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2016-17 WLP Annual Report

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Since its founding, USF Women in Leadership and Philanthropy<br />

has sought to encourage and develop the intellectual and leadership<br />

potential of women in the Tampa Bay Area. As a proud USF<br />

alumna, it has been my honor to serve as chairman as we continue<br />

to grow the program and its mission. At the recent 20<strong>17</strong> <strong>WLP</strong> Fall<br />

Symposium, we were treated to an inspiring message from a fellow<br />

USF alumna Grace Gealey Byers, USF Honors College theatre<br />

grad and star of the popular Fox series “Empire”, who challenged<br />

us to know our worth and the value of relationships. My time as<br />

your chairman has given me moments of clarity and purpose in the<br />

stewardship of the people and programs of <strong>WLP</strong>, and has further<br />

strengthened my commitment to give my all to advance both the<br />

strategic goals of <strong>WLP</strong> and of my alma mater, the University of<br />

South Florida.<br />

Our organization is well known for our highly impactful scholarship,<br />

mentorship, and faculty research awards programs, but it is<br />

important to recognize and appreciate that by working together<br />

to advance these objectives, our collective engagement creates<br />

opportunities to strengthen the skills we need to compete, to thrive,<br />

and to be successful in our life journey. Our overall success depends<br />

upon the participation of all of our members - founding, lifetime,<br />

individual and corporate – giving generously of their time, talent<br />

and treasure in pursuit of our mutually-shared values and goals. I<br />

commend our outstanding <strong>WLP</strong> staff and impactful committees<br />

for the tremendous contributions they have made to the success of<br />

our programs, events, student engagement and overall progress.<br />

Over the last year, we have witnessed the power and impact that<br />

the collective contributions of our 300-plus members can generate.<br />

Once again, <strong>WLP</strong> continued its trajectory of tremendous growth<br />

and excellence, enjoyed a<br />

record-setting 22% increase<br />

in membership; an almost<br />

100% increase in the principal<br />

of the <strong>WLP</strong> Endowed Scholarship<br />

fund; and a remarkable 537% increase<br />

in the dollars dispersed by our <strong>WLP</strong><br />

First Generation Scholarship fund. Add that<br />

to another sold-out <strong>WLP</strong> Fall Symposium and the successful<br />

launch of our <strong>WLP</strong> W.I.S.E. (Women Who Ignite Student<br />

Engagement) student leadership initiative, and I think we can all<br />

agree that we have a tremendous reason to be proud of our organization.<br />

If you aren’t already involved, I encourage you to “step up” your<br />

membership engagement and join a committee in the coming year.<br />

We need your talent, skills, passion and influence to continue on<br />

this path. Harnessing the power of our collective skills and experiences<br />

is necessary if we hope to continue our admirable trajectory<br />

of success.<br />

As an USF alumna and first generation college graduate it gives<br />

me pleasure to support and represent USF and women making a<br />

difference in their communities. Thank you for this privilege to<br />

serve and for making this world a better place for women.<br />

Sincerely,<br />

Carolyn House Stewart ‘74<br />

1 <strong>2016</strong>-<strong>17</strong> ANNUAL REPORT


MISSION<br />

The mission of the USF System Women in Leadership &<br />

Philanthropy program is to engage and educate visionary<br />

leaders and philanthropists to make a difference for women<br />

throughout the USF System and the community.<br />

SOURCES OF <strong>WLP</strong> FUNDS<br />

The structure and function of the USF <strong>WLP</strong> program<br />

requires a consistent source of spendable income. Because<br />

the majority of individual gifts to <strong>WLP</strong> are made to restricted<br />

endowed funds, our primary sources of operating income<br />

include annual membership contributions, corporate<br />

memberships, sponsorships and ticket sales from the <strong>Annual</strong><br />

Fall Symposium and other <strong>WLP</strong> events, and contributions<br />

from the USF Faculty & Staff Campaign. <strong>WLP</strong> also benefits<br />

from the investment of staff salary and budgetary support<br />

provided by the USF Foundation.<br />

MEMBERSHIP<br />

USF <strong>WLP</strong>’s groundwork was established over a decade ago<br />

by our founding members whose initial investments created<br />

a firm foundation for the fulfillment of <strong>WLP</strong>’s mission.<br />

By establishing individual endowed scholarship funds,<br />

contributing to the <strong>WLP</strong> endowed scholarship, and building<br />

the program endowment, our Founding, Lifetime, Individual<br />

and Corporate members provide <strong>WLP</strong> the strong basis for<br />

the tremendous growth and impact that distinguishes the<br />

program today.<br />

OUR IMPACT<br />

Founded in 2005 by a small group of individuals and a<br />

handful of Tampa Bay area corporations, <strong>WLP</strong> advanced a<br />

vision shared by noted philanthropist Carol Morsani and USF<br />

System President Judy Genshaft to create the first women’s<br />

philanthropic organization in the Tampa Bay region focused<br />

on developing the intellectual and leadership potential of<br />

women through the promotion of mentorship, philanthropy,<br />

community engagement and scholarly excellence. Fast forward<br />

12 years and <strong>WLP</strong> - now numbering more than 300 individual<br />

and 19 corporate members strong - has helped stimulate<br />

numerous transformational gifts to benefit the USF System; has<br />

directly raised well over $3 million; and has invested more than<br />

$1 million in grants, scholarships, and programmatic funding<br />

to assist female students, faculty members, and women in the<br />

Tampa Bay region. These achievements are a clear sign that<br />

USF <strong>WLP</strong> is a trailblazer in advancing women’s leadership<br />

and philanthropy in our communities and is fulfilling the<br />

vision of our founding members.<br />

Throughout the past decade, <strong>WLP</strong> has awarded over<br />

$1 million in scholarships, devoted mentoring hours to over<br />

430 students, and has provided research awards to 23 female<br />

faculty members. <strong>WLP</strong> presents a wide variety of educational<br />

