Join Mormino for his St. Pete Book Signing

Florida historian Gary Mormino, PhD, has already received rave reviews about his latest book, Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: A Social History of Modern Florida, examining the major forces that drove the state’s transformation during the 20th century.

The campus is invited to a book signing and reception for Mormino at Sunken Gardens on Friday, June 10 at 5:30 pm. The event is hosted by the Florida Humanities Council and the USF Libraries' Florida Studies Center.

“This path-breaking book brilliantly explains the explosive growth of Florida from 2.7 million inhabitants in 1950 to 15.9 million in 2000. It focuses on the diverse people who migrated here; the developers of tourism, beaches, shopping malls, and gated communities; new technology (from air conditioning to the space age); and the impact of this growth and development upon the environment,” said James B. Crooks, professor emeritus at the University of North Florida.

In addition to co-chairing the campus’ Florida Studies Program of Distinction with Raymond Arsenault, PhD, Mormino is the Duckwall Professor of History. He is the author of Immigrants on the Hill: Italian-Americans in St. Louis, 1882-1982 and co-author of The Immigrant World of Ybor City: Italians and Their Latin Neighbors in Tampa, 1885-1985.

Please call 727-553-3825 or e-mail ereddy@flahum.org to RSVP by Wednesday, June 8 for the book signing.

Hurricanes: Predicting Their Path of Destruction

Hurricanes may be one of Florida’s hottest issues this summer. As the hurricane season kicks off, learn about hurricane modeling and forecasting techniques at “Hurricanes: Predicting Their Path of Destruction.”

This Community, Science and Environmental Policy Brown Bag seminar is Friday, June 3 from 12 – 1 pm in the USGS Conference Room, 600 Fourth Street South.

In addition to USF College of Marine Science Professor Bob Weisberg, PhD, lecturers include Dick Fletcher, Tampa Bay 10 News chief meteorologist, and Abby Sallenger, USGS Oceanographer and National Coastal-Change Hazards Assessment director.  They will discuss issues related to the future of weather media and forecasting coastal erosion during hurricanes. 

The Brown Bag is a seminar series that USF St. Petersburg Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies Christopher D’Elia organized with colleagues from the USF College of Marine Science, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Geological Survey, and the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.

For more information, contact Carrie Wall at CMS at 553-1186 or cwall@seas.marine.usf.edu.

Bundrick Examines Music Imagery in Classical Greece

Sheramy Bundrick, PhD, assistant professor of art history, can lay claim to being a pioneer in her field when her book, Music and Image in Classical Athens, is published by Cambridge University Press later this year. 

The book, scheduled for a late 2005 release, focuses on musical imagery in 5th century B.C. Athens and its relationship to contemporary sociocultural developments. Bundrick’s work is the first to examine the range of musical imagery during the classical period.

Bundrick developed a proposal for the book as part of her application for an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where she was a Fellow from 2000-2001.

A Postdoctoral Fellow also working at the museum recommended Bundrick’s book to an editor at Cambridge University Press. After a six-month peer review process, Cambridge accepted it in April 2004.

In her book, Bundrick examines images of musical performance portrayed on Greek vases and how those images are reflections of contrasting social attitudes toward music and music education. 

Bundrick said that the development of democracy in Athens was a catalyst for discussions on the value of music education.

“As literacy became more important, people questioned whether music education was relevant,” Bundrick said. She added that some saw music education as being for the elite, while others believed it was good for the harmony of the soul. Since most contemporary texts covering these discussions have been lost, the vases are important social documents.

“With the imagery, we can capture a sense of the attitudes,” Bundrick said.

Bundrick, who has been with USF St. Petersburg since Fall 2001, teaches survey courses on art history from prehistory to the present and upper-level courses on ancient Mediterranean art. She is also a faculty member of the Interdisciplinary Center for Hellenic Studies at USF Tampa.

D'Elia Wows National Crowd at Annual Symposium

Campus research leader Christopher F. D’Elia, PhD, was one of the keynote speakers at the 16th Annual Environment Virginia Symposium, a prestigious environmental conference earlier this spring.

In his presentation “Environmental Decisionmaking: The Use, Misuse and Lack of Use of Scientific Data,” D’Elia discussed the role of scientists in making policy, factors that foster science-based policymaking review and made recommendations on improving the science-policy relationship.

D’Elia, associate vice chancellor for research and graduate studies, based his presentation on his two decades of experience as a research scientist, research administrator and scientific advisory committee member dealing with environmental issues in the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed.

This symposium serves as an assembly for information exchange between environmental professionals, engineers, planners, scientists, lawyers, environmentalists, and educators. It was hosted by Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Conservation & Recreation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Canaan Valley Institute.

Town and Gown Welcomes New Board

At USF St. Petersburg’s Town & Gown annual meeting in April, the organization announced its officers for the 2005-2006 term. A nominating committee proposed the slate of officers that was approved by the members at the annual meeting.

The new officers are:

President - Joyce Fraser

1st Vice President, Programs - Joanne Fleece

2nd Vice President - Membership - Shari Watson

Recording Secretary - Doris Heitler

Treasurer - Marion Ballard

Immediate Past President and Advisor - Judy Altenhoff

Town & Gown was established in 1999 to promote understanding and friendship between the university and the community. This year, Town & Gown heard lectures from a variety of members of the campus and community, including professors Mark Walters, DVM, and Daryl Paulson, PhD, and St. Petersburg Times reporter Jeff Klinkenberg.

Help USF St. Pete Support Migrant Farm Workers

To support Florida migrant farm workers, the Volunteer Service office will collect and deliver clothing and food to the missions in Wimauma throughout the summer. This is tomato picking season, so there are a number of farm workers with families who need our help.

For more information or to make a donation, please contact Barry McDowell at 553-4990 or mcdowell@stpt.usf.edu. His office is located in TER200.

For the latest information from HR, visit: USFSP HR Web site

USPS Staff: Personal Holiday

The USPS personal holiday will now be issued on a calendar basis
rather than a Fiscal Year basis, according to Barbara Fleischer, the campus' Human Resources coordinator.

This year, each qualified USPS employee (off initial probation), will be issued a personal holiday as of July 1, 2005, which must be used by January 31, 2006. Each eligible USPS employee will be issued a personal holiday as of January 1, 2006 for the 2006 calendar year.

If you have any questions please call Fleischer at 553-4115.

Join USF Coaches for Around the Horns Coaches Tour

The USF Bulls Club is currently working with volunteers throughout the state for the 2nd Annual Around the Horns Coach's Tour, which includes five golf tournaments in surrounding counties and a dinner.

Each golf tournament and dinner will include Football Coach Jim Leavitt, Men’s Basketball Coach Robert McCullum, Women’s Basketball Coach Jose Fernandez, Women’s Tennis Coach GiGi Fernandez, Athletic Director Doug Woolard, and Partnership for Athletics President Lee Roy Selmon.

"This effort is designed to bring the Bulls to you and your community to show how important you are to us," said Eric Soncrant from the USF Bulls Club. "If you are not a golfer, please consider coming to the dinner to join us for a night of Bulls spirit."

For more information, please contact Soncrant at 813-974-3481 or Soncrant@admin.usf.edu.

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