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UT Announces 2017-2018 Sykes Chapel Concert Artist Series

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The University of Tampa has announced its 2017-2018 Sykes Chapel Concert Artist Series. This series of free, public concerts has become one of UT’s most anticipated and well-attended events on campus.
“We are delighted to, again, be able to bring artists of such caliber to Tampa Bay, and to reassert our commitment to the power of the musical arts to uplift, enrich, provoke and restore,” said Haig Mardirosian, artistic director of the Sykes Chapel Concert Artist Series. “We strive to bring artists who are not only excellent, but have the knack of communicating deeply with our audiences.”
This year’s series includes performances by award-winning organist Mateusz Rzewuski, who is embarking on his first U.S. tour; Grammy-winning organist Paul Jacobs, who is chair of the organ department at The Juilliard School; cellist Nancy Jo Snider, an innovative soloist and collaborative musician; and The Philadelphia Brass, who have been called “one of the gems of Philadelphia’s cultural life.”
The concert dates follow. Seating is limited, and doors open 30 minutes before the concerts.

  • American Debut Tour: Mateusz Rzewuski, Organist, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2 p.m. This concert artist from Warsaw, Poland, embarks on his first tour of the U.S. A specialist in the repertoire of the French 20th century, his program will include works of Saint-Saëns, Dupré, Messiaen, Karalow and Vierne.
  • Four Concertos by J.S. Bach, Sunday, Nov. 19, 2 p.m. Soloists Nancy Chang, violin; Barbara Prescott, flute; and Grigorios Zamparas and Duncan MacMillan, harpsichords, join a chamber orchestra of the region’s premiere players in a delightful afternoon of music by Bach. Mardirosian will conduct.
  • Let Heaven and Nature Sing: The University of Tampa Holiday Concert, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2 and 4 p.m. A great Tampa institution and a joyful opening to the holiday season with traditional and new music sung by the student voices of the UT Chamber Singers and Camerata.
  • Paul Jacobs, Organist, Sunday, Feb. 11, 2 p.m. Jacobs has been called “one of the great living virtuosos” by the Washington Post. He is chair of the organ department at The Juilliard School in New York City, the nation’s best-recognized music conservatory, and is the only organist to ever have won a Grammy Award.
  • An Afternoon of Chamber Music, Sunday, March 4, 2 p.m. Cellist Nancy Jo Snider, an innovative soloist, collaborative musician, sound designer and arts administrator, collaborates with Yuri Namkung, violin; David Yang, viola; and Griorios Zamparas, piano, in Ludwig van Beethoven’s C minor Trio, Joaquin Turina’s Piano Quartet in A minor and Andrew Norman’s Sabina.
  • The Philadelphia Brass, Sunday, April 8, 2 p.m. Founded in 1988, NPR has called them “one of the gems of Philadelphia’s cultural life.” The program includes J.S. Bach, André Previn, Jennifer Higdon, Cole Porter, Frank Loesser and others.

For more information, contact [email protected] or go to www.ut.edu/sykeschapel.

UT Joins Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success

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UT only one of four Florida institutions to join
effort to make higher education more accessible

The University of Tampa has joined more than 100 colleges and universities as part of the Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success.
The coalition was founded on principal values, beliefs and extensive research to improve the college application process for all students. Members of the coalition include a diverse group of public and private universities that provide substantial support to lower-resourced and under-represented students, offer responsible student financial aid support and demonstrate a commitment to student graduation.
UT was invited to join the coalition based upon numerous criteria demonstrating its affordability (low graduate loans rates and significant high-need population), access (high minority population) and success (high graduation rate, above 60 percent). The University of Florida, Stetson University and Florida State University are the only other Florida-based institutions that are members of the coalition.
“UT was founded to provide access to higher education for Tampa-area students, and our participation in the coalition continues that commitment to disadvantaged students,” said Dennis Nostrand, vice president for enrollment.
Approximately 92 percent of all UT students receive aid, and UT annually offers more than $60 million in institutional aid. UT will accept the coalition application for admission beginning this fall.
Annie Reznik, executive director of the Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success, said that expanding membership creates the potential for outreach efforts to have a broader impact. “We are thrilled to be able to collaborate with UT to improve college access,” she said.
The mobile-friendly coalition application includes a suite of online college planning tools — completely free of charge for all high school students — which supports collaborative early engagement outreach efforts by member colleges.
More information about the Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success, including a complete list of members, can be found at www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org.

