Open House Quickly Approaching

Prospective students are invited to the USF St. Petersburg Fall Open House Saturday, Oct. 23 from 10 am to 2 pm in the Campus Activities Center. This is an excellent opportunity to showcase the campus and give prospective students and their parents an opportunity to meet faculty and staff.

Students and parents can get information on admissions, financial aid and scholarships and academic programs. Students may also visit with admission counselors, financial aid representatives, and academic advisors. Tours of campus will also be available.

To reserve a table for your college, department or program, contact John Vassel, director of prospective student outreach at 553-4002 or vassel@stpt.usf.edu.

The Terrace and Multicultural Affairs Officially Open

Signs of expansion are everywhere at USF St. Petersburg. On Wednesday, Sept. 8, the campus celebrated two events: the Terrace Grand Opening and the Ribbon Cutting for the Center for Multicultural Affairs.  

Although the Terrace has been open for a few months, the Center for Multicultural Affairs Ribbon Cutting signified an important addition to campus.

"It gives me great honor to be a nostalgic component of USF St. Petersburg's history," said Monica White, Multicultural Affairs first coordinator. The Center for Multicultural Affairs was created to be a resource center for all faculty, staff and students. Issues of diversity are discussed, debated and celebrated here as a "commUNITY," said White. 

Opening remarks were made by White, as well as Charles Brown, PhD, regional vice chancellor for student affairs, Thomas Piccolo, student government president and Karen A. White, regional chancellor.

Campus Stays Prepared Through Hurricane Warnings

Although our community avoided another hurricane this week, many USF St. Petersburg staff worked around the clock to make sure campus was prepared.

During the last month, Physical Plant, University Police and Campus Computing have been perpetually prepared for Hurricane Charley, Frances and Ivan.

Although Physical Plant has been busy continually cleaning debris from previous storms, they were simultaneously preparing for Hurricane Ivan.

"The whole crew has done a great job to keep us prepared for the storms and keep the campus under control," said Ron Bugg, Physical Plant director. Physical Plant staff repeatedly have had to relocate vehicles and important campus documents incase of flooding, sandbag doors and strategically place supplies around campus for an emergency.

The University Police has also been a busy during the last month. "We continually work to promote the safety and security of the campus," said Sgt. Jon Wierzbowski. During a storm, University Police relocates to the Children's Research Institute to coordinate the campus Emergency Operations Center. Officers often stay on-site overnight and help Physical Plant staff as needed with any campus issues.

"We have everything pre-planned so if emergencies occur we can act immediately."   

Help Others with the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund

In a recent letter to Florida citizens, Governor Jeb Bush recognized that many have been impacted by the hurricanes that have recently swept Florida and resources are becoming increasingly limited.

Bush said that donations made to the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund will go to where help is needed most and each community will decide how funds are used. All donations are tax-deductible.

Checks should be made payable to the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund, and mailed to Volunteer Florida Foundation, ATTN: Florida Hurricane Relief Fund, 401 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee, Florida, 32301. For more information or to make credit card donations, please visit their Web site at www.FlaHurricaneFund.org.

Colloquium to Honor Dr. David Stenmark This Month

To honor his contributions to the field of psychology and to the community, the Psychological Science Program will present, "The Scholar-Practitioner: A Tribute to the Career of David Stenmark," a memorial colloquium Thursday, Sept. 30 at 4 pm in DAV130. Open to the public, the colloquium, is the first of the psychology department's 2004-05 colloquium series and will include presentations by former students and colleagues.

Stenmark was a professor of psychology at USF from 1974 to 2003, most recently teaching at USF St. Petersburg. He served as director of the doctoral program in Clinical/Community Psychology at USF Tampa, was a Fellow in the American Psychological Association and recipient of USF's 1987-1988 Outstanding Teacher Award.

Stenmark died on Dec. 17, 2003. He earned his Bachelors of Arts from Western Illinois University in 1964 and his PhD in psychology from the University of Alabama. Stenmark, a licensed clinical psychologist and active in community mental health, was also psychology professor from 1969 to 1974 at the University of South Carolina.

For more information on this and future colloquia, please visit the Psychological Science Program Web site at www.stpt.usf.edu/coas/psychology/index.htm.

U.S. Olympian Becomes New Women's Sailing Coach

USF's new Head Women's Sailing Coach Allison Jolly made history at the 1988 Olympics when, along with her teammate Lynn Jewell, she won a gold medal in the 470 Women's Dinghy - the first-ever Olympic sailing event for women.

Jolly, a St. Petersburg native, has been sailing since she was nine years old when her parents enrolled her in a summer sailing program. Jolly previously worked at Davis Island Youth Sailing Foundation as director of the summer sailing program and coach for the team sailing program. She was also the co-ed sailing coach for H.B. Plant High School and Berkeley Preparatory School, as well girls team coach for the Academy of Holy Names.

"I think what I'm really interested in is not only working on improving the skills of those that are already strong sailors, but also to evolve more of the student body into sailing as a sport," Jolly said. "It's one of those sports that lasts a lifetime. The oldest competitor in any Olympics was a sailor. I think it's one of those things you retire with."

While at USF, Jolly will work with the new Coed Sailing Coach, Garth Reynolds, a USF Sailing Team Alumnus. Garth previously worked at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club Junior Program where he coached the Optimist Green Fleet.

Information provided from USF Athletics.

Student Program to Discuss Importance of Education

The USF St. Petersburg Student Education Association is hosting National Mobilization for Great Public Schools, a national non-partisan effort to enlist citizens to unite and elevate education as an issue, Wednesday, Sept. 22 at 5:30 pm in DAV130.

SEA is a USF St. Petersburg student-led organization committed to professional development that shares time and expertise with the community.

At the event, Bill Heller, PhD, will discuss "Closing the Achievement Gap" and a representative from the St. Petersburg Mayor's Office will discuss the "Community and Public Schools." A short video from the National Education Association will also be shown.

Students Line up for Sundae Monday

This year, more than 150 students, faculty and staff enjoyed Sundae Monday, a growing campus tradition held during the first weeks of each semester. Ice cream sundaes were served in Davis Hall Lobby Sept. 13 from 12 to 1 pm and 7 to 8 pm.

"This is one of the events that has universal appeal," said Don McCarty, coordinator student life. "We all like a bit of ice cream, especially when it's free." 

McCarty, who scooped ice cream along with assistant Brian Moore, said the program has built a small following because at the beginning of every semester, students ask for it by name.

For information on upcoming Student Life events, please visit their Web site at http://www.stpt.usf.edu/studentlife/index.htm.

The Keep Pinellas Beautiful Beach Cleanup scheduled this week has been changed to Saturday, Oct. 23. For more information or to volunteer, contact Barry McDowell at 553-4990 or mcdowell@stpt.usf.edu.

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 is to use the central news, events and announcements submission form located here: http://www.stpt.usf.edu/news/submissions.htm