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Dean to leave a rich legacy

As talks to tie a top research institution to the USF marine school near an end, the man behind the dream must retire.

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VANSICKLER
Published August 4, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - University of South Florida dean Peter Betzer still won't discuss details, but negotiations between his College of Marine Science and a prestigious California-based scientific institution appear to be going well.

So well, in fact, that a foreign company with ties to Norway and Scotland is considering partnering with the college once the deal with SRI International is official.

But Betzer won't be around to enjoy the long-term fruits of those collaborations.

Betzer, 64, has until December 2007 to step down under provisions of the state's retirement program.

Administrators say it will be difficult to replace the man credited with building the renowned marine science program at USF St. Petersburg. They already are searching for his successor.

USF advertised the job in the spring, and a committee recently started fielding applications. Search committee member Kent Fanning, associate dean of the college and a longtime colleague of Betzer's, said it will be an international search. And USF will keep looking until it finds the right person.

Betzer, while refusing to discuss the SRI talks, says the college's bright future makes the selection of a new dean all the more challenging.

"I think all this will change the scope of the dean search," he said. "No other college would have what we have, in terms of the technological power and the investment power."

While Betzer is bound by a confidentiality agreement, others say he and St. Petersburg officials are ironing out a proposed partnership with SRI, a research institution founded four decades ago by Stanford University. The partnership would be based near the marine science college in downtown St. Petersburg.

SRI, a 1,400-employee company with more than $250-million in annual revenue, invented the computer mouse in 1964. In 1976, it used a converted bread van to produce what some consider the first demonstration of the Internet.

Rep. C.W. Bill Young's chief of staff confirmed earlier this year that SRI is particularly interested in the college's Center for Ocean Technology, lauded for its marine sensor research. Both SRI and the college also do a lot of work with the Homeland Security Department.

This week, Betzer would only say "things are looking very good. It's not just that initiative. We have another firm, a Norwegian-Scottish organization, that has heard about that and they said, 'If that happens, we're coming, too.' "

The marine science program has come a long way since 1966, when it opened as a three-person department. It is now a college with 31 full-time faculty members, 34 research associates and about 130 graduate students.

Those faculty members and students do research supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency, among others.

More than a decade ago, Betzer secured seed money for the Center for Ocean Technology. It started with five employees and now has 85, said Carol Steele, business development manager for the center.

The center has used millions in tax dollars to create devices that help the Navy detect mines and battle terrorists.

Betzer, a professor of chemical oceanography, joined the marine science department in 1971, having just earned his Ph.D. from the University of Rhode Island.

Twelve years later, he was named head of the department. When the department became a college in 2000, USF officials named Betzer dean.

His reputation is that of a charismatic leader, a visionary who thinks big and delivers.

"He has done all the things a good dean is supposed to do," Steele said. "Grow programs, bring in good faculty, bring in good students, bring in money to support programs. But he has also been a real stalwart in the community."

A St. Petersburg resident since 1971, Betzer has served on city planning councils and chamber of commerce committees. In 1994 the St. Petersburg Bar Association gave Betzer its Liberty Bell Award for community service.

His wife is a practicing physician in St. Petersburg, and they have two grown daughters.

He said he isn't going anywhere once he retires.

"I obviously have had some strong links with the business community, and there are a few projects I am excited about that I will spend some time on," he said, without giving details.

"I have no idea what his next plans are," Steele said. "I can only imagine that he will continue to be an important person in the community."

Shannon Colavecchio-VanSickler can be reached at 813 226-3403 or svansickler@sptimes.com.

[Last modified August 4, 2006, 01:20:44]