SACS Update
From Karen A. White, Regional Chancellor

Despite my eagerness for information on the status of our application for separate accreditation, we have a little while longer to wait for feedback from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). I have just learned that USF St. Petersburg’s application is in the queue for application analysis with several schools still ahead of us. President Genshaft and I are disappointed that even though the USFSP submission was received by SACS in February, the application was not reviewed in the June Commission cycle. It is our hope that the SACS analysis will be completed this summer so that our application can be presented to the Commission in December.

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Community Leader Joins Campus Board

The University of South Florida Board of Trustees recently approved the addition of William "Bill" Habermeyer to USF St. Petersburg's Campus Advisory Board. He begins his four-year term July 1.

Regional Chancellor Karen A. White said, "As the leader of such a respected and community-minded presence in our community, Mr. Habermeyer adds a new dimension to our board. I look forward to his energy and focus as we continue to build the growth and prosperity of our campus."

Bill Habermeyer is a long-time leader president and chief executive officer – Progress Energy Florida (formerly Florida Power), one of two major utility subsidiaries of Progress Energy. Habermeyer joined Progress Energy (formerly CP&L) in 1993 after a career in the U.S. Navy.

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Sign up now to golf on July 10

FEMA Project Underway

During the past 50 years, there has been considerable damage to the existing seawall and dolphins at USF St. Petersburg. Currently there is errosion behind the seawall indicating wash out from joints or breaches in the seawall structure. There are wood pilings, both part of dock infrastructure and dolphins, which exhibit damage from shipworms and from boat impacts during storms.

FEMA grant funding has been secured for mitigation and prevention of further damage due to storm events.

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McHale Wins Irving B. Harris Award

Associate Professor of Psychology James McHale, PhD, won one of two Irving B. Harris Awards for Outstanding Book Proposals from the ZERO TO THREE Press. Authors of each winning proposal received $10,000 and a publishing contract with ZERO TO THREE Press. Awards are given to authors from a range of backgrounds who are addressing issues of emerging importance to the multidisciplinary infant–family field.

McHale's book will present the findings from a 10-year study that examined the “coparental partnership,” an alliance within families that is distinct from parent-child relationships or marital relationships.

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Shank Wins Fulbright Alumni Grant

Dr. Todd Shank never even tasted Chinese food until he left his small hometown in West Virginia and went off to college. Now he’s the man to see about a USF St. Petersburg international student exchange program on the other side of the globe.

Shank, an associate professor of Finance in the College of Business at USF St. Petersburg, was awarded more than $23,000 from a grant from the Fulbright Alumni Initiatives program. Only professors who have won Fulbright Scholarships and wish to set up long-term ties with their host institutions abroad are eligible to apply. The grant allows him to establish a program which will give 15 USFSP Business students the opportunity to go to China, where they will spend three weeks traveling and studying an accelerated course with 20 Chinese students. Shank’s proposal was one of 30 accepted out of 200 nationally selected for funding.

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COE Helps Reading Camps Offer Teachers More

College of Education professors from USF St. Petersburg, in collaboration with Pinellas County Schools, are helping improve the way teachers teach reading skills this summer to better prepare students to take and pass the FCAT.

Through a grant provided by the Verizon Corporation, the College of Education provided scholarships for 22 Pinellas County teachers to take three of five graduate courses that will give them their Reading Endorsement. Courses have been offered during a six-week program at Lakewood Elementary School that began in May to help teachers teach students better reading techniques while working with struggling second and third grade students.

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Fresh faces bringing fresh ideas to business

St Petersburg Times

In Tampa, Jessica Muroff and Mike Griffin are breaking the business mold for young adults who long lacked the ear of the gray hairs who control the area's economic power. USF dean Ron Hill is assembling a school for MBAs built on social responsibility and real community involvement. Ministers Willard Lee and Sharon Streater are fighting an uphill battle to gain better wages for some of the area's working poor.

June Blood Drive

The June Blood Drive will be held June 30 from 9:30 - 5 pm in front of Davis Hall.

Coupons for Lowry Park Zoo, a picnic jug and Chick-fil-A coupons for all donors.

Did you know:

• 90% of those who live to age 70 will need a blood transfusion?
• Close to 700 pints of blood are needed every day in this area.

Contact Barry McDowell: mcdowell@stpt.usf.edu   >> Page top

Calendar of Events

The USF Web Calendar of Events can advertise to campus-wide faculty, staff and to the general public. Events may include lectures, conferences, ceremonies, concerts, sporting events, scholarship events, fundraising events and exhibits.

The best way to submit your event to the calendar is to use the central news, events and announcements submission form located here: http://www.stpt.usf.edu/news/submissions.htm

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