By The Crow’s Nest Staff
Whether you’re new to USF or returning for your final semester as a Bull, there is no shortage of noteworthy happenings from the USF community to catch up on before diving into the fall semester.
From remarkable turbulence among university leadership, to vexing changes in COVID-19 safety protocols, the last four months at USF have been anything but dull.
To help everyone get their bearings this semester, The Crow’s Nest has wrapped up some of its biggest stories from this summer:
- In July, President Steve Currall announced his sudden retirement from the presidency due to health and family reasons. Serving only two years in the role, Currall’s tenure is the shortest in USF history, which he called “a challenging and intense journey.”
- Rhea Law, a USF alumna and former Florida law firm CEO, was appointed as the university’s interim president. Law stated
thatshe will not apply for the permanent president role.
- Earlier this month, St. Petersburg Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock agreed to extend his role through June 22, 2022, to aid in the search for strong campus leadership. Tadlock initially planned to step down from the leadership position in December.
- Deni Elliott, a media ethicist and longtime journalism professor at USF St. Petersburg, was appointed as the campus’ interim vice provost and regional associate vice chancellor of academic affairs. Elliott replaces Catherine Cardwell, who departed to become the dean of university libraries at the University of Nevada, Reno.
- In June, Tampa-based businessman Will Weatherford was named chairman of USF’s Board of Trustees, replacing Fort Lauderdale advertising executive Jordan Zimmerman. Weatherford , a former speaker for the Florida House of Representatives, was appointed to the board only five months earlier.
- Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed two new members to the Board of Trustees: Lauran Monbarren, the daughter of Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson, and Frederick “Rick” Piccolo, the president and CEO of Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. Monbarren and Piccolo replaced board members Zimmerman and Charles Tokarz.
- R. Anthony Rolle, former professor and college dean of education and professional studies at the University of Rhode Island, was appointed as the new dean of USF’s College of Education. Rolle replaced Interim Dean Judith Ponticell.
- In July, Cecil E. Howard, USF’s associate vice president for diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity, resigned in protest prior to Currall’s retirement after calling Currall’s decision to reconfigure the DIEO a “racially biased move.”
- USF announced that it will not require students to be vaccinated or to wear face masks on campus this fall. Instead, university leadership will rely on “peer pressure” and the Florida Board of Governors to guide COVID-19 safety protocols.
