College of Business Offers New MBA Program

Franklin Twumasi works during the day as an engineer for Sarasota County. He has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in engineering, but with no business background, his goal of earning an MBA seemed hard to reach. But, Twumasi found that his schedule makes him a perfect candidate for MBA Essentials, a new program at USF St. Petersburg.

“Twumasi is the ideal person for our program,” says Jeannie Gaines, Ph.D., MBA director for USF St. Petersburg’s College of Business. “He has two degrees, wants an MBA, but he has no business background.”

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USF Sailing Team Has Impressive Season

After placing second out of 32 schools in the South Atlantic region, the USF Sailing team qualified for the College Sailing Co-Ed Dinghy North Americans, a competition with the top 18 sailing teams from around the country. Only the top two schools in each region are eligible to attend.

“We definitely have a leg up on the competition now that we have competed in the North Americans so young,” said Stephanie Doyle Cox, women's sailing team coach.   "We placed 14th, but as we become more consistent I know our rank will continue to improve."

This event was good experience for the young team, which included two underclassmen skippers, Kevin Reali and Andrew Blom. Reali sailed in the A division with sophomore Ashley Reynolds and Blom sailed in the B Division with senior Amber Cockburn and junior Sarah Hakken.

“We're one of the youngest teams in college sailing but we have a team that is willing to work extremely hard,” said Cox. “Out of more than 200 schools teams nationwide, we are probably among the youngest, so we're looking forward to a bright future.”

This year's team consistently ranked in the Top 20, which has helped lead to their largest recruiting class in history for next year.

Study Assesses Teachers Perceptions of FCAT

USF St. Petersburg education professors Brett Jones and Robert Egley have validated voices in public school faculty meetings all over Florida with results from their study of teacher and administrator perceptions of the FCAT, which will be published in the summer edition of the education journal, Education Policy Analysis Archives.

Jones said they conducted the study to give voice to the opinions of educators. “It seems that the focus of the current program [FCAT] is on catching teachers doing something wrong instead of helping students who need it. This study validates what educators have been saying for years. Hopefully people will start to listen to their concerns.”

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USF Credit Union Now on Campus Five Days a Week

For the first time, the USF Federal Credit Union will be on campus five days a week at BAY130, the former location of Wachovia Bank.

“For years people have been asking for us to be on campus more frequently, so now that we have a presence, people do not have to do their banking over the phone or drive to Tampa. They can do it all right here or online,” said Christy Hunter, member service representative.

The office initially will be open Monday through Thursday from 11:30 am to 6 pm and on Friday from 11:30 am until 5 pm.    

The USF Federal Credit Union offers free checking accounts with direct deposit or e-statements, CDs, loans and a variety of other services. There also is an ATM in Davis Hall located next to the vending machines.

For more information about their services, visit www.usffcu.org or call Christy at 727-553-4328.

Class Schedule now available on Web site

To help students find off-campus classes on OASIS, an addition to the new USF St. Petersburg web site now offers guests class schedules for Fall 2004.

“Instead of searching many pages, students now have a direct link from our Web site,” said Jennifer Baker, coordinator of academic affairs. Baker, along with Webmaster John Husfield from University Relations created the solution, which includes a link to all courses throughout the Web site.

For a list of USF St. Petersburg Fall 2004 courses, please visit http://www.stpt.usf.edu/academics/fall04offcampus.htm.

Campus Partner, FMRI, Takes New Name
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently won legislative approval for a reorganization that unites all of the state’s ongoing research involving freshwater, marine and wildlife resources. The reorganization brings together biological research and support staff from the FWC's Division of Wildlife, Division of Freshwater Fisheries and FMRI to form FWRI.

As part of the reorganization effort that began July 1, the Florida Marine Research Institute changed its name to reflect the addition of freshwater and wildlife research to its existing marine science facilities. From now on, FMRI will be known as the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.

“The name change does not change a lot internally, but it will incorporate everyone under the same umbrella, hopefully making it more efficient for all organizations involved," said Allison Bozarth, FWRI media specialist. “It will also make it easier for citizens to find information.”

For more information please visit FWRI’s new Web site at http://research.myfwc.com/ or call their switchboard at 727-896-8626.

Students Help to Rescue Tangled Osprey

Two students recently led the charge to rescue a young osprey from entanglement in the lights above nearby Al Lang Field in Progress Energy Park.

Senior geography student Tom Funari and Florida Studies graduate student Stephanie Cain spent more than six hours rallying assistance to free the struggling bird after Cain noticed the osprey about 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 29.

First, the groundskeeper at Al Lang Field attempted to climb the pole, but couldn’t get close enough. Then, vehicles from Progress Energy and the St. Petersburg Fire Department weren’t tall enough. Finally, Kelley Equipment Co. generously volunteered a crane. Funari, who had experience rescuing raptors in California, went up in the crane with a Kelley operator, and rescued the bird about 4 p.m. The osprey was then taken to the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary.

"It was so heartwarming to see our students take such initiative to save the osprey," said Sudsy Tschiderer, special events coordinator for University Relations. "Our students and the community really came together and did something wonderful."