Spring Fling Kick-off Welcomes Prospective Students

Monday is the first day of Spring Fling and kicks off a new campus tradition. Prospective students and their families are invited to spend a day on campus to get an inside look at university life. Faculty, staff and students are invited to join campus guests on the waterfront for activities from 10 am to 2 pm.

Event coordinators encourage campus community members to speak with prospective students about what our campus has to offer, including our close-knit learning environment, excellent faculty and warm community atmosphere.

Spring Fling guests will participate in fun activities including basketball and jousting contests, and enjoy a free barbecue lunch and ice cream sundaes, thanks to the Harborside Activities Board and Enrollment Services.

Guests can browse more than 20 booths located around the waterfront that will cover everything from Financial Aid, Admissions and Student Affairs to the Journalism and Media Studies Department, College of Business and the Teacher for All Children Program.

HAB Spring Fling Schedule of Events:

Monday – Spring Fling Open House and Sundae Monday

Participate in games and enjoy a free lunch and ice cream sundaes.

Tuesday - Spaghetti and Beach Balls

Enjoy a free spaghetti lunch on the waterfront.

Wednesday ­ Wellness Fair

Learn the latest health-related information. Sponsored by the Counseling and Career Center.

Thursday - Fun in the Sun

Take in the rays as you enjoy a free pizza lunch. Make wax hands and record a five-minute CD. 

Friday - Casino Night

Test your luck at roulette, craps and poker from 7 to 11 pm at the CAC.  Games and prizes will be available to participants.

For more information, please contact Jenn Quinn, Student Life coordinator, at 553-4181 or jquinn3@stpt.usf.edu.

Partners in Progress: A Report to Our Community

Campus leaders will share accomplishments and report on major campus initiatives at Partners in Progress: A Report to Our Community Friday, March 4 at 5 pm in the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library Atrium.

During this event, the community is invited to hear about USF St. Petersburg's economic impact, master plan, legislative priorities and faculty achievements. Speakers include Regional Chancellor Karen A. White, deans V. Mark Durand, PhD, and Ron P. Hill, PhD, and Steve Micklo, PhD.

To RSVP, please contact Annette Hamon, University Relations Office Manager at 553-4256 or annette@spadmin.usf.edu.

>> See: Invitation (.pdf)

Campus Production Benefits Women's Shelters

After seeing the Vagina Monologues twice, Cristina Gonzalez, co-director and ISS senior, said she wanted to do the production at USF St. Petersburg so she did her research.

“I learned that playwright Eve Ensler allows college campuses to perform the Monologues for free with the condition that all proceeds benefit local organizations working to end violence against women and girls, a stipulation that I was actually quite excited about.”

Watch 12 students and nine faculty members from USF St. Petersburg perform the Vagina Monologues this Friday, March 4 at 7 pm in the Campus Activities Center. During the show that is based on Ensler's book, women will share a set of stories of humor and heartbreak by examining the body part few talk about.

Admission to the performance is a $5 minimum donation with proceeds benefiting The Haven, a domestic violence shelter and Safe Center, a rape crisis center. The event is presented by the USF St. Petersburg Women’s Collective.

The nine faculty performers are: Julie Armstrong, Jessica Cabness, Deby Cassill, Dawn Cecil, Tiffany Chenneville, Susan Fernandez, Diane McKinstry, Ella Schmidt and Ruth Whitney.

>> See: USF St. Petersburg Vagina Monologues Web site

Campus Makes Room for Residential Housing

The moment has arrived. In just four hours, a track hoe demolished four buildings: the Office of Public Safety, SPA Building that included a geography lab, SPN Building that was previously home to OASIS and an open-air garage utilized by Physical Plant.

The quadrant wrapping the corner of Fifth Avenue South and Second Street will be home to the first phase of residence hall, an $18.3 million project set for completion Fall 2006. The seven-story, 354-bed facility will feature apartment-style living to students.

The campus takes one step closer with a much-anticipated groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday, March 30 at 1 pm. President Judy Genshaft, Regional Chancellor Karen A. White, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker and other distinguished university and community leaders will gather for a commemorative first dig to celebrate the project. Mark your calendar to join the festivities.

Campus Welcomes New Ombudsman

Deni Elliott has officially taken the helm as the new Campus Ombudsman. In this role, she told a group of faculty and staff that she will work as an agent for our community, serve as a listening post and work with campus members to enhance the positive campus climate.

Elliott said she learned what she wanted this position to entail after convening the first meeting of Higher Education Ombudsman and Ethics Officers last week in conjunction with an annual nationwide ethics meeting. After talking with other professionals, she realized she wanted to differentiate this position from more administrative-based Compliance and Ethics Officers positions.  

“We have a lot of people on campus – including faculty, staff and students – who may not have a voice and I think this office will gives them a voice and a place to turn to," said Elliott.

During a Campus Conversation with faculty and staff Monday, participants suggested other ethical issues upcoming Ombudsman sessions can discuss, including plagiarism, honors code and meetings targeted for specific campus audiences, such as staff and junior faculty.

