Faculty Profiles

Dr. Dick Puglisi

Professor and Stavros Chair in Free Enterprise & Economic Education

Dick Puglisi Headshot

Email: dpuglisi@usf.edu 
Phone: 813-974-2175
Office Location: USF Tampa campus, CEE 101


Dominic "Dick" J. Puglisi, PhD, is Professor and Stavros Chair in Free Enterprise & Economic Education and the Director of the Gus A. Stavros Center. Dr. Puglisi also is a member of the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Learning in the USF College of Education.

A faculty member since 1969, Dr. Puglisi has served as Director of the Stavros Center since 1980. He previously served as Assistant Dean for Business and Education Partnerships in the College of Education. He is a recipient of the coveted Freedoms Foundation Award for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education.

Dr. Puglisi’s academic work is focused on the field of free enterprise and economic education. His efforts are designed to build partnerships between business and education so that K-12 educators possess the knowledge and skills needed to prepare students for the global economy. 

Dr. Puglisi was a social studies teacher at a Tampa high school prior to coming to USF in 1969. From 1969-1980, he taught both the elementary and secondary social science education methods courses both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. 

During his tenure in the USF College of Education, he has served in several leadership positions, including Acting Director, National Resource Center for Middle Level Education; Assistant Director, Educational Policies Center; and Assistant Dean and Director of the Stavros Center. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the coveted national award, the Freedoms Foundation Leavey Award in Private Enterprise Education and the Outstanding Citizen Award from the Florida Council for the Social Studies.