WIXLIB

MAY 2021OFFICE OFGRADUATE STUDIESAnnual Report 2020-2021

Message from the Dean of theOffice of Graduate StudiesOn behalf of the dedicated staff of the Office of Graduate Studies (OGS), I am pleased to provide our 20202021 Annual Report. Let me begin with some old adages. “Just when you think you’ve seen it all – youhaven’t.” And, “never say never.” This past year has embellished the meaning behind those phrases asthe university, the state, the nation, and much of the world have grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic. Ithas been an extraordinarily challenging and troubling year. Yet, OGS, like so many other facets of society,has persevered. This will become evident as we provide an overview of the many activities and servicesdelivered by OGS during the past year. In spite of everything, including being physically out of the officefor over a year and having to conduct every facet of OGS business and services through virtual platforms,we have stayed true to our mission of contributing to the success and ambitions of the University of SouthFlorida, as you will see in the pages that follow in this report. We remain committed to that mission as wemove forward into the post-pandemic era and strive to do even better.As if the pandemic wasn’t enough to keep us occupied, the University of South Florida underwent a majorrestructuring during this time by consolidating St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee, and Tampa campuses toform OneUSF institution. Accordingly, operations on each campus consult with one another and coordinateactivities. This has provided us with new perspectives regarding the delivery of graduate education,challenging us to think and act going forward on how we can synergize our forces and resources to evenserve the Tampa Bay region. In addition, we have focused on continuing to provide services to our graduatestudents and postdoctoral scholars, regardless of location, that enhances their opportunities for success.In doing so, we have developed new modes of delivery of those services that we believe will continue toserve us well even after we return to a mostly in-person operation. The staff who have been responsiblefor this transformation in how we communicate and connect with our graduate students and postdoctoralscholars are to be commended for the nimble and effective manner in which our services were continuedand in some cases, enhanced. Many of those are detailed in the pages of this Annual Report.Ideally, with more normalized operations now projected for Fall 2021, we will be able to return in earnestto a Graduate Student Success effort that begun before the pandemic, but had to be paused in the faceof everything else the university was addressing. Co-Chaired by OGS Associate Dean Ruth Bahr and ViceProvost Jim Garey, a number of early recommendations ensued from that effort, many of which will requirea significant commitment of financial and human resources to become realities. Hence, the challenge willbe to move forward to the extent possible with our resource limitations to actualize those goals, whilecontinuing to plan for longer-term changes to advance graduate education, particularly at the Ph.D. level, toa place that the university envisions in its ambitions.The many areas of success that are reported in this document are due to an impressive team effort from theOFFICE OF GRADUATE STUDIESAnnual Report 2020-20212

dedicated staff in the OGS (see page 32-35 of this report). Associate Dean Ruth Bahr continues to championthe cause of graduate education at USF and she has been joined by Campus Assistant Deans DonnaKnudsen (St. Petersburg campus) and Sandra Stone (Sarasota-Manatee campus) in this effort. A note ofappreciation must be extended to other committees that work with OGS in overseeing graduate educationat USF. In particular, the Graduate Council, chaired this academic year by Dr. Ray Miltenberger, continuesto be an influential force in the development and implementation of graduate-level policy, programs, andcurriculum. As well, the Enrollment/Graduate Associate Deans (aka EGAD) and Associate Deans groupshave provided sage advice on a number of occasions as we struggled to deal with various issues that arose.And, our partnership with Graduate Admissions in the Office of Admissions continues to be very muchappreciated as we work to enhance graduate student recruitment and enrollment at the University of SouthFlorida toward a diverse graduate student body that thrives in an inclusive and tolerant academic and socialenvironment.I close here as I have in past years by reiterating the commitment of the Office of Graduate Studies toplaying a significant role in advancing graduate education at the University of South Florida. We haveshown this past year that we are very much able and willing to rise to that occasion, and we will continueto do so. We most sincerely request your support in this endeavor, the success of which will be crucial tothe university if it is to attain its ambitious goals.Sincerely,M. Dwayne Smith, Ph.D.Senior Vice Provost & Dean, Office of Graduate StudiesOFFICE OF GRADUATE STUDIESAnnual Report 2020-20213

