USF Poly senate expresses alarm at independence bill in the Legislature

Posted Feb 12, 2012 by Lindsay Peterson

Updated Feb 12, 2012 at 03:52 PM

The USF Polytechnic Faculty Senate fired off a letter last night to every member of the Florida Senate, expressing the faculty members’ “great dismay” with a measure that could immediately sever Poly from the USF system to become an independent university.

The bill would short circuit an effort that began in November, when the state board of governors constructed a plan for USF Poly to become independent over time – after it gained campus accreditation, enrolled more students and constructed the buildings it needs.

The board put USF in charge of pushing the effort forward.

State Sen. JD Alexander, however, has said he has no faith that USF will carry out the board mandate.

The faculty senate letter makes it clear that Alexander’s statement is an insult to the people who have been working diligently since the board made its decision. A USF Poly team has already submitted the pounds of paperwork that put USF Poly on track to be SACS accredited by 2014.

“If you know of a faster way for the new university to achieve separate accreditation, we would appreciate the information,” writes Sherry Kragler, USF Poly faculty senate president.

And she points out that others are working just as hard on building enrollment and developing new science and technology programs to fulfill Poly’s STEM mission.

Listening to Alexander, Sen. Evelyn Lynn, who says she wrote the bill, and others in the Senate, it would seem they knew nothing about any of this.

Kragler also raises an issue lurking in the background of the controversy - that lawmakers seem to think they can shift USF Poly over to the University of Florida for quick accreditation.

Accreditation officials say the process is a little more complicated than that.

Kragler poses a question for the state senators: What promising university researcher would want to come to a place that cut off a relationship with an established research university to start from scratch at an institution with no accreditation?

She concludes, “We can meet the benchmarks set by the BOG, and we believe far more expeditiously than could be accomplished by a newly-created entity with no faculty, no accreditation, and no established support for research.”

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USF showcases creationism critic tonight

Posted Feb 9, 2012 by Lindsay Peterson

Updated Feb 9, 2012 at 06:42 PM

In honor of Charles Darwin’s birthday 203 years ago, USF is presenting famous science teacher Eugenie Scott.

Her message: Students can’t understand science without understanding the central role of evolution.

She speaks tonight at 7 in the Fine Arts Hall, room 101, focusing on state lawmakers’ efforts to undermine the teaching of evolution.

Scott, an anthropologist, is a former chair of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2009 she was the first recipient of the Stephen Jay Gould Prize from the Society for the Study of Evolution.

As the director of the National Center for Science Education she leads the movement of scientists and educators who oppose the teaching of creationism and its offshoot, intelligent design.

It’s a “science stopper,” she says.

While she’s here she’ll host a workshop for school teachers to show them that evolution is a key part of a science curriculum.

And because no university news is complete without a mention of STEM, USF Humanities Institute Director, Elizabeth Bird, notes the irony of Florida’s politicians challenging the teaching of evolution while pushing for more science, technology, engineering and math training.

“Many people, including Florida politicians, don’t understand that scientific literacy and competency can’t be achieved without a grasp of the core principles of evolutionary theory.”

You can read more here.

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Times reporter goes to work at USF St. Pete

Posted Feb 7, 2012 by Lindsay Peterson

Updated Feb 7, 2012 at 04:00 PM

USF St. Petersburg has a new media chief.

Tom Scherberger, recently of the Tampa Bay Times and years ago with the Tampa Tribune, is the new communications director.

He takes over for Melanie Marquez, who left USF St. Pete for a media job with Pinellas County Schools.

Scherberger will handle media relations and develop internal and external communication strategies for the campus.

“We are excited to welcome someone with Tom’s breadth of experience to our growing campus,’’ Chancellor Margaret Sullivan said in a news release.

Scherberger, 56, spent 20 years at the Times, where he was a reporter, editorial writer, state editor and Tampa city editor. He recently returned to reporting, covering Tampa International Airport, the Port of Tampa and tourism for the newspaper’s business section.

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Slutty Brownies, Homemade Snickers And Bacon-Wrapped Beef Hot Dogs [This Week’s Weekend Eats]

Posted Feb 6, 2012 by Jeff Houck

Updated Feb 6, 2012 at 02:03 PM

One thing I love about doing Weekend Eats each week is that the longer I do it, the more I get a sense about what each contributor digs about food.

This week’s winner, Sandi McKenna, is a perfect example.

Sandi, who is best known on Twitter as @mcmedia and the co-host of the Midlife Road-Trip. Just about every week, she sends in great dishes she enjoys on her travels.

Some previous shots from her include:

Pork Belly Flatbread

Carnitas at The Taco Bus

Thin-crust pizza with sweet basil, fresh mozzarella and sauce

For this week’s beautiful seafood paella photo, and for her previous contributions, Sandi wins this week’s prize:

A copy of “Feeding The Dragon; A culinary travelogue through China with recipes” by Mary Kate Tate and Nate Tate.

Other contributions included:

@otmdish - Molecular Charcuterie

@karenmcallister - Celebrated becoming mom of a teen @bernssteakhouse. Grilled Scallops for me. YumYum.

Yum indeed.

Here’s this week’s gallery of yum. Click each photo to get a description:

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USF Poly board member quits, saying USF is scuttling the “Poly model”

Posted Feb 2, 2012 by Lindsay Peterson

Updated Feb 2, 2012 at 09:05 PM

The Poly drama continues.

One of the biggest cheerleaders for USF Polytechnic’s independence, Mark Kaylor, has resigned from the Poly governing board with a flourish.

Kaylor, a lawyer for another independence advocate, state Sen. JD Alexander, sent a letter to USF President Judy Genshaft last week saying there was a “systemic problem” with the governance of the USF system.

“While it may not be clear to many, it is very clear to me that the true underlying intentions of USF Tampa is to scuttle the polytechnic model and otherwise thwart any opportunity to meet the benchmarks set forth by the Board of Governors when it granted status for a 12th university,” he wrote.

The letter was dated Jan. 27, just four days after Kaylor commended Genshaft and USF at a Poly campus board meeting. Genshaft and USF trustee Brian Lamb met with the campus board to update members on the independence effort.

“I’m glad to see board members from Tampa engaged,” Kaylor said to them.

But the next day the new Poly chief, David Touchton, fired five top administrators in a reorganization that he said would save the campus $1 million. They included the people who ran the international recruiting programs.

That set Kaylor off, it seems.

In addition to Genshaft, he wrote Morteza “Mori” Hosseini, a member of the state university Board of Governors who leads a board committee monitoring the independence moves.

He said Hosseini must “act swiftly to prevent further dismantling of the polytechnic/business plan model.”

Kaylor was part of a community group, led by Alexander, who began pushing in July for Poly to separate from USF.

In a long, emotional debate in November, the state university Board of Governors struck something of a compromise, voting to give Poly its independence once it met several benchmarks showing it could stand alone.

The following month, Genshaft dismissed then-Poly Chancellor Marshall Goodman, whom Kaylor had supported.

Hosseini chided Genshaft for her seemingly sudden decision to replace Goodman with Touchton, who had opposed the local independence effort. Genshaft vowed to keep board members in the loop in the future and in meetings since then, Hosseini has praised Genshaft and USF trustees for their cooperation.

She will decide who replaces Kaylor.

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