People

Adjunct Professors

Clarence C. Rodrigues, Ph.D, PE, CSP, CPE

Dr. Rodrigues is a Safety and Health Consultant and Supervisor for the OSHA-Consultation Program in the College of Public Health and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Previously, he was an associate professor and program chair in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Khalifa University (KU) in Abu Dhabi. Prior to that, he was a tenured, full professor in the College of Aviation and program chair for the BS in Safety Degree at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. Earlier in his career, he served as Worldwide Engineering Manager for Campbell’s.

He holds the PE, CSP, and CPE certifications. He has consulted globally for both industry and government, delivered numerous national and international presentations, and authored many publications, including co-authoring the McGraw-Hill textbook Commercial Aviation Safety. His research interests include quantitative risk assessment, auditing, human performance, and operational excellence.

 

Payman Ghasemi, Ph.D.
Dr. Ghasemi is a Senior Generative AI Data Scientist and founder of OptimalAI LLC, where he develops production-scale AI solutions for healthcare, finance, and other high-impact domains. He holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering from the University of South Florida (USF), with expertise at the intersection of Operations Research, Machine Learning, and AI architectures. His research and professional focus include Generative AI–driven automation and large-scale optimization. He has authored several publications in healthcare and optimization. 
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Dug Cooley
Mr. Cooley's expertise is in delivering business value with a changing diverse workforce. Skills in program, project, and system management are applied to global implementation and cutting edge technology. He has experience in leading breakthrough technology development, and managing leadership teams implementing business capability around the globe. He leverages his business background, and academic education to instruct and mentor students at the University of South Florida, both the Tampa Campus and Sarasota Manatee, and the State College of Florida.

Mr. Cooley worked for IBM Global Services as a senior project manager for 15 years. He leads a portfolio team of project managers who deliver global information technology supporting business process and technology outsourcing clients. In this role, he provides program and project management leadership for large complex IT development, and data center consolidation and transformation using a PMO organizational structure.

Prior to working for IBM, Mr. Cooley was employed by Lockheed Martin and Westinghouse Electro-Optical as a senior systems engineer. During this 23-year period, Mr. Cooley worked in the areas of flight simulation, night vision system development; and research and development. Mr. Cooley was one of the leads in the development of the AFIS (Automatic Fingerprint Identification System) for the FBI.

He has a master of science in electrical engineering from the University of Central Florida, and also his BS in engineering from UCF. He also earned an MS in computer information systems from Nova Southeastern University.

 

Sandy Lovins
Sandy Lovins holds an MBA degree from Saint Leo University in Florida, and a baccalaureate degree from Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI. She received her Professional in Human Resources Certification in 1997, is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and the College and University Personnel Association. Ms. Lovins is a former president of the State of Florida System College and University Human Resources Executives Group and member of the Council for Administrative and Financial Affairs.

Ms. Lovins held the position of Vice President of Administrative Services for the University of South Florida from 2010-2014, having previously served as associate vice president of Human Resources since June 2004. She held the position of director of Human Resources from May 2003 to June 2004. As vice president of Administrative Services, Ms. Lovins was responsible for the leadership and overall direction of the following units: Environmental Health & Safety, Facilities Management, Human Resources, Parking and Transportation and Public Safety.

As associate vice president of Human Resources, Ms. Lovins served as the Chief Human Resources Officer for the University and was responsible for the overall direction and management of the division, including policy development and implementation, business unit alignment with strategic goals and mission, budget management, and people and program development. She was responsible for managing all labor relations for the University, including serving as chief negotiator for the USF Board of Trustees.

A results-oriented, seasoned business professional, Ms. Lovins has an extensive leadership background and significant experience serving on senior management teams responsible for strategic planning, execution and day-to-day operations. She has a wealth of experience working in both the public and private sectors with nearly 20 years in higher education. Prior to her position at USF, Ms. Lovins served as vice president of Human Resources at Pasco Beverage Company.