About 50 alumni joined the chancellor, administrators and deans to celebrate the university during the first ever USFSP Alumni Society gathering on Feb. 2.
The organization is the first of its kind among the USF regional campuses—an alumni group focused on the branch and not the system. It is within the “umbrella” of the USF Alumni Association, but provides an outlet for St. Petersburg alumni to engage with current students and the community specifically as graduates of USFSP, said Senior Director of Development Kim Hall.
It’s not about fundraising, she added, but “more about advocacy and engagement.” A common theme of the night was that USFSP is not only the crown jewel of the four regional universities in the system, but worth recognizing for its own accomplishments.
The university is more than just a branch out of Tampa, said recent graduate Christian Haas. Haas said the society will provide a “stable and strong base of alumni with a St. Petersburg identity.” In addition to being the largest of the four branches, USFSP was also the first to gain independent accreditation, he said.
Haas said he’s passionate about USFSP because it was influential in his own personal development. During his time as a student, Haas served as the Student Government senate president and was involved in the lobbying that allowed the fee increases necessary to build the new student union building. Since graduating in May 2011, Haas has been employed by the university’s Project Sting Ray, which helps young adults with intellectual disabilities gain independence.
“As much as I love USF, I graduated from USFSP,” said two-time USFSP graduate Joseph D’Alconzo. He earned his bachelor’s in business in 2004 and followed up with an MBA in 2010. “I loved this campus,” he said.
At USFSP, “you’re not a number, one of 8 million,” he said, and he got to know his professors. During a stint at the University of New Orleans he took a history class with the famous historian Stephen Ambrose, but only saw the man once throughout the semester, he said.
D’Alconzo is enthusiastic about the new alumni society. He has been active in the USF Alumni Association since 2004, and is glad to be able to celebrate his true alma mater. The growth of enrollment and services are a big part of what has made the society possible, he said. In the past, “people would have liked to do more … but it’s been a commuter school until recently.”
“Tonight is historic—our first USF St. Petersburg alumni society [gathering]—and you were there,” Helen Levine, regional vice chancellor of academic affairs, told the crowd. And it’s only going to get “bigger and better” as current students graduate and are welcomed into the society.
The university is “on a roll,” Levine said. She pointed out the construction of the science center, the Multipurpose Student Center and the acquisition and renovation of Harbor Hall, the former home of the Dalí museum, where the event took place.
USFSP is proud to be in the USF system, said Regional Chancellor Margaret Sullivan, but the university seeks to distinguish beyond the system through innovative programming, she said.
College of Arts and Sciences Dean Frank Biafora pointed out new programs in the college including the digital journalism and design master’s degree program, a “backpack journalist’s dream;” the new four-year biology degree; health science and administration programs; and the collaboration among the creative writing, art and design programs.
Biafora said about the latter, now that the creative arts programs are under the same roof in Harbor Hall, the professors got together and said, “There’s a lot of mojo in this old Dalí building. Let’s keep it alive.”
College of Business Dean Maling Ebrahimpour talked the school’s top-100 ranked MBA program for preparing students for leadership roles. We’re past the industrial age and the information age, he said. “We are in the age of creativity, the age of innovation,” and the university plans to be a leader in training professionals for the new economy.
Looking across the room, from new graduates to old, Hall said she was pleased with the diversity of alumni that turned out for the inaugural meeting.
“For a first event this is an amazing turnout,” she said.
Photos by Christopher Guinn
