Dear Members of the USF Community,
We write with an update on the university’s strategic planning process, and with information about the contributions members of this community have made and will continue to make as we proceed with this important process.
With the departure of co-lead Peter Wilch, vice president of development who will begin a professional opportunity at Loyola Marymount University, Fr. Fitzgerald has appointed Golden Venters, director of organizational effectiveness in the Division of Student Life, as co-lead with Pamela Balls Organista, interim vice provost and special assistant to the provost. Golden has been a member of the USF community since 1996 and his tenure has been marked by a commitment to helping USF grow and develop as a community. He has been a member of the strategic planning core committee team since the initiative was launched last year. We are very grateful to Golden for his collaborative leadership and expertise on strategic planning, and for his willingness to assume this role.
Core committee member Professor Richard Stackman was recently appointed associate dean for graduate programs in the School of Management. Succeeding Richard as the faculty representative on the core committee is Professor Christopher Brooks, who teaches in the College of Arts and Sciences computer science department. We are happy to welcome Chris, and are grateful to Richard, who, even with his new responsibilities, will continue to serve on the strategic planning core committee as an administrative representative.
Another core committee faculty member — Assistant Professor Jeffrey Paller from the College of Arts and Sciences politics department — is on temporary leave and will return toward the end of March to continue his important contributions to this effort. While Jeff is away, we are pleased that Professor Keally McBride (also from USF’s politics department) will serve as a faculty representative on the core committee.
We are grateful to all those mentioned above for their generous service to the university and the strategic planning project. We are also thankful to the many faculty, staff, students, and other university stakeholders who have participated in listening sessions and volunteered for working groups.
Thank you for partnering with us to imagine — and shape — the future of USF.
Sincerely,
Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J., President
Pamela Balls Organista, Interim Vice Provost and Special Assistant to the Provost; Co-Lead, Strategic Planning Committee