The University of South Florida announced today that Charles Tokarz has been appointed chair of the Sarasota-Manatee Campus Advisory Board.
Tokarz, a member of the USF Board of Trustees, is a certified public accountant with more than 40 years of experience in business, finance and financial planning. Currently, Tokarz is the vice president of finance for Medallion Home based in Sarasota. Prior to his current position, he was a senior auditor for one of the “Big Eight” public accounting firms and owner of an accounting firm providing controller and chief financial officer services to small and medium-sized private and public businesses. Tokarz is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Tokarz served as an adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Florida International University and the University of Miami. He received his bachelor of science and master of science in business administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma. Tokarz also served for four years as an air crewman with the U.S. Navy.
Tokarz’s Board of Trustees assignments include the chair of the Academic and Campus Environment Committee and a member of the Finance Committee.
“Charlie Tokarz is a highly accomplished business leader who can now make an even greater positive impact on our community in his new role as chair of the USF Sarasota-Manatee Campus Advisory Board,” USF President Steven Currall said. “As a member of the USF Board of Trustees, he’s shown a strong commitment to our future as One USF and he recognizes the important role the University of South Florida plays to further elevate our region.”
“We are pleased to welcome Charlie Tokarz as our new campus board chair and look forward to working with him even more closely,” said Karen Holbrook, USF Sarasota-Manatee campus regional chancellor. “His leadership role as chair of USF Board of Trustees Academics and Campus Environment Committee and experience as a businessman and member of our community will be of great value to our campus.”
Tokarz will take the role from Byron Shinn, a certified public accounting executive from Bradenton whose term on the Board of Trustees expired. Shinn, a 1979 USF graduate who has served on the board since 2010, is partner-in-charge of the Bradenton and Sarasota offices of the Alabama-based certified public accounting and advisory firm, Carr, Riggs & Ingram LLC, and former chairman of the Manatee County Chamber of Commerce.
“Byron has been a tremendous ambassador and advocate for USF and the Sarasota-Manatee campus during the past decade and we are sad to see his term as a Trustee expire,” said Holbrook. “I’m certain Byron will stay closely connected to USF and our campus. He has been a great friend and invaluable to our success; it is hard to measure the positive impact he has had as chair of our campus board.”
To learn more about the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus, visit www.sarasotamanatee.usf.edu.