THE INAUGURATION OF RHEA F. LAW
EIGHTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
INVESTITURE CEREMONY JANUARY 19, 2023
Commemorative Art
Top, Untitled (Expanded Light Consciousness II), 2022; Center, Untitled (Luminous Bodies II), 2022; Bottom, Untitled (Triple Consciousness), 2022. Each piece, acrylic paint and glitter on wood, 36 x 80 inches.
Rico Gatson is a Brooklyn-based artist celebrated for his paintings, video, sculpture, and installations. He received his MFA from the Yale School of Art in 1991. His abstract paintings are embedded with color and shapes that symbolize power and draw from his African American background. The three paintings selected by the artist are each distinct, and together reflect the strength of our three campuses unified as One USF.
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Artist Rico Gatson , Courtesy of the artist and Miles McEnery Gallery, New York, NY
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA TAMPA CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA ST. PETERSBURG CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA SARASOTA-MANATEE CAMPUS
THE
INAUGURATION OF RHEA F. LAW
EIGHTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA INVESTITURE CEREMONY THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2023 1:00 PM YUENGLING CENTER TAMPA CAMPUS
University of South Florida
ESTABLISHED IN 1956 , the University of South Florida is a high-impact global research university dedicated to student success. Situated in the heart of the Tampa Bay region, USF serves approximately 50,000 students at its campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota-Manatee.
USF is designated as a Preeminent State Research University by the Florida Board of Governors, placing it in the most elite category among the state’s 12 public universities. The university has earned widespread national recognition for its success in graduating under-represented minority and limited-income students at rates equal to or higher than white and higherincome students.
USF offers undergraduate, graduate, specialist, and doctoral degrees from 13 colleges, ranging from business and engineering to the arts and health sciences. Our graduate programs continue to rank among the nation’s best, with several programs listed in U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 Best Graduate Schools rankings.
With 92 new U.S. utility patents granted in 2021, USF ranks 11th among American public research universities and 23rd among all universities worldwide in generating new patents. This ranking places USF as a leader among the more than 1,000
academic institutions generating new, novel and useful inventions granted intellectual property protection from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
USF’s innovation and economic development efforts produce tangible benefits across the state of Florida. The university had a total economic impact of $6.02 billion in fiscal 2019-20 and supports more than 68,000 jobs in the state. Many of the jobs supported by USF are in high-skill, high-wage, knowledgebased industries, such as life sciences, information technology, and financial services.
USF is a member of the American Athletic Conference. USF Athletics currently sponsors 19 varsity men’s and women’s teams that compete in 11 different sports, 18 at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference.
Over the past 10 years, no other public university in the country has risen faster than USF in U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of the best colleges in America. USF sits at No. 42 among all public universities and No. 97 among all universities public or private. This marks the fourth consecutive year that USF has ranked in the top 50 public universities and the first time USF has broken into the top 100 among all universities.
TAMPA CAMPUS ST. PETERSBURG CAMPUS
SARASOTA-MANATEE CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
William Weatherford, Chair
Michael E. Griffin, Vice Chair
Sandra Callahan
Michael Carrere
N. Rogan Donelly
Oscar Horton
Jenifer Jasinski Schneider
Lauran Monbarren
Nithin Palyam
Shilen Patel
Fredrick Piccolo
Melissa Seixas
PRESIDENT’S
CABINET
Rhea F. Law, President and Chief Executive Officer
Eric M. Eisenberg, Interim Provost and Executive Vice President, Senior Vice President for University-Community Partnerships
Charles J. Lockwood, Executive Vice President for USF Health
Richard Sobieray, Senior Vice President for Financial Strategy and Administrative Services and Chief Financial Officer
Gerard D. Solis, Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel
Jay Stroman, Senior Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Affairs and Chief Executive Officer, USF Foundation
Christian E. Hardigree, Regional Chancellor, USF St. Petersburg campus
Karen A. Holbrook, Regional Chancellor, USF Sarasota-Manatee campus
Cynthia DeLuca, Vice President for Student Success
Kim Hill, Vice President for Communications and Marketing and Chief Marketing Officer
Tricia Penniecook, Interim Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Michael Kelly, Vice President for Athletics
Angela Sklenka, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
Sylvia Wilson Thomas, Interim Vice President for Research and Innovation
Mark Walsh, Assistant Vice President for Government Relations
Paige Beles Geers, Chief of Staff
UNIVERSITY DEANS
Magali Cornier Michael, Acting Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Julianne M. Serovich, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences
Gert-Jan de Vreede, Interim Dean, Muma College of Business
R. Anthony Rolle, College of Education
Robert H. Bishop, College of Engineering
Govindan Parayil, Patel College of Global Sustainability
Ruth Huntley Bahr, College of Graduate Studies
Charles Adams, Judy Genshaft Honors College Todd Chavez, University Libraries
