It’s Texas for Tadlock

On June 17, Tadlock will be officially ending his six-year tenure as regional chancellor of USF St. Petersburg. 

Courtesy of Martin Tadlock

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By Sofía García Vargas 

After six years of serving the University of South Florida St. Petersburg community, Martin Tadlock is ready to say goodbye to his regional chancellor position and relocate to the Lone Star State. 

June 17 marks his last day on campus before packing up and moving to Sherman, Texas, to be closer to family.  

This date is long due, as he was supposed to step down at the end of last year. 

However, in 2021 during the first in-person campus community forum in over a year, Tadlock told those in attendance he would retain his current position beyond Dec. 31 to help search for candidates for several university positions. 

The search for the campus’s regional chancellor was interrupted last summer by the sudden retirement of former USF president Steve Currall, launching a nation-wide search for the university’s next leader and pushing back the finding of Tadlock’s replacement.

But now that Rhea Law has been selected as president of USF, his time to leave “the ‘Burg” has come.  

Tadlock’s extensive experience in higher education, ranging from associate dean at Utah State University to interim president of Northeastern State University, made him more than qualified for his first position at USF St. Petersburg as regional vice chancellor of academic affairs back in 2016.  

When the time came to step up as regional chancellor of the campus, Tadlock said “why not?” 

At the time, the university was going through yet another shift in administration with Sophia Wisniewska’s abrupt ousting in September of 2017.  

Not wanting the campus to suffer from leadership uncertainty, Tadlock accepted the position without hesitation.  

“I knew that if I said no, it would be a very disruptive time for this campus. And this campus historically has been very disrupted,” Tadlock said. “I didn’t want the [students] to go through another disruption, so I said yes.” 

Since then, he has made sure to actively advocate for student success at the St. Petersburg campus.  

During his nearly five-year-long tenure, he accomplished significant victories for the campus, including elevating student success that resulted in a 10% point increase in retention rate in 2018 (tracking the percentage of students who attend their freshman year and return to the same school the following year), the construction of the 375-bed residence hall Osprey Suites, the implementation of the campus food pantry and the creation of programs like the UMatter program, the PEARLS program and the Call Me MISTER program.  

Additionally, Tadlock contributed to the implementation of academic clusters at the St. Petersburg campus, which are expected to provide a distinctive campus identity, destination programs, help attract more students and meet needs in Pinellas County. 

“[The students] are the reason we are here. That’s the reason we exist. That’s the reason any university exists,” Tadlock said. “I always learn from students and I’m always in touch with them to know what life is like for them.” 

When asked if he preferred teaching or the administration side of the university, he said “I don’t know how to answer.” 

He argues that the administration continuously fights to benefit the student body, but he misses teaching in a classroom.   

As to the challenges he faced during his tenure, Tadlock said that the constant revolving door in leadership, consolidation of the three USF campuses and COVID-19 were “major disruptors” for planning the future of this campus. 

“We had to rethink what we thought was really important, and how we could contribute to the rise of USF and become part of a research-intensive institution,” Tadlock said. “You don’t want to stagnate, but you do want to be able to stabilize, get traction and move forward in a very deliberate way that continually helps the university meet the needs of students.” 

However, he thinks that alongside his team, they have done “a pretty good job” adjusting to those shifts.  

In addition to those obstacles, Tadlock had to endure direct attacks on his position when Currall proposed a “preliminary blueprint” that would wrest control of academics and student affairs from Tadlock and transfer that to Tampa. That would have left him to supervise only non-academic staff and “university advancement” activities like fundraising and alumni relations. The proposal was met with huge opposition, which put the idea to rest. 

His personal life hasn’t been without hardships either. In 2019, his second son moved in with him and his wife LaRae due to a failing kidney from a previous transplant. After COVID-19 slowdowns, the lack of finding a matching donor and a couple of hospitalizations due to complications, Tadlock’s son was finally able to find a match and successfully undergo surgery last December.  

During these trying times, Tadlock never showed insecurity or doubt and as described by his colleagues, provided “a steady hand on the wheel.” 

