I have a long history with the University of South Florida. Growing up in Tampa, I remember being driven onto the campus as it took shape not far from Busch Gardens. My mother worked there for many years as an academic advisor and occasional teacher and when she retired a tree was planted to honor "Mother USF." During her tenure, she alerted me to an obscure branch campus of the University in Sarasota that had taken over a struggling liberal arts school called "New College." The diploma that I just took down from my office wall confirms that I graduated from New College of the University of South Florida.
I must admit that back in the day the younger New College students were not always polite to the commuter students who attended U.S.F and shared our campus. On the other hand, the administration in Tampa never knew quite what to make of the intelligent yet erratic students who populated the Pei dorms in Sarasota. A few years ago, New College finally became independent again, and U.S.F. constructed a new campus on the grounds of the Crosley estate. Many fine people were upset with this choice of a location that abuts a residential area and resulted in the development of one of the last semi-wild areas along the bay-front. Now that the campus is complete, and has been open for two years, the contribution of U.S.F. to Sarasota and Bradenton is becoming clear. I had the pleasure of teaching there in the fall of 2006, and this past week had four contacts with the campus, the students and the faculty.
The Academy for Lifelong Learning has found a home on the new campus. On Monday I had the pleasure of lecturing to a group of twenty-five students of the silver haired variety. We covered the intersection of mental health and the law and I found myself peppered with questions over the course of the lively 90 minutes I spent with the class. Wednesday night I gave a talk on the death penalty at the Friends Meeting House. Prior to my talk, Professor Brooke Butler and a group of her research assistants asked me to join them at Carrabbas for dinner. They then surprised me by turning the dinner into a "retirement" party for me, shown in the photo at the top of this page with Dr. Butler in the bottom center of the picture.
Another important development at the U.S.F. Sarasota/Bradenton campus is the Institute for Public Policy and Leadership. A wise decision was made to hire David Klement, longtime editor at the Bradenton Herald, to head and develop the Institute. Klement hit the ground running, using his influence and connections to bring in Senator Bob Graham a few weeks ago, and partnering with the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice on their civility initiative. On Thursday night they presented a campaign school that was attended by 120 political hopefuls. We received presentations from the Supervisors of Elections, political consultants, and representatives of the print, mail, and television industries. Interestingly, much of what we heard on Thursday evening was called into question during a talk by Yale political scientist Gregory Huber on Friday afternoon. Entitled "A Skeptics Guide to Election Media Coverage," Huber argued that political science involves more than a close reading of newspapers. His thesis was that we should be skeptical of cause and effect analysis unless other contributing causes can be conclusively ruled out. And despite the political consultants, influence of money, and negative advertising, the most effective way to persuade a voter is good old face to face contact between the candidate and the voter.
Along those lines, I will be in DeSoto County Monday evening for the Democratice Executive Committee meeting, at the Sarasota County Civic League on Wednesday morning, attending the NAACP breakfast in Manatee County on Saturday, and soliciting petitions at the Cortez Fish Festival next weekend. Hopefully I will see you soon!
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