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May 30, 2024

June 1 marks one year since the University of South Florida received an invitation to join the Association of American Universities, one of the most significant milestones in our institution’s history and a recognition from our peers that USF is among the nation’s leading research universities.

Over the past year, this prestigious designation has helped accelerate USF’s impact in many ways. As you can read here, our university, region and state are already benefitting from AAU membership. 

As we celebrate the first anniversary, I also invite you to watch this video that reflects on this historic moment and highlights the achievements of our entire Bulls community.

AAU would not be possible without our outstanding faculty and staff and your invaluable contributions. Together, we will continue to think boldly about how we can fuel our positive momentum and enhance our position in the AAU.

Updates

• Today the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame announced its newest class of inductees, and we are honored that several members of the USF community are among them, including Vice President Sylvia Wilson Thomas and Professor Daniel Yeh. Members of the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame are pioneering discoveries, and their inventions are making a significant impact on our state's innovation economy and the world. You can read more about the 2024 inductees with USF ties here.

• We're very excited about a partnership between the USF Health College of Nursing, Port Tampa Bay and the Tampa Port Ministries Seafarers Center, which will provide much-needed health care services to the thousands of seafarers whose routes bring them to the port each year. Yesterday, the ribbon was cut on the new medical clinic, which is the first nurse-managed health care clinic to be located at a U.S. port. This initiative will give our nursing students important hands-on training opportunities, and you can read more about it here.

• This month we announced the appointment of two new deans who will soon join the USF community. David Blackwell will serve as the Lynn Pippenger Dean of the Muma College of Business, and Elizabeth Spiller will serve as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. These accomplished leaders will each play a vital role in elevating their respective colleges while helping to advance our university's path forward. We look forward to welcoming them both when they officially begin their new roles in July.

• Congratulations to our track and field teams, who are sending a program record 12 athletes, eight men and four women, to compete for NCAA Championships next week across seven different events. You can read more about them and the schedule of events for the June 5-8 national championships here.

• We recently joined our partners at Tampa General Hospital to celebrate a new state law that names the TGH Behavioral Health Hospital one of the first four behavioral health teaching hospitals in Florida and creates the Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce in USF's Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute. USF is uniquely positioned to help with the growing demand for behavioral health services, and alongside our partners at TGH, we are committed to identifying solutions that ensure a better future for our communities.

• Completing medical school is no small feat, and I was proud to congratulate our nation's newest doctors at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine's Commencement Ceremony. The Class of 2024 has shown amazing fortitude in the face of unprecedented challenges, including starting their medical school journey at the height of a global pandemic, and I wish them all the best.

• It was a tremendous honor to be recognized with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by my alma mater, Stetson University, and to speak to the graduating class at the College of Law’s spring commencement ceremony. You can read more about my address to the graduating class here.

Additional University News Sources

• USF Newsroom

• St. Petersburg campus

• Sarasota-Manatee campus

• USF Health

• USF Athletics

Associated Press quoted USF Professor Nicole Forbes Stowell in a story about a failed auction attempt by a mysterious company of Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate.

USA Today quoted USF Professor David Diamond in a story about the dangers to children of high vehicle temperatures and how to prevent hot car deaths.

The New York Times quoted USF Distinguished University Professor William Haley in a story about strategies caregivers can use to maintain their own mental well-being.

USF graduate student Waseem Albaba took home the top prize at the Department of Defense's Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge, a national solo competition that welcomes approximately 3,000 competitors, including seasoned industry veterans and university students. Albaba, a computer science and engineering student, is also the captain of USF CyberHerd, a team formed last year that has already scored wins in several national competitions.

Inside USF: The Newsletter is published approximately every other week in the fall and spring and once per month in the summer.

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