Thomas K. Frazer, College of Marine Science
Charles J. Lockwood, Morsani College of Medicine
Usha Menon, College of Nursing
Kevin B. Sneed, Taneja College of Pharmacy
Donna J. Petersen, College of Public Health
Chris Garvin, College of The Arts
Allison H. Crume, Office of Undergraduate Studies
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Investiture Ceremony
• PROGRAM •
GREETINGS TO THE PRESIDENT
Raymond Rodrigues, Chancellor, State University System of Florida
PRESIDING
Eric Eisenberg, Ph.D., Interim Provost and Executive Vice President PROCESSIONAL
USF Faculty Brass Quintet
CEREMONY OPENING Provost Eisenberg
PRESENTATION OF COLORS AND THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
USF ROTC Color Guard
USF Blue Mood Jazz Vocal Ensemble
INVOCATION
Pastor Ken Whitten, Idlewild Baptist Church
WELCOME William Weatherford, Chair, Board of Trustees
Jenifer Jasinski Schneider, Ph.D., President, Faculty Senate
Nithin Palyam, President, Student Government
Lora Crider, Vice President, Staff Senate
Jessica Burgess, President, Administrative Advisory Council Braulio Colon, Chair, Alumni Association
Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz, J.D., President, University of Evansville
INTRODUCTION OF THE PRESIDENT
Bob Ward, President and Chief Executive Officer, Florida Council of 100
INSTALLATION AND PRESENTATION OF THE CHAIN OF OFFICE Chair Weatherford
INAUGURAL ADDRESS
President
Rhea F. Law, J.D.
USF ALMA MATER
USF Blue Mood Jazz Vocal Ensemble
RECESSIONAL
USF Faculty Brass Quintet
ALMA MATER
Hail to thee, our Alma Mater May thy name be told, Where above thy gleaming splendor, Waves the green and gold. Thou our guide in quest for knowledge Where we all are free University of South Florida, Alma Mater, hail to thee!
Be our guide in truth and wisdom
As we onward go, May thy glory, fame and honor Never cease to grow, May our thoughts and prayers Be with thee through eternity, University of South Florida, Alma Mater, Hail to thee!
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Rhea F. Law, j.d.
Eighth President of the University of South Florida
Rhea Law became the University of South Florida’s eighth president in March 2022. A proud fifth-generation Floridian who is passionate about the success of the state, Law is actively involved in corporate, public policy, civic, and charitable work. Over the course of her 35-year-plus career, she has held top leadership positions with many Florida-based organizations.
Law is the first USF graduate to serve as president and has deep ties within the university community and throughout the state of Florida. She earned an undergraduate degree in management from USF, putting herself through school while working as the university research project administrator for the Office of Sponsored Research. She then earned her terminal degree in law at Stetson University College of Law.
As one of the founding members of the USF Board of Trustees, she spent five years as vice chair and four years as the first (and only) female chair, contributing significantly to USF’s growth and evolution as a highimpact, global research university.
Previously, Law served as CEO and Chair of the Board of Fowler White Boggs, a Florida law firm. She has worked with clients on land use and strategic planning to meet the needs of a growing Florida. Her areas of practice included higher education, environment and land use, government, and economic development.
Currently, Law serves on the Board of Directors of Tampa Electric Company, which supplies electricity to the Tampa area, and Peoples Gas, which provides gas throughout Florida. She also serves on the Executive Committee of the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council, the Tampa Bay Chamber, the Council of Governors for the Tampa Bay Partnership, and on the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center Board of Directors and National Board of Advisors.
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The Symbols of Higher Education
INAUGURATION
The inauguration of the leader of a higher education institution is the chance for the community both on- and off-campus to come together to celebrate not just the new officeholder, but the institution itself. Although often held several months after taking office, an inauguration often spans multiple days and provides students, faculty, staff, and stakeholders within the community the opportunity to interact with the incumbent and to hear their vision for the future. At the University of South Florida, President Law’s Inauguration includes an inaugural reception held on each of the three campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota-Manatee, and the formal Investiture Ceremony in the Yuengling Center on the Tampa campus.
INVESTITURE CEREMONY
An investiture ceremony is the keystone event of an inauguration that culminates with the presentation of the chain of office—formally presenting the new leader as the incumbent. President Law’s Investiture Ceremony includes speakers from across the University of South Florida and beyond, and reflects her
deep commitment to building relationships and creating a welcoming and inclusive environment to all.
PROCESSIONAL
The Investiture Ceremony opens with a processional of representatives from within the University: members of the Board of Trustees, Florida Board of Governors, and Campus Advisory Boards for St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee; President Law’s cabinet; leadership from Academic Affairs and the University’s deans; the University Leadership Council; faculty of the University; and former presidents of the University. Delegates from partner institutions are also included in the processional: the State University System of Florida, Florida College System, and the American Athletic Conference.