Workshop: Teaching Ethics Whether You Like It or Not

Elliott's next presentation, Teaching Ethics Whether You Like It or Not, geared toward faculty, is Friday, March 4 at 11 am in DAV130.

“Every faculty member teaches values directly and indirectly and has impact on their students’ moral development as well as their own moral development,” Elliott said. “It is best to be conscious of those two facts and consciously use that knowledge in class planning.”

For more information, visit www.stpt.usf.edu/ombudsman/ or contact Elliott at elliott@stpt.usf.edu or 553-4857.

Lecture: Hitler's Soldiers in the Sunshine State

USF St. Petersburg and Eckerd College are co-sponsoring a dynamic series of programs this spring to examine various aspects of Florida history and culture. The Florida Mosaic Lecture Series, which expands ties with academic courses being offered at both institutions, is free and open to the public.

The latest installment is “Hitler’s Soldiers in the Sunshine State,” on Monday, March 7 with speaker Robert D. Billinger Jr., the Ruth D. Horton Professor of History at Wingate University. The lecture begins at 7:30 pm in Steidinger Auditorium at FWRI.

The Florida Holocaust Museum is also a partner, sponsoring the companion exhibit in the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library from March 7 to 31. The exhibit will be open during regular library hours.

Billinger’s book was published in 2000 as part of the Florida History and Culture Series, a continuing collection of books edited by professors Ray Arsenault and Gary Mormino for the University Press of Florida.

Arsenault adds that this lecture and exhibit are particularly relevant for some students enrolled in Mormino's War and Society in Florida and Arsenault's Florida Mosaic courses because they are studying aspects of World War II.

For more information about the Florida Mosaic Lecture Series, please call 553-4872 or 553-4555.

>> See: Hitler's Soldiers in the Sunshine State Flier (.pdf)

>> See: Florida Mosaic Series Flier (.pdf)

Ethics and Religion Expert Discusses Human Atrocities

FSU’s Distinguished Professor of Human Rights, Ethics, and Religion, Sumner Twiss, PhD, will present two dynamic lectures to the campus community March 9 and 10.

Humanities and Atrocities

March 9 at 7 pm in DAV130

Twiss will ask how people can treat each other so harshly as he discusses human rights atrocities such as the Holocaust and the Belgian Congo. To help us better understand the causes of these atrocities, Twiss will examine novels, autobiography and testimonial literature including Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Elie Wiesel's novels, the autobiography of Auschwitz Commandant Rudolf Hoess, and Bernhard Schlink’s The Reader.

“I hope that examination of these texts can empower us to prevent such human atrocities from reoccurring,” Twiss said.

Theology, Tolerance and Two Declarations of Human Rights: An Interrogative Comparison

March 10 at 10:30 am at Williams House

In this small-group setting, Twiss will look at the role religious conceptions play, and should play, to establish human rights policies. If you are interested in attending this lecture, please contact Hugh LaFollette for a copy of the paper that will be discussed.

Twiss is the editor of the Journal of Religious Ethics and focuses his work on contemporary moral problems, religious ethics, philosophy and theory of religion and comparative moral and religious thought. He is also the senior editor of Advancing Human Rights, a new book series published by Georgetown University Press. 

For more information, please contact Cole Chair of Ethics, Hugh LaFollette at hughlafollette@tampabay.rr.com.

Spread the Word About Career Expo

The USF St. Petersburg Spring Career Expo is Thursday, March 3 from noon to 4 pm in the CAC. Students and alumni are encouraged to meet and network with local employers.

The event is sponsored by the Counseling and Career Center which provides career development services including resume and cover letter development, confidential career counseling, intern and job placement assistance and graduate school information.

For more information about Career Expo or Counseling and Career Center services, please email career@stpt.usf.edu, call 553-4129 or visit www.stpt.usf.edu/studentdev/ccc/CareerEvents.htm.

>> See: Career Expo Flier (.pdf)

Second Annual Tomorrow’s Leaders Symposium

Tomorrow’s Leaders Research Symposium, a spring celebration of undergraduate research and creative activity, is collecting proposals through March 24 for its second annual event. Sponsored by the USF St. Petersburg Psychology Program and the Honors Program, the symposium is Tuesday, April 19 from 11 am to 1 pm in Davis Hall Lobby.  

Last year’s inaugural program featured more than 25 presentations from students in all three colleges, and served as a launching pad for undergraduates to present their work at national peer-reviewed conferences.

All USF St. Petersburg students are encouraged to apply and faculty are encouraged to motivate our most active and creative undergraduate scholars to participate in the symposium. In preparing posters and other submissions, all work should contour to the expectations of leading scientific conferences or other scholarly venues of the submitters’ respective fields.

For more information, please contact Sudsy Tschiderer at 553-4256 or tschider@stpt.usf.edu; James McHale at 553-4963 or jmchale@stpt.usf.edu; or Ray Arsenault at 553-4455 or rarsenau@stpt.usf.edu.

