Principles of Community

Principles of Community Task Force

30 October 2019

University community,

In my introductory letter on my first day at USF, I shared with you my vision for advancing USF’s impressive trajectory of success. As I wrote, “The bedrock of our strategic renewal is a
commitment to community principles that reinforce inclusion, civility, open expression,
evidence-based deliberations and vigorous debate. These dynamics are crucial to our success
in forging a new future for USF.”

In my letter, I shared that I would be establishing a task force comprised of a broad crosssection of university stakeholders to develop a document that captures USF’s Principles of
Community.

Today I am pleased to announce the members of the task force with a charge of producing
USF’s Principles of Community. My hope is that those Principles will reinforce a campus climate
of mutual support among faculty, staff and students. The Principles will also help further
facilitate our shared strategy, mission, vision, and goals for ONE USF, Geographically
Distributed.

The task force members are:

  • Dr. Charles Adams, Dean, Genshaft Honors College, Chair
  • Dr. Ray Arsenault, USF St. Petersburg Faculty Senate President
  • Dr. Michael Cross, Director of Undergraduate Research
  • Dr. Timothy Boaz, USF Tampa Faculty Senate President
  • Ms. Roberta “Bobby” Collins, Administrative Council President
  • Ms. Britney Deas, USF Tampa Student Government President
  • Ms. Jadzia “Jazzy” Duarte, USF St. Petersburg Student Government President
  • Dr. Alfred Frontera, Associate Professor of Neurology, Morsani College of Medicine
  • Dr. Michael Gillespie, USF Sarasota-Manatee Faculty Senate President
  • Mr. Corey Posey, USF Sarasota-Manatee Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer
  • Mr. Bill McCausland, Vice President, Executive Director Alumni Association
  • Dr. Jacob Diaz, USF St. Petersburg Dean of Students
  • Ms. Meredith Scerba, Senior Associate Athletic Director
  • Dr. Dwayne Smith, Dean, Graduate Studies
  • Ms. Isabelle Starner, USF Sarasota-Manatee Student Government President
  • Dr. Maya Trotz, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Dr. Diane Price Herndl, Professor and Chair, Women's & Gender Studies and Professor, English
  • Dr. Deirdre Cobb-Roberts, Associate Professor in Social Foundations of Education & program coordinator

To assist in the task force’s work, I have asked Steve Prevaux, University Ombudsman, to serve
in a facilitative role.

I want to thank each of these individuals for their contributions of time, energy and ideas as
part of this important effort. I also thank them for their willingness to seek out suggestions and
feedback from their respective constituencies throughout the process.

I look forward to receiving the work of the task force by 28 February 2020, at which point I will
share their recommendations with the wider USF community.

Thank you,

Steven C. Currall, Ph.D.
President