Musical Conversations at the Palladium

USF St. Petersburg's Town & Gown's first event of the year, Musical Conversations, is a musical extravaganza featuring a performance by Karen A. White, USF St. Petersburg regional chancellor, Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 7:30 pm.

The event, free and open to the public, will be held at the Palladium Theatre located at 253 5th Avenue North. It will also feature Kay Lowe, soprano, and James Johnson on piano. Town & Gown was established in 1999 to promote understanding and friendship between the university and the community.

The executive board of Town & Gown is extremely enthusiastic to host Dr. White's recital and is privileged to be honored by this presentation, said Judy Altenhoff, Town & Gown president.

>> See: Article in Sept. 29 St. Petersburg Times

Campus Football Night Saturday at Raymond James

Cheer on your Bulls this weekend at USF Football's annual USF St. Petersburg game Saturday, Oct 2 at Raymond James Stadium. Join faculty, staff, students, alumni and guests as the USF Bulls take on Southern Miss.

Tickets for the game are complimentary for faculty and staff through Oct. 1 and for students Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at the CAC Front Desk. Tickets are limited to four per person. 

The USF St. Petersburg tailgate has been cancelled for faculty, staff and students. For more information, contact Sandy Blood, coordinator of health education, at 553-4114 or blood@stpt.usf.edu.

Series to Help You Become More Productive at Work

A unique two-part series by the College of Arts & Sciences at USF St. Petersburg will help individuals maximize their time and provide tips to become more productive in the campus workplace. More than time management workshops, lecturers will provide specific advice for maximizing your creativity and productivity.

Topic:               Becoming More Productive: Proven Tricks and Techniques

Lecturer:          V. Mark Durand, PhD, Dean, College of Arts & Sciences
Date:                Friday, Oct. 1 at 3:30 pm

Location:         USF St. Petersburg, Florida Center for Teachers, Room 118

Discussion:      This workshop will cover topics designed to enhance  productivity as a scholar.  Specific areas include dealing with writing and creative blocks, finding the best time to work and goal-setting. Practical techniques will be highlighted.

Topic:                Secrets Revealed: Successful Scholars Discuss Their

                          Personal Work Styles

Lecturers:         Hugh LaFollette, PhD, Marie and Leslie E. Cole Chair of Ethics

                          Ray Arsenault, PhD, Florida Studies professor

Date:                 Friday, Oct. 15 at 3:30 pm

Location:           USF St. Petersburg, Florida Center for Teachers, Room 118

Discussion:        A panel discussion featuring successful scholars discussing their own techniques for productivity.  USF St. Petersburg faculty members will provide insight into how they motivate themselves and structure their time.  Participants will sample different work styles to find the most effective for them.

This series is free and open to the public. For more information or to register, please contact Debra Starr-Simms at 727-553-4156.

Learn Latest Information at Campus Benefits Fair

Staff and faculty are invited to the annual Benefits Fair to find out the latest information in health plan coverage and other employee benefits Wednesday, Oct. 6 from 9 am to 4 pm in the CAC.

To help make decisions about your coverage, representatives from the various benefits providers will be available to answer any questions. Vendors include: AvMed, Capital Insurance, Mass Mutual, Gabor, MetLife, Prudential, Valic, TIAA-CREF, Verizon Wireless, Sickle Cell Disease Association and Pinellas Health Department.

Campus human resources staff will also be available to assist employees making Fall Open Enrollment changes. HR will also be giving out door prizes. For more information, please contact Michele Holton at 3-4105.  

Lecturer to Discuss Impact of Humans on Florida Rivers

River and environmental restoration efforts are underway around Florida because of the impact of human activities, said Joann Mossa, PhD, UF geographer.

Mossa will present, "Changes in Florida's Rivers Over the Past Century: What the Average Person Doesn't Know," Thursday, Sept. 20 at 7:30 pm at USF St. Petersburg, Davis Hall 130.

Sponsored by Florida Studies, Mossa's lecture will look at examples such as the Big Escambia Creek floodplain mining and restoration project, phosphate mining landscape transformations in central Florida, dredging of the Apalachicola, Cross-Florida Barge canal, and the Everglades and Kissimmee River impacts and restoration.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Chris Meindl, assistant professor, at cmeindl@stpt.usf.edu or 553-4961.