UNIVERSITY MACE
The mace is a ceremonial staff similar to those used by many institutions of higher learning to show the right to grant degrees to graduates. Our mace includes a gold pine cone at its top to represent growth and continuity. Eight silver semicircles, which support the pine cone, stand for the eight colleges in
existence at USF when the mace was commissioned in 1998. When not in use, today’s mace is displayed in the foyer of the Office of the President.
ACADEMIC REGALIA
Modern academic regalia evolved from the kinds of apparel worn by monks and students in the 11th and 12th centuries to keep warm in the medieval castles and halls in which they studied. The teaching guild was the Guild of the Master of Arts, and the Bachelor was the apprentice of the Master. Their dress was the outward sign of stature and responsibility. Academic regalia was thus a visible manifestation—in color, pattern, and design—that unified those of common discipline and like purpose. The principal features of academic dress are three: the gown, the cap, and the hood.
THE GOWN
The gown has become symbolic of the democracy of scholarship, for it completely covers any dress of rank or social standing. The sleeves of the gown indicate the level of the degree held by the wearer. A long, pointed sleeve indicates the bachelor’s degree. The master’s gown has an oblong sleeve cut in an arc, with a slit at either the upper arm or wrist. The doctoral gown has bell-shaped sleeves and three bars on the sleeve. Presidential gowns have four bars on the sleeve indicating the wearer is, or was, the leader of an institution.
THE CAP
The freed slave in ancient Rome won the privilege of wearing a cap, and so the academic cap is a sign of the freedom of scholarship and the responsibility and dignity with which scholarship endows the wearer. Old poetry records the cap of scholarship as a square symbolizing the book, although other authorities claim that it is a mortar board, the symbol of the masons, a privileged guild. The color of the tassel on the cap denotes the discipline. The tassels on the caps and mortar boards worn by the faculty may be black or a color indicating the degree. Those who hold a doctoral degree may wear a gold tassel.
THE HOOD
Hoods are lined with the official colors of the institution conferring the degree. They are edged and bound with velvet of the color appropriate for the degree. At USF, the lining of the hood is green with a gold chevron, representing the university’s colors.
COLORS
In regalia, academic disciplines are noted by color.
• Apricot — Nursing
• Blue (dark) — Philosophy (doctorate)
• Blue (light) — Education
• Blue (peacock) — Public Administration
• Blue (Rhodes) — Audiology
• Brown — Visual and Performing Arts
• Citron — Social Work, Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling
• Crimson — Advertising, Journalism and Mass Communications
• Copper — Economics Drab — Business
• Green (Kelly) — Medicine
• Green (olive) — Pharmacy
• Green (sage) — Political Science (master’s)
• Orange — Engineering
• Pink — Music
• Salmon — Public Health
• Scarlet — Religious Studies Science Gold — Anthropology, Biology, Biomedical Sciences, Chemistry, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Criminology, Cybercrime, Environmental Science, Geography, Geology, Gerontology, Health Sciences, Information Technologies, Medical Science (master’s), Medical Technology, Mathematics, Marine Science, Physics, Speech Pathology, Statistics
• Silver — Speech Communications
Teal — Physical Therapy
• Violet — Architecture
• White — Arts and Letters and Humanities, including African Studies, American Studies, Applied Linguistics, Art and Art History, Classics, English, Foreign Language, General Studies, History, Interdisciplinary Social Science, International Studies, Liberal Studies, Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Women’s and Gender Studies
• Yellow (lemon) — Library Science
• Yellow (pineapple) — Hotel and Restaurant Management
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University of South Florida
Hall of Presidents
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JUDY GENSHAFT 2000 - 2019 BETTY CASTOR 1994 - 1999
JOHN LOTT BROWN 1978 - 1988
CECIL MACKEY 1971 - 1976
JOHN S. ALLEN FOUNDING PRESIDENT 1957 - 1970
RHEA F. LAW 2022 - PRESENT
STEVEN C. CURRALL 2019 - 2021
FRANCIS T. BORKOWSKI 1988 - 1993
USF History
June 18, 1955
Florida Governor LeRoy Collins signs into law House Bill 1007, written by Representative Sam Gibbons, creating a new state university in Hillsborough County.
July 16, 1957
The Board of Control names John S. Allen the first president of USF.
September 5, 1958
Groundbreaking ceremonies take place on the new Tampa campus.
September 26, 1960
A convocation ceremony marks the first day of classes for USF’s first-ever students.
November 1962
The “Golden Brahman” is chosen as the university’s mascot.
December 1963
The university holds its inaugural commencement ceremony on December 22 where 326 total degrees are conferred.
