Groundbreaking Kicks-Off Celebration

More than 150 community leaders and campus friends gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of the first residence hall for USF St. Petersburg in its almost 40-year old history.

The groundbreaking ceremony for Residence Hall One featured remarks by Regional Chancellor Karen A. White, USF President Judy Genshaft, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker and Student Government President Tom Piccolo. The event followed with a ceremonial first dig with Genshaft, White, Baker and other distinguished campus and community leaders.

“Today’s ceremony is about the beginning of the campus of 2020. USF St. Petersburg students in the year 2020 will continue to enjoy a close-knit, student friendly campus where they can focus on their studies,” White said. “It will be a place where professors challenge students to become citizen-scholars through academic study, service learning, and research. And they will have a lively waterfront, residential living, and a splendid city to enjoy.”

Residence Hall One is a seven-story, 126,000 sq. ft. residence hall that will offer 354 students apartment-style, on-campus living. Each apartment suite includes a living room and kitchen and each floor has a study lounge and full-service laundry room. The construction is headed by Jacksonville-based Elkins Constructors, Inc. and KBJ Architects, Inc.

Piccolo said, “Both current and prospective students that I speak with are extremely excited to have the option to live on campus. With the addition of housing, we can welcome more students from outside our community, further enhancing student life and campus diversity.” 

A live Construction Cam has been set up to view construction progress of the facility. This can be accessed at the USF St. Petersburg Housing Web site: www.stpt.usf.edu/housing.

Parking and Traffic Update for St. Pete Grand Prix

Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is this weekend, Friday, April 1 through Sunday, April 3. The Office of Public Safety and the City of St. Petersburg are working together to minimize the impact this event will have but we ask for your cooperation to notify students of these changes.

Please be aware of the parking and traffic changes that will impact campus Thursday, March 31 through Sunday, April 3:

• Second Street will have two-way traffic between Sixth and Fourth avenues.
• Only Lot 12, located at the corner of First Street and Sixth Avenue South will be unavailable, all other lots can be used by faculty, students and staff.
• All campus parking will be accessed from Third Street and will be controlled by Central Parking. Only those with a valid USF parking permit or daily parking permit purchased in advance at the Welcome Center will be admitted to campus lots. Daily permits will not be available for purchase during the event.
• Metered street parking will not be available on Sixth Avenue or on First and Second streets.
• The St. Petersburg Police Department will control traffic at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Second Street.
• The Looper will be used for shuttle parking with drop-off at Second Street just north of Sixth Avenue. Please be aware that this will create heavy pedestrian traffic on the brick alley north of CAC.

During these dates, the City of St. Petersburg might reroute traffic in areas causing additional delays. Please allow additional travel and parking time if you are visiting campus.

Join Indonesian Delegation for All-Star Lectures

Together with the American Council of Young Political Leaders, USF St. Petersburg is hosting a delegation of six Indonesian women for a political conference like no other.

During their stay April 2-6, delegates will meet area leaders, participate in faculty skill-building workshops and visit local companies.

Coordinated by Assistant Professor of Political Science Judithanne Scourfield McLauchlan, lectures open to the campus and community include include speakers such as Betty Castor, Jim Davis and Deborah Clarke as well as faculty from the campus' three colleges. Events will include a translator for the delegates.

Other conference highlights include a meeting with Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, a tour and roundtable discussion with Home Shopping Network executives, a welcome message from President Bill Clinton and a trip to Walmart and Target.

USF St. Petersburg is one of only four stops on their nationwide program with ACYPL. The campus community is encouraged to support and attend these dynamic lectures. For more information, please contact McLauchlan at jsm2@stpt.usf.edu or 553-4956.

>> See: Schedule of Events for Campus and Community

Faculty and Staff Campaign Kicks Off

This week USF St. Petersburg kicks off its 2005 Faculty and Staff Campaign. This year's campaign will be led by David Walker, College of Business, and Mary Ann Harrell, College of Education. 

Since its inception 32 years ago, millions of dollars have been raised through the Faculty and Staff Campaign with significant support to faculty and staff scholarships. USF St. Petersburg’s goal this year is $20,000, with the system-wide goal set at $1 million.   

“The support of our faculty and staff show that we are truly invested in USF St. Petersburg,” Walker said. “This support makes a real difference to our students, our programs and all of USF St. Petersburg.”      

