USF St. Petersburg is an urban university that aims to integrate seamlessly into the fabric of the city and region, enhancing opportunities for students, businesses and the public. This community roundup series sheds light on the ways that USF faculty, staff, students and administration are active in the community every day. If you’d like to engage the USF St. Petersburg campus, or are a campus staff, faculty or student interested in ways to engage in the community, please contact Caryn Nesmith, Community Relations Director.
Rep. Castor holds roundtable on campus to discuss human trafficking
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor visited campus for a community round-table discussion on human trafficking with USF researchers and community partners and announced a request of $963,000 in priority grant funding for USF St. Petersburg’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Risk to Resilience Research Lab. The federal dollars would go towards helping to aggregate and analyze data needed to inform anti-human trafficking efforts, aid law enforcement and support survivors.
State leadership recently designated the facility as Florida’s repository for human trafficking data, which will allow USF researchers to collect and analyze statewide data to better understand the magnitude and trends in human trafficking across the state and over time. The lab is also tasked with evaluating the effectiveness of state-funded initiatives to combat trafficking and will work with law enforcement and state agencies to report data on human trafficking investigations and prosecutions, which can aid those agencies in combatting human trafficking and individuals.
Mentors still needed for 5th year of Innovation Scholars Program
This fall, Career Services is launching the fifth year of the Innovation Scholars Career Shadowing Program, whichprovides unique job shadowing opportunities for incoming, high-achieving, first-year students. Through the program, students are partnered with companies and professionals in and around downtown St. Petersburg and within the St. Petersburg Innovation District.
Mentors are still needed for the Fall 2023 cohort in these specific areas: environmental and criminal law; social work; accounting; dermatology and dentistry; journalism; graphic design; writing and illustrating; veterinarians; and realtors. Interested mentors can fill out this form. The program requires only six hours in a semester and offers first-year students a head start in exploring their interests and career path by giving them a sneak peak into the day-to-day activities of the professional world.
Submit your artifact for the first-ever History Harvest
Do you have a family keepsake or heirloom you’d like to know more about? Do you have letters, photographs, art or other historical objects that tell a story about your family or community? Dr. Erin Mauldin, the John Hope Franklin Professor of Southern History, will be hosting the first-ever History Harvest as part of her Historical Materials Methods class project this semester.
The event will take place on September 18, 2023 from 5 - 6:30 p.m. at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, where community members will share letters, photographs, records, objects and stories, as well as participate in a conversation with students majoring in History about the significance and meaning of their materials. Artifact selection will be limited. Selected artifacts will be viewed and processed at the History Harvest, and students will digitally catalogue objects and briefly interview owners as to their item’s backstory. No items will be taken or kept from the event, and no value appraisals will be available. Students will use the items and oral histories as the basis for a semester-long historical research project.
The deadline for artifact submission is August 31, 2023. Apply here.
Psychology faculty selected to lead City’s Community Support Hubs
Last month, the City of St. Petersburg announced that The Well, a nonprofit founded and led by Dr. Ladonna Butler, associate program director for USF’s Family Study Center and an adjunct faculty member in psychology on the St. Petersburg campus, was selected to lead the City's Community Support Hubs project. Over the next 3 and a 1/2 years, Hubs will be established in areas of need across St. Pete to provide trauma-informed therapy, case management, assertive outreach and additional services that are responsive to each community's needs.
The hubs are possible thanks to American Rescue Plan federal funding, of which the
City designated
$8.58 million for Health and Social Equity programs and services. The funds are being
administered by the Pinellas Community Foundation (PCF), which is driving the process
to establish a network of Community Support Hubs throughout the city. PCF set up
a competitive selection process to identify the lead nonprofit, who will design and
implement each Hub. The Well was selected as the lead nonprofit, with Gulf Coast Jewish
Family and Community Services and People Empowering and Restoring Communities as its
co-collaborating partners.
Miami-based artist talk on coral reefs: an intersection of art and science
Artist Beatriz Chachamovits will join USF’s College of Marine Science Professor Mya Brietbart for an artist talk at the Karen Steidinger Auditorium at the Fish and Wildlife Commission on September 1 at 3:30 p.m. Chachamovits is an environmental artist and educator from São Paulo, Brazil living and working in Miami, Florida. Her sculptures mimic the bleaching of coral reef's colors, which become white and lifeless over time caused by warming temperatures and CO2 pollution on ocean life. Chachamovits' ceramics are a call to action, urging us to learn more about our surroundings, and take steps to safeguard the natural world.
