Bulls Notebook: USF Sarasota-Manatee to host Financial Markets and the Economy: Financial Literacy Day III

USF Sarasota-Manatee, Cumberland Advisors and the Global Interdependence Center are partnering to host Financial Markets and the Economy: Financial Literacy Day III, a daylong economic and financial forum with renowned experts, including senior investigative reporter Gretchen Morgenson of The Wall Street Journal.

The event is scheduled for Thursday, April 11, at the Selby Auditorium at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, 8350 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. It’s open to the public and designed to appeal to a range of financial interests.

Topics include:

• The outlook for U.S. stocks/global economic outlook
• Special session: Health, Hunger and Philanthropy
• Surveying the global economic/geopolitical landscape
• Keynote Speaker: Gretchen Morgenson, senior writer, Investigations Unit, The Wall Street Journal
• A conversation with Susan Harper, Canada’s consul general in Miami

David Kotok, chairman and chief investment officer of Sarasota-based Cumberland Advisors, and USFSM Regional Chancellor Dr. Karen Holbrook will offer introductory remarks starting at 8:30 a.m.

Among the speakers are Matt McAleer, executive vice president and director of equity strategies, Cumberland Advisors; Richard Hoey, senior economic advisor, BNY Mellon Wealth Management; Judith Monroe, president and CEO, Centers for Disease Control Foundation; Lisa Marsh Ryerson, president, AARP Foundation; Leland Miller, CEO, China Beige Book International; and Paul O’Brien, deputy chief investment officer, Strategy and Planning Department, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

Tickets are $50 (includes lunch). To register or for more information, visit sar.usfsm.edu/event/financial-markets-and-the-economy/.

Students welcomed at Bloomberg-certified job fair

USF Sarasota-Manatee and New College students connected with financial services companies at a luncheon held Friday at the Selby Auditorium, the Bloomberg Certified Talent Recruitment Luncheon.

The event, sponsored by Sarasota-based Cumberland Advisors, paired representatives of financial firms and banks with students certified to operate Bloomberg computer terminals.

Bloomberg terminals are used by financial professionals to monitor and study real-time market data worldwide. Thanks to a donation three years ago by Cumberland Advisors and its chairman, David Kotok, USFSM acquired 12 Bloomberg terminals and established a Bloomberg teaching laboratory. The lab enables students from USFSM and other campuses to become “Bloomberg certified” to operate the terminals.

Addressing the students, Kotok said students entering the job market have a leg up on the competition – and can command a higher salaries – if they are certified to operate Bloomberg systems.

“The most recent addition came to us from this business school and is a wiz with a Bloomberg terminal,” he said. “She entered here at Cumberland miles ahead of her (USFSM) predecessors.”

R.J. Poole, a financial advisor in Sarasota and USFSM MBA graduate, Class of 2017, agreed, saying the certification indicates that students are equipped to study markets, currencies and other financial matters.

“It’s imperative, not just relative to knowing how to operate a Bloomberg system, but so you understand that what you learned can be achieved through the system,” said Poole, of Sarasota’s Marciniak Group, a unit of Merrill Lynch. “The terminals make it feasible to learn more about financial analysis.”

About 20 USFSM and New College students and a half-dozen financial companies attended the inaugural luncheon event.

Florida Creativity Conference returns to USFSM

Get inspired and learn creative problem-solving at the Florida Creativity Conference this Friday and Saturday at USF Sarasota-Manatee, 8350 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.

The conference’s final sessions are Sunday at the Florida Studio Theater, 1241 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota.

The symposium features professionals from business, nonprofits, education, the arts, and health and wellness who study creativity and how it can transform lives.

Among the speakers are business branding expert Judy Winslow; mixed-media artist and creative life coach Sharon Burton; research scientist Charles Maniglia, PhD; and author Carol McCloud, whose books have sold more than 2.5 million copies.

Joining them will be Helene Robinson, PhD, the arts-integration curriculum coordinator and a faculty member in the School of Education at USF Sarasota-Manatee.

The conference runs from $175 to $350, with discounts available for educators and University of South Florida students. Breakfast and lunch are included. Visit flcreativity.com for tickets and more information.

Classroom and Career Days returns for March

Three Classroom and Career Days are scheduled this month to give prospective students an insider’s view of life at USF Sarasota-Manatee.

This popular events invite potential students to spend a half-day on campus to learn about life here. Led by a student guide, participants visit a classroom, engage in a career services discussion and enjoy lunch with student leaders in the campus café and courtyard.

