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UT Creates New Institute Focused on Sales Education for Students

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New institute will provide curriculum and events to prepare students for careers in sales; collaborate with Tampa Bay business community for training opportunities and networking

The University of Tampa has announced a new institute tasked with the primary mission of educating interested students of all majors in sales methodologies and preparing them for careers in sales.

The Institute for Sales Excellence, based in UT’s Sykes College of Business, will have four specific functions: (1) prepare students for careers in professional business-to-business sales, (2) encourage networking between students and businesses, (3) serve as a staffing resource for regional, national and global firms, and (4) provide learning resources for local and regional businesses.

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Students Curate Exhibit at Plant Museum; Based on UT Professor’s Research

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The exhibit, Red Cross Nursing and the War of 1898, will run through May

A temporary exhibit about American Red Cross nurses and the Spanish-American War, based on a University of Tampa professor’s research and curated by UT students, has opened at the Henry B. Plant Museum.

The exhibit, Red Cross Nursing and the War of 1898: The Tampa Connection, follows the women who traveled from New York to Tampa and then to Cuba to become the first nurses of the American Red Cross to serve in wartime.

The exhibit is based on the research of Charles McGraw Groh, associate professor of history, and was curated by students in his class Museums, Historic Sites, and Archives.

To prepare for this project, the students studied different aspects of public history curation at the Plant Museum, the Florida Holocaust Museum and Perry Harvey Park, working with local museum professionals. Plant Museum curators Susan Carter and Heather Trubee Brown offered guidance at each stage of the exhibit project.

The exhibit was developed as a companion to the Plant Museum’s permanent exhibit on the Spanish-American War. The Tampa Bay Hotel, now known as Plant Hall, received National Historic Landmark status for the hotel’s role in the 1898 military conflict, when it was used to house Col. Theodore Roosevelt, other military officers and Red Cross nurses.

The exhibit will remain on display for the month of May. It will be back on view in July during Archives Awareness Week, an annual event organized by the City of Tampa Archives Advisory Committee. UT student Selena Martinez will conduct a guided tour at this event.

For more information on the exhibit and Archives Awareness Week, contact Groh at [email protected].

The Henry B. Plant Museum interprets the turn-of-the-century Tampa Bay Hotel and the lifestyles of America’s Gilded Age. Critical to the success of this mission is the restoration and preservation of this National Historic Landmark, an opulent 1891 railroad resort, and the artifacts significant to its history, and the life and work of Henry Bradley Plant. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Closed Mondays and select other dates. Admission is $10 per adult, $7 for seniors (65 years and up), $7 for students and $5 for children 4–12 years old. Museum members free.

UT to Renovate Riverside Center on Campus to Address Student Needs

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Renovation will greatly increase size of Career
Services and post office, and will add 10 classrooms

The University of Tampa’s Riverside Center, which was built in 1962 on the Hillsborough River and has supported various administrative and academic functions over the years, will undergo a major renovation this summer and fall. The renovation will allow for significantly increased space for Career Services, classrooms, conference rooms and for a transformed post office.

The current building, which is a mix of single-story, story-and-a-half and two-story spaces, will become two-story throughout, but will remain approximately the same footprint. The renovation will add nearly 20,000 square feet for a total of 54,000 square feet. The project is expected to begin in early May, and to be fully completed for the Spring 2019 semester. However, the post office, language lab and some administrative spaces are expected to be complete by the Fall 2018 semester.

Highlights of the renovation include:

  • Career Services, which helps students transition from college to career, will have an additional 5,000 square feet to incorporate spaces for placement services, including interviewing, corporate recruiter meetings, receptions, employer programs and numerous student programs to aid career exploration and job search. An adjacent multipurpose room will open onto a patio that overlooks the Hillsborough River.
  • Classrooms and conference spaces account for an additional 4,500 square feet. The new building will feature 10 classrooms and conference rooms, which include two state-of-the-art language labs. Many of the classrooms will feature views of the Hillsborough River and downtown Tampa.
  • UT’s post office will be totally redesigned and modernized to account for current trends in student use, in which students do not receive significant amounts of first class mail, but do receive numerous packages via Amazon, USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc. In fact, last year post office staff handled 10,000 packages the first week of fall semester, and more than 100,000 during the academic year.

