JUNE 2021 | HARBOR NOTES NEWS | USF ST. PETERSBURG CAMPUS
BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS
Higher education institutions in Pinellas County unite for racial justice
Representatives from four higher education institutions who collectively serve 36,000 students in St. Petersburg, Florida are joining together to create a consortium focused on dismantling racial hierarchies. The efforts of USF's St. Petersburg campus, Eckerd College, Stetson College of Law and St. Petersburg College have been recognized by the Association of American Colleges and Universities as one of 78 institutions (and the only consortium) selected to participate in a four-day Summer Institute to learn about the Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation framework and develop an action plan. READ MORE
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Political science professor wins national award for faculty leadership in civic engagement
Judithanne Scourfield McLauchlan, associate professor of Political Science and founding director of the Center for Civic Engagement at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus, is the 2021 winner of the Barbara Burch Award for Faculty Leadership in Civic Engagement.  

The national award is given to an educator each year who provides extraordinary leadership in the ongoing development of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities' American Democracy Project. READ MORE
"GOT YOUR SIX"
Cultural competency workshops to develop greater understanding on all aspects of the military-connected experience
A series of cultural competency workshops as part of USF’s Got Your Six Veterans Success Network is helping faculty and staff better understand the military experience and how they can support student veterans.

Workshops focus on the military-connected student culture and what students from this background bring to a college campus. Topics range from what a spouse of a veteran encounters on a regular basis to how moving every three or four years impacts children and young adults of veterans to the challenges of being the oldest student in a classroom. READ MORE
NEW GENERATION OF LEADERSHIP
Alumnus and entrepreneur Reuben Pressman appointed to USF St. Petersburg Campus Advisory Board
The USF Board of Trustees appointed entrepreneur Reuben Pressman to a four-year term to the USF St. Petersburg Campus Advisory Board.

Pressman, a 2011 graduate, is the founder and CEO of Presence, a software platform he created to help higher educational institutions collect and understand data in order to increase student engagement, success and workforce readiness. Pressman also serves as the entrepreneur in residence for the city of St. Petersburg.
JUNETEENTH
The complicated history, significance and celebration around the struggle for freedom
Juneteenth has become the most well-known celebration for the ending of slavery in the United States and viewed by some as America’s second Independence Day. But the history of this important celebration is complex and often misunderstood.
 
“Juneteenth is neither the beginning nor the end of something,” said Erin Mauldin, professor of history. “The end of the Civil War and the ending of slavery didn’t happen overnight and was a lot more like a jagged edge than a clean cut.” READ MORE
VACCINE DISTRUST
Health and media experts discuss why some people don't trust the COVID-19 vaccine
More than half the population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Case numbers are declining, but with nearly half of the people not yet vaccinated, it’s clear that trust is not there for many Americans.

In an online forum, "Trust & Vaccines, held by the Bishop Center for Ethical Leadership at the USF Muma College of Business, a panel of experts looked at what's motivating people to get the vaccines and why others still are not. READ MORE
LIVING, WORKING IN FRANCE
Teaching program opens doors for USF students
Kayla Hopper's dedication to learning another culture recently paid off after she was accepted into a prestigious program that sends American students to France for seven months to teach English to French students of all ages.

Through the Teaching Assistant Program in France or TAPIF, sponsored by the French government, Hopper will be teaching in Toulouse, a large city not far from the Spanish border. READ MORE
ALUMNI PROFILE
Nikki Gaskin-Capehart, Director of Urban Affairs for the City of St. Petersburg
Nikki Gaskin-Capehart is an alum twice over. Graduating in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in Communications, she returned to USF’s St. Petersburg campus nearly two decades later, this time with a day job as director of urban affairs for the city of St. Petersburg, to earn a master’s in Liberal Arts.

We talked with Gaskin-Capehart to hear about her route to heading up the Department of Urban Affairs, the biggest challenges for eradicating poverty in the city and her most memorable experiences on campus. READ MORE
IN THE NEWS