Perspective: Lessons learned

Tim Pernetti

COO – IMG Performance – IMG Academy We learned the power of virtual and digital products. Since we have a finite in-person capacity, that opens up a whole new audience for us, particularly as it relates to camps. We learned in this environment that demand was higher for in-person and safe education and we could have admitted more students into the prep school if our COVID-19 protocols didn’t prevent it.

The combination of robust public institutions and private, usually smaller institutions afford students in the Tampa Bay region a bevy of options. ( ) in fifth. After the death of George Floyd in June 2020, leaders of Tampa Bay’s five institutions gave statements, and some expressed the need for change on their campuses.

Of the Top 5, USF, University of Tampa, St. Petersburg College, Florida Polytechnic and Hillsborough Community College, all have a senior staff team that is at least 70% white, with University of Tampa’s team recorded as exclusively white, as reported by the Tampa Bay Business Journal. The only institution at which women outnumber men on the senior leadership team is St. Petersburg College. All of the institutions are taking steps and launching new diversity and inclusion initiatives, including appointing diversity officers and working groups, launching research projects examining racism and racial justice and diversifying suppliers.

But the pandemic has impacted some groups more than others, including women and minorities. Often bearing the burden of the domestic situation in terms of child and elderly care, women have been under more pressure than ever this year. Northwestern’s female faculty have been pressing for change with limited success. According to research, men are substantially more likely to receive tenure than women. This can be seen in enrollment figures for all-women’s colleges, which were posting declines even pre-pandemic. These colleges are now pushing for curriculums that are more in line with employer needs to tempt women back into education.

Given the new landscape, it has never been more

Michele Alexandre

Dean & Professor of Law – Stetson University College of Law

We had a productive year. We’re excited to share that our three core goals — educational excellence, national prominence and comprehensive advocacy — advanced significantly throughout 2020, our 120th year. The pandemic did little to stop our push for progress as we maintained our top status in the advocacy space. The big watershed moment for us this year is that we had our largest class in 10 years, enrolling in excess of our prediction. Our goal around our metrics was aggressive; we wanted to increase our GPA and get to the top of the 155 bracket for the LSAT, which we did with a larger class. We are at 90% employment for the seventh year in a row. For a law school, that is critical, particularly in Tampa Bay.