and leadership development programs annually at all three<br />

USF System institutions and in our surrounding communities,<br />

and has formed formal mentoring partnerships with USF’s<br />

Center for Leadership & Civic Engagement, Office of Veteran<br />

Success, Athletics, Transitional Advising Center, the Honors<br />

College, USF St. Petersburg and USF Sarasota-Manatee.<br />

In <strong>2016</strong>, in partnership with USAmeriBank, <strong>WLP</strong> formed<br />

the WISE (Women Who Ignite Student Engagement)<br />

Advisory Council. Together with the <strong>WLP</strong> Mentoring and<br />

Program Committees and with the <strong>WLP</strong>/WISE Advisory<br />

Council, we developed and launched the USF System’s<br />

first student-led leadership symposium in spring 20<strong>17</strong>,<br />

and are in the planning stages for another successful<br />

WISE Student Symposium in March 2018.<br />

The continued success of <strong>WLP</strong> is the result of the collective<br />

generosity of all of our members, who lend their time, talent,<br />

and treasure to make <strong>WLP</strong> the impactful organization that<br />

it has become. We thank our Founding, Lifetime, Corporate,<br />

and Individual members for their engagement and continued<br />

leadership and support.<br />

USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 2


3 <strong>2016</strong>-<strong>17</strong> ANNUAL REPORT


USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 4


Retired Math Professor Liana Fernandez Fox<br />

Offers a Window on USF, Old Tampa and a<br />

New <strong>WLP</strong> Scholarship<br />

By Dave Scheiber<br />

Liana Fernandez Fox looks outside a first-floor window of the<br />

Marshall Student Center on a sun-splashed afternoon and marvels<br />

at the sight. She sees more than a steady wave of young people<br />

walking to and from class, more than the tree-lined landscape and<br />

the large bronze bulls overlooking the MLK plaza in the distance.<br />

She sees a scene that holds her own story – from the wide-eyed<br />

Ybor City teen whose life was changed by USF to the career<br />

educator whose passion and boundless energy have helped the<br />

lives of so many others.<br />

In her mind’s eye, she has a clear view through the decades –<br />

picturing the campus as it was in the mid-1960s, covered with<br />

more sand than sidewalks and barren patches devoid of greenery.<br />

“We used to joke that our logo should have sandspurs – it was<br />

really nasty walking around back then,” she says, punctuating the<br />

memory with one of her infectious laughs.<br />

“And all these trees you see now? There might have been one or two<br />

back then I think. I was president of the Alumni Association when<br />

we celebrated the completion of MLK Plaza in 1997. And I thought,<br />

‘We were so busy surviving, just going from day to day and trying<br />

to pass, we didn’t realize we were part of history.’ We were living it.”<br />

Fox lived it fully as a member of one of USF’s early classes,<br />

the daughter of loving, hard-working and highly protective<br />

parents of Hispanic and Sicilian descent. Back then, the relatively<br />

new university offered local high school students a viable option<br />

that hadn’t existed before: a chance to attend a four-year public<br />

institution in Tampa Bay without having to leave home, since<br />

USF provided the much needed access and affordability of a<br />

higher education.<br />

“If this university hadn’t been built when and where it was,” she<br />

says, “an entire generation – especially Latin females – wouldn’t<br />

have gone to college.”<br />

USF became a formative stop for her in a journey that would<br />

entwine many chapters – falling in love, marrying and raising<br />

a family with her hometown sweetheart, Bob Fox; becoming a<br />

fixture as a mathematics professor at Hillsborough Community<br />

College for 33 years – and simultaneously at USF for nearly half<br />

that span; returning to earn her master’s and PhD at USF after<br />

actually completing her bachelor’s degree at Florida State; and<br />

a prominent presence through the years with USF’s Alumni<br />

Association and Women in Leadership & Philanthropy.<br />

Today, her impact with the <strong>WLP</strong> organization is being felt in a<br />