Did you know.During the academic year 2020-2021, the Office of Graduate Studies: E xpanded the outreach and talents of the personnel inthe USF Office of Graduate Studies by incorporatingstaff from the St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manateecampuses. M oved all OGS and GPSC-sponsored events toan online format. This included: Fall and SpringOrientation, the 3MT competition, the Scholars ofExcellence event, the Postdoctoral Scholars’ LightningTalks, and the Graduate Student Research Symposium. L aunched a new curriculum processing system,Curriculog, which assisted with workflow and annualupdating of the Graduate Catalog. We have processed391 curriculum proposals since October, 2020. C ontinued our participation in a series of virtual eventswith Graduate Admissions and Career Services onpreparing students to enter and succeed in graduateschool. Approximately 1000 students attended thisyear. C onnected with over 1000 students through outreachefforts for “How to Apply to Graduate School” throughworkshops, presentations, conferences, and individualmeetings. P artnered with Career Services, the Office ofAdmissions, International Student Services, andInnovative Education to sponsor Graduate PathwaysMonth. Gary Oliver presented “Financing GraduateSchool” during this event. P articipated in the 2020 Heartland McNair ResearchConference to expose underrepresented undergraduatestudents to USF offerings in the STEM areas. E ngaged in the Laptop Loaner program sponsored bythe USF Library to insure that graduate students had areliable computer for online learning. L ogged 1,385,053 sessions on the OGS website from764,932 users, of which 749,290 individuals were newusers. P rovided 543 theses/dissertations to ScholarCommons, a database that has received over1,395,952 views this year (July 2020 - March 2021). A warded 2,357,236 in fellowship awards to 209graduate students. Minority students received58% of these monies. As a group, these Fellowshipstudents reported having a total of 39 publications, 14publications in press and 73 conference presentationslast year. C ontinued its representation on the Executive Board ofthe Council of Southern Graduate Schools (CSGS) bycoordinating two of the monthly forums for membersof CSGS and assisting in the coordination of the 3MT regional competition at the CSGS annual meeting. Dr.Norma Alcantar (ENG) assisted with the organizationof the CSGS forum sponsored by USF, “Respondingto the Voices of Change.” A flyer from this event isincluded on page 5.OFFICE OF GRADUATE STUDIESAnnual Report 2020-20214

Responding to Voices of Change ForumTuesday, August 4, 2020 1:00 to 2:00 P.M. EDTForum registration linkStudents will be facing much uncertainty this Fall, from navigating online classes with the spread of COVID-19 andadvocating for greater emphasis on inclusion and equality in graduate education. As graduate schools, we need to provideleadership, support, and guidance as we navigate these issues.This session will address ways to ensure the safety and self-care of our graduate students and establish the mentoring thatis needed for degree completion and professional success.Dr. Stephanie G. AdamsDr. Stephanie G. Adams is the 5th Dean of the Eric Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at the Universityof Texas, Dallas, and Past President of the American Society of Engineering Education. Previously Dr. Adams served asthe Dean of the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology at Old Dominion University (2016–2019), DepartmentHead and Professor of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech (2011–2016) and held faculty and administrative positions atVirginia Commonwealth University (2008–2011) and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (1998–2008).Dr. Brenda WalkerDr. Brenda L. Walker is a Professor in the Exceptional Student Education Program at the University of South Florida andDirector of the CAROUSEL Center. In 1995, she developed Project PILOT, the first of several initiatives that prepared AfricanAmerican men for urban special education teaching careers. As a result of that initiative, 31 African American men havegraduated and are teaching children with special needs. Dr. Walker is also the director of a federal outreach and technicalassistance project that enhances the urban school research capacity of faculty and graduate students in minority institutions.Dr. Sylvia ThomasDr. Sylvia Wilson Thomas is currently an Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering and former Assistant Dean(Engineering) at the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa, Florida. She holds B.S./M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineeringfrom Vanderbilt University and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Howard University. Dr. Thomas leads the AdvancedMaterials Bio and Integration Research (AMBIR) laboratory at USF. Dr. Thomas’ research and teaching endeavors are focusedon advanced materials for alternative energy sources, sustainable environments, aerospace, and bio-applications from themicro to the nano scale.Bernard Batson, DirectorBernard Batson is the director of Diversity Programs for the College of Engineering at the University of South Florida (USF).He is the day to day administrator for the USF Sloan UCEM. Batson supports Ph.D. national recruitment and retention/professional development initiatives. He also assists Sloan scholars and graduates with fellowship applications, internshipsat national labs, and obtaining employment within government, industry, and academia. Working with other universitypartners, Batson also facilitates internships, summer research experiences, and graduate school application assistance forURM undergraduates.OFFICE OF GRADUATE STUDIESAnnual Report 2020-20215