UT Named One of the Best Colleges by The Princeton Review

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The University of Tampa has again been named by The Princeton Review as one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education.
Only about 15 percent of America’s 2,500 four-year colleges and only four colleges outside the USA are profiled in The Princeton Review’s book, “The Best 382 Colleges.”
“UT’s continued inclusion in this well-respected guide is a testament to the expertise and commitment of our faculty and staff to provide an outstanding educational experience for students,” said UT President Ronald L. Vaughn.
The colleges included are based on data The Princeton Review obtains in its annual institutional data surveys, from its 24-member National College Counselor Advisory Board, through personal visits to schools, and through the wide range of feedback gleaned from surveys of students attending these schools, as well as administrators.
“We chose The University of Tampa for this book because it offers outstanding academics,” said Robert Franek, Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief and author of “The Best 382 Colleges.”
In its profile, students praise UT as a “school rich in diversity, student engagement opportunities,” and for faculty who are “encouraging, insightful, well-versed in their fields of study, and have many connections in the Tampa area they are always willing to share.”
Students also say of campus life: “The school is always jumping with events to go to and opportunities to take advantage of.” And of the student body, they say “most people here are very friendly and easy to talk to. It is easy to find friends through the dorms, clubs, or other activities.”
In a “Survey Says” sidebar in the book’s profile on UT, The Princeton Review lists topics that UT students surveyed for the book were in most agreement about in their answers to survey questions. The list includes: “Students love Tampa, FL,” “Dorms are like palaces” and “Easy to get around campus.”
The Princeton Review’s school profiles and ranking lists in “The Best 382 Colleges” are posted at PrincetonReview.com.
Founded in 1981, The Princeton Review is a privately held education services company headquartered in Framingham, MA. The Company has long been a leader in helping students achieve their education and career goals through its test preparation services, tutoring and admissions resources, online courses, and more than 150 print and digital books published by Random House Inc. The Princeton Review delivers its programs via a network of more than 5,000 teachers and tutors in the USA, Canada and international franchises. The company also partners with schools and guidance counselors worldwide to provide students with college readiness, test preparation and career planning services.
The University of Tampa is a private, residential university located on 110 acres on the riverfront in downtown Tampa. Known for academic excellence, personal attention and real-world experience in its undergraduate and graduate programs, the University serves 8,600 students from 50 states and 140 countries. Approximately 65 percent of full-time students live on campus, and about half of UT students are from Florida.

UT Receives National Science Foundation Funding to Support Conference

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Conference focuses on high impact teaching and learning practices for molecular sciences

The National Science Foundation has granted The University of Tampa $31,625 to support a conference on transforming undergraduate education in the molecular life sciences.
Michael Carastro, associate professor of biochemistry and a conference organizer, applied for and received the funding. The funding will support 10 community college faculty members and 25 graduate students/postdoctoral fellows to attend the conference.
Carastro said he is pleased to have received the grant as “National Science Foundation funding is extremely competitive, and this is the first direct funding that UT has received from NSF in more than five years.”
The conference is being held at UT July 20–23 and is affiliated with the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The meeting will focus on high-impact teaching and learning practices and mechanisms to facilitate student transitions from two-year colleges to four-year colleges and universities.
The conference will be in the Vaughn Center at UT, and media is welcome to attend all sessions. For more information about the conference, click here.

