Leadership

A Message from the Regional Chancellor

Dear USF St. Petersburg campus community,

Serving as your Regional Chancellor has been one of the greatest honors of my career, which makes it bittersweet to share that late this afternoon I accepted the position of President of Texas A&M University-Victoria. My last official day at USF St. Petersburg will be November 3.

I want to express my gratitude to President Rhea Law, the USF Board of Trustees and our Campus Board for their support and guidance. Their leadership has been instrumental in helping USF St. Petersburg grow, and I am honored to have worked alongside them. I am also grateful to our campus and university leadership teams for their partnership and commitment to excellence.

Being part of the USF St. Petersburg community has been a true privilege. This is an extraordinary place – one where people care about each other, lift each other up and, most importantly, always put our students first. The passion I have witnessed has been inspiring, and it is because of you that this campus continues its amazing upward trajectory.

As much as I love USF St. Petersburg, it has been my dream to serve as a university president. When Texas A&M University-Victoria offered me this opportunity, I couldn’t pass it up. But please know that this decision was not made lightly. You have become like family to me, and I will never forget the people I have met here.

I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together over these years:

• We created new initiatives that supported our students, such as expanding research opportunities, starting First Gen Forward, and establishing a campus comfort dog program (yay, Snowbird and Officer Lickenfelt).
  
  
• We introduced new and strengthened existing academic programs to address critical needs in the community, such as a new nursing bachelor program that will kick off in fall 2026, expanding public health and hospitality education, and enhancing art programming by bringing the Generator art exhibit to campus.
  
  
• We strengthened relationships with our state and federal elected officials, which led to support for numerous projects, including securing $34.3 million for the Environmental and Oceanographic Sciences Research and Teaching Facility, $7.5 million for a new Office of Veterans Success, more than $3.5 million toward our Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Risk to Resilience Lab, and $1 million to support the terrific students in the Eileen Hoffman Hafer UMatter program.
  
  
• We increased philanthropic efforts, including launching our signature fundraising event, Bulls & Brews by the Bay.
  
  
• And with our many valuable partnerships, we enhanced our sense of community through memorable events and programs like the St. Petersburg Science Festival, Halloween Fest and the numerous camps that introduced many youth for the first time to a college experience. 

I am especially proud of our efforts to guide our campus safely through six hurricanes (which will prepare me for any on the other side of the Gulf!) and four manatee rescues. 

Over the next few weeks, I look forward to connecting with many of you as we celebrate the successes of the past three and a half years. The impact of our collective work will continue to be felt for years to come. Thank you for your support and your dedication. I look forward to seeing (and celebrating) all the great things you will accomplish in the years ahead.

With gratitude and admiration,