Poly announces budget cuts; fires top administrators

Posted Jan 25, 2012 by Lindsay Peterson

Updated Jan 25, 2012 at 02:56 PM

One of the first tasks for USF Polytechnic’s new chief was to bore into the budget.

Former chancellor Marshall Goodman had acquired the reputation of being a free spender with high-flying ambitions, and new chancellor David Touchton, a CPA, suspected Poly’s budget might be a little bloated.

Poly said today it was cutting $1 million, mostly in its international initiatives. Several of Poly’s top administrators are losing their jobs: Karen White, Didier Rousseliere, Joel Rodney, David Bobbitt and Michele Davenport-Nuila.

Here’s the announcement:
“The USF Board of Trustees has identified fiscal responsibility as an important task with which I am charged,” said Interim Regional Chancellor David Touchton. “In the last several weeks, I have spent much of my time meeting with key staff to analyze our institutional priorities and look for ways to increase efficiency.

The international initiatives for France, Asia and Central and Latin America have been discontinued. The following positions have been eliminated: Director of Extended University/Global Partnerships Asia; Director of Global Partnerships France/Soft Landing Program/Co-Director Florida France Linkage Institute; and the Senior Grant Specialist which focused on international recruitment in Central and Latin America.

“These are great initiatives and may become a priority once the campus reaches a stage of maturity where these efforts can be supported,” said Touchton.
The Director of Strategy and Innovation position has been eliminated and development efforts have been consolidated and moved into the department of Government Affairs & Community Relations. The position of Senior Advisor to the Regional Chancellor has also been eliminated.

“These changes were strategic and done with a great deal of thought and consideration. I believe this will contribute to our being better fiduciaries of state funds and will go a long way in making us a leaner institution as we focus our energy and resources on accreditation as a STEM institution.”

 

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Debate turns into test of free speech. Some students failed.

Posted Jan 24, 2012 by Lindsay Peterson

Updated Jan 26, 2012 at 01:27 PM

Things got a little ugly last night outside the theater where the four GOP presidential candidates were debating.

But the mess offered up a far better lesson in democracy than what was going on inside the theater.

Early on people were having a good time outside, but the crowd grew and became restless as the night deepened, and people seemed to start feeding off the anger in the air.

It came from all sides.

Koran burner Terry Jones was there, and his group confronted protesters from Occupy Tampa and Students for a Democratic Society with shouts of “deport all illegals” and “impeach Obama.”

The students shouted back, “No more hate,” then graduated to some comments I can’t print.

It kept on and on, until someone grabbed a sign from a Jones supporter, ran away with it and tore it to bits, stomping on the pieces. Someone else snatched another and another. Finally the police stepped in and everyone sort of backed off.

The Jones contingent had clearly taunted the Occupy Tampa and SDS crowd, and some students were delighted to see people tear away the anti-gay, anti-immigrant signs.

“They should know they can’t come here and say that stuff,” one student said.

Others, however, were disgusted.

“The debate has barely started and people are going after each other,” senior Peter Murphy said. “That isn’t free speech.”

It was sort of a test.

In a world where you can customize your personal media to play only what you want to hear, where you can block out most everything else, it can be a shock to have someone yelling something you hate in your face.

And it can show you something about yourself.

Thank Terry Jones for this life lesson.

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Homemade Potsticker, Pulled Pork With Fried Egg, And Unstuffed Pork Chops [This Week’s Weekend Eats]

Posted Jan 23, 2012 by Jeff Houck

Updated Jan 23, 2012 at 03:47 PM

It’s hard to beat a good lobster roll. All that creamy, rich, seafoody goodness on a fresh-baked roll… makes me drool just thinking about it.

Which, as you might know is the criteria for winning the best photo prize during each week’s edition of Weekend Eats. It must, and I repeat, MUST be droolworthy.

The one above was enjoyed by Annette Baesel, who on Twitter goes by the handle @abaesel2. She enjoyed this particular roll with hush puppies & coleslaw at Monstah Lobstah in Tampa.