Eight Tampa Bay Area Companies to be recognized at Sustainable Business Awards at UT June 7

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From a 406 kilowatt solar energy system and multiple effective recycling efforts, to saving energy and landfill space through preservation of historic buildings, eight Tampa Bay-area businesses are leading the commitment to social, economic and environmental responsibility. They will be honored at the ninth annual Sustainable Business Awards luncheon on Wednesday, June 7, at 11:30 a.m. at The University of Tampa’s Crescent Club on the ninth floor of the Vaughn Center, 401 W. Kennedy Blvd.
Presented by The Sustany Foundation and The University of Tampa Center for Ethics, this year’s winners are:

  • AACSB (Jan Roberts Sustainable Leadership Award)
  • Suncoast Credit Union (NFP)
  • Doubletree
  • INETICO
  • Jones Potato Farm
  • Safer Home Services
  • Atelier Architecture
  • Kenyon Energy

The Sustainable Business Awards recognize and honor for-profit businesses in the Tampa Bay area that engage in practices that increase economic opportunities and improve the environment and community.
The businesses will be recognized for contributions in building a sustainable economy in Tampa Bay, while embracing the “triple bottom line” — advancing the interests of people, planet and profit through innovative practices, products and services.
The luncheon is open to the public. Tickets are $50 each and can be purchased online at The Sustany Foundation website. Sponsorships are available starting at $500 by contacting Herb Goetschius at (813) 784-7008 or [email protected].
University of Tampa students, under the guidance of Sykes College of Business faculty, developed an evaluation process to determine the winners based primarily on Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines.
Over 100 Tampa Bay area businesses have been award winners, including such leading employers as Mosaic, Xerox, Premier Eye Care and Sykes.
The Sustainable Business Awards are made possible through the generosity of sponsors including the Tampa Bay Times, Mosaic, Out Front Brands and TECO.
The mission of the UT Center for Ethics is to provide educational and professional resources to promote ethical systems and individual responsibility in the academic and greater business community through close interaction with the University.
Founded in 2007, The Sustany Foundation supports sustainability through education and programs that advance economic prosperity, environmental stewardship and social responsibility. They strive to be the leading facilitator of sustainability through efficient and effective aggregation and investment of resources for Tampa Bay’s citizens today and into the future.

L. Keith Todd Named Head of Advancement at The University of Tampa

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L. Keith Todd, who recently spearheaded the largest fundraising match in U.S. philanthropic history, has been named The University of Tampa’s vice president for development and university relations. Todd will begin his duties at UT in early June.
As vice president, Todd will be tasked with further building a strong culture of giving at UT that will provide unprecedented support for scholarships, endowment and institutional initiatives. He will focus on increasing philanthropic support of the University, building relationships across Tampa Bay and nationwide, securing private support from donors and increasing public awareness of UT. Furthermore, Todd will serve as an advisor to UT President Ron Vaughn on key advancement and university relations topics, and other institutional issues.
Todd comes to UT with more than 30 years of experience in advancement, serving on advancement teams at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, The Ohio State University, The Medical College of Georgia, the Medical University of South Carolina, University of Illinois-Chicago, and most recently, at Oregon Health & Sciences University (OHSU).
As president and CEO of the OHSU Foundation from 2013 to 2017, Todd raised about $100 million annually from donors in all but two states. There he most notably architected the $500 million two-year match campaign that was supported by Phil and Penny Knight and is considered the largest match campaign in U.S. philanthropic history. The campaign ultimately raised $1.4 billion.
Prior to that, Todd served as vice chancellor for university development and senior vice president of the University of Illinois Foundation. By focusing on campus priorities, principal gifts and re-establishing volunteer structures, he was able to raise $250 million while leading the Office of Advancement for the College of Medicine.
Todd said the UT position is very appealing, and he looks forward to creating a creative and collaborative culture of philanthropy that will benefit UT, its students and the entire region.
“UT’s focus on building a robust culture of philanthropy to support its vision of securing pathways for its students and alumni to lead successful lives is admirable and exciting,” Todd said. “By working together and increasing philanthropic support, there’s no limit to what can be achieved at The University of Tampa.”
Vaughn said Todd was impressive in his passion for higher education as well as his ability to strategize and manage high-level development initiatives, opportunities and challenges.
“Keith’s successes in philanthropy for higher education are outstanding,” Vaughn said. “His sense of urgency, his experience and his ability to manage complex opportunities will serve him well as we build UT’s fundraising efforts that include endowed scholarship needs and future capital projects.”
Todd received a master’s degree in education-institutional advancement from Vanderbilt University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Clemson University.
Todd will succeed Dan Gura, who is currently serving as interim vice president for development and university relations. Gura previously served as vice president since 1990. Gura will transition back into a position of vice president of the capital campaign and assistant to the president.

