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 highlights the ways that USF faculty, staff, students and administration are active in the community. If you’d like to engage with USF St. Petersburg, or are a campus staff, faculty or student interested in engaging with the community, please contact Caryn Nesmith, Community Relations Director.
OLLI comes to St. Pete in spring 2025
Exciting opportunities await lifelong learners in St. Petersburg as the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at USF expands its programming to the St. Petersburg campus this spring. Beginning with a selection of engaging classes led by some of OLLI’s most popular faculty, this pilot initiative sets the stage for a growing presence both on campus and within the community. Registration for classes opened on December 2, and those interested must become OLLI members by paying a $50 annual membership fee. As a special incentive, all St. Petersburg classes will be offered at no additional cost during the Spring 2025 pilot phase. To further introduce the community to these new programs, OLLI will host an Open House in partnership with the St. Petersburg Conference on World Affairs on February 12 at 12 pm. The event will feature keynote speaker Dr. Jennifer O’Brien, a psychologist and expert in neuroscience and cognition. Classes will take place at USF’s downtown St. Petersburg campus. For more information or to register, visit https://www.stpetersburg.usf.edu/olli. Join us this spring to experience the joy of learning with OLLI!
Oceanography professor highlights resiliency at business luncheon
Gary Mitchum, associate dean and professor of physical oceanography in the College
of Marine Science, addressed a full audience of business leaders at a recent luncheon
hosted by the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership in late November. The discussion
centered on resiliency in the face of severe weather and climate change.
Mitchum shared insights from his research on sea level rise, severe rainfall, sunny
day flooding and the evolving nature of hurricanes. Offering a measured perspective,
Mitchum noted that while the frequency of major storms may increase slightly - from
occurring once every 100 years to once every 75 years - there’s no evidence to suggest
such storms will become an annual occurrence. "The science is not showing that," Mitchum
emphasized, providing a balanced outlook amid growing concerns about climate trends.
Jake Holehouse, president of HH Insurance, followed with a discussion on how severe
weather impacts the insurance market. Surprisingly optimistic, Holehouse projected
a slight decline in insurance rates in the near future. Bob Glaser, president and
CEO of Smith & Associates Real Estate, rounded out the panel by discussing the effects
of severe weather on real estate values and development. Glaser suggested that 2025
may be an advantageous year for buyers, pointing to potential opportunities in the
market.
The luncheon served as a platform for fostering dialogue between academia and business
leaders, emphasizing collaborative efforts toward building a resilient community.
FinTech Accelerator Pitch Night
The third installment of the FinTech|X Accelerator program concluded this month with a pitch night showcasing the cohort’s 10 high-growth startups and their innovative fintech solutions. The event, held at The Palladium on November 14, gave each startup the opportunity to pitch their solution to a particular fintech problem. The ideas ranged from automating invoicing and financial processes to creating a platform to improve a customer’s engagement in digital banking. Many involved using AI and machine learning to reduce inefficiencies and help companies make data-driven decisions. This is the third year of the accelerator program. To learn more about the 2024 FinTech|X Accelerator program, visit: https://www.tampabaywave.org/fintech/
Staff member a key guide to St. Pete mural scene
For the third year, Daniel Wood took a week off of his job as a fiscal and business
manager at USF St. Petersburg to volunteer with the Shine Mural Festival. The week-long
outdoor festival relies on volunteers who run errands for the artists, like finding
a rare color of last minute unplanned paint, replacing a broken lift, delivering lunches
donated by local restaurants each day, photography, drone footage and running artists
to and from the airport (including a few 6am runs)! “This is where the hospitality
begins, a friendly face helping and waiting for you,” said Wood. Wood also hosted
tours for sponsors and VIPs including from the City of St Petersburg, Ark Investment
and title sponsor Reflection Development.
Wood has attended many art festivals and when he came to St. Pete three years ago,
the thing that impressed him most about SHINE was its blended roster of four international,
four national, four local artists, and four “Bright Spots,” which include collaboration
between a publicly funded organization and an artist. USF St. Petersburg has one
SHINE mural by an international artist and two by local artists across campus. SHINE
is part of the non-profit the St Petersburg Arts Alliance. Read more about the festival
locations, and artists here, and learn about the production SHINE here.
Graphic design students present TB Surveillance Project at Art and Science Night
Senior Project Graphic Design Research students presented their collaboration with the College of Marine Science’s Tampa Bay Surveillance Project on December 3 at the College of Marine Science. The senior Graphic Arts Program students created a multifaceted solution by developing a unified branding system that effectively communicates the mission and significance of the Tampa Bay Surveillance Project across various platforms and media. They presented their semester-long work with the TBS study at Art & Science Night and emphasized how graphic designers have the ability to create major impact in scientific studies. Watch a video about the collaboration here. This collaboration will also be displayed in a print exhibition in spring 2025 (details pending), and also distributed to various design/competition websites.
Oceanography Camp Especially for Girls Application Open!
The Oceanography Camp Especially for Girls applications are open! Pinellas County 8th graders are welcome to apply until February 1st. This three week daytime camp (June 9-27) is completely free! Enjoy three weeks of being a marine scientist at USF College of Marine Science in labs, in the field and on a research vessel. Apply here.
Mayor highlights challenges, opportunities at luncheon on campus
During a St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership Luncheon held at USF St. Petersburg on December 11, Mayor Ken Welch, a campus alumnus, reflected on the extraordinary challenges posed by recent hurricanes Helene and Milton. The clean-up efforts, he said, involved removing more debris than the combined impact of the previous three storms, underscoring the city’s resilience and ability to rally together during crises.
Looking ahead, Welch expressed optimism about the Historic Gas Plant Development, a transformative project that will include a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays. He emphasized the potential of this development to revitalize the area and serve as a cornerstone for economic growth. Welch also reiterated his strong support for funding critical infrastructure projects, including hardening the city’s wastewater treatment plants to better withstand future storms. Additionally, he highlighted his commitment to the arts, advocating for increased funding to bolster cultural initiatives that enhance the vibrancy and identity of St. Petersburg.
Community Data Literacy pilot series wraps Up successfully
December 4 marked the fourth and final 2024 session in the pilot Data Literacy for Community Action series, which was the result of a collaboration with the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, USF St. Petersburg, USF Libraries and the St. Petersburg Library System. For the last session, USF Libraries' Natalie Boulanger, Emily Mann, and Anthropology professor Heather O’Leary, guided participants in telling stories through data, exploring free tools and the best visualization methods to bring their data to life. Data underpins what we do and how we do it - and being able to tell stories with data is key to building success. This project has been led by USF librarians Emily Mann and Shawna Durtschi. Through funding from the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, USF Libraries has also collaborated with USF St. Petersburg Innovative Education to provide openly available online courses in data literacy that will go live in 2025. Learn more about the series here.
New Student Governor out in the community
The USF St. Petersburg campus welcomed Elise Prophete as the newest Campus Governor for Student Government. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Elise is a political science major with a minor in environmental science who brings a vibrant perspective, rooted in her Haitian American background, and a deep passion for advocacy to her new role. Elise is also a fellow with the St. Petersburg Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) and Generation Vote, where she launched a campus team and worked to empower student voices through non-partisan organizing. In the spring, she plans to collaborate with Democracy House on a Civic Action Program, focused on protecting students' freedom of expression in academia. Elise is excited to represent USF St. Petersburg and advocate for meaningful change on campus and beyond.