Faculty and staff will receive an email in the next week highlighting the scope of the USF Faculty and Staff Campaign and include information how to designate your donation to the program or scholarship of your choice.

“Participation is the key. The more people who participate, the easier it will be to hit our goal, whether you are giving via payroll deduction or a one-time gift,” Harrell said. 

Business Students Study in Cannes and Monaco

This summer, 10 College of Business students will experience the trip of a lifetime… and earn six hours of graduate credit while doing it. Associate Professor Jeannie Gaines, PhD, is taking her MBA students to Cannes for four days and then to Monaco for two weeks to study at the International University of Monaco and experience life in a completely new environment.

While in Monaco, Gaines will teach International Cultural Differences the first week to both USF St. Petersburg and IUM students and IUM professors will teach International Marketing, Risk Management and Mergers and Acquisitions the second week.

“Aside from the college credit toward a degree, I want our students to know what it’s like to be immersed in a culture different than their own because it is impossible to experience this vicariously,” Gaines said. “I’m also look forward to having our students in classes with people from all corners of the earth learning together.”

During the trip, there will be two organized excursions, one to Sophia-Antipolis, a science and technology park between Cannes and Nice, and one to Puimoisson, a small town in the foothills of the Alps.  On the trip to Puimoisson, students will learn about the town’s experience during its occupation in the Second World War.  They will be hosted by Vern Farnsworth, director of Governmental Relations for the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, and his wife Elise.  The Farnsworth’s are former residents of both Monaco and France.

The inspiration for this trip goes back more than 15 years ago after Gaines visited France for the first time in 1986 and fell in love with the country. After teaching in Paris in 2002 for the summer, she started researching possible university partnerships, locations and more to take our students to south France. USF Tampa currently has a program in North France and Paris.

Participating students will meet the three Saturdays prior to the trip and Gaines has compiled an extensive notebook with images and descriptions for students to review before this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Plagiarism: The Unoriginal Sin

The next campus ethics lecture will discuss Plagiarism: The Unoriginal Sin led by Professor Jay Black, PhD, and Dean Kathy Arsenault, PhD, on Wednesday, April 6 at 11:30 am in DAV130.

Facilitators Black and Arsenault hope to involve faculty, students and staff in a discussion of ways to combat plagiarism and maintain an ethical campus climate. The workshop is presented by the newly-appointed campus Ombudsman Deni Elliott.

“Recent cases of plagiarism in journalism, in literature, and in universities make it necessary for us to understand why there seems to be an epidemic of dishonesty in scholarship and public life and how to put a stop to it,” Black said. “Issues sure to arise are the ease with which students appropriate the work of others on the Internet and methods for catching plagiarists in the act.”

To learn more about the upcoming discussion or Ombudsman Office, please visit the Web site at www.stpt.usf.edu/ombudsman/ or contact Elliott at elliott@stpt.usf.edu or 553-4857.

Get the Details About USF's Reclassification

The Human Resources Workgroup invites the campus community to hear about the USF classification redesign project by Bill Silberman, who works in the USF Tampa Human Resources Compensation Department. The meeting is Thursday, March 31 at 2 pm in CAC133.

“Bill will provide us with information regarding the project goals and objectives, timeline and communication plan,” Barbara Fleischer said. “We are opening this meeting up to all campus members because this is an important topic that will impact all areas of our campus.”

Please RSVP to Fleischer at 553-4115 to reserve your space.  

Exclusive Library Book Sale for Campus

Faculty and staff are invited to an exclusive preview of the SAPL Book Fair that includes more than 1,500 books for sale Friday, April 8 from 1 to 4 pm in DAV130. The SAPL Book Fair is open to the community Saturday, April 9 from 9 am to noon.

In its tenth year, the Society for the Advancement of Poynter Library Book Fair features gently-used books from genres including contemporary fiction, biographies, travel and leisure, cooking, children's and best sellers. The event is free and open to the public and proceeds benefit the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library. 

SAPL’s strives to increase communication between the Library and the students, faculty, and citizens it serves, and to work for the improvement of the resources and services the Library offers. SAPL also enables patrons not affiliated with USF to check out library materials.

For more information, please call 727-553-4401.

>> See: Flier (.doc)

Children's Diversity Author Shares Experiences

Children’s diversity education author Margy Burns Knight will visit USF St. Petersburg for an important community-wide lecture, Talking Walls: Telling Your Own Stories and Discovering a World of Compassion and Understanding on Thursday, April 7 at 7 pm in the CAC. The lecture is free and open to the public.

