JANUARY 2021 | HARBOR NOTES NEWS | USF ST. PETERSBURG CAMPUS
STRENGTHENING FAMILIES
Family Study Center receives $3.7 million federal grant to support vulnerable families
A collaborative team led by psychology professor James McHale, director of the Family Study Center on the USF St. Petersburg campus, has been awarded a $3.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to research and strengthen relationships between family members to create safe and supportive households. For the five-year grant, the research team will work with over 500 parents in Pinellas County who are voluntarily taking part in diversion services following an investigation for child abuse and neglect using a relationship skills program called Within My Reach. READ MORE
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Regional chancellor receives national President's Award from higher education association
USF St. Petersburg campus Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock has received the 2021 President’s Award from the NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. This special NASPA honor is presented to a college or university president or chancellor who has, over a sustained period, advanced the quality of student life on campus by supporting the institution’s student affairs staff and initiatives. This award is the highest honor NASPA bestows on a college or university president or chancellor.
AN EDUCATION NEED
USF adopts Call Me Mister program to boost the number of male teachers of color
The USF College of Education is launching a new initiative aimed at increasing the number of male teachers of color in local elementary schools, particularly those with populations of poor or at-risk students.

The program is called “Call Me MISTER,” which stands for Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role Models. Founded and based at Clemson University, the innovative program has spread to more than 25 colleges and universities nationwide. READ MORE
A FRUITFUL PARTNERSHIP
Business dean tapped as chair of St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Board
Dean Sri Sundaram of the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance has been named chair of the Board of Governors for the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce. As chair for the next year, Sundaram will help guide the Chamber and the local business community through a historic pandemic that has impacted the economy, while also tightening the bonds between business and education in the city.

This is the first time someone from outside of the business community has been named chair of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Board. READ MORE
ECOSYSTEM ENGINEER
Invasive in the U.S., lifesaver down under
Ten years of research led by the University of South Florida has revealed that a monitor lizard should be regarded as an “ecosystem engineer,” a term used to describe organisms that have a great impact on their environment based on their ability to create, modify, maintain or destroy a habitat.

Sean Doody, assistant professor and graduate director of integrative biology at the USF St. Petersburg campus, discovered that while a related species is considered invasive in the United States, in Australia, small animal communities rely on the monitor lizards’ burrow system, called a warren, using it as a habitat, a place to forage for food and nesting. READ MORE
ALUMNI PROFILE
Alumna launches nonprofit to support neighbors in need
Lori Singleton had an unconventional path towards college, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. For more than 20 years, Singleton worked as an EMT and a firefighter in Tampa Bay, one of the first openly gay women to serve at her department. After she retired longevity, a term in the firefighting community meaning to complete service, Singleton fulfilled a lifelong dream of travel. In 2013, she enrolled as an anthropology major at USF’s St. Petersburg campus. 
 
Since graduating in 2015, Singleton has dedicated herself to philanthropy, providing food for those in need and launching a nonprofit called The Way Project that aspires to inspire goodwill in others. We caught up with Singleton to hear about her promise to a dying parent to earn her bachelor’s degree and why she’s devoted to giving back to the community. READ MORE
IN THE NEWS