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USF picks campus executive
By ANITA KUMAR, Times Staff Writer
USF president Judy Genshaft will announce her selection to the faculty, staff and students this morning at a meeting of the campus' regional board. "I find her engaging, energetic and exciting," Genshaft said Sunday. "I just thought it was a very good fit with the community and the faculty." A search committee recommended four finalists for vice president and campus executive officer to Genshaft. But White, dean of the college of fine arts, and Richard S. Millman, program director of the Division of Mathematical Sciences at the National Science Foundation, emerged as the two favorites. Committee members described White as charismatic, dynamic and inspiring and could not name a single negative quality. One member said she would "give anything to work for her." Another said she had "a way of making you feel good about yourself." "When they start cloning people, they should start with her," said Professor Mark Wilson, who led the 17-member committee. "It would be good for humanity." White, 51, will start July 1. She will oversee a $33-million budget and make $150,000 a year. It is a crucial time for the growing waterfront campus. USF St. Petersburg is trying to win separate accreditation from the main campus in Tampa while significantly expanding its enrollment, which now stands at 4,000. White replaces Bill Heller, whom Genshaft asked to step down last August after leading the campus through a decade of tremendous change and growth. "I'm very excited about her coming on board," said Ann Wilkins Duncan, chairwoman of the campus' regional board. "She's got a great combination of skills and experiences." Genshaft said she made her choice after White and Millman, 57, came to town last week and met with her and the five members of the campus board. White accepted the job this weekend. White, a concert violinist who holds a doctorate in violin performance, also is a professor of music and graduate faculty member at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, which has 14,000 students. Before moving to Nebraska in 1993, she worked at the University of Maryland and Southeastern Louisiana University. White could not be reached Sunday but told faculty and students in a campus visit two weeks ago that she had spent her career working in urban, metropolitan institutions like USF. "I think it is an exciting time," she said. "There is a very great tradition of spirit on this campus." White said she didn't want to share any specific goals for the campus until she had researched the issues because she didn't want to make plans now that she couldn't keep later. "I'm not one who paints rainbows," she said. "I don't want to make a promise that I can't fulfill. The other finalists were Gary Krahenbuhl, 59, senior vice president at Arizona State University, and Terry L. Hickey, 58, senior vice president and provost at the University of Akron. Last week, Hickey dropped out after being named provost at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
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