Regional Chancellors Before 2006

Regional Chancellors in this Collection

• Ralph C. Wilcox (interim, 2002 : August - 2003 : June) Ralph Wilcox originally came to USF in 2001 as a fellow of the American Council on Education who worked with President Judy Genshaft. He then returned to his duties in the Department of Human Movement Sciences and Education at the University of Memphis (Tennessee). President Genshaft appointed him as interim head of USFSP in 2002. During his tenure, USF St. Petersburg recruited more than fifty new faculty members, developed separate and distinct colleges, expanded course offerings, and developed four Programs of Distinction. Wilcox later served as a Vice Provost and Provost on the USF Tampa campus before receiving an appointment as Provost and Executive Vice President of the USF System in September 2009.
• H. William "Bill" Heller (1992 : August - 2002 : August) Literally and figuratively, H. William Heller became the torchbearer that moved USF St. Petersburg towards greater autonomy. Whether carrying the Olympic flame as one of sixty-six notable community leaders or turning up the heat on Tampa administrators to expand the curriculum and add new programs, Bill Heller’s presence created warm bonds between town and gown. A professor of special education and longtime advocate for children, Heller came to USF St. Petersburg from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte in the summer of 1992. Heller established an ambitious agenda shortly after his arrival. “One of my first and foremost goals,” Heller said, “is to bring the campus to the community.” Designated as a “community hero” by the United Way, “Dean Heller”--as he will always be known-- won accolades for his efforts from numerous organizations, including the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce. Heller’s visibility brought greater recognition to the campus. During his ten-year tenure, the campus expanded; admitted freshmen for the first time since 1966; became a partner in historic preservation; and witnessed a phenomenal expansion of research, library, and classroom facilities. In April 2000, interim USF President Richard Peck changed Heller’s title to Vice President/Campus Executive Officer (VP/ CEO), a move confirmed by USF President Judy Genshaft on July 1, 2001. Heller also served the community as a two-term member of the Florida House of Representatives and assumed the deanship of the College of Education on an interim basis in 2012.
• Winston T. Bridges, Jr. (interim, 1990 : July - 1992 August) Dr. Winston T. Bridges came to USF St. Petersburg as an assistant professor of education in 1970. When Karen Spear departed for Colorado, Bridges--then coordinator of the College of Education at USFSP--accepted an appointment to serve as interim dean. Bridges continued the focus on interdisciplinary studies started by Lowell Davis. Shortly after H. William Heller arrived in the fall of 1992, Bridges was appointed associate dean. Bridges served as the chief academic officer on campus before his retirement in 2003, returning again in August 2005 as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
• Karen Spear (acting, 1989 : August - 1990 : June) Dr. Karen Spear came to USF St. Petersburg in October 1988 as an assistant dean under Lowell E. Davis. Spear had previously served as an English professor and associate dean of Liberal Education at the University of Utah. She hoped to sustain the momentum that Davis had started and challenged the faculty to think creatively about USF St. Petersburg’s academic programs. Spear left USFSP to pursue other opportunities as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Fort Lewis College in Colorado in July 1990.
• Lowell E. Davis (1986 : August - 1989 : August) This community contains materials from the tenure of Dean Lowell E. Davis. A native of Jamaica, Lowell Davis came to the United States in the mid-1950s to pursue his dream of getting a college education. He earned his undergraduate degree at Howard University and completed his doctorate in biology at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Davis became USF’s first African-American dean. He immediately set in motion plans to expand the physical size of the campus, as well as enhance its course offerings and resources. During his tenure, the endowment for the campus grew from $600,000 to $2.2 million. He moved ahead plans for the Campus Activities Center and expanded student scholarship opportunities. A popular administrator, he cultivated a collegial atmosphere at USF St. Petersburg. Students, staff, and faculty became members of a large and extended family with a shared sense of academic purpose and zeal. Just as he planned to move forward with an aggressive agenda to increase autonomy and set a new tone for the campus, he suffered a debilitating stroke on August 23, 1989. Five weeks later, on September 30, he passed away. Those who knew Lowell realize that he made an “everlasting” impression on the campus.
• Speeches of Lowell E. Davis