Campus Gathers for First Presidential Debate

The first presidential debate is this Thursday, Sept. 30 in Miami, Fla., but you don't have to travel that far to watch the debate. The American National Government class is hosting a Presidential Debate Watch Party Thursday, Sept. 30 at 9 pm in Davis Lobby.

Judithanne Scourfield McLauchlan, PhD, teaches American National Government, a course that gives students the opportunity to learn about the political process first-hand. Politicians such as St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker, Representative Charlie Justice, and presidential campaign representatives will speak to the class this semester. Each student is also required to intern on a federal campaign or they can elect to write a research paper.  Eleven students are interning for Republican campaigns, 14 for Democratic campaigns, one student is interning with the Sierra Club and three students have chosen to write research papers.

"This is exciting because we are studying this material during a presidential election year in a battleground state," said Scourfield McLauchlan. "This course provides an experiential learning component - getting students out into the community and participating in campaigns."

For more information or to RSVP for the Presidential Debate Watch Party, please contact Scourfield McLauchlan at jsm2@stpt.usf.edu.

Memorial Colloquium to Honor Psychology Professor

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.

Free and open to the public, the colloquium is the first of the USF St. Petersburg psychology department's 2004-05 colloquium series and will include presentations by former students and colleagues.

>> read more

Tour Ybor City to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

Continuing the campus celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Florida Studies Professor Gary Mormino, PhD, will lead a walking tour through Ybor City, the well-known Tampa historic district, Saturday, Oct. 9.

"Ybor City remains one of the most interesting places I have ever known," said Mormino, who has taken hundreds of classes and groups on walking tours of Ybor. "Only by walking the streets and touring the buildings can one appreciate what an extraordinary place Ybor City was."

Sponsored by USF St. Petersburg and the College of Marine Sciences, the tour will begin at 10 am at the Ybor City State Museum, 1818 9th Avenue, Tampa. After visiting the museum, the tour will continue along Ybor's City's 7th Avenue, where Mormino will take the group through several historic buildings.

The tour is free and open to the public. For more information or to register, please contact Laura Lorenzoni at LauraL@seas.marine.usf.edu or 553-1186. Please remember to wear comfortable walking shoes. 

Georgia Tech Professor to Discuss Biodiversity

A Georgia Tech School of Public Policy philosophy professor will be at USF St. Petersburg to present "Defining Biodiversity: Do We Know What We Are Trying to Save?," Monday, Oct. 11 at 7 pm in Davis Hall 130.  

Bryan Norton, PhD, will explain why biologists and environmentalists current concern to protect biodiversity, such as through the Endangered Species Act, is somewhat confused. He will discuss why we must merge scientific and social definitions that can help policy makers set goals for biological conservation.

Sponsored by the USF St. Petersburg Cole Chair in Ethics, this lecture is free and open to the public.

Norton has written three books, including his most recent, Toward Unity Among Environmentalists. He has also written and contributed to numerous journal articles and anthologies. His research includes: inter-generational impacts of policy choices, bio-diversity policy, endangered species policy and cultural aspects of environmental protection.

>> read more

Miss Florida 2003 Comes to Campus

Shauna Pender worked five years to become Miss Florida, finally winning the title in 2003. But it was the title she worked so hard to win, that practically killed her. Two weeks into her reign as Miss Florida, Pender was heading to Miami for a fundraiser when a semitrailer truck toppled over her car. Now, the woman who championed people with disabilities is living that life.

Pender's lecture is part of USF St. Petersburg's first Disability Awareness Week Celebration Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 12:30 pm in Davis Hall 130. She will speak about her challenges since the accident and her commitment to those with disabilities. The event is free and open to the public.

Also during the Disability Awareness Week Celebration, several wheelchairs will be available Thursday, Oct. 21 from 10 am to 2 pm around campus for "Adopt a Wheelchair." Campus members can use and try to maneuver wheelchairs to experience the every-day challenged of wheelchair-bound students, said Barry McDowell, Disability and Volunteer Services Coordinator.

For more information on these and other upcoming events for Disability Awareness Week Celebration, contact McDowell at 553-4990 or mcdowell@stpt.usf.edu.