powerful new way. She and her husband have established an<br />

endowed scholarship to support USF transfer students from<br />

Hillsborough Community College – cementing the enduring<br />

relationship Fox has with both institutions. The scholarship goes<br />

5 <strong>2016</strong>-<strong>17</strong> ANNUAL REPORT


hand in hand with the new FUSE program, which assists transfer<br />

students from HCC and colleges around the state complete<br />

their bachelor’s degrees in the USF System.<br />

“My hope is that it will help a student who’ll have a profile like<br />

I had,” she says. “My parents were so hard working but couldn’t<br />

give me any advice about college, because they’d never gone. So<br />

we just want to be a support for someone like that.”<br />

Liana grew up drawing on the support of her tight-knit family<br />

near Ybor City. Her father, Frank Fernandez, had Cuban roots,<br />

and always ran or worked in multiple businesses simultaneously.<br />

As an ad manager at Sears, he fell in love with a young woman<br />

in the department, Rose. They married and Liana was the first<br />

born of their three children, followed by two brothers.<br />

Even as a little girl, she dreamed of becoming a teacher, practicing<br />

holding class at home on her unsuspecting brothers. Math was<br />

always her favorite subject and she was a standout student at<br />

Tampa’s Sacred Heart Academy, winning the school’s math award<br />

as a senior. Though, like most of her classmates, Liana had no<br />

college plans. But she aced a 12th grade test and that paved her<br />

way to admittance in 1964 to eight-year-old USF – the only<br />

college her parents would allow their daughter to attend due to<br />

its proximity to home. Liana still remembers her USF student<br />

number: 15976, meaning she was the 15,976th USF attendee ever.<br />

She enrolled in the fourth year that the university actually accepted<br />

freshmen. Liana eventually became vice president of her Tri SIS<br />

(later Alpha Delta Pi) soriority and assisted University Center<br />

director Phyllis Marshall in helping USF’s sororities and<br />

fraternities go from small clubs to affiliation on the national<br />

level. In short order, she became sorority vice president and<br />

pledge trainer for 90 young women, while juggling her studies.<br />

During that time, a West Tampa boy she knew from early<br />

childhood, Bob Fox, came into the picture. Their friendship<br />

was casual until they began to date midway through college.<br />

And when she became overwhelmed by all her commitments<br />

at USF, he suggested she transfer to FSU for her senior year.<br />

They became engaged during the summer after their junior<br />

year in 1967 and got married as seniors. And their adventure<br />

together was underway – with the couple becoming parents<br />

to two sons and each thriving in their respective careers. Bob<br />

began in hospitality and then teamed with a brother to buy<br />

their father’s dental lab and grow it for the next 40 years.<br />

Liana followed her dream path as a teacher, going from Tampa<br />

Catholic to part-time math instructor at HCC’s Ybor City<br />

campus in 1977 – and then going fulltime in 1980, becoming<br />

a fixture of the staff.<br />

She also found time to earn her master’s from USF in 1980<br />

and spent 15 years on USF Tampa campus helping freshmen<br />

meet their mathematics requirements.<br />

With encouragement and support from USF professors,<br />

Drs. Don and Betty Lichtenberg, she earned her doctorate<br />

in Mathematics Education from USF in 1998.<br />

“It’s been an amazing ride,” she says. Four years ago, the<br />

couple created a scholarship at HCC in the name of Liana’s<br />

parents, Frank and Rose Fernandez. But when it came time<br />

to create a new scholarship, they had no doubt where it<br />

should be. “We sold a piece of property this year and wanted<br />

to do something meaningful,” he says. “So we considered<br />

several options and decided to do the scholarship right here<br />

at USF, and through <strong>WLP</strong>.”<br />

After all, it’s where the story began on a sandy, sunbaked<br />

campus, and has blossomed through the decades to the<br />

vibrant view just outside the Marshall Center window.<br />

USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 6


By Melissa Wolfe<br />

The Inaugural Women who Ignite Student Engagement (WISE)<br />

Symposium, presented by USAmeriBank, brought together more<br />

than 150 participants across the USF System to connect with<br />

dynamic professionals, exchange ideas and begin charting their<br />

own paths.<br />

Modeled after <strong>WLP</strong>’s signature Fall Symposium, the half-day<br />

networking event focused on the theme “What I Wish I Would<br />

Have Known: Lessons from the Future” and explored topics such<br />

as resiliency, developing a personal brand and cultivating curiosity.<br />

The student-led program featured all-women panel sessions with<br />

well-known business executives, community leaders and elected<br />

officials who have found success despite the typical hurdles<br />

women encounter. In the breakout sessions, panelists shared<br />

inspiring stories of their struggles and triumphs, lessons learned<br />

and practical advice for young professionals.<br />

“Women in male dominated fields bring something to the table<br />

their peers don’t have,” explained Sarah MacDonald, President of<br />

TECO Services. “A different point of view adds value and makes<br />

you a valuable employee. Don’t try to blend in – be proud,<br />

standout and you’ll get noticed!”<br />

Krithika Venugopal, a student on the WISE Advisory Council<br />

was amazed at the results of the Symposium, a year in the making.<br />

“Participating on the WISE Advisory Council and helping to plan<br />

this event was an incredible experience and one of my proudest<br />

achievements,” said Venugopal. “It required some serious<br />

time-management skills and allowed me the opportunity to<br />

play a part in something I’ve always believed in – promoting<br />

equality and empowering women.”<br />

The symposium featured keynote speaker Pam Iorio, a former<br />

two-term Mayor of Tampa (2003-2011) and current CEO of Big<br />

Brothers Big Sisters of America. Iorio shared words of wisdom on<br />

community service, leadership and the future.<br />

“If you can provide service to others, even if it’s something you’ve<br />

never done before, you should say yes,” said Iorio. “Expand your<br />

limits and break your barriers. Each individual has the power to<br />

impact others.”<br />

Topping off an incredible symposium was a surprise<br />

announcement that the event raised $9,000 for <strong>WLP</strong> student<br />

scholarships - a powerful example of the impact women can<br />

make when they encourage and support each other.<br />

7 <strong>2016</strong>-<strong>17</strong> ANNUAL REPORT


<strong>Annual</strong> members ($1,000 per year, $500 per year for those 35 and younger) and corporate members ($5,000 per year)<br />

support <strong>WLP</strong> programmatic offerings and outreach initiatives and help expand the impact of the <strong>WLP</strong> Endowed, <strong>WLP</strong>/USF<br />

St. Petersburg and <strong>WLP</strong>/USF Sarasota-Manatee scholarship funds. Members contributing at the<br />

endowment level ($25,000 or above) join our list of lifetime members.<br />

CORPORATE MEMBER PROGRAM<br />

Our Corporate Member program has grown from one member (Florida Blue) in July 2013 to 19 the members listed below.<br />

USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 8


THE USF <strong>WLP</strong> FACULTY RESEARCH AWARD program provides grant awards to USF System faculty whose research and creative<br />

efforts focus on women and issues affecting women. This award is presented in the spring of each year through a competitive process,<br />

with the recipient receiving a one-time $5,000 award to support their research. To date, <strong>WLP</strong> has awarded 23 grants to deserving faculty<br />

members whose research helps to support and advance women throughout the world. In recognition of the outstanding research<br />

throughout the USF System, this year <strong>WLP</strong> awarded its newest faculty research grant for USF Health that recognizes the research<br />

contributions of female faculty in USF Health.<br />

JEANNE TRAVERS is a Professor in the School of Theatre and Dance, USF Tampa. Travers is<br />

dedicated to enhancing audience awareness about human rights and women’s issues. Her research projects<br />

are interdisciplinary and multicultural in nature, and address issues of social concern and injustice that<br />

impact and give voice to women.<br />

DR. KATHRYN ARTHUR is an Associate Professor of Anthropology in the College of Arts and<br />