The sessions are segmented as follows:

• March 26, 2019 (All Majors)
• March 27, 2019 (College of Business and College of Hospitality & Tourism Leadership)
• March 28, 2019 (College of Science & Mathematics)

Save the Date: USF Giving Day at USFSM is April 4

Help us celebrate our beloved mascot Rocky D. Bull’s birthday on Giving Day 2019, set for Thursday, April 4.

The University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee invites you to join alumni, family and friends worldwide on this special day to show your USFSM pride and support areas of the university that matter most to you.

This year’s inaugural USF Giving Day at USFSM enables you to support one of two important initiatives:

• USFSM’s Stay the Course Scholarship Fund helps students with financial needs avoid choosing between remaining on track to graduate or paying for day-to-day living expenses.
• USFSM’s Veterans Supplemental Fund provides competitive awards, scholarships and other academic or support to student veterans to ensure success beyond service.

You can support USFSM in three easy ways:

Be counted: Make your gift of any size on April 4. Be sure to like and follow the Advance USF Facebook page and attend the virtual USF Giving Day 2019 Facebook event for updates on how to make your gift.

Spread the word: Sign up to become one of Rocky’s Roadies here and help spread the word.

Share your Bull pride: Post your favorite USF photos and memories to social media using #USFGives and #HBDRocky and share why you support USF.

Criminology Club, CAB invites daughter of killer to speak

Melissa Moore, daughter of so-called “Happy Face Killer” Keith Hunter Jesperson, spoke to a large crowd on Thursday, March 21, at USF Sarasota-Manatee’s Selby Auditorium in an event co-sponsored by the USFSM Criminology Club and Campus Activities Board.

Moore, a best-selling author and television commentator, shared her experiences in learning of her now-imprisoned father’s role in the deaths of at least eight women.

Jesperson was arrested in 1995, when Moore was a high school sophomore.

“On the surface, I thought I had a normal childhood,” she told the audience. “After he was arrested, I thought, ‘Was my father really capable of this?’”

Nominations sought for Staff Awards

USFSM’s Staff Advisory Council (SAC) is seeking nominees for the inaugural SAC Staff Awards to honor outstanding staff who demonstrate a commitment to the university and the SAC’s mission and core values, including respect, integrity, dignity and inclusiveness.

Award recipients will receive a monetary award, an engraved brick and a photograph with the regional chancellor.

The SAC established annual awards in consultation with the regional chancellor and the Office of Human Resources. The judging committee for staff award nominees will include members of the community, students, and faculty.

The Award categories are: Distinguished Staff Award, Spirit of USFSM, Inclusion Excellence, Emerging Staff Award and The Trail Blazers Award. Nominations will run from March 21 to April 4. For more information and to nominate a staff member, visit https://usf.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cHAD9G91Jb68ckZ.

Microsoft training set for April 26

The Microsoft Store at UTC is offering an interactive “Microsoft Teams” training session on Friday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., in room A205 at the USFSM campus.

Faculty and staff are invited to bring a laptop/tablet (BYOD) to learn more. Microsoft Teams is a new workspace platform that brings together chat, document collaboration, people and tools in one secure location.

Microsoft Teams may help you, and the people you work with, to:

• Chat in small groups or entire Teams, reducing your dependency on email and making communication faster.
• Schedule meetings directly in Teams with integrated calendaring.
• Voice and video chat with your coworkers, reducing the need for in-person meetings.
• Integrate with your favorite apps like Trello, Box, Google Drive, and Microsoft suite for a complete experience.
• Store and collaborate on files, instead of spending time emailing a document back and forth.
• Customize your team and create an experience that works for you.

To register or for more about the training session, visit USFSM’s Professional Development page.

In addition, the Microsoft Store at UTC will provide educational discount cards for use at its store. Faculty and staff can also visit the digital device bar to sample the latest gadgets.

Fawn Ngo to present work at Purdue University

Kudos to Fawn Ngo, PhD, who has been invited to present her research to faculty and students at Purdue University on April 19.

The criminology professor will deliver a keynote speech entitled, “Criminological Theories and Visitor Harassment Research.”

“Visitor harassment and trader harassment, in particular, has become an important and vital research topic with the emergence of tourism as an economic driver in some economically distressed countries,” Dr. Ngo said. “Companies and individuals who support these enterprises are under increasing pressure to generate tourism-related sales. This topic intersects two important fields, tourism and criminology.”

Dr. Ngo, who is on sabbatical this semester, will also present a lecture to graduate students and participate in a question-and-answer session with the students.