The new building will also include space for faculty offices to help keep pace with the rapid addition of new employee hires. The Office of Admissions’ presentation room will be expanded, as will Admissions’ logistics space for managing mailings to prospective students. Development and University Relations, Human Resources and Public Information and Publications will also benefit from redesign and expanded spaces.

“The new Riverside Building will benefit the UT community in many ways,” said UT President Ronald Vaughn. “I believe students will especially benefit from the expansion of Career Services and the addition of classrooms and study spaces, and I think they will particularly enjoy a modernized, functional post office.”

The project architect is Andy Dohmen of Design Styles Architecture and the general contractor is Dave Tavlin of Crossroads Construction.

Construction of the building will be paid for through individual gifts and University funds.

In alignment with UT’s commitment to environmental stewardship, the building will be designed and constructed to be a candidate for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification of the U.S. Green Building Council.

The renovation will also be enhanced by landscaping, new sidewalks and outdoor, riverfront seating.

When it opened in May 1963 the Riverside Center was known as the Student Center and included a bookstore, dining center, library and student lounges. It was built soon after the completion of the McKay and Smiley residence halls, when UT was attempting to build out a more complete campus, as well as manage its post-war enrollment increase. It was expanded in 1969, and the building last received a facelift in 2009.

UT to Hold Spring Commencement on Saturday, May 5

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The University of Tampa will honor nearly 1,400 students at its 146th commencement on Saturday, May 5, during two separate ceremonies at the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall.

The ceremony for graduates of the Sykes College of Business and the College of Arts and Letters will take place at 9:30 a.m., and the ceremony for graduates of the College of Social Sciences, Mathematics and Education and College of Natural and Health Sciences will follow at 2 p.m.

Between the two ceremonies, there are 1,214 bachelor’s degree candidates and 159 master’s degree candidates — 1,373 in all.

At the morning ceremony, Thomas Graham ’82, former vice president, special projects at Pepco Holdings, will give the address, and Roman Cowan ’10, MBA ’14, M.S. ’14, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of College Hunks Hauling Junk and Moving, will receive the 2018 Young Alumnus Award.

In the afternoon ceremony, Scott Charbo ’86, vice president, information technology and digital services at Nutrien, is the speaker, and William Franchi ’06, founder and managing partner of Franchi Law and Pro Agents Sports Management and co-founder of Pro Title Insurance Agency, will receive the 2018 Alumni Achievement Award.

Several graduate programs have hooding ceremonies scheduled in the days leading up to commencement

  • Thursday, May 3:
    • Department of Nursing hooding and pinning ceremony (M.S. in Nursing), 6 p.m., Plant Hall, Fletcher Lounge (by invitation only)
    • Department of Education hooding ceremony, 6 p.m., Vaughn Center, ninth floor, Trustees Board Room
  • Friday, May 4:
    • Department of Health Sciences and Human Performance hooding ceremony, Noon, Plant Hall, Music Room
    • Sykes College of Business hooding and awards ceremony, 6 p.m., Martinez Athletics Center

UT Graduates by the Numbers

Total graduates = 1,373
Countries represented = 62
% of graduates from Florida = 41%

Undergraduates

Total bachelor’s degree candidates = 1,214
Summa cum laude (GPA 4.0) = 7
Magna cum laude (GPA 3.75 or higher, but less than 4.0) = 121
Cum laude (GPA 3.5 or higher, but less than 3.75) = 206
Top 3 most popular undergraduate majors in this class = Marketing, Finance and Criminology

Graduate students

Total master’s candidates = 159
With honors (GPA 3.9 or higher, but less than 4.0) = 11
With highest honors (GPA 4.0) = 11
MBAs awarded = 41

UT Education Program Receives Accreditation Renewal, Strong Marks on Teacher Preparation

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Under a new and more rigorous teacher preparation evaluation system, The University of Tampa recently renewed its accreditation from the Florida Department of Education (FDOE).