For ex-pat New Englanders who miss their Bay State eats - and for anyone who just loves good food - Monstah is a great place to get their chowdah on. And Anette’s photo made me wish I was there.

Other contributions this week include:

@karenmcallister - Great Chicken Pesto Pizza at Sally O’Neal’s w/fab view of #Gasparilla fireworks Saturday nite.

@Nel_Bringsjord - Big fluffy, creamy French toast made w/Challah from Sweet Caroline’s on Tampa Rd, made only on Fridays.

@RobinRipley - Fresh spinach, lettuce, arugula and parsley salad from my garden coldframe covered with ice and snow.

For Annette’s efforts, she takes this week’s top prize (and, truthfully, only prize):

...“Extraordinary; How To make Meals Your Friends Will Never Forget,” by Stefan Gates. Think bone marrow on toast and apple caviar. Extraordinary indeed.

Here’s a gallery of the week’s other great contributions. It’s enough to make your belt buckle explode:

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What’s up with the USF debate?

Posted Jan 20, 2012 by Lindsay Peterson

Updated Jan 20, 2012 at 03:57 PM

Here’s the latest from The Tampa Tribune’s political reporter, William March:

Uncertainty appears to be increasing around the USF presidential candidates debate scheduled for Monday night.

First, Mitt Romney refused to commit to participate in the debate. He’s not saying he won’t be there; he’s just declining to promise he will.

Now there’s a mystery about whether the debate will be broadcast as planned on NBC during prime time Monday night. The network has just changed its listings for 9-11 p.m. Monday, the time slot for the debate, to include Fear Factor and another hour-long show instead.

NBC wouldn’t say Thursday whether it had a commitment from Romney to participate, but promised a statement today.

The statement, issued about noon from network spokeswoman Erika Masonhall, said simply,  “Preparations for the NBC News, National Journal, Tampa Bay Times debate continue. We fully intend to proceed with this long-planned event and we hope and expect all the qualifying candidates will participate.”

Does this mean the debate won’t be televised on NBC during prime time? Maybe taped for another time slot? Maybe aired on MSNBC rather than NBC? Outright cancellation seems unlikely. We’re still waiting for further word from the network.

At least one of the sponsors, the Tampa Bay Times, isn’t suggesting anything amiss. Shortly before 2 p.m., it posted a blog item inviting readers offering a live stream of the debate and fact-checking tweets.

And NBC News Director of PR recently tweeted about construction of the set on USF’s campus:

“Set build coming along nicely for Monday’s @nbcnews @nationaljournal @tb_times #fldebate in Tampa. #decision2012 http://instagr.am/p/i49qq/”

 

 

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Local power players work behind the scenes

Posted Jan 20, 2012 by Lindsay Peterson

Updated Jan 20, 2012 at 01:57 PM

This week in the Tampa Tribune, my colleague Michael Sasso wrote about a group of local power players with a moniker sure to pique any reporter’s curiosity.

The No Name group.

The club of business elites has been around for more than a decade, but doesn’t appear in any news clips. Some elected leaders have never heard of it. Others have, but won’t talk about it on the record, Michael wrote in the story that ran in the Tribune on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Tom James, executive chairman of Raymond James Financial, acknowledged he is the leader of the No Namers and described them as a select group of local chief executives who have lunched together privately for years to chat about public issues.

And yes, James said, they probably do wield some influence.

What does this have to do with USF?

Several of the 49 or so members have close ties to the university, starting with President Judy Genshaft.

The chairman of the USF Board of Trustees and CEO of TECO Energy, John Ramil, is on the list Michael obtained.

Also: Rhea Law, long-time USF trustee and chairwoman of Fowler White Boggs; Lee Arnold, recent trustee and founder of real estate firm Colliers International Tampa Bay; and major USF donor Les Muma.

How they use their power is a matter of speculation.

One source in the story said he wished they’d use their collective influence more to promote Tampa, particularly compared to Orlando, home of fast-growing University of Central Florida.

But this leaves no doubt about how tightly USF is wired into the community and the power it has to steer Tampa’s growth.

You can read Michael’s story here.

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