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Faces of Preeminence
Preeminence is more than just a designation. It's a representation of USF's innovative mindset that shapes the future. These are just a few of the people who make USF Preeminent.
By Aaron Hilf
Jackie Reck, PhD: Seeing the progress of Preeminence
For Jackie Reck, PhD, USF's growth and evolution is an especially personal point of pride. An associate dean in the Muma College of Business, Reck has been a faculty member at USF for more than two decades – a graduate student here even before that. USF has become a part of who she is.
Throughout all those years, at the core of the countless new buildings and flourishing student body, Reck, '88 and MAcc '89, says USF has continued to push forward and evolve, striving to excel to become the very best version of itself.
"It has been amazing to see the growth here," she says. "What I think is really cool about USF is that it moves, it's not static. It's constantly looking to go to the next place. To me, that's what education is all about. And that's really what I think Preeminence is about for us. It's the acknowledgment that we are movers."
Reck first came to USF in 1986. She was pursuing a master's degree after deciding to make a career change. Upon graduating, she was offered an instructor position and taught accounting courses before leaving to get her PhD from the University of Missouri-Columbia. As soon as she left, she says she knew she wanted to come back.
"The staff, the professors, they all made it feel like a real community here," she says. "We felt like they cared about their students, that they cared about whether we were successful. That was the kind of environment I knew I wanted to work in, which is why I came back to teach here in 1996 and never looked back."
Now in her sixth year as an administrator, Reck continues to teach as well as conduct research. She says she's been truly proud to work at USF and be part of its growth the last 22 years. Being able to look back at the past and celebrate the present makes her eager to see what the future holds. It's a new era – one where every Bull will write a part of the story.
Dr. Samuel Wickline: Stopping heart attacks through nanotechnology
Dr. Sam Wickline is searching for nano-sized solutions to some of the biggest problems in medicine. As the director of the USF Health Heart Institute, Dr. Wickline and his colleagues are developing precision nanomedicines to fight the world's number one killer, cardiovascular disease.
The focus on heart health is something USF Health has been working toward for years. Through funding from USF's 2016 Emerging Preeminence designation, university officials were able to infuse the program with the resources to get it started. Dr. Wickline says when he heard about the push, he was excited to come back to Tampa Bay and help build the program.
"USF has really put forward a significant investment and has great enthusiasm for pursuing solutions to cardiovascular disease. I came here to be a part of that," Wickline says. "It really is a great place to build this center and do basic research as well as clinical translational research. And, it's gratifying to see how Preeminence is helping to support this effort."
Originally from St. Petersburg, Dr. Wickline returned to the area after a long and successful academic career at Washington University in St. Louis. With his connection to the region, he says he has always kept an eye on USF, watching it transform from a regional university into the premiere research and teaching institution it is today.
At the USF Health Heart Institute, much of Dr. Wickline's work focuses on building nanostructures capable of delivering drugs to very specific areas of the heart and vascular tree. The idea is to precisely target the pathological molecules that contribute to heart attacks and strokes. By identifying and targeting these abnormal molecules selectively, doctors may be able to prevent cardiovascular emergencies before they happen in a safe and personalized approach.
"For us, it's incredibly important to think about the people we're building these therapies for," Wickline says. "It's vital to the public good for universities to undertake applied translational research that achieves useful bench-to-bedside successes."
Dr. Wickline sees Preeminence as just a hint of what's to come for USF. He says the designation, along with USF's new downtown development project that will house both the Heart Institute as well as the Morsani College of Medicine, will help attract even more renowned faculty and talented students to the university.
Rachel Llewellyn: Life-changing opportunities in an unexpected place
Rachel Llewellyn always knew she wanted to become a doctor. She knew she wanted to work in women's health. And she knew she wasn't interested in going to her local university, USF. Or so she thought.
Llewellyn and her family moved to the Tampa Bay Area when she was in middle school. Her father was an ROTC instructor at USF, and she grew up with a big connection to the university. But it was that same connection, mixed with some teenage angst, she admits, that turned her off to the idea of becoming a Bull. That is, until she came to visit campus.