During her visit, co-sponsored by the College of Education and the Debbie and Brett Sembler – Florida Holocaust Museum Lecture Series, Knight will meet with students at Rawlings Elementary to read stories from her books. Education Dean Vivian Fueyo, PhD, and several faculty members will also participate in this reading and teaching experience. 

Knight regularly works with teachers and students across the country to help children explore the connections between different cultures, appreciate the differences and share their stories as a means of developing tolerance and celebrating diversity.

Knight’s book Talking Walls is well respected for introducing young readers to different cultures by exploring the stories of walls around the world and how they can separate or hold communities together. Examples include Great Wall of China and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Complimentary parking is available in Lot 4 across from the Campus Activities Center. For more information, please contact Ka-Rim Troyli at 553-4870 or ktroyli@stpt.usf.edu.

Prize-Winning Photographer Displays Florida's Nature

For the latest lecture in the Florida Mosaic Lecture Series, prize-winning photographer John Moran will present Journal of Light: John Moran's Florida Nature Photography on Wednesday, April 6 at 7:30 pm in Davis Hall, Room 130. The event is free and open to the pubic.

Moran recently published Journal of Light which caps his more than 20 years of Florida photography including his well-known photographs of alligators and work that has appeared in Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine and National Geographic.

The Florida Mosaic Lecture Series, co-sponsored with Eckerd College, expands ties with academic courses being offered at both institutions and is free and open to the public. This event is also co-sponsored with the Florida Humanities Council.

For more on this event and the series, please call 553-4872 or 553-4555.

>> See: Florida Mosaic Lecture Series flier (.pdf)

Fourth Annual Art Exhibit: Survivors Speak

The fourth annual exhibition of Survivors Speak: Windows Into Healing, a collection of artwork created by survivors of sexual violence, is April 7 through 29 at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library. The exhibit will be open during regular library hours and is free and open to the public.

April is Sexual Violence Awareness Month and Florida Craftsmen, in partnership with Family Service Centers, Inc., have developed this exhibit to educate the community about the effects of sexual violence. Exhibit hosts are dedicated to breaking the silence and stigma attached to survivors of sexual violence and increasing awareness of healing through art, crisis intervention and social services.

For more information about Florida Craftsmen, visit their Web site at http://www.floridacraftsmen.net/.

Discover the History of the Pinellas Peninsula

If you have ever wanted to know more about the Pinellas peninsula, your opportunity is here. Jim Schnur, special collections librarian, will present What’s Happening Down There? A Brief History of the Pinellas Peninsula from 1842-1929, on Saturday, April 9 at 1 pm at the West Pasco Historical Society, Inc. Museum and Library. The event is free and open to the public.

In addition to working at USF St. Petersburg, Schnur is an author and historian who specializes in local, regional and Florida history. He is also President of the Pinellas County Historical Society. Schnur’s lecture will include a viewing of a 1929 film that illustrates St. Petersburg and Tarpon Springs at the end of the 1920s land boom.

The West Pasco Historical Society, Inc. Museum and Library is located in historic Sims Park on 6431 Circle Boulevard in New Port Richey. For more information about the lecture, please contact Adam Carozza at 727-845-5656.

Groundbreaking Set for Residence Hall One

Creative Tampa Bay Newsletter

On Wed., Mar. 30 at 1 PM, USF St. Petersburg will break ground in its first residence hall in the courtyard between the historic Snell and Williams houses. The courtyard is located next to the Welcome Center at the corner of Fifth Avenue South and Second Street. USF President Judy Genshaft, Regional Chancellor Karen A. White and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker will be on hand for a ceremonial first dig.

>> See: Creative Tampa Bay Newsletter

Political Science Professor Seen Nationwide

Political Science Professor Daryl Paulson, PhD, has been on television sets nationwide discussing the political implications of the Terri Schiavo case on CBS, FOX and MSNBC. He also recently appeared on Your Turn on Fox 13 with former USF President and US Senate candidate Betty Castor to discuss reapportionment reform in Florida.

Mobility Awareness Challenge

To bring awareness to the challenges wheelchair-bound people face, Volunteer Services is hosting a Mobility Awareness Challenge Thursday, April 7 from 11 am to 2 pm starting at the campus bookstore. Wheelchairs and power scooters will be available to traverse the campus and access various facilities.

For more information, please contact Barry McDowell at 727-553-4990.