By Anna Bryson
Just 17 months after taking the job, the dean of the College of Education has announced her departure.
Dean Allyson Watson will become dean of the College of Education at Florida A&M University on July 1.
In a statement, Watson, 42, said she “simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make an impact” at a historically black college, “a cause that is very near and dear to my heart.”
“But I will always value the time I spent at USF St. Petersburg and am confident the university will continue its tradition of providing excellent training to the next generation of teachers,” she said.
Watson’s pending departure comes at a time of great uncertainty for the USF St. Petersburg college she has led since July 2017.
The St. Petersburg campus is losing its independent accreditation under a legislative order to consolidate all three campuses of the USF system into a single, unified university by 2020.
Under the rules of the agency that accredits the university, a unified USF can have only one college for each academic discipline.
That means the colleges of education, business, and arts and sciences in St. Petersburg appear likely to become “schools” or some combination of departments reporting to colleges on the Tampa campus, and their deans may lose their titles.
Watson canceled an interview appointment with The Crow’s Nest, but Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock told the newspaper he doesn’t believe the pending changes figured in her decision to leave.
“It’s been her career passion to work at an HBCU (historically black colleges and universities),” he said. FAMU “recruited her and directly contacted her. It seemed like a good match overall.”
Tadlock’s comments were echoed by Deanna Michael, an associate professor of education in St. Petersburg and member of the USF system Board of Trustees.
Watson “is a very talented, outgoing and intelligent woman who was here for a reason when an opportunity opened up at a dream school for her,” Michael said. “That’s what happens in academics. You may be very happy where you are, but sometimes something opens up and you pursue it.”
Watson, who has a bachelor’s in elementary education from Bethune-Cookman University and a doctorate in educational administration, curriculum and supervision from the University of Oklahoma, came to St. Petersburg from Northeastern State University in Oklahoma, where she was assistant dean of its college of education.
Watson led the initiative to build a STEM INQ (inquiry) lab, which opened in October 2018. The lab’s equipment includes 3D printers, virtual reality goggles, VEX IQ robots and MERGE Cubes and VR toys that can be used with a smartphone, among other things.
In summer 2018, the College of Education launched USF St. Petersburg’s first ever STEM camp for fifth through eighth grade students, part of Watson’s initiative to develop partnerships with Pinellas County schools and schools in surrounding areas.
In an interview shortly after arriving on campus, Watson said she wanted the College of Education to have what she called “exponential growth.”
“I want students that want to be teachers and the educational leaders of tomorrow to feel like this is the place they can actually come and have the best degree with experiential learning, immersive learning faculty who care about them personally and professionally and just make this college be the shining star that it is,” she said.
Watson said one reason she chose to work in St. Petersburg was a family connection. Gilbert Henry Leggett, her granduncle, was a dentist and civic leader who helped integrate St. Petersburg decades ago.
Watson’s last semester in St. Petersburg will be busy. She is doubling as the campus’ acting chief academic officer amid the debate and confusion over consolidation.
In an email to the campus community, Tadlock said the university will wait until February, when the USF system Board of Trustees makes its final recommendations on consolidation, before beginning a search for Watson’s replacement.
Nancy McCann and Dinorah Prevost contributed to this report.