Sciences, University of South Florida St. Petersburg. She is an archaeologist specializing in community<br />

archaeology, ethnoarchaeology, gender, stone tool technology, and the historical archaeology of Africa.<br />

DR. FAWN T. NGO is an Associate Professor of Criminology at USF Sarasota-Manatee’s College<br />

of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences. Dr. Ngo’s research on stalking focuses on gender differences in stalking<br />

incidents and police reporting.<br />

DR. STEPHANIE MARHEFKA is an Associate Professor for Community and Family Health,<br />

USF Health. Her doctoral dissertation work focuses on the assessment of medication adherence among<br />

caregivers of children ages 2 to 12 who were perinatally infected with HIV.<br />

9 <strong>2016</strong>-<strong>17</strong> ANNUAL REPORT


DR. ELIZABETH MILLER is an Associate Professor of Anthropology in the College of Arts and<br />

Sciences, University of South Florida Tampa. Her research program ranges from the study of human milk<br />

composition and infant feeding practices to infant immune function through studies at field sites in Kenya<br />

and the United States.<br />

DR. DOREEN MACAULAY MacAulay is an instructor in the Department of Information Systems<br />

Decision Sciences, teaching organizational behavior analysis and strategic management. Her research focuses<br />

the historical development of knowledge and the fundamental gendered assumptions that inform<br />