The FDOE recently began the new accreditation system in conjunction with Teacher Prep Inspection-US (TPI-US), which reviews teacher preparation programs to determine how the programs can expand their promising practices and address areas of improvement.

In March, UT’s Department of Education underwent a weeklong inspection that included observation of faculty and students teaching, interviews with stakeholders, analysis of all documentations, and evaluations of work samples and students’ work.

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Three UT Students Make Top Finishes at Hedge Fund Competition

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A University of Tampa MBA student received top place, and another UT team scored in the top five, at the second annual Southeastern Hedge Fund Competition in Atlanta last week.

Nick Koen won first place and a $10,000 prize. The team of UT seniors Edward Morris and Victor Philaire also finished as a top five finalist.

The objective of the competition is for university students to propose an investment strategy that is attractive to a hedge fund.

Don Flagg and Jeff Donaldson, both UT associate professors of finance, served as UT’s faculty coordinators.

A total of 21 universities participated in the competition. The other finalists included teams from University of York (UK), University of Delaware and University of South Carolina. Other university teams represented Duke University, MIT, Georgia Tech, University of Central Florida and University of Chicago.

Last year, a UT team that included Koen received second place.

This year’s competition was held at Georgia State University’s Buckhead Center and hosted by The Southeastern Hedge Fund Association and Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business.

Last year, UT students from the Sykes College of Business won first place in the inaugural CFA Tampa Bay Society Ethics Competition. In the past UT students won first place at a Global Student Investment Forum, and the Tampa Bay ACG (Association for Corporate Growth) Cup competition.

UT to Host 24-hour Event to Show the Spartan Community is All In for UT

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MEDIA ADVISORY

For 24 hours on Tuesday, April 24, The University of Tampa will host a fair-style fundraiser to raise awareness and appreciation for its generous donors.

The day’s main events, sponsored by the Office of Development and University Relations, will be held in the courtyard behind the Vaughn Center from noon to 2 p.m.

Activities include pie throwing at faculty and staff volunteers, chance drawing tickets, carnival games, photo contests, presidential golf cart chauffer and other activities to encourage campus-wide donations, education and involvement.

UT student organizations will simultaneously host activities to encourage students to get involved.

Throughout the day, donors will match UT’s fundraising efforts in hourly segmentations, such as for the nursing program, ROTC scholarships and Annual Fund.

“As a private University, UT depends on the philanthropic support of the community it serves,” said Jennifer Tyler, director of annual giving at UT, who is spearheading the event. “All gifts, regardless of size, add up to have an enormous impact and show how the Spartan family is all in for UT no matter where in the world they call home.”

For more information on the events, visit ut.edu/allinforut or contact Tyler at (813) 258-7401 or [email protected].

UT to Host U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad Competition on Monday, April 23

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MEDIA ADVISORY

Eight local high school chemistry students will participate in the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO) competition at The University of Tampa on Monday, April 23, from 8 a.m.–3 p.m. These students were the top scorers out of more than 200 students from 20 public and private high schools in Tampa and the surrounding areas who participated in the recent local American Chemical Society (ACS) Chemathon examination.

The students selected are Joseph Flahavan, Pine View School; Sean Williams, Plant High School; Tianlin Ji, King High School; Maxwell Frankel, Plant High School; William Kirby, Newsome High School; Anuj Som, Palm Harbor University High School; Zackary Rosso, Cambridge Christian School; and Omer Amir, East Lake High School.

The students will take an exam that may qualify them to become members of the USNCO team that will compete in the 50th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) in Bratislava Slovakia, and Prague, Czech Republic, July 19–29.

The IChO involves a series of theoretical exams, laboratory exercises and other activities aimed at identifying the best chemistry students from participating nations from around the world. The U.S. has participated in this event since 1984. In 2017, the U.S. team won four gold medals.

