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Week of April 18, 2023

Last week I was proud to join students, faculty and staff at several USF Week events celebrating university pride and recognizing our history. As a long-time fan of fast cars, I greatly enjoyed the "need for speed” theme of Rocky’s birthday bash, where I tried my hand at bumper cars and micro-car racing! USF has had such a positive impact on so many lives since our founding in 1956 and we are poised for even greater achievements in the future.

I also wish to thank everyone who participated in USF Giving Week in support of our students and programs. During the week, the USF Federal Credit Union announced a gift of more than $1 million that will benefit programs across the university, including scholarships for students in the Latino Scholarship Program, Black Leadership Network and College of Nursing, as well as a first-of-its-kind scholarship for student veterans. We are deeply grateful for USF Federal Credit Union’s decades-long history of supporting our community.

Updates

• As USF continues to grow and we pursue our strategic goals as an institution, I have spoken about the importance of investing in our infrastructure. That’s why I’m pleased to see dozens of deferred maintenance projects get underway across our campuses to help strengthen our facilities. We pursued legislative funding to support these projects and we received nearly $73 million last year from the state. USF Facilities Management has created an interactive map, allowing students, faculty and staff to view the location of each project and track its status.

• The power of mentorship is something I feel strongly about and have benefitted from throughout my career. I enjoyed sharing my thoughts on the topic with my fellow panelists Angie Sklenka and Dr. Elizabeth Hordge-Freeman at the spring mixer event hosted by USF's chapter of the American Council on Education Women’s Network. The ACE Women’s Network is a national system of networks that aims to advance and support women in higher education. You can sign up here to learn more about the network and upcoming events for USF faculty and staff.

• I enjoyed hearing so many inspirational stories while attending USF’s Latino Scholarship Program Mentor-Graduate Luncheon last weekend. Since its inception more than 30 years ago, the Latino Scholarship Program has awarded more than $4 million to more than 700 graduates. You can learn more about how this highly successful program is changing the lives of students here.

• As a proud alumna of Leadership Tampa, I was honored to participate in a panel discussion hosted by the program as part of its annual Education Day. At the event, I was joined by fellow leaders of our region's higher education institutions, including University of Tampa President Ronald Vaughn and Hillsborough Community College President Ken Atwater. I know firsthand the incredible value Leadership Tampa provides to its participants and I look forward to following the current class's future impact on our community.

• As I've mentioned before, transparency and open communication are core elements of my leadership style. As part of our ongoing efforts to assess internal communications at USF, we would like to get your feedback about Inside USF: The Newsletter and the best way to keep you informed about university news and initiatives. We would appreciate you taking a couple of minutes to complete a brief survey, which is available here.

Dr. Deep Sea

As he nears breaking the world record for number of days living underwater, USF Associate Professor Joseph Dituri shares how his body is holding up below the surface. He's had a constant flow of visitors, including pizza delivery divers, and is about to embark on teaching a Maymester course from his 100-square-foot habitat.

The Washington Post quoted USF Associate Professor Alastair Graham in a story about how quickly ice sheets in Antarctica could melt and raise global sea levels.

The Tampa Bay Times published a story about USF's Black Leadership Network and the program's work supporting and engaging students at the university.

Men's Health quoted USF Associate Professor Dominic D’Agostino in a story about the cellular process of autophagy and the health benefits of it functioning properly.

To break down the stigma surrounding mental health, 10 USF students will share their stories of living with mental illness during the second annual This Is My Brave: College Edition, a live performance to be held on April 21 at USF's Tampa campus. In a series of performative acts ranging from essay to dance, students are empowered to share their journey of navigating their mental health. This free event is open to the public, and tickets can be reserved here.

Inside USF: The Newsletter is published every other week.

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