Pictured above: Caryn Nesmith previously served as the special assistant to the regional chancellor for strategic initiatives.
Courtesy of USF
By Annalise Anderson
St. Petersburg’s flourishing downtown and surrounding communities are ripe with opportunity for students looking to build their careers.
For Caryn Nesmith, supporting the synergistic partnership between students and the city is a top priority. Nesmith is USF St. Petersburg’s director of community relations, a new position on campus that was created over the summer.
Unlike any other position on campus, the director of community relations position is jointly funded by the university and the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, St. Petersburg Innovation District and the City of St. Petersburg.
The position’s primary responsibilities are to serve as an on-campus point of contact for the city, coordinate campus efforts to address community needs, increase student engagement through community partnerships and publicize campus community engagement initiatives.
According to Nesmith, the city requested the new position be created to establish lasting partnerships between the campus, local businesses and community leaders after consolidation raised questions about the future of USF St. Petersburg.
“Regarding consolidation, there’s the student perspective and how it benefits the student and then there’s the community perspective and how it will hurt or benefit the community,” Nesmith said. “Our legislative delegation really wanted to ensure that resources stayed at St Pete and benefited the St. Petersburg community.
“The community sort of requested this position, and as a result helped fund it. That’s what makes the position really unique. It’s the city saying, ‘hey, the university is a treasure,’ and it’s the university saying ‘hey, we want to dedicate resources to focus on our community.’”
As USF continues to establish itself as a research-intensive university, the city foresees a healthy partnership full of economic and social benefits.
“The city and USF’s St. Petersburg campus have long enjoyed a close and mutually beneficial relationship,” said Kanika Tomalin, deputy mayor of the City of St. Petersburg. “This new position will help us take that relationship to the next level, serving as a bridge to our community and giving citizens and business leaders easier access to our nationally-ranked research university.”
Though she’s assumed a new role, Nesmith is no stranger to the St. Petersburg campus.
For four years, Nesmith has served as the special assistant to the regional chancellor for strategic initiatives. She facilitated and coordinated several innovative programs on campus, served on the public consolidation task force and currently serves on the campus’ new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force.
Nesmith created the Chancellor’s Leadership Council, a program dedicated to fostering leadership skills among high-achieving first-time-in-college students; the Innovation Scholars Program, which supports eligible students’ career exploration in fields like engineering, healthcare and the arts; and Health Buddies – previously known as St. Pete Friends – a virtual program that pairs students with older people managing feelings of isolation.
As a member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force, she created the St. Petersburg Higher Education Consortium for Racial Justice, which combines efforts from USF St. Petersburg, Eckerd College, Stetson College of Law and St. Petersburg College to dismantle racial hierarchies in education.
St. Petersburg Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock said Nesmith “brings a wonderful blend of experience, enthusiasm and professionalism to the role.”
“This position serves as our campus concierge, connecting and encouraging collaboration between members of the community and our talented faculty, staff and students,” Tadlock said. “This also represents an innovative, formal collaboration between the university, the city and the Downtown Partnership to further interconnect the campus and community.”
Nesmith said she’s excited to learn more about how students want to engage with the community.
“I hope this role will integrate the community more fully into the fabric of the USF St. Petersburg campus and vice versa, enhancing prosperity, entrepreneurship and expanding economic opportunities by enabling greater access and innovative ways to collaborate,” Nesmith said.