>> See: Flier (.pub)

Campus Has Annual Black Faculty and Staff Social

The second USF St. Petersburg Black Faculty and Staff social is Thursday, Oct. 7 from noon to 1:30 pm in the Williams House. The event developed last year after USF Tampa sponsored a Black Faculty and Staff Breakfast.

"This event gives Black members of the campus community an opportunity to meet each other," said Cedric Howard, Student Services Director. "Social interaction is an essential part of the Black experience in life and in the workplace." 

For more information, please contact Cedric Howard at cbhoward@stpt.usf.edu.

Annual Student Fiction Contest at Poynter Library

The search for the next great fiction writer is now underway in the 19th Annual Bayboro Fiction Contest at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library. All USF students can submit previously unpublished short stories by October 22. A short story is traditionally considered a fictional narrative where a character or characters are changed or learn from the plot crisis and resolution.

The first place winner will receive $350 and the winning story will be published in a future issue of The Library Connection. The second place winner will receive $150 and third place winner will receive $100.

Rita Ciresi, USF Tampa associate professor who teaches fiction writing, will judge the contest. Ciresi won the prestigious Flannery O'Connor award for short stories and has written five books and short story collections.

For complete contest rules and stories of some previous winners, please visit the library's Web site at www.nelson.usf.edu.

Workshop Taught Students Important Work Etiquette

Last week a few lucky students had the chance to see staff members model business fashion "Do's and Don'ts" at the Counseling and Career Center's first Business Etiquette Workshop at the Williams House.

Jinah Rordam, Interim Coordinator of Career Development Services, said the event grew from an idea Karen A. White, regional chancellor, had to prepare students for the workplace.  Rordam and White discussed guidelines for business etiquette in correspondence and communication, dining etiquette and appropriate business attire.  The workshop also included lunch and the fashion show.

Student Megan Oliver said, "The business etiquette workshop was very informative. I appreciated the fashion show and even Dr. Brown's outrageous outfits. I'm glad to see that USF St. Pete has these types of events and I look forward to coming to many more."

Models for the fashion show included: Katherine McKay, PhD, director of the Counseling and Career Center, Charles Brown, PhD, regional vice chancellor of student affairs, and Cedric Howard, director of Student Affairs. Counseling and Career Center staff members Colleen Gray, program assistant and Courtney Ramous, doctoral intern and counselor also participated.

Rordam said, "The students appeared to learn a lot from this experience. They thought the workshop was informative and will prepare them for entering the workplace."

A&P Meeting Discusses Safety, Increased Technology

At the first A& P Council meeting of the fall semester last week, 13 USF St. Petersburg A&P staff members heard the latest employee information and a presentation from this month's guest speaker, Jeff Reisberg, director of campus computing.

Reisberg discussed Campus Computing's expanding efforts to provide the campus with increased security at all times.

New and expanded efforts include:

• Video surveillance cameras located throughout campus, both inside and outside of buildings, with more being added this year.
• New electronic access on all exterior doors that access entire buildings. This technology, used by many government agencies, will use card access instead of the standard key system, Reisberg said.
• The campus is also working on funding for a more stable back-up generator.

For more information on the A&P Council meetings, please contact Cedric Howard at cbhoward@stpt.usf.edu. The next meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 19 and will be chaired by Bill Benjamin, coordinator of purchasing, with guest speaker, Karen A. White, regional chancellor.

Build Homes with Habitat for Humanity

Volunteers are needed to help with the construction of a home in Pinellas County for Habitat for Humanity Saturday, Oct. 2 from 8 am to noon. Family and friends are invited to participate. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Barry McDowell at 553-4990 or mcdowell@stpt.usf.edu.

Campus Beach Cleanup Rescheduled

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

Help Animals at Annual Paws on Parade Pet Walk

This year USF St. Petersburg will continue its annual tradition of participating in the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal's Paws on Parade Pet Walk. Proceeds from the event benefit the local Pinellas County SPCA, which helps homeless and abused animals.

Festivities for the Paws on Parade Pet Walk begin Saturday, Oct. 23 at 8:30 am at North Shore Park in downtown St. Petersburg. If you would like to support the USF St. Petersburg Tiger Team, you can register to participate or make a donation. For more information, contact co-captains Sudsy Tschiderer at 553-4842 or Barry McDowell at 553-4622.

See: Flier

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