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Week of August 15, 2023

I was honored to represent USF at a recent orientation for new members of the Association of American Universities.

While visiting the AAU offices in Washington, D.C., I learned a great deal from AAU President Barbara Snyder about the association's impact and the important role that member institutions play in advancing higher education.

In addition to opening doors to increased research funding and enhancing the value of a degree for our students, USF’s AAU membership provides opportunities for our faculty and staff to network, collaborate and discuss best practices with peers at other institutions. We look forward to sharing more about our AAU membership with you in the future.

Updates

• It was truly a privilege to preside over USF's Summer Commencement. Over the course of three ceremonies, our university awarded more than 2,400 degrees to a group collectively representing 36 states and 71 nations and including 85 student veterans and 19 undergraduates who earned a perfect 4.0 GPA. You can read more about the newest members of the USF alumni family here.

• This fall, USF welcomes more than 200 new faculty members, and I was delighted to meet some of them as they participated in new faculty orientation last week. These highly accomplished scholars will cultivate new knowledge, impart wisdom and make life-changing discoveries, and we look forward to the many contributions they will make to our institution and the success of our students.

• I extend my sincere congratulations to the 22 faculty members selected to receive USF’s Outstanding Research Achievement Awards, the largest internal recognition of its kind at the university. These talented scholars are making a significant impact on our society, and I greatly appreciate their contributions both to our university and their respective disciplines.

• As I’ve said since becoming president, our people are at the heart of everything we do and it’s a focus of ours to be known as a great place to work. We are thrilled that USF recently earned national recognition as a top employer from Newsweek and Forbes. Thank you for your continued efforts to make USF a destination for top talent and one of the nation’s leading research universities.

• I am proud to welcome a new class of local businesses to our Office of Supplier Diversity’s mentor-protégé program, which reflects USF’s commitment to supporting the economic growth and prosperity of the Tampa Bay region. Over the past two years, more than 20 minority, woman and veteran-owned small businesses have successfully completed this program and now have the tools they need to prosper.

President Rhea Law

From the invitation to join the prestigious Association of American Universities, to a new state budget that represents the largest operational funding increase in our university’s history, this has been an extraordinary summer for USF. In this episode, President Rhea Law shares her perspective on USF’s many successes and how they will impact faculty, staff and students. 

Additional University News Sources

•  USF Newsroom

•  St. Petersburg campus

•  Sarasota-Manatee campus

•  USF Health

•  USF Athletics

The work of researchers from USF and the Florida Institute of Oceanography to save corals threatened by warm water temperatures was featured by several national media outlets, including CNN and The Washington Post. 

The New York Times quoted USF Professor Frank Edgar Muller-Karger in a story about the alarming rise of water temperatures in Florida's oceans and its potential impact on marine life and ecosystems.

The Tampa Bay Times published a story exploring the symbolism and unique design features of the Judy Genshaft Honors College's new building on USF's Tampa campus.

Dozens of Atala butterflies, a rare tropical butterfly species commonly found in southeast Florida and the Caribbean, have made a seasonal home on USF's Sarasota-Manatee campus. The colorful butterflies' survival as a species depends on a plant in ample supply in the campus’s landscaping, and they may have been attracted to the area after Campus Dean Paul Kirchman, who also teaches biology, asked if he could add their preferred flowering plants to the landscaping on campus.

Inside USF: The Newsletter is published every other week.

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