UT to Hold Spring Commencement Saturday, May 6

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The University will honor nearly 1,500 graduates at its 144th commencement on Saturday, May 6. For the first time the University will host 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 1,209 bachelor’s degree candidates and 288 master’s degree candidates —1, 497 in all.
At the morning ceremony, William B. Rutherford ’86, chief financial officer and executive vice president at HCA Holdings Inc., will give the address, and Alan Randolph ’90, Florida state president at Bank of the Ozarks, will receive the 2017 Alumni Achievement Award. James Scudero ’17, a digital arts major from Hauppauge, NY, will introduce the speaker, and Khadijah Khan ’17, a journalism major from Tarpon Springs, FL, will deliver the challenge to the graduating class.
In the afternoon ceremony, Aileen Black ’83, executive director, industry lead and group leader U.S. government at Google, is the speaker, and Tammy Charles ’12, MBA ’14, senior manager of corporate relations at Metropolitan Ministries, will receive the 2017 Young Alumnus Award. Talia Ashby ’17, a sociology major from Tampa, FL, will introduce the speaker, and Jennifer Sanchez, a government and world affairs major from Tampa, FL, will deliver the challenge to the graduating class.
Several graduate programs have hooding ceremonies scheduled in the days leading up to commencement:

  • Thursday, May 4:
    • Department of Nursing hooding and pinning ceremony, 6 p.m., Plant Hall, Fletcher Lounge (by invitation only)
    • Department of Education hooding ceremony, 6 p.m., Martinez Athletics Center, Sword & Shield Room
  • Friday, May 5:
    • Department of Health Sciences and Human Performance hooding ceremony, Noon, Martinez Athletics Center
    • Sykes College of Business hooding and awards ceremony, 6 p.m., Martinez Athletics Center

Friday, June 23:

  • MFA in Creative Writing hooding ceremony, 5:30 p.m., location to be announced

UT Graduates by the Numbers:
Total graduates = 1,497
Countries represented = 58
% of graduates from Florida = 44%
Undergraduates
Total bachelor’s degree candidates = 1,209
Summa cum laude (GPA 4.0) = 4
Magna cum laude (GPA 3.75 or higher, but less than 4.0) = 99
Cum laude (GPA 3.5 or higher, but less than 3.75) = 186
Top 3 most popular undergraduate majors in this class = Criminology, Management and Marketing
Graduate students
Total master’s candidates = 288
With honors (GPA 3.9 or higher, but less than 4.0) = 10
With highest honors (GPA 4.0) = 12
MBAs awarded = 110

UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA WILL HOST THE U.S. NATIONAL CHEMISTRY OLYMPIAD COMPETITION ON APRIL 24