organizational behavior research.<br />

<strong>2016</strong><br />

Dr. Kyoung Cho<br />

Associate Professor<br />

School of Music<br />

College of The Arts, Tampa<br />

<strong>2016</strong><br />

Dr. Melissa Sloan<br />

Associate Professor<br />

Interdisciplinary Social Sciences<br />

Sarasota-Manatee<br />

<strong>2016</strong><br />

Dr. Jessie D. Turner<br />

Instructor, Department of<br />

Women’s and Gender Studies,<br />

College of Arts and Sciences, Tampa<br />

<strong>2016</strong><br />

Dr. Jill McCracken<br />

Associate Professor for the Department of<br />

Languages, Literature, and Writing;<br />

Chair for the Department of Social Sciences;<br />

Coordinator for the Honors Program<br />

St. Petersburg<br />

<strong>2016</strong><br />

Dr. Alicia Gill Rossiter<br />

Sequence Director<br />

Veteran to Bachelor of Science in<br />

Nursing Program, USF Health,<br />

College of Nursing, Tampa<br />

2015<br />

Dr. Elizabeth Hordge-Freeman<br />

Assistant Professor<br />

College of Arts & Sciences<br />

Department of Sociology, Tampa<br />

2015<br />

Dr. Heidi Casteneda<br />

Associate Professor and Graduate Director<br />

College of Arts & Sciences<br />

Department of Anthropology, Tampa<br />

2015<br />

Dr. Tiffany Chenneville<br />

Associate Professor and Chair<br />

Department of Psychology<br />

Joint Appointment<br />

Department of Pediatrics, St. Petersburg<br />

2015<br />

Dr. Kathy Black<br />

Full Professor of Social Work<br />

and Gerontology<br />

Chair of Interdisciplinary<br />

Faculty in Aging<br />

College of Arts & Sciences<br />

Sarasota-Manatee<br />

2014<br />

Dr. Susan Macmanus<br />

Distinguished University Professor<br />

Department of Government<br />

& International Affairs<br />

Tampa<br />

2013<br />

Dr. Griselle Centeno<br />

Associate Professor of Industrial<br />

and Management Systems<br />

USF College of Engineering<br />

Tampa<br />

2012<br />

Dr. Jamie Goldenberg<br />

Associate Professor of Psychology<br />

College of Arts & Sciences<br />

Tampa<br />

2009<br />

Dr. Patrica A. Kruk<br />

Professor in the Department of<br />

Pathology & Cell Biology<br />

USF Health Morsani<br />

College of Medicine, Tampa<br />

2011<br />

Dr. Jody Lynn McBrien<br />

Assistant Professor<br />

College of Education<br />

Sarasota-Manatee<br />

2010<br />

Dr. Ellen Daley<br />

Associate Professor of Psychology<br />

College of Arts & Sciences<br />

Tampa<br />

2008<br />

Dr. Linda M. Whiteford<br />

Professor of Anthropology<br />

College of Arts & Sciences, Tampa<br />

2007<br />

Dr. Naomi Yavneh<br />

Associate Professor of Humanities<br />

College of Arts & Sciences, Tampa<br />

USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 10


You can start with their own words.<br />

ENDOWING <strong>WLP</strong>’S<br />

FACULTY RESEARCH<br />

AWARD<br />

By Dave Scheiber<br />

It is a program that has enriched lives, expanded horizons and<br />

enhanced our understanding of pressing issues for more than<br />

a decade. Yet how do you truly measure the impact of USF’s<br />

Women in Leadership & Philanthropy Faculty Research<br />

Award – beyond the financial support it annually provides<br />

to deserving and distinguished recipients across the<br />

university system?<br />

Dr. Naomi Yavneh Klos<br />

Inaugural <strong>WLP</strong> Faculty<br />

Research Award Winner 2007<br />

“The message this award sent me meant so much: It<br />

wasn’t simply, ‘Oh, we think you’re doing a really good<br />

job,’ but more like, ‘We really want to support you as<br />

you move forward,’ ” recalls our very first honoree in<br />

2007, Dr. Naomi Yavneh Klos, former associate dean<br />

of USF’s Honors College and today director of Loyola<br />

University’s honors program. There have been 23<br />

<strong>WLP</strong> Faculty Research Award recipients to date, and<br />

Dr. Yavneh Klos could speak for all of them when<br />

describing the feeling of validation for her past work<br />

and encouragement to push onward – in her case with<br />

research in the field of Italian Renaissance spirituality:<br />

“I will always be incredibly grateful for the support of<br />

<strong>WLP</strong> when I truly needed it.”<br />

Then again, perhaps the program’s impact can be<br />

gauged best by considering the vast range of work it<br />

has nurtured. The lengthy and impressive list includes<br />

researching ways to provide access to reproductive<br />

health care for impoverished women around the world;<br />

exploring educational needs of women and girls<br />

affected by war; providing psycho-social and behavioral<br />

health services to children and adolescents with HIV;<br />

and creating new opportunities for females in the<br />

traditionally male-dominated realm of engineering –<br />

and so much more.<br />

While you’re at it, imagine the impact of all the vital<br />

research endeavors to be embraced by <strong>WLP</strong> in the<br />

years to come – thanks to the program that annually<br />

awards a $5,000 grant to faculty members whose<br />

research and creative efforts focus on women, women’s<br />

issues and women’s initiatives.<br />

11 <strong>2016</strong>-<strong>17</strong> ANNUAL REPORT


“This is our hope – that the award makes a genuine<br />

difference in the important research efforts of our<br />

deserving faculty members, ultimately impacting<br />

women in positive ways not only around the United<br />

States but across the world,” says Lagretta Lenker,<br />

chair of <strong>WLP</strong>’s Faculty Research Awards Committee.<br />

“And we feel very gratified to know that our winners<br />

continually express how much the award meant to<br />

them at a key moment in their careers.”<br />

But for that very reason, it is imperative for us now to<br />

find additional sources of support for the program, which<br />

is currently funded through the <strong>WLP</strong> Fund and the USF<br />

Foundation. In the long-term, the current funding source<br />

simply is not sustainable. That is why the time has come<br />

to create an endowment that will guarantee the <strong>WLP</strong><br />

Faculty Research Award program will flourish well into<br />

the future.<br />

The program recognizes outstanding faculty members<br />

in the USF System (USF Tampa, USF St. Petersburg<br />

and USF Sarasota-Manatee). In addition to the one-time<br />

financial award to support their continued work,<br />

recipients enjoy honorary annual membership in <strong>WLP</strong><br />

for two years. There are four separate annual categories<br />

for honorees: Three institution-based Faculty Research<br />

Awards (one award per USF System institution); a Junior<br />

Faculty Research Award; an instructor award; and a newly<br />

created award for research in the realm of Health Sciences.<br />

“This award is so meaningful – as an attractor of<br />

additional funding for a faculty member, a catalyst for<br />

growth within their professional field, and a spotlight<br />

on the regional, national and international acclaim<br />

they have garnered,” says <strong>WLP</strong> Executive Director<br />

India Witte. “All of that serves to benefit the USF<br />

System and underscores our mission – to build the<br />

potential of women while partnering with the USF<br />

System to achieve its strategic goals and objectives.”<br />

USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 12


Dr. Kathleen Moore has always recognized the vital importance<br />

of the Women in Leadership & Philanthropy Faculty Research<br />

Awards. Her perspective on the 10-year-old program has been<br />

forged both as a founding member and past chair of <strong>WLP</strong> and<br />

from her distinguished, 25-year career at University of South<br />

Florida, highlighted by the monumental task of creating the<br />

USF System from separately accredited institutions.<br />

From that vantage point, Moore has been a firm believer the power<br />

of <strong>WLP</strong>’s Faculty Research Awards, inspired by the vast array<br />

of System-wide work done by USF faculty members whose efforts<br />

have been propelled by individual $5,000 grants.<br />

She has seen how the program has provided much-needed financial<br />

support at key junctures in their research, which has enriched<br />

lives and opened doors to greater understanding on a wide swath<br />

of issues – from providing access to reproductive health care for<br />

impoverished women around the world; to exploring educational<br />

needs of women and girls affected by war, to creating new opportunities<br />

for females in the traditionally male-dominated realm of<br />

engineering – and so much more.<br />

That is why Moore and her husband, Nicholas Nitch, have taken a<br />

step to ensure that future decades of the program will remain as vibrant<br />

as its first. The couple has established a deferred gift that will<br />

one day serve in part to endow the <strong>WLP</strong> Faculty Research Awards.<br />

In the meantime, they intend to make early payments to support<br />

the program, as well as <strong>WLP</strong>’s efforts on behalf of promising first<br />

generation students and outstanding faculty.<br />

“The need for philanthropy with respect to scholarships is obvious,”<br />

says Moore, who paid tribute to her mother’s legacy as an<br />

independent, hard-working woman by creating the Elsie A. Moore<br />

Memorial Scholarship through <strong>WLP</strong>. “Costs continue to rise, and<br />

many young women who are the first in their families to attend<br />

college don’t have the family resources to support their academic<br />

pursuits. I’m very gratified that so many <strong>WLP</strong> members are there<br />

to help them.”<br />

Yet Moore and her husband have seen an increasing need to<br />

personally bolster and even broaden <strong>WLP</strong>’s parallel mission to<br />

support faculty research, assuring it will continue to have impact in<br />

the years ahead.<br />

13<br />

<strong>2016</strong>-<strong>17</strong> ANNUAL REPORT


“The need for investment in faculty research – and, in this<br />

case, research that ultimately benefits women – is perhaps less<br />

obvious,” she explains. “The general public doesn’t always understand<br />

the importance of faculty research. In order to maintain<br />

the academic infrastructure, there has to be adequate funding for<br />

research. While revenue streams from the federal government are<br />

critical for the university, there’s also a need to support lower-profile<br />

types of projects. And what we’ve seen, since we began the<br />

Faculty Research Awards, is that a relatively small amount of<br />

money can be critical in helping faculty – particularly at the start<br />

of their careers – leverage that award into a larger grant opportunity<br />

or a chance to continue a project.”<br />

One prime example is Dr. Griselle Centeno, professor of Industrial<br />

and Management Systems Engineering. An expert in systems<br />

research, she undertook a project to increase the modest ranks<br />

of females in the engineering field, by creating new engineering<br />

opportunities in health care. The faculty award for her initiative,<br />

USF IDEAL (Increasing Diversity in Engineering Education and<br />

Labor-force) couldn’t have come at a better time. “<strong>WLP</strong> gave me<br />