• Samuel Y. Fustukjian (interim, 1985 : July - 1986 : July) A native of Lebanon, Samuel Fustukjian came to the United States in 1969 after completing his undergraduate studies in Beirut. He arrived at USF St. Petersburg in 1980 as the library’s director after head librarian Doris Cook retired. Fustukjian—known to most as “Sam”—held the post of acting dean after Hinz stepped down. During the 1980s, library services and collections expanded under Fustukjian's leadership. The online library catalog and the expansion of print and audio/visual resources allowed the Poynter Library to gain prominence as a research facility. In 1991, he transferred to USF Tampa to take over leadership duties for the system of USF libraries in the years prior to USF St. Petersburg's separate regional accreditation. A beloved colleague and friend of the Poynter Library, Sam lapsed into a coma following complications from surgery in September 1998. He passed away on March 1, 1999.
• John P. Hinz (1979 : February - 1985 : July) A scholar of American literature, John Hinz earned degrees at the City College of New York and Columbia University. He served as USF St. Petersburg’s dean for six years, often battling with administrators in Tampa for greater autonomy over course selection, staffing, and funding matters. He fortified the bonds between campus and community, oversaw the opening of new classroom buildings and a library, and helped assure that Activities and Service fees generated on the St. Petersburg campus stayed there. Hinz launched the Asparagus Club as a place for community members to learn about the research interests of the faculty. This early forum served as the predecessor to the Campus Advisory Board that developed in the late 1980s. Hinz announced his resignation on September 21, 1984. He later returned to the classroom as a professor. Recalling his tenure, Hinz claimed that in the late 1970s, “We were on a back burner.” By the time of his retirement from USF in 1993, he added, “Now we are cooking up front where we belong.” Hinz passed away on January 23, 1996.
• David Ryder Kenerson (interim, 1976 : September - 1979 : February) A professor of business management and former hospital administrator, David Ryder Kenerson served as acting dean during the delicate negotiations between city and university officials for Phase I expansion. Kenerson resumed his teaching duties after John Hinz became dean in early 1979. He continued to teach courses in business management and administration at USF St. Petersburg until his retirement in 1993. David Kenerson's leadership as administrator of the city's primary hospital made him an early advocate for civil rights before he began teaching at USF St. Petersburg. During the mid-1950s, Mr. Kenerson became the chief executive of Mound Park Hospital (now Bayfront Medical Center), then a city-operated hospital for white patients only. During the late 1950s, Kenerson argued that the operations and resources at Mound Park should be merged with those of Mercy Hospital, a facility established for African Americans. City leaders did not welcome this plan, but Kenerson's efforts led to the ultimate integration of facilities. Mr. Kenerson joined USF as a faculty member in 1966, after taking some courses towards a doctorate at the University of Florida. He left Gainesville and began a long and productive career as an educator who taught a variety of courses in business policy and management; he also served as an adviser. His duties at the University of South Florida kept him so busy that he never found time to complete the doctorate. A longtime champion of causes to promote humane treatment of animals, Mr. Kenerson passed away on 31 March 2009 at the age of 92.
• Lester W. Tuttle, Jr. (1968 : Summer - 1976 : September) This community contains materials from the tenure of Dean Lester W. Tuttle. Between 1968 and 1975, Dr. Tuttle became the first Dean of what was then known as the Bay Campus, the Bayboro Campus, and later the St. Petersburg Campus. In this capacity, Tuttle served as the chief executive officer at USF St. Petersburg during its early years, a role that required oversight of academic affairs, student affairs, and all other aspects of campus operation. Tuttle also led the nascent USF Fort Myers campus that began to offer classes in September 1974. Modeled on the regional campus two-plus-two undergraduate track that USF had successfully implemented in St. Petersburg, USF Fort Myers took shape in the early months of 1974 as the USF's second "branch campus." After the University of South Florida and trustees of New College—formerly a private institution near the Sarasota/Manatee county line—entered into an agreement under which New College became a part of USF in 1974, Tuttle oversaw the transition of New College into USF and helped to establish a separate academic initiative at USF Sarasota that later became USF Sarasota-Manatee. (New College became a separate entity in the State University System known as New College of Florida on 1 July 2001.) With the expansion of his duties, USF administrators asked Tuttle to oversee the development of all of USF’s regional campuses. He was asked to serve in the newly created position of Vice President for Regional Campus Affairs. He later returned to the classroom as a professor in the College of Education at USF Tampa. Although he spent his last years on the Tampa Campus, Dr. Tuttle will always be fondly remembered as the "Founding Dean" of USFSP.

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