College
of Arts and Sciences
The College
of Arts and Sciences was formally created in the fall of 2003 and
provides an engaged learning experience for students with distinctive
programs in Anthropology, Criminology, English, Environmental Science
and Policy, Florida Studies, Geography, Graphic Design, History, Interdisciplinary
Social Science, Journalism and Media Studies, Political Science, Psychology,
and World Languages. The College mission is to provide the best possible
research-based education while affording students a more personal
academic experience. The College houses three of the institution's
four Programs of Distinction, where students, faculty, and the community
are afforded the unique opportunity to explore the history and culture
of the state of Florida (Florida Studies), examine the scientific
as well as the political and economic influences on the environment
(Environmental Science, Policy and Geography) and learn how to report,
present, and interpret the news using twenty-first-century tools (Journalism
and Media Studies). This past year, the College saw a 50 percent increase
in the number of students taking general education courses. In addition,
its faculty published 4 new books and over 100 articles, chapters,
and other scholarly papers. Faculty also obtained more than $1 million
in external funding for its research.
The
College of Business
The College
of Business recently implemented a new organizational plan and approved
a college-wide governance document, including statements of its mission,
vision, values, and goals. Two areas that span the typical intellectual
boundaries of the College-globalization and corporate social responsibility-play
an essential role in organizing the faculty's interests in teaching,
research, and service. At least one additional cross-disciplinary
program will be introduced in the years to come, with financial and
health-care services or technology transfer as likely topics. The
College made considerable progress during the last six months of 2003.
It established advisory boards composed of corporate, professional,
and civic leaders to provide support to the College and its Program
of Distinction: Social Responsibility and Corporate Reporting. The
College supports innovative MBA tracks in forensic accounting, taxation,
corporate social responsibility, and knowledge management-tracks that
showcase the College's programmatic strategic advantages and complement
its counterpart business colleges in the USF system. Seminars, roundtable
discussions, and research presentations by internal and external scholars
are conducted within the two primary multidisciplinary areas, and
small scholarly conferences in both are planned for the spring of
2004. A grants writer joined the staff in January 2004 in order to
support the research mission of the College. In consultation with
community liaisons from the Mayor's office and local corporate partners,
the College recently developed a framework for an emphasis on the
Midtown area in its undergraduate program.
College
of Education
Since its
first official semester in the Fall of 2003, the College of Education
has focused on offering high quality, standards-based, accredited
programs to prepare educational professionals. Its faculty members
are scholars and teachers who work closely with students to create
school-university partnerships and vital learning communities. The
College offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs with teacher
certification in Special Education (with certification in English
for Speakers of Other Languages), Elementary Education, and English
Education. It also offers distinctive graduate programs designed to
meet the professional development needs of school-based educators.
These include M.A. degrees with emphases in Math/Science, Reading/Literacy,
Reading Education, Special Education and Educational Leadership. The
mission of the College of Education is to create and extend knowledge
by supporting research and the pursuit of scholarship; to prepare
exemplary teachers and other personnel for roles in a diverse and
changing society; to promote lifelong learning; and to strive continually
to meet the educational needs of all learners.
Honors
Program
The
Honors Program provides selected, academically driven students an
opportunity to broaden and deepen their undergraduate education by
ensuring the development of critical faculties as well as sophisticated
oral and written expression. A major goal of the Honors Program is
to involve students in unique and challenging seminar courses with
a strong orientation toward interdisciplinary perspectives on major
works and issues. Those successfully completing the requirements receive
an official Honors Program designation on their university diplomas
and transcripts, a distinction useful in post-graduate placement and
employment.
The
Nelson Poynter Memorial Library
Sharing
the excitement of a growing and maturing campus, the Nelson Poynter
Memorial Library has experienced substantial changes since the library's
first strategic plan of 2000/01. Two new librarians have established
significant new programs-special collections and distance learning-both
of which extend many library services and collections throughout Pinellas
County. The library collection has been strengthened by a solid agreement
with other USF libraries for continued cooperation and resource sharing
as well as by the assignment of subject liaison librarians to work
with individual campus departments and programs. The library has enhanced
resources in art history, graphic arts, basic sciences, and environmental
studies to meet the demands of an expanded curriculum. Recent collection
growth, in fact, has required new shelving for the library stacks.