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TAMPA — Seven high school chemistry students will participate in the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO) competition at The University of Tampa on Monday, April 24, from 8 a.m.–3 p.m. The seven top scorers were selected 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 USNCO is a multi-tiered competition that tests the students’ knowledge and skills in chemistry. The three-part, 4.5-hour exam consists of a multiple choice section (Part I), a problem solving component (Part II) and a laboratory practical (Part III). The 20 top-scoring students in the country will be selected to attend a study camp where they will try to earn a place on the national team to represent the United States at the 49th International Chemistry Olympiad in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, July 6–15, 2017.
Both the ACS Chemathon examination and the USNCO are annual events 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, UT assistant professor of chemistry, at (813) 257-3208. 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 Hosting Sixth Annual Human Rights Day Conference April 22

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The University of Tampa will host its sixth annual Human Rights Day Conference on Saturday, April 22. Attendees will explore the theme Migration, Immigration and Refugee Rights through panels, presentations and creative works from UT faculty and students as well as outside speakers.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the ninth floor of the Vaughn Center and is free and open to the public.
The conference will kick off with a screening of Drawing the Tiger. Filmed over seven years, the documentary follows a rural Nepalese family as they try to escape the cyclical debt and poverty of subsistence farming. After the screening, co-directors Amy Benson and Scott Squire will deliver a keynote address on their behind-the-scenes journey of making the film.
In the afternoon, attendees can choose from several concurrent sessions. Room one sessions include:

  • Contested Borders, Refugees and Human Security: A Case Study of Kashmir, Aurobinda Mahapatra, Fellow at the Center for Peace, Development and Democracy, University of Massachusetts Boston, 2 p.m.
  • Social Justice Communication and Actuality Media, Christopher Boulton, UT students and a representative from Actuality Media, 3 p.m.
  • Migrant Rights Panel, Scott Solomon, associate professor of government and international affairs at the University of South Florida; Mary Meyer, professor of political science at Eckerd College; and Tara Deubel, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of South Florida, 4 p.m.

Room two sessions include:

  • Central American Migrants: Social and Economic Causes of Emigration, Harry E. Vanden, professor of government and international affairs at the University of South Florida, 2 p.m.
  • Florida Institute for Community Studies (FICS), Alayne Unterberger, FICS founder and research director, 3 p.m.
  • Fair Food and Human Rights: How the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Consumer Allies Have Transformed the Agricultural Industry, Coalition of Immokalee Workers representatives, 4 p.m.

The conference will end with a discussion of the CARIBE Refugee Program with coordinator Ronald Alan Cruz at 5 p.m.
The conference is organized by Bruce Friesen and Marcus Arvan of the Human Rights Think Tank, and is sponsored by the UT College of Social Sciences, Mathematics and Education, the UT Department of Philosophy and Religion, the UT Honors Program and UNA-USA Tampa Bay.
For more information, go to www.ut.edu/humanrightsday or contact Friesen at [email protected] or (813) 257-3464, or Arvan at [email protected] or (813) 257-3674.

UT Students Pitch the Perfect Network Infrastructure to EY

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Students at The University of Tampa will show how they would build — from the ground up — a network and cloud infrastructure with the Tampa office of “Big Four” accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP (EY).
The Tampa office of EY presented UT with a mock scenario for students to create a network design for a local area network (LAN) in a fictionalized new office building.
The students will pitch their network design solutions to EY and IT industry leaders who will select the best idea. The presentation is on Monday, April 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. on the UT campus in the Riverside Center, Room 101. The public and media are welcome to attend.
In addition to EY, representatives from ReliaQuest, Tech Data Corp., TECO Energy, Citibank, Raymond James Financial, DigitalGlobe, FairWarning Inc., PwC, White & Case LLP and others will be present.
The students are in UT’s Network and Cloud Infrastructure class, where they study network architectures, topology, routing, protocols, IP addressing, wireless networking, securing networks, virtualization and cloud computing.
The class is within UT’s undergraduate cybersecurity program, which began in 2015. Students in the program learn to protect the confidentiality, availability and integrity of information and information systems that support modern organizations. A master’s degree program will begin this fall.
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services they deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. EY develops outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, EY plays a critical role in building a better working world for their people, for clients and for their communities.