my first investment in this endeavor and by getting that recognition,<br />

I was able to immediately showcase my work to the Nation<br />

Science Foundation,” she says. “The <strong>WLP</strong> faculty award served<br />

as a stamp to confirm that people believed in our initiatives.<br />

And only a few weeks after I received the <strong>WLP</strong> award, I received<br />

approval from the National Science Foundation for almost<br />

$200,000, allowing me to continue this relevant research.”<br />

Or there’s the case of Dr. Susan MacManus, USF’s high-profile<br />

professor of political science and author whose insights have<br />

made her a fixture on local and national TV during election<br />

seasons. With the help of the <strong>WLP</strong> grant, MacManus was able<br />

to pay for essential research assistance and complete a book<br />

rooted in a lifetime passion for Florida politics, Florida’s Minority<br />

Trailblazers: The Men and Women Who Changed the Face of<br />

Florida Government – an exhaustive work that took 10 years to<br />

complete. “I’m very excited about it – and grateful to the support<br />

<strong>WLP</strong> provided in giving me the seed money to make it a reality,”<br />

she says.<br />

Stories like that made Moore and Nitch aware that <strong>WLP</strong>’s Faculty<br />

Research Awards serve an invaluable purpose, worthy of their<br />

support and hopefully the support of others. “There aren’t many<br />

organizations like <strong>WLP</strong> that could step in and direct philanthropy<br />

in ways that will help women faculty, especially junior faculty,<br />

begin building a research agenda – and one that will ultimately<br />

be broader in scope than anything <strong>WLP</strong> could ever fund,” Moore<br />

says. “These projects have to get started, and we can help them<br />

take those first few steps up the ladder.”<br />

Nitch, one of the longest-serving adjunct professors at St. Leo<br />

University at 35 years, is glad to be a part of <strong>WLP</strong>’s initiatives for<br />

an additional reason. “Both Kathleen and I are first generation<br />

college graduates ourselves, and we each had a parent who would<br />

have loved to go to college, but were limited by war or the Depression,”<br />

he says. “They were very bright, and although they missed<br />

out on that opportunity, they offered it to us.”<br />

To <strong>WLP</strong> Executive Director India Witte, the couple’s deferred<br />

gift – in conjunction with their ongoing immediate support<br />

– makes an enormous statement. “What is most exciting and<br />

meaningful is the sustainability of the program their generosity<br />

will make possible,” she says. “This affords the program much<br />

more resonance and gravitas as the gift is from people who<br />

intimately know the USF System and our organization. And<br />

we’re incredibly grateful to them.”<br />

USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 14


By Dave Scheiber<br />

TAMPA – One is a talented TV star and University of South<br />

Florida alumna working in the spotlight of a hit prime-time series,<br />

the other a gifted USF biological sciences student studying<br />

diligently on a pre-med track. But Grace Byers and Katherine<br />

Garcia have each traveled a similar path of overcoming formidable<br />

challenges in chasing their dreams. And they combined to steal<br />

the show at the 12th annual <strong>WLP</strong> Fall Symposium.<br />

Byers, a Class of 2006 theater graduate and a cast member in<br />

FOX’s drama Empire, uplifted the sellout crowd at the Hilton<br />

Tampa Downtown with a keynote speech tailored to the event’s<br />

theme of “Finding Your Grace.” Garcia, a <strong>WLP</strong> scholar, inspired<br />

the audience with a tale of her enormous will to succeed in spite<br />

of the unimaginable obstacles she and her family faced after<br />

arriving in America.<br />

Their stories of personal strength and courage in the face of<br />

hardship delivered ideal messages for <strong>WLP</strong> and its mission of<br />