"When I toured USF my senior year of high school, I immediately knew I was going to come here," Llewellyn says. "I knew that I wouldn't be just a number. I had this overwhelming sense that the faculty and staff were really looking to help me reach my potential. And that's been true since my freshman year."
Now, in her fourth year as an undergraduate student, Llewellyn says attending USF was one of the best decisions she's ever made. As a biomedical engineering major and Honors College student, she's had the chance to work as a research assistant in the OBGYN laboratory of Dr. Charles Lockwood, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine. She says it's been an incredible experience that has strengthened her passion for women's health and sparked a new passion for research.
Llewellyn, who spoke on behalf of USF students at the Board of Governors meeting in June where USF's Preeminence designation was approved, says the last few years have been an exciting time to be at USF. A place she's proud to call home.
"Preeminence is a huge deal. It puts us right up there with the greatest schools in Florida and best schools in the nation," Llewellyn says. "Obviously, the funding is great, but at the end of the day, it's about having the state of Florida and the rest of the country see USF in the light that I know it deserves to be in."
Charles Stanish, PhD: Building something new
As an archaeologist and anthropologist, Charles Stanish, PhD, is fascinated by how cultures and civilizations evolve. So, when the world-renowned researcher and professor was looking for a new university to call home, it was a feeling of growth and progress he sensed at USF that drew him here.
"I was very much attracted to the spirit of USF," Stanish says. "In talking with the president, provost, deans and many others, there's this very optimistic outlook and approach to everything. They really are looking forward and want to bring the highest level of research and teaching to the USF student body."
A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Stanish joined the USF Department of Anthropology last year after nearly two decades at one of the world's most prestigious public universities: the University of California, Los Angeles. Stanish was recruited and hired by USF thanks, in part, to state funding provided through USF's 2016 Emerging Preeminent status.
Stanish's research focuses on the study of the prehistoric cultures of the Andes Mountains. He has worked extensively at archaeological sites in Peru, Bolivia and Chile and has published several books on the evolution of human cooperation and the development of complex societies.
In his role at USF, Stanish is building a new research center that focuses on the historical interaction between humans and the environment during the last 20,000 years. He says the Institute for the Advanced Study of Culture & the Environment is also designed to stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration across campus. He hopes that providing a place for researchers to collaborate will help spur new areas of academic inquiry and give students the chance to think outside their immediate field of study.
"It's a very exciting time to be a Bull," Stanish says. "This Preeminence designation validates everything USF has been working toward for years and will not only provide more resources for our students, but gives them the recognition they deserve."
Keerthana Nimmagadda: From coast to coast
When Keerthana Nimmagadda first stepped foot on the USF campus, the California high school student had already visited nearly a dozen other universities, including some of the most prestigious schools in the country. But what Nimmagadda found on her tour of USF that day wasn't a university focused on its traditions of the past, like so many others she visited. Rather, she found a place that was charging into the future – a future she wanted to be a part of.
"USF always instilled the idea that I didn't have to follow in the footsteps of students past. Instead, I could make my own path," she says. "I was really inspired by that."
Nimmagadda had her pick of just about any school she wanted. As a National Merit Scholar Finalist with a near-perfect score on her SAT, she was accepted into every institution in the University of California System – but still chose to move across the country to become a Bull.
It was USF's seven-year medical program that caught her eye. She has wanted to become a doctor since she was a child and knew an accelerated program would help make that dream come true. But, when she got to campus, Nimmagadda says it was far more than USF's academics that convinced her to attend. She says it was the way students, staff and faculty members talked about the university – excited for what the future holds and what incoming students could achieve. She says she saw opportunities to grow as a person as well as academically and knew USF was the place where she could flourish.
Now, as a sophomore majoring in biomedical sciences, Nimmagadda is volunteering in a research laboratory, gaining invaluable experience as an undergraduate student. She plans to stay at USF for medical school and is working toward becoming a neurologist in the future. It's a dream that's been nurtured and supported since she first stepped foot on campus.
"I know that I made the right choice coming to USF and I'm genuinely honored to be at this Preeminent university," she says. "I feel like I'm not just going to school here, but like I'm a part of building this university's future. I can't imagine myself anywhere else."
Read more comments from students, faculty, alumni and the Tampa Bay community about the New Era at USF.