The eight local nominees are among over 1,200 nationwide that will take a national qualifying exam April 17–23 to select finalists. Twenty students will be identified and will undergo intensive training June 10–25 at the U.S. Air Force Academy, CO. The top four will be chosen to represent the U.S. in the 50th IChO competition.

The USNCO is an annual event coordinated by the UT Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics and the ACS Tampa Bay local section. They are done in partnership with the Florida Department of Education through the support of the science supervisors of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, Manatee and Sarasota County Schools.

For more information, contact Susan Del Valle, assistant professor of chemistry, biochemistry and physics, at [email protected]. The media is welcome to attend. The lab portion, which offers the best opportunity for photos, will be held from 1:30–3 p.m. in the Organic Chemistry Lab in the Science Annex.

UT Scholar’s Symposia Series Presents Home with Hip Hop Feminism April 20

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On Friday, April 20, The University of Tampa will welcome Aisha Durham, associate professor of communication at the University of South Florida, who will present “Home with Hip Hop Feminism” as part of the Department of English and Writing’s Scholars Symposia series. The event begins at 4 p.m. in the Trustees Board Room on the ninth floor of the Vaughn Center and is free and open to the public.

Durham teaches black popular culture to explore the relationship between media representations and everyday life. She uses auto/ethnography, performance writing and intersectional approaches honed in black feminist cultural criticism to analyze representations of black womanhood in hip-hop media.

Her scholarship contributes to an interdisciplinary field called hip-hop feminism, a cultural, intellectual and political project that extends the artistic, analytical and advocacy-oriented work by girls and women of color from the “post” generations. Mining memory, Durham recalls her southern roots to narrate her hip-hop becoming.

Durham’s performance-informed auto ethnography and embodied cultural criticism in “Home with Hip Hop Feminism” demonstrate how critically engaged, community-centered and culturally relevant research can serve as a catalyst for new areas of inquiry and social movements.

Her work has been featured in The Crunk Feminist Collection (Feminist Press, 2017) and her award-winning book, Home with Hip Hop Feminism: Performances in Communication and Culture (Peter Lang, 2014), which extends earlier discussions about hip-hop culture, media representations and the body in her co-edited volumes Home Girls Make Some!: Hip Hop Feminism Anthology (Parker Publishing, 2007) and Globalizing Cultural Studies: Ethnographic Interventions in Theory, Method and Policy (Peter Lang, 2007).

For more information, contact Sarah Lauro, assistant professor of English, at [email protected].

UT Presents “Once Upon a Time”: Storytelling in the Classroom, on the Computer and Beyond April 12

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On Thursday, April 12, join The University of Tampa’s Susan Taylor Lennon and Chris Gurrie for an hour of storytelling at “Once Upon a Time”: Storytelling in the Classroom, On the Computer and Beyond. The event begins at 7 p.m. in the Scarfone/Hartley Gallery, and is free and open to the public.

Lennon, professor of speech, theatre and dance, and Gurrie, assistant professor of speech, will each share two to three short stories — tales of transformation, take-aways and triumph. Gurrie’s stories are the product of his time at the Fine Arts Work Center, where he studied on a University of Tampa Delo grant. Lennon has years of experience in story and movement. Their goal is to show the community what they have been working on as it relates to the power of story, connection and study.

Gurrie is an active public speaker and participates in invited lectures, workshops and conferences in the areas of faculty development, first-year life and leadership, communicating effectively with PowerPoint, and communication and immediacy.

Lennon has been a principal dancer and choreographer with the Tampa Ballet and director of the modern dance company Susan Taylor and Dancers. She performs her story-dances to audiences around the country. In these, she narrates original stories and animates them with dance. The stories are heard nationally on public radio stations.

This event is supported by the UT Department of Speech, Theatre and Dance and the UT College of Arts and Letters.

For more information, contact Gurrie at (813) 257-1711 or [email protected].