empowering and supporting women. Garcia started by pointing<br />

out that she, like Byers, shared something in common: an<br />

education made possible through scholarships. But her story<br />

would also serve as an ideal bookend to Byers in her own search<br />

for grace amid adversity.<br />

“Throughout my childhood, I dreamed of attending college,” she<br />

began. “But it was a dream similar to that of a child who dreams of<br />

being an astronaut, and has<br />

the rocket ship but has no access to the fuel necessary to get<br />

into space.”<br />

Garcia explained how her impoverished, immigrant parents<br />

were devoted to making a better life for their young daughter<br />

and son. They eventually arrived in Tampa from Panama, living<br />

in a small, single-room apartment that adjoined a bathroom –<br />

the place Garcia would stay up late doing her rigorous<br />

International Baccalaureate program homework in high<br />

school, with the toilet serving as a chair and the sink as her<br />

desk, so not to disturb her sleeping family.<br />

“Our family confronted and overcame every challenge that life<br />

brought our way,” she explained. “...Every challenge was a<br />

learning opportunity; every obstacle, the chance to learn more<br />

about myself – what I could achieve in the now, and what I<br />

could become in the future.”<br />

It was a poignant, powerful show of grace, followed soon after<br />

by Grace herself. An experienced public speaker, Byers was<br />

thrilled to learn several weeks earlier of the event’s theme and<br />

purpose and decided to customize her talk to the occasion,<br />

weaving in stories she’d never before shared at the podium.<br />

She began by discussing the meaning of grace.<br />

“Now I may be a little biased, but I think it’s an amazing word,”<br />

she said, triggering a wave of laughter. She went on to explain<br />

how she felt constant pressure to live up<br />

15 <strong>2016</strong>-<strong>17</strong> ANNUAL REPORT


to the name’s many definitions, but gradually came to feel that<br />

they “not only continued to lift and inspire me, but they’ve taught<br />

me how I can empower myself through grace itself.”<br />

Byers began her talk by telling the crowd how inspired she was to<br />

hear Katherine’s story. She followed by expanding on the event’s<br />

theme: Finding your grace in the face of opposition. “Believe it<br />

or not,” she said, “grace is most desired and most needed when<br />

we face challenges and opposition.” Byers touched on the obstacles<br />

of her youth. But she focused primarily on a professional experience<br />

as an adult – searching to find the grace to deal with a difficult New<br />

York agent who refused to let her out of a contract to make way for<br />

her move to Chicago.<br />

future, while soaking up her advice and feedback. From the<br />

back of the room, Byers’ USF theater instructor, Fanni<br />

Green, who had a profound influence on her former student,<br />

beamed with pride. “I told her it felt like she was teaching me<br />

today,” she said.<br />

For that matter, anyone in attendance would likely agree that<br />

one word summed up <strong>WLP</strong>’s day of Grace: Amazing.<br />

Byers struggled to make it clear to the unyielding agent that she<br />

needed to part ways for personal reasons several months before her<br />

contract was up. It was an awkward and tense dispute, but she<br />

relied on her instincts, held her ground with honesty and firmness<br />

and ultimately prevailed.<br />

Her lesson: “There’s a way to show up in this world fully and<br />

authentically you – and to give yourself the grace in order to be able<br />

to do that. I learned from this situation that I have the permission to<br />

give myself the grace to own my ‘yes’ and just stand in my ‘no.’ And<br />

sometimes in life that is the biggest lesson you can possibly learn.<br />

It continues to show people around you that you’re showing up as<br />

an individual, as someone who knows who you are. And that is the<br />

greatest asset you can bring to any company.”<br />

Byers closed by talking about the importance of her spiritual<br />

life. “I’d be remiss if I didn’t include God’s grace,” she said.<br />

“It humbles you. It lays you down in a way that continues to<br />

ground you.” Her 45-minute talk was greeted with a rousing<br />

standing ovation, yet a quieter session that followed carried<br />

a special power of its own.<br />

Byers met privately for severel hours with dozens of <strong>WLP</strong><br />

Scholars, seated with her in a large circle. They shared their<br />

own stories of overcoming obstacles and their dreams for the<br />

USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 16


We grew from 250 to 306<br />

members in FY<strong>17</strong> – a 22%<br />

increase in membership.<br />

Increase in First Generation<br />

Scholarship dollar disbursements<br />

in this fiscal year from $21,000<br />

to $133,750.<br />

<strong>17</strong> <strong>2016</strong>-<strong>17</strong> ANNUAL REPORT


The number of <strong>WLP</strong><br />

scholarship funds increased 30%<br />

(33 in FY16 to 43 in FY <strong>17</strong>).<br />

The <strong>WLP</strong>/USF St. Petersburg<br />

Scholarship Fund increased 57%<br />

over the last fiscal year reaching<br />

fully endowed status.<br />

The <strong>WLP</strong> Endowed Scholarship Fund has increased 95% over the last<br />

fiscal year from $139,561 to $272,676.<br />

ENDOWED<br />

ENDOWED<br />

ENDOWED<br />

ENDOWED<br />

ENDOWED<br />

ENDOWED<br />

OPERATING<br />

OPERATING<br />

OPERATING<br />

OPERATING<br />

OPERATING<br />

OPERATING<br />

TOTAL<br />

TOTAL<br />

TOTAL<br />

TOTAL<br />

TOTAL<br />

TOTAL<br />

USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 18


<strong>WLP</strong> has awarded nearly $1,000,000 in scholarships<br />

to 430 students since <strong>WLP</strong>’s founding in 2005. These<br />

scholarship awards, paired with the unique mentoring<br />

and engagement opportunities that <strong>WLP</strong> affords our<br />

recipients, provide opportunities for worthy students<br />

to continue their education and fulfill their dream<br />

of completing their degree at a leading public research<br />

university. Endowed scholarship funds exist in<br />

perpetuity. To achieve the balance between making<br />

awards and sustaining principal growth, <strong>WLP</strong> adheres<br />

to the USF Foundation spending policy established<br />

annually by the Investment Committee of the<br />

Foundation Board of Directors. A percentage of<br />

earnings on each fund are awarded in the spring for<br />

students enrolled in the following fall semester. The<br />

number of <strong>WLP</strong> endowed scholarship opportunities<br />

grows in relation to the number of members<br />

contributing at the endowment level. Many <strong>WLP</strong><br />

members who contribute at the endowment level have<br />

established a named scholarship to honor a special<br />

person or to serve a defined group of USF students.<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Anne Marie Campbell Endowed Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Bank of America East Tampa Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Berkman Family Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Betty Castor Scholarship for Global Initiatives<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Bob & Liana Fernandez Fox Endowed Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Carolyn A. O’Steen Scholarship*<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Carolyn House Stewart Endowed Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Chris Maria Reyes Endowed Scholarship*<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Deborah Eaves Endowed Scholarship<br />

* Deferred Scholarship Funds<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Donald & Ruth Anderson Memorial Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Dorothy L. Morgran Endowed Scholarship in Marine Science<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Dorothy Warren Burke Endowed Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Elicia Renee Byrd Endowed Service Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Elsie A. Moore Memorial Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Esther Schneid Memorial Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Florida Medical Clinic Foundation of Caring<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Geraldine Twine Endowed Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Jessica Stands With Girls Endowed Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Judith Bryan Darsey Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Linda Blume Award<br />

19 <strong>2016</strong>-<strong>17</strong> ANNUAL REPORT


<strong>WLP</strong>/Martha Hodge Memorial Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Nancy Schneid Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/National Mah Jongg League Foundation, Inc. Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Ouyang Yu Memorial Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Pam Iorio Leadership Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Philip & Ellen Asherman Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/USAmeriBank Endowed Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/USF Sarasota-Manatee Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/USF St. Petersburg Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Valerie D. Riddle, M.D. Endowed Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Vincnet Zecchino M.D./Dream Givers USA Scholarship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Virginia Gregory Endowment in Entrepreneurship<br />

