USF St. Pete chancellor annouces her resignation

Posted Jun 25, 2012 by Lindsay Peterson

Updated Jun 25, 2012 at 02:59 PM

The chancellor of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Margaret Sullivan, has announced she plans to resign from her job next month.

She sent USF President Judy Genshaft a single-paragraph letter last week saying her association with the USF System has been “a wonderful challenge and a great opportunity.”

Sullivan, who made $262,650, said in a letter to faculty and students, “This was not an easy decision. I have enjoyed my three and a half years leading this fine institution, and we have accomplished much together. But I feel in my heart that the timing is right.”

She listed her accomplishments, including:

- Reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools;
- An increase in research funding of $800,000, to nearly $6 million;
- New academic programs, including biology, entrepreneurship and global business.

She also listed the challenges, primarily enrollment growth of 26 percent amid state funding decrease of 40 percent.

Sullivan is not leaving for another job, but to “pursue new adventures,” says a USF St. Pete news release about her plans to leave.

“USF St. Petersburg has thrived under Margaret’s capable leadership,” Genshaft said in the statement. Her guidance has put the campus “on a course of distinction.”

Sullivan took over for Karen White, who left the chancellor’s job in December 2008, six months after accreditors placed the campus on academic probation.

That cloud was lifted under Sullivan.