The library has added important new collections in local history,
including media collections on Bayboro Harbor and St. Petersburg in
the 1920s, some of which are available through the web. The library
replaced virtually every library computer in order to maximize speed
and efficiency, and in 2002/03 it added a wireless LAN, complete with
laptop computers for student check out. As the provider of educational
technologies for USF St. Petersburg, the Poynter Library's media services
incorporated new digital technologies, significantly upgraded classroom
teaching resources, and assumed responsibility for USF St. Petersburg's
ID card facilities. Celebrating both its 35th anniversary and its
200,000th volume in 2003, the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library looks
forward to its future as USF St. Petersburg's partner in research,
teaching, and learning.
Student
Affairs
The Division
of Student Affairs continues to develop a vibrant
campus community that promotes academic excellence by consistently
placing students first. To achieve and maintain a campus ambiance
that is student-centered, the Division of Student Affairs has implemented
several initiatives, including the creation of a Safe Team that provides
rides to campus parking lots for students attending night classes;
the creation of a Multicultural Center to encourage increased student
involvement and extended student programming; the expansion of office
and programming space for the Student Government Association and student
organizations; the initiation of a process to examine the feasibility
of establishing Greek Life on campus; the creation of a second annual
employers' career fair to increase employment, internships, and co-op
opportunities for students; and participation in the National Survey
of Student Engagement. With the fulfillment of these initiatives and
plans to implement others, USF St. Petersburg continues to strengthen
its goal and image of being a student-centered research institution
guided by the liberal arts principal of educating the total student.
ACADEMIC
AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
The
Office of International Affairs provides an important international dimension
to the academic life of USF St. Petersburg. International Affairs
is committed to encouraging and assisting faculty to develop the international
dimension of their research and teaching activities, to promoting
a global perspective in the curriculum, to facilitating international
learning opportunities for students, to assisting incoming international
students and faculty, and to employing the international perspective
to promote USF St. Petersburg at home and abroad.
The
Office of Campus Computing is
responsible for all functions that involve computing, data communication,
and voice-over IP services. The St. Petersburg Regional Data Center
(SPRDAC) and Campus Computing Services (CCS) are part of the Office
of Campus Computing and support these functions. The Office of Campus
Computing is also involved in the planning and implementation of the
information technology necessary to support the institution's evolution
as a major research institution and academic programs that require
increasingly more sophisticated technology. In partnership with
the Instructional Media Services department, the Office of Campus
Computing also provides classroom technology resources to support
the technology needs of faculty and students in a classroom setting
and to enhance the learning experience. The Office of Campus Computing
has emerged as a leader in IP-based services that provide data, telephony,
energy management, and building access. Major accomplishments include
upgrading the campus backbone to a 256 gigabit network switch, building
network upgrades to 100 megabit or gigabit switched technology, and
converting the institution's analog telephone system to voice-over
IP, thereby provided operating units with over $200,000 in recurring
savings for technology refresh.
The
Office of Enrollment Services provides
information and services needed by prospective students to make the
decision to attend USF St. Petersburg, to be admitted and registered,
and to obtain financial assistance. Continuing students are advised
on the requirements and actions necessary to remain enrolled, continue
to receive financial aid, and progress toward graduation. The stated
goals of the Office of Enrollment Services are to increase the enrollment
of students with the credentials and commitment to excel academically,
and to promote a supportive campus environment in which each student
may realize his or her fullest potential. Enrollment Services comprises
the Offices of Admissions and Records, Academic Advising, Financial
Aid/Veterans Services, and Prospective Student Outreach. The Office
of Enrollment Services is dedicated to USF St. Petersburg's ultimate
goal of promoting a student's learning, retention, and graduation
through academic, student, and support operations that are caring,
personal, and service-oriented.
The
Office of Educational Outreach is
committed to offering a range of credit and noncredit courses to help
lifelong learners meet their educational and professional goals. Its
signature program, Senior Scholars, is designed to provide adults
over 50 with practical instruction in such computer applications as
word rocessing, Internet navigation, and digital photography. Other
programs include DNA for Attorneys (offered in partnership with the
National Forensic Science Center), an MBA "boot camp," and seminars
on the treatment of autism.
The
Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness provides information and leadership
to support decision-making about the effectiveness of USF St. Petersburg
in achieving its mission. The office helps coordinate activities supporting
accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
and other accreditation organizations, coordinates assessment activities
to enhance the quality of academic programs, coordinates assessment
activities to improve administrative and student support services,
designs and implements periodic and recurring institutional research
inquiries, and maintains an archive of institutional reports.
The
USF Library System, with
more than 1.8 million volumes and an extensive electronic information
resource collection, is recognized as a national leader in library
development and houses special collections in areas such as Florida
Studies and Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