<strong>WLP</strong>/Waller-Witte Endowed Scholarship<br />

Women in Leadership & Philanthropy Endowed Scholarship<br />

USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 20


20<strong>17</strong> COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARD<br />

<strong>WLP</strong> honors visionary leaders and philanthropists throughout the community doing extraordinary things to make Tampa Bay a<br />

better place for women to live and work. With our Community Leadership Award Program, we showcase individual excellence in<br />

leadership as demonstrated by outstanding initiative, impact of work, and inspiration to others. By awarding the Community<br />

Leadership Award as a part of the program at our annual Fall Symposium, <strong>WLP</strong> publicly affirms and celebrates the immense<br />

contributions and achievements of women in our communities with the intent of raising public awareness and inspiring the<br />

leadership and service potential of current and future generations of women.<br />

DEBBIE N. SEMBLER<br />

<strong>WLP</strong> COMMUNITY<br />

LEADERSHIP AWARD<br />

Debbie N. Sembler has been an unwavering and<br />

passionate supporter of the USF System and of USF<br />

St. Petersburg for more than a decade. As Chair of the<br />

USFSP Campus Board, she helped facilitate the<br />

burgeoning growth at USFSP in recent years. During<br />

her tenure, USFSP received the two largest gifts in its<br />

history from Kate Tiedemann and Lynn Pippenger,<br />

and a number of major construction projects were<br />

completed – the Science and Technology Building; the<br />

Debbie Nye Sembler Student Center; the HarborWalk;<br />

and an iconic feature at the heart of the campus, the<br />

Debbie and Brent Sembler Family Fountain.<br />

A former marketing executive, Debbie’s career included<br />

serving as senior account executive for Hill & Knowlton;<br />

director of public relations for Wyndham Hotel Sea<br />

World in Orlando; and as the first director of marketing<br />

for Old Hyde Park Village. While raising her three<br />

children, she shifted her focus to community work where<br />

she has served on the boards of All Children’s Hospital,<br />

the Florida Holocaust Museum, the Florida Governor’s<br />

Mansion Foundation, Shorecrest Preparatory School<br />

and Temple Beth-El.<br />

As a member of the Holocaust Museum Advisory Board,<br />

she initiated a collaboration between USFSP and the<br />

museum, focusing on collecting and preserving the<br />

testimonies of Holocaust survivors living in the area.<br />

That effort led to the establishment of the Debbie and<br />

Brent Sembler Florida Holocaust Museum Lecture Series<br />

at USFSP. They also have established a philanthropic<br />

fund through the Tampa-Orlando-Pinellas Jewish<br />

Foundation, Inc.<br />

Debbie is one of the USF System’s longest-tenured<br />

trustees, devoting 12 years of service, until her recent<br />

retirement. Her commitment to the USF System<br />

continues, as she now serves as the USFSP Member<br />

at Large on the <strong>WLP</strong> Executive Committee, and has<br />

recently joined the USF Foundation Board of Directors.<br />

She became involved with USF when then-Gov. Jeb<br />

Bush appointed her to the board, with subsequent<br />

appointments coming from governors Charlie Crist<br />

and Rick Scott. In 2015, Debbie was chosen to serve<br />

as co-chair of USFSP’s 50th Anniversary Celebration.<br />

Her philanthropy there and as a member of <strong>WLP</strong> reflects<br />

her tireless commitment to higher education and passion<br />

for student success. Through it all, Debbie continually<br />

has modeled <strong>WLP</strong>’s mission of engaging and developing<br />

the intellectual and leadership potential of women that<br />

enhances life at USF and beyond.<br />

21 <strong>2016</strong>-<strong>17</strong> ANNUAL REPORT


ANN MCKEEL ROSS ’79<br />

<strong>WLP</strong> LIFETIME<br />

ACHIEVEMENT AWARD<br />

Ann McKeel Ross, a USF alumna, worked as Director<br />

of Community Relations at the university from 1980-<br />

1996, receiving the Affirmative Action Award from<br />

USF’s Equal Opportunity Committee for her continued<br />

efforts to recruit and hire minorities, women and those<br />

with disabilities. She became a founding director of<br />

Pilot Bank and Vice President of Advancement for the<br />

Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center (now the Straz<br />

Center). Though she retired from that position in<br />

2001, Ann continues to serve as a member of the board<br />

of trustees.<br />

In addition to her professional achievements, Ann has<br />

made a significant mark as a volunteer. She is currently<br />

a member of the Athena Society and an honorary<br />

member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and has<br />

served as a board member for the Museum of Science<br />

and Industry, Temple Terrace Friends of the Library,<br />

the Home Association, the Southwest Florida Board<br />

Bank, and the Children’s Center for Cancer and<br />

Blood Disorders. Her contributions have led to<br />

numerous honors such as Florida Arts Recognition<br />

Award from the State of Florida, the Arts Patron of<br />

the Year Award from the Arts Council of Hillsborough<br />

County and the Outstanding Cultural Contributor<br />

Award from the Greater Tampa Bay Chamber of<br />

Commerce.<br />

A native of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Ann attended<br />

and studied art at the University of Kentucky and<br />

Western Kentucky University. She halted her studies<br />

to raise three sons with her husband, Dr. James C.<br />

Ross, whose service in the U.S. Air Force led to an<br />

assignment at MacDill Air Force Base that brought<br />

the family to Tampa. She eventually earned her<br />

Bachelor of Arts in Art from USF in 1979, later<br />

becoming a Life Member of the USF Alumni<br />

Association and serving on the boards of the USF<br />

Foundation and USF Contemporary Arts Museum.<br />

She and her husband, a retired dentist, helped establish<br />

the museum and USF Graphicstudio. Ann also founded<br />

CADRE, the first arts support group at USF.<br />

USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 22

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