New Honor Society Seeks Top Students

To showcase USF St. Petersburg’s student excellence, Steve Ritch, PhD, and three students in his Leadership Fundamentals course are establishing a chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honor society that will recognize exemplary students.

In coordination with Academic Affairs and Student Affairs, the new ODK chapter is seeking nominations of qualified upper-division students.

Students GPA must rank in the upper 35 percent of our campus and students must demonstrate leadership in one of the following five areas: Scholarship; Athletics; Campus or Community Service, Social, Religious Activities and Campus Government; Journalism, Speech and the Mass Media; and Creative and Performing Arts.

Members of this prestigious organization will gain additional leadership experience through chapter activities and community service.

To nominate a student, please have them complete and send the nomination form to Ritch at COQ201 by Friday, March 11 at 5 pm.  For more information, contact Ritch at ritch@stpt.usf.edu or 553-4985.

>> See: Student Application (.pdf)

Check Your Health at Upcoming Wellness Fair

Join Health Educator Sandy Blood at the spring Wellness Fair on the Harborside on March 9 from 10 am to 2 pm to learn about all the latest health-related information.

You can get your vision, hearing, blood pressure and posture screened, meet Pinellas County health representatives and speak to specialists in acupuncture, hypnosis therapy, massage therapy and hair and skin care. Guests also can enjoy free Smoothie King smoothies, popcorn, cotton candy and snow cones.

"The Wellness Fair is a great opportunity to gather the latest valuable health information and tips from all of the wonderful resources in our community," Blood said.

For more information, contact Blood at 553-4114 or blood@stpt.usf.edu.

Teacher of the Year Speaks to Student Group

The Student Education Association has invited USF St. Petersburg alumna and nationally-recognized teacher Carol Dinsdale to speak about her experiences in special education Tuesday, March 8 at 5:30 pm in DAV130.

Dinsdale recently won the 2004 Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year Award for her work with emotionally handicapped students in first through third grade at Mount Vernon Elementary School. This national award is given to one teacher who provides outstanding services to students with exceptionalities. 

Dinsdale is an active member of the USF Pinellas County Alumni Chapter and a two-time graduate of USF. She earned her bachelor’s degree in special education in 1990 from USF St. Petersburg and her master’s in behavior disorders in 1994 from USF Tampa. Dinsdale is currently an adjunct professor at USF and holds several postgraduate USF certifications in education.

The SEA is a student-lead organization that provides extracurricular opportunities to enhance professional preparation for future education leaders. During the year, the SEA offers a variety of lectures and events including a visit from St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker earlier this year.

For more information please contact SEA President Erin Dipple at AbcTeach1234@aol.com.

>> Read: Article about Dinsdale in the St. Petersburg Times

>> See: Event Flier (.pdf)

Black History Month Offers Inspirational Finale

Although Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X had two very different ways to achieve freedom, the story told at last week's play, The Meeting, brought insight and inspiration to the more than 60 people in attendance.

Set in a 1965 Harlem hotel, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., visited Malcolm X in his hotel room and both men passionately shared their views how to end racism. This was the first time the Boston-based company, The Grimes Theatre Group performed in Florida. Playwright Jeff Stetson has won eight NAACP Theatre Image awards for writing this fictitious play.

For more information on Multicultural Affairs or the student-run Amani Council who helped coordinate Black History Month, please contact Steve Marshall, interim Multicultural Affairs coordinator at 727-553-4845.

Make a Difference at the Special Olympics

The Tampa Bay Special Olympics needs volunteers for score keeping, awards and carnival games Saturday, March 5 from 8:30 am to 1 pm at Lakewood High School.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Barry McDowell at 553-4990 or mcdowell@stpt.usf.edu.

Keep Pinellas Beautiful Beach Cleanup
Invite your friends and family and join Volunteer services for the Keep Pinellas Beautiful Beach Cleanup Saturday, March 19 from 9 to 11 am in the Tierra Verde Bridge area. Gloves and water will be provided. Please contact Barry McDowell at 553-4990 or mcdowell@stpt.usf.edu to volunteer.

Teens Can Check Out USF Monday

St. Petersburg Times

March 2, 2005

Prospective college students are invited to spend a day on the waterfront at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg's annual Spring Fling from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday.

It's a chance for high school juniors and seniors to talk to USF St. Petersburg students and faculty members. Recruiters will be available to answer questions about admission requirements, major fields of study, financial aid and scholarship opportunities available only to USF St. Petersburg students.

>> Read: Article

City to Alter Fourth Street Flow

St. Petersburg Times

March 2, 2005

One block of Fourth Street S will be changed from one-way to two-way next year, officials say.

Two-way flow will take over between Fifth and Sixth avenues S. One-way traffic will remain between Fifth Avenue N and Fifth Avenue S.

The change follows a University of South Florida St. Petersburg traffic analysis recommending two-way traffic on the block, said Mike Connors, city engineer.

>> 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: http://www.stpt.usf.edu/news/submissions.htm.