APRIL 2021 | HARBOR NOTES NEWS | USF ST. PETERSBURG CAMPUS
AN ONGOING JOURNEY
Acknowledging the people who came before
USF’s St. Petersburg campus, collaborating with Native American nations and community partners, is working to shine a spotlight on a forgotten history. By acknowledging those who came before, honoring their cultures and establishing partnerships with Indigenous communities still present in Florida, the campus is remembering a prosperous and painful history while building bridges for future opportunity. WATCH THE VIDEO & READ MORE
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING FOR GOOD
Internship program pairs students with socially and environmentally responsible businesses
A new student internship program will train students how to work with and help certify businesses who want to meet the highest standards for social and environmental operations and leadership.

More than two dozen students in the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering and the Patel College of Global Sustainability will intern with seven businesses across various industries in Florida and Texas during the pilot program. The program is a partnership between Florida for Good, B is for Benefit and the university’s Bishop Center for Ethical Leadership. READ MORE
ADDRESSING FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS
City of St. Petersburg selects USF researchers to identify, make recommendations to address systematic racism
An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of South Florida will assist the city of St. Petersburg in identifying structural racism and to make recommendations on how to address the multi-faceted issue.

The team will analyze data and trends that pertain to the criminal legal system, economic development, unemployment and the healthcare system that illustrate how infrastructures are potentially limiting opportunities for growth in the Black community. They'll also listen to narratives of residents and activists on how systemic racism has affected various aspects of Black lives. READ MORE
A COURAGEOUS LIFE
Recognizing the Angel of Bordeaux: USF professor helps promote the life of a Holocaust hero
By defying his government and issuing visas to refugees during World War II, Aristides de Sousa Mendes saved the lives of thousands fleeing Nazi Germany. But despite the heroic nature of his actions, the Portuguese diplomat’s story remains relatively unknown.

Now a University of South Florida professor is working to bring awareness to Sousa Mendes’ brave deeds. Martine Wagner, an associate professor of French based on USF’s St. Petersburg campus, recently organized a panel discussion at an international conference to highlight Sousa Mendes’ life and legacy. READ MORE
LEADING ON CLIMATE
USF advances action on climate planning with new grant funding
The University of South Florida is one of 10 colleges and universities nationwide that will receive pro bono consulting to help advance climate action planning and projects on campus.

The grant from Second Nature, a Boston-based non-profit whose mission is to accelerate climate action in and through higher education, will allow USF to establish a university-wide greenhouse gas reduction goal, align sustainability priorities while tracking carbon emissions across all three campuses and combine efforts and resources that lead to a singular vision for achieving carbon neutrality. READ MORE
REASON FOR HOPE
Finding hope for Florida's vanishing bird
Of the many beautiful birds that wade in the waters, sun on beaches and flitter through oak forests and wetlands around the state, only one lives exclusively in Florida.

In “The Florida Scrub Jay: Field Notes of a Vanishing Bird,” veterinarian and Journalism Professor Mark Walters traveled the state to report on the unique natural history of the scrub jay, their historic decline and efforts to stave off extinction while remaining hopeful that this bird's outcome could be different from others that have gone extinct. READ MORE
GAUGING THE COMMUNITY
Customer experience lab bridges community and academic research
The Customer Experience Lab - St. Petersburg out of the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance is running focus groups, organizing surveys and conducting in-depth interviews to better understand market demographics and people's beliefs and opinion on a variety of issues and products.

“The goal of the lab is to serve the community and bridge the gap between academic research and business research,” said Phil Trocchia, professor of marketing and director of the lab. “I’d also like to get students involved once we are able to hold focus groups in person again, they would get a chance to observe and provide feedback to our clients.” READ MORE
IN THE NEWS