The University of South Florida St. Petersburg is part of a system with campuses in Tampa (the main
campus), St. Petersburg and Sarasota‐Manatee. The three‐campus system has 48,000 students, more
than 2,000 full‐time faculty, and an annual budget of $1.5 billion. It is run by a 13‐member Board of
Trustees, which appoints a president and chief executive officer – Judy Genshaft – who in turn
appoints the regional chancellors for St. Petersburg and Sarasota‐Manatee.
Bill Heller
Dean of the College of Education
He may be short in stature, but he has been a giant at USFSP. The former Army paratrooper has a
bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University, a master’s from Northern Illinois and a doctorate in
special education and school psychology from the University of Northern Colorado. He came to USFSP
in 1992, and for a decade he was the campus’ top administrator as dean and CEO. He served in the
Florida House of Representatives from 2006 to 2010. He is now dean of the College of Education and
director of the Bishop Center for Ethical Leadership and Civic Engagement.
Frank Biafora
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
Both a professor and dean at USFSP, Biafora started his higher education at the University of
Florida where he completed both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sociology. He then went
on to the University of Miami where he continued his study of sociology and earned his
doctorate degree. For almost fourteen years, Biafora was the Associate Dean at St. John’s
University. After leaving in 2007, he joined the USFSP staff as the Dean of the College of Arts
and Sciences and received a Fulbright Scholar’s Award in Vietnam.
Ray Arsenault
John Hope Franklin Professor of Southern History
Arsenault has been teaching at USFSP since 1980. He studied at Princeton University where
he earned his bachelor’s degree and then continued his studies at Brandeis University where he
received his doctorate degree. Arsenault has taught at Brandeis University, the University of
Chicago, University of Minnesota, and a couple schools in Europe including the French
Universite d’Angers. Arsenault has also written eight books, including Freedom Riders which he
discussed on the Oprah Winfrey show in 2011.
Sophia Wisniewska
Regional Chancellor
She was born in a tiny Polish town and was the first in her family to finish college. An academic career
that began as a secretary at Penn State University brought her in 2013 to USFSP, where she runs the
regional campus and oversees a strategic plan that calls for the enrollment to double within a decade.
Wisniewska (pronounced wis‐NEW‐skuh) earned a bachelor’s degree in Russian and master’s and
doctorate degrees in Russian from Bryn Mawr College. She came to St. Petersburg from Penn State,
where she ran the Brandywine regional campus.
Harold W. Mullis
Chairman, USF Board of Trustees
He is a founding member and president of the Trenam Kemker law firm in Tampa. His legal specialty
is corporate law, including mergers and acquisitions, tax controversies, and charitable organizations. A
history graduate of Emory University, he earned his law degree at the University of Virginia. Over his
long career in Tampa, he has served on the boards of Tampa General Hospital, the Greater Tampa
Chamber of Commerce and the LifeLink Foundation. Peer organizations have honored him for
distinguished work in corporate law.
Erika Greenberg-Schneider
Visiting Instructor of Art
Greenberg-Schneider earned her bachelor’s degree at Amherst College and master’s degree at
the State University of New York. Twenty years of her life were spent in France where she
mainly worked as a Master Printer for a print studio and a consultant and faculty member of an
experimental art school, and was honorably knighted by the Order of Arts and Letters.
Greenberg-Schneider opened her own art studio, Bleu Acier Inc, in Tampa, FL in 2003 and two
years later began working at USFSP as a visiting instructor of art.
Hemant Merchant
Professor of Global Business
In 2013, Hemant Merchant was ranked the tenth most prolific international management
scholar in the world. Merchant earned his bachelor’s degree at Clarion University of
Pennsylvania and his doctorate degree at Purdue University. Merchant then became a research
fellow and professor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. Merchant began working at
USFSP in 2012 as a professor of International Strategy and is also currently the editorinchief
for the Journal of Asian Business Studies. He has been published in numerous journals and
earned over $200,000 in grants for his research endeavors.
Gary A. Patterson
Acting Dean of the Kate Tiedemann College of Business
Patterson has been working at USFSP since 2000 where he started as an assistant professor.
He became a professor at USFSP and is now the dean of the Kate Tiedemann College of
Business. Patterson earned his bachelor’s degree in finance at Texas State University, master’s
degree in finance at the University of Texas, and doctorate in finance at the University of North
Carolina. Patterson has published numerous peer review journals and currently has one paper
under review.
Jacqueline Dixon
Dean of the College of Marine Science
An active researcher in the field of geological oceanography, Dixon earned bachelor’s and
master’s degrees in geology at Stanford University and a doctorate in geochemistry from the
California Institute of Technology. In 1992, she began working at the University of Miami as a
geology department professor, as well as the Director of the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science
and Policy’s Undergraduate Program. For four years she held the position of Senior Associate
Dean for the Life and Physical Sciences at UM and then moved up as the Interim Dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences. In 2011, she made USF her new home as the Dean of the College
of Marine Science, which is an academic unit of USF Tampa.
Judithanne Scourfield McLauchlan
Associate Professor of Political Science & Founding Director of the Center for Civic Engagement
Judithanne Scourfield McLauchlan received her bachelor’s degree in political science at Rider
University and continued her studies at Rutgers University, earning a master’s and doctorate
degrees in political science as well. After college, Scourfield McLauchlan started working in the
Office of the Curator for the Supreme Court, served in the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and
worked for the Victims Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She returned to Rutgers University to
be a teaching assistant for five years and became an associate professor at USFSP in 2003. She
has received many awards, including the Fulbright Scholar both in 2010 and 2012, and published
her own book, Congressional Participation as Amicus Curiae before the U.S. Supreme Court.
V. Mark Durand
Professor of Psychology
Durand specializes his research in autism spectrum disorder, sleep disorders, and severe
behavioral issues among children. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees in
psychology at the State University of New York. Durand taught at the State University of New
York before he came to USFSP. The Princeton Lecture Series on Autism chose him as a key
speaker for their 20th anniversary in 2014 and he has written ten psychology books and over one
hundred publications. In 2013, Durand was ranked among the top 25 psychology professors in
Florida.