1965
USF receives full accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
July 1, 1965
USF occupies the site of the St. Petersburg campus on Bayboro Harbor.
September 1965
USF plays its first intercollegiate sports event, defeating Florida Southern College’s men’s soccer team.
1966
Students publish the first edition of “The Oracle,” the student newspaper.
September 1967
Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity becomes the first Greek organization on campus.
March 1968
USF is admitted to the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
1969
The USF Alumni Association is incorporated.
December 4, 1970
The first USF basketball game is played against the University of Florida at Curtis Hixon Hall. USF wins, 85-78.
1971
The USF medical school opens.
February 1971
Cecil Mackey becomes USF’s second president, with a focus on research and increasing funding.
May 25, 1971
USF’s first doctoral degree is conferred to Joseph Houbrick, a student of biology and marine science.
1972
The College of Liberal Arts grows into four new colleges: the College of Arts & Letters, Social & Behavioral Sciences, Natural Sciences and Fine Arts.
1973
The School of Nursing opens.
April 15, 1978
John Lott Brown is inaugurated as USF’s third president.
1984
USF becomes the nation’s first university to offer a Ph.D. in applied anthropology.
1986
Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute opens on the USF campus.
February 15, 1988
Francis T. Borkowski begins his term as the fourth USF president.
January 17, 1994
Betty Castor becomes the fifth president of USF.
1996
The Sam & Martha Gibbons Alumni Center opens.
September 6, 1997
USF begins its first-ever season of NCAA football.
1998
USF is named by the Florida Board of Regents as a “Research I” university.
2000
USF St. Petersburg begins admitting freshmen and sophomores.
July 5, 2000
Judy Genshaft takes office as the sixth president of USF.
October 26, 2004
The Board of Trustees approves for USF to become a system.
August 2006
USF St. Petersburg opens its first student residence hall.
August 28, 2006
USF Sarasota-Manatee holds its first day of classes on its new, bay-front campus.
December 2006
USF is the only university in Florida to be selected by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s new Community Engagement classification.
November 2, 2007
USF celebrates the grand opening of C.W. Bill Young Hall, which houses USF’s Joint Military Leadership Center and ROTC programs.
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USF History
August 20, 2008
The new Phyllis P. Marshall Student Center opens to the public on the Tampa campus.
November 2008
The USF men’s soccer team wins the first Big East championship in program history.
April 4, 2009
The USF women’s basketball team makes program history by winning the WNIT Championship for the first time.
June 2009
USF becomes the first university in the country to dedicate a support center for veterans taking advantage of the new GI Bill, called the Office of Veteran Services.
August 28, 2009
The Chronicle of Higher Education names USF the nation’s fastestgrowing university for federal research funds.
September 4, 2011
The university’s athletics center is renamed in honor of Lee Roy Selmon, the first athletic director at USF, after he passes away.
March 30, 2012
USF Health opens the revolutionary Center for Advanced Medical Learning Simulation (CAMLS) in downtown Tampa.
December 2, 2013
USF moved up to No. 43 in the federal government’s ranking of research spending among both public and private institutions.
June 21, 2016
The Florida Board of Governors designates USF as the state’s first “emerging preeminent university,” recognizing its strong trajectory toward national prominence.
March 1, 2017
USF is recognized as the top university in Florida – and #6 in the nation – for eliminating the completion gap between Black and white students.
December 4, 2017
The Education Trust names USF the top public university in the nation for Latino student success.
March 2, 2018
Governor Rick Scott signed the Florida Excellence in Higher Education Act of 2018, requiring the USF System and its three campuses to consolidate accreditations under one umbrella by July 1, 2020.
June 2018
The university achieves Preeminent State Research University status, as designated by the Florida Board of Governors.
August 2018
USF is awarded a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most prestigious national honor organization in the country.
November 2018
USF ranks 25th among public universities for research spending and 42nd among all universities nationally.
May 22, 2019
President Judy Genshaft and husband Steven Greenbaum donate $20 million to establish the Judy Genshaft Honors College. The donation will also help fund a new five-story building for the college.
July 1, 2019
Steven C. Currall becomes USF’s seventh president.
August 16, 2019
A $10 million gift from the Taneja Family Foundation establishes the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy. The donation marks the largest philanthropic gift to a pharmacy school in the state of Florida.
September 2019
USF breaks into the top 50 on U.S. News & World Report’s list of best public universities in America, climbing 14 spots from the prior year to reach No. 44.
July 1, 2020
USF consolidates its three separate institutions into one, singularlyaccredited university with campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota-Manatee.
March 30, 2022
The Florida Board of Governors voted unanimously to confirm Rhea Law as the University of South Florida’s eighth president.
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TAMPA // ST. PETERSBURG // SARASOTA-MANATEE