Regarding what makes USF St. Petersburg such a unique destination to students, faculty and staff, he said that “we are a very welcoming, inclusive place where people can feel safe, intellectually, emotionally and physically.”  

He also highlighted the importance of the campus’s location, explaining the distinct opportunities students have by being so close to downtown St. Petersburg and the different organizations within it. 

“That makes us a different kind of place versus the other two campuses. We’ll hang on to that difference, because geography makes us different. Attitudes make us different, the local population makes us different, the city relationships make us different. All of those things matter.” 

One of the things that has mattered the most to him throughout his time at the university is the people he has been able to meet and work with.  

“The most rewarding [experiences] are all about the people. If you look at what kinds of things have been done here, it’s the result of the hard work of people that really care about this place and care about the students,” Tadlock said. “They come here and put their efforts into that. So, being a part of that with them is the most rewarding thing.” 

[They] are also the most difficult thing to leave. In education we’re kind of used to the academic cycle. So, you get to know people, you get to know students, and then they’re here for a few years, and they move on.” 

Tadlock is renowned for his sense of humor and for sharing joy around campus. 

In the beginning of last year, he contributed his own photos to the well-known Instagram page @squirrels_of_usfsp, a profile created by senior biology major, Savannah Carr, dedicated to the squirrels seen frolicking around campus.  

“Check out these guys spotted by our own Chancellor Tadlock,” the post’s caption read. 

He is also widely known for being sentimental and not hesitating to show it. 

At Susan Churuti’s last Campus Board meeting on Feb. 3, Tadlock was moved to tears thanking Churuti for her service and the “energy” she provided to the board.   

Tadlock is leaving his peers at USF behind to dedicate time to the pillar of his life –– his family.  

“I wouldn’t be anywhere without the family support. I mean, six universities and different positions and moves that we’ve had to make takes its toll on a family,” Tadlock said as tears welled up in his eyes. “At the same time, every move we made has benefited someone in the family to a significant degree. So, we feel blessed by that.” 

“This strong family and extended family that I’ve been fortunate to be a part of has sustained us all through the different moves and relocations that we’ve had to make. Without that support, there’s no way that any of this could have worked.” 

He explained that besides a job, the regional chancellor position became a “lifestyle” by dedicating more than 70 hours a week to the university and the community. So, when the time came to step down, his family’s response was not a surprise.  

“They are ecstatic, they can’t wait,” Tadlock said. “There’s a lot of grandchildren involved and lots of things that we’ve not been able to be a part of. My oldest son lives in Wisconsin, my oldest daughter is in Idaho and my youngest daughter is in Texas, so they’re all ecstatic that we’ll finally be able to spend some time with them and with the grandchildren and be a part of their lives.” 

Fortunately for USF, Tadlock won’t be leaving the university for good, as he will return as a faculty member to teach remotely in the doctoral program in education. 

Regarding his successor, Tadlock emphasized the importance of finding someone who will continue to put students first.  

“I think it needs to be someone that plans to be here for a while –– who cares about students’ success first and puts the community right alongside of that,” he said. “There’s a lot of great things happening here, there’s a lot of great opportunities that are coming as a result of St. Pete’s rise and that individual needs to become part of St. Petersburg.”  

“They need to be a part of that rise and build this campus out. Not to say that we need to be a big university campus but be able to build on what’s already here and take it even higher. The probe, the position profile, they need to understand it and they need to study it. They need to understand what is expected of someone in this role.” 

The search for St. Petersburg campus’ new regional chancellor is underway, with hopes of having updates in the upcoming weeks and a decision made before the start of the fall semester, he said. 

“Martin is going to be missed because of his passion for St. Petersburg and USF. You know when you speak with him that what was in his heart and what he does is for the individuals that make up this campus –– the students, faculty and staff,” David Rosengrant, St. Petersburg Faculty Council chair, said. “He was an advocate, and he will be truly missed. He will never be able to be replaced with a capacity of what he was doing here.” 

“Dr. Tadlock has been a stalwart captain for USFSP for years. His leadership and passion have expertly navigated the campus through challenging waters. I am incredibly grateful for his leadership and wish him clear skies and smooth sailing in his future endeavors,” Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg said.

Nancy McCann contributed to this report.