She will be visiting St. Petersburg as an artist-in-residence with the ARTILLERY Residency, an independent arts organization that supports the creation and dissemination of contemporary art by offering temporary residence for invited artists to conduct research and produce work. During her stay, Chachamovits will participate in a solo show, "Cemented horizon at the bottom of the sea" curated by Liliana Beltran at Tempus Projects in Ybor City, on view from August 17 – September 14.
Campus to host first-ever Brews and Bulls by the Bay
Join the USF St. Petersburg campus on October 20 from 4 – 7 p.m. for the inaugural Bulls and Brews by the Bay. Nestled along the picturesque waterfront of campus, this event will be an unforgettable experience for all who attend. Fondly known as "Okto-BULL-fest," the evening will feature live music and an impressive array of local craft brews selected to honor USF’s Brewing Arts program.
Every penny raised at the event will go directly toward student scholarships. Simply by attending, participants will be supporting the dreams and ambitions of talented students. This event invites the community to come together to celebrate the spirit of the USF’s St. Petersburg campus and make a truly extraordinary impact on the future of education. Get your tickets today.
Bayboro Brewing hosts USF Veteran Alumni Society
On August 11, the USF Veteran Alumni Society held its monthly Beers & Banter at Bayboro Brewing Co. in St. Petersburg. Beers & Banter is a monthly event aimed at getting Veterans together to catch up, network, and of course have some beers! The alumni society was joined by leadership from the St. Petersburg campus to discuss how the society can be supported on and off campus. The mission of the Veteran Alumni Society is to connect veteran and military-connected alumni to the USF and local community, highlighting and supporting the successes of veteran alumni and current students as they graduate and transition into their future life. Currently, the Veteran Alumni Society is looking to engage with business who are veteran- and USF alumni-owned (like Bayboro Brewing Co.) to host events, participate in volunteer opportunities, and find mentorship for veterans and military-connected students getting ready to graduate. Contact Veteran@usfalumnigroup.org to learn more.
Students tackle regional challenges in Innovation and Dali Bootcamp
Thirty-five students in an Innovation and Dali Bootcamp class applied innovation management theory and surrealism to address challenges facing the Tampa Bay region. As the only one of its kind in the nation, the course provides participants with a mindset that frames innovation from traditional models to contemporary open models. Guided by Entrepreneurship Professor Steve Diasio, students fuse together 13 best practices for fostering innovation, through the lens of surrealism and irrational juxtaposition. Students start by immersing themselves in the regional issues like traffic congestion, red tide, plastics pollution, beach erosion, homelessness, affordable housing, healthcare inequities and service inequities to underrepresented populations. They then apply innovation tools to envision transformative solutions that blend technology and human-centric design in the local context of Tampa Bay.
COE hosts workshops for local educators
The College of Education (COE) hosted a week-long professional learning workshop in July, coordinated by the Tampa Bay STEM Network for teachers in the Tampa Bay region. Called “Computer Science Discoveries,” the curriculum introduced students to building their own websites, apps, animations, games and physical computing systems. In addition, COE hosted the Pinellas County Schools Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teachers and Teaching (ECET2) conference. The event provided an opportunity for teachers to come together, collaborate and enhance their capacity. The conference offered a variety of breakout sessions and keynote speakers that focus on cultivating effective leadership and fostering a shared understanding of effective instructional practices.
Turner Construction hosts panel on Innovation District growth
“Growth is our communities greatest challenge and opportunity,” said Jason Mathis, the CEO of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, during a panel organized by Turner Construction at USF St. Petersburg. The panel, which also included Alison Barlow, executive director of the St. Petersburg Innovation District, and Cynthia Johnson, director of Pinellas County Economic Development, highlighted all the urban development activities underway in the district and in downtown St. Petersburg. The event invited small and minority owned businesses and ended by highlighting Turner Construction’s two projects at Bayfront Health, a new Medical Pavilion and Women’s Pavilion, whose anticipated start dates are in late 2023 and early 2024, respectively. Turner also announced at the event it would be hosting its School of Construction Management for minority and diverse businesses at Bayfront Health beginning September 26.