF, his plans for the future and his vision for the College of Marine Science. Answers have been edited for length.
WHAT DREW YOU TO USF’S COLLEGE OF MARINE SCIENCE? In short, the caliber of the program. The College of Marine Science has excellent faculty, students and staff and its trajectory is just up, up, up. Plus, it has some other qualities that make a marine science program really special. It helps that it’s right here on the water. From a research perspective it also helps that it’s so close to other similar entities, such as the Florida Institute of Oceanography, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. Together we form the largest hub of marine science expertise in this part of the country, and not enough people know that. And what I’m also really excited about is that we have such a supportive city and business community. The St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership has been awesome. And so has the City of St. Petersburg, who just contributed $125,000 to our Bridge to the Doctorate fellowship endowment, which supports underrepresented students of color. We also have the St. Petersburg Innovation District, a vibrant arts community, and St. Pete is a fun place to be on top of all of that. There aren’t many places in the world where you have that all of those ingredients coming together.