Campus Celebrates Holiday Open House

Faculty and staff are invited to the Campus Holiday Open House this Friday, Dec. 3 from 3:30 to 5 pm, hosted by Charles Brown, James Malek, Abdul Nasser and Karen A. White.

"The vice chancellors and I hope that all faculty and staff will join us for the reception to start the holiday season," Regional Chancellor Karen A. White said. "This is our gift to the campus community and we hope to see everyone for food and conversation."

The Open House will be held in DAV130 and light refreshments will be served.

Last Chance to Attend Community Luncheon

Tickets are selling fast to meet USF Athletic Director Doug Woolard, USF Football Coach Jim Leavitt and Regional Chancellor Karen A. White at the Community Luncheon, hosted by the Pinellas County Alumni Chapter of the USF Alumni Association.

More than 140 guests are already registered for the Dec. 8 luncheon, from 11:30 am to 1 pm at the Hilton St. Petersburg. Staff, faculty, alumni and community members have already purchased tickets that will give guests an inside look at USF Athletics and USF St. Petersburg.

Tickets are $25 per person or $250 per table of ten and can be purchased by Friday, Dec. 3 at the USF Alumni Web site at www.usfalumni.net or by contacting Sue Bebernitz at 553-4561.

The Hilton St. Petersburg is located at 333 1st St. South in downtown St. Petersburg. The luncheon is presented by the St. Petersburg Times.

Kearns Presents at Nationwide Business Meeting

College of Business assistant professor Grover Kearns, PhD, had three research papers accepted at the international Decision Sciences Institute Annual Meeting last month in Boston. This conference focused on facilitating quality decision making and is for academics in information systems and operations research.

“The information systems field is great. It continually evolves and impacts all areas of the organization. The dot-com bust, recession and off-shoring have hit entry level jobs hard but I see the field heating up in the near future,” Kearns, who has been at USF St. Petersburg for four years said. “I see the future workplace being transformed by telecommuting and online collaboration into a highly flexible and fluid environment where organizations continually reinvent themselves and international borders begin to fade. All of this will be supported by information systems and technology.”

Kearns, assistant professor of accountancy and information systems, teaches undergraduate and graduate classes including electronic commerce, accounting information systems, and IS project management. His research centers on strategic information systems, knowledge management, project management and electronic commerce. He said he is particularly interested in why some companies are successful in implementing large information systems while others fail.

The papers that were accepted are:

• Factors Predicting IT Project Success - by Grover Kearns 
• Levels of Integration of Information Systems and Business Planning - by Patrick Becka, Haihao Jin, Grover Kearns, David Kroger, and Albert Lederer
• The Role of Common Understanding in Information Systems and Business Planning - by Grover Kearns, Albert Lederer, Dennis Pearce, Sharath Sasidharan, and Jiming Wu.

>> Learn More: Decision Sciences Institute

Social Work Students Share Senior Life Stories

Assistant Professor Susan Allen, PhD, thought students enrolled in her Behavior and the Social Environment course should do more than discuss people and their behaviors – she required students to interview older adults to write their life review.

“This project allowed students to look at the different layers of a person and the environment and systems that impact them,” said Allen, one of two full-time professors in the School of Social Work. “This prepares students to do assessments and gives them background information before doing field work for agencies.”

Allen coordinated this project with Westminster Palms Retirement Community, and solicited volunteers. Students paired up with residents at a breakfast meeting and met with them throughout the semester to chronicle their life experiences and accomplishments.

>> Read More

The Crises of Respect in International Affairs

Columbia Law School Professor George P. Fletcher, PhD, will speak at USF St. Petersburg about the seeming decline of mutual respect in international affairs during a guest lecture January 13, 2005 at 7 pm.

“The presidential campaign ended this year without any serious discussion of international law,” Fletcher, Cordozo professor of jurisprudence said.  “It appears that the candidates and the American public no longer care about these values.”

During the lecture, “Crises of Respect in International Affairs,” Fletcher will explain the critical role of respect, especially within international legal order, and will identify several ways that our post-Sept. 11 politics indicate and have actually encouraged a breakdown of respect.

>> Read More

Celebrate the Holidays at the Ronald McDonald House

USF St. Petersburg will prepare and serve dinner at the Ronald McDonald House Tuesday, Dec. 21.  Volunteers are needed to help prepare and serve the meal.  

The campus is also collecting supplies and small gifts to present to residents. For more information, contact Barry McDowell at 553-4990 or mcdowell@stpt.usf.edu.

>> See: List of Suggested Holiday Gifts

Ethics Professor's Field Sounds Timely Note

Tampa Tribune

Nov. 28, 2004

TAMPA - A presidential election decided on moral values and a column in The New York Times Magazine examining everyday moral dilemmas.

Has ethics ever been more in vogue?

That minefield is Hugh LaFollette's area of expertise.

>> Read: Article

USF's Lakeland Campus Fits University's Regional Goals

Tampa Tribune

Nov. 28, 2004

Last week, University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft accepted a gift of some 530 acres of prime real estate in Polk County to build a new regional campus northeast of Lakeland.

The university has shared a campus with Polk Community College between Lakeland and Bartow for nearly 20 years, but with Monday's donation of land off the Polk Parkway near its eastern intersection with Interstate 4, the university committed itself to a larger presence in Central Florida.

>> Read: Article

The USF St. Petersburg Calendar of Events can advertise to faculty, staff, students and the general public. Events may include lectures, conferences, ceremonies, concerts, sporting events, scholarship events, fundraising events and exhibits. 

Submit information at the central news form: http://www.stpt.usf.edu/news/submissions.htm.