TAMPA, Fla. – The University of South Florida System announced today the appointment of five new members of the USF Consolidation Planning, Study and Implementation Task Force.
As required by Florida law, USF Board of Trustees Chair Brian Lamb appoints two members to the task force, while USF St. Petersburg Campus Board Chair Stephanie Goforth, USF Sarasota-Manatee Campus Board Chair Byron Shinn and the USF Alumni Association each appoint one member.
The appointments include:
Anddrikk Frazier, managing partner of Integral Energy (by Lamb). A graduate of the USF College of Engineering, former USF men’s basketball player and founding member of the USF Black Leadership Network, Frazier has nearly 20 years of experience in the energy business.
Michael “Mike” Griffin, senior managing director for Savills Studley Occupier Services (by Lamb). Griffin earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from USF and served two terms as student body president. He is also a former chair of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.
Melissa Seixas, vice president, government and community relations for Duke Energy (by Goforth). Seixas earned a master’s degree in history from USF and served as co-chair of USFSP’s 50th anniversary celebration in 2015-16. She is currently board chair of the St. Pete Downtown Partnership.
Frederick “Rick” Piccolo, president and CEO of Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (by Shinn). Piccolo was recently appointed to serve on the USF Sarasota-Manatee Campus Board and he is a past chair of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
Kayla Rykiel is an Honors College student at USF pursuing a bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences (by the USF Alumni Association). Rykiel is the founder of Partners in Health, a USF student organization, and serves as director of the TEDxUSF program. She’s been involved in research projects related to infectious diseases, drug development to prevent malaria and food insecurity among teenagers.
The Florida Board of Governors previously appointed Dr. Jonathan Ellen, president and vice dean of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, as chair of the task force, which will develop recommendations to phase out the separate accreditations of USF St. Petersburg and USF Sarasota-Manatee.
“We are excited to announce these appointments that will collectively help solidify a diverse and influential group of community and business leaders that will join Chair Ellen and the remaining appointed task force members to provide recommendations to the USF Board of Trustees,” Lamb said.
USF System President Judy Genshaft, USFSP Interim Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock and USFSM Regional Chancellor Karen Holbook will also serve on the task force. The Florida Senate President and Speaker of the House will each appoint two members.
“These appointments include proven community leaders from a variety of different fields, who have a vested interest in the success of USF and understand the university’s importance to the future of the Tampa Bay region,” Ellen said. “Each member of the task force will bring a valuable perspective and expertise that will help us make recommendations designed to build on the success being achieved at USF.”
The 13-member task force will submit recommendations to the USF Board of Trustees by Feb. 15, 2019. The group’s responsibilities include identification of specific degrees in programs of strategic significance, including healthcare, science, technology, engineering and mathematics and other program priorities to be offered at USFSP and USFSM, as well as the timeline for development and delivery of programs on each campus. Other task force goals include engaging faculty, developing the research capacity at each campus and ensuring a seamless transition for students.
The first meeting of the task force is scheduled for 4 p.m. on April 25 at the USFSP Student Center. In addition, students and faculty will be invited to participate in town hall meetings this fall.
After considering the recommendations of the task force, the USF Board of Trustees must adopt and submit an implementation plan to the Board of Governors no later than March 15, 2019.
The USF System is required to consolidate into a single, unified accreditation before July 1, 2020. During the transition, each institution will remain accredited.