Grant to Train Math, Science Teachers for Tampa Bay

By Mary Beth Erskine
USF.edu News Writer
 

TAMPA, Fla. (July 27, 2010) – A $1.2 million grant awarded to USF by the National Science Foundation will go a long way in helping ensure the success of students who are committed to becoming tomorrow's science and mathematics teachers.
 

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $1.2 million Robert Noyce Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) grant to an interdisciplinary team of faculty from the College of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences. The funds will be used to provide stipends to professionals expert in the fields of science, mathematics and engineering who enroll in a one-year accelerated Master’s of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program to earn the credentials needed to teach mathematics or science in secondary schools.
 

The stipends are for $30,000 each and cover tuition and related expenses.
 

 “The first cohort of the one-year accelerated MAT program will begin in fall 2011,” said Gladis Kersaint, associate professor in the College of Education’s Department of Secondary Education and principal investigator for the grant. “We encourage all interested individuals to apply for the MAT 6-12 program in mathematics or science now. Our goal is to fund as many qualified individuals as soon as possible so that we can provide highly effective teachers to schools in the Tampa Bay area.”
 

Those interested in the scholarships must already hold a bachelor’s degree in a STEM content field. This includes both change-of-career individuals and recent college graduates. The program is designed to specifically support individuals with no prior experience in education.

Read Mary Beth's full article here.

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Local Soccer Player Makes Big Splash in Regional Competition

NEW PORT RICHEY - Landon Donovan isn't the only guy scoring huge, last-minute goals this summer.

While the national soccer star's shot was buried on a decidedly larger stage in South Africa, the goal netted by Gulf High's Travis Jehs in late June on a field in Baton Rouge was similarly important to his respective team.

Jehs scored the game-winning goal for his Under-16 RSL Florida 93 club team during the 102nd minute in overtime against Georgia's Concorde Fire Elite. The victory sealed RSL Florida's U.S. Youth Soccer Region III title and sends the team to Overland Park, Kan., for the National Championships on July 20-25.

"The final game was actually pretty amazing," Jehs said over the phone during a break from his summer soccer camp at USF. "We never played at this level and to be able to win our first year was just absolutely incredible."

Jehs overtime winner came from a volley he struck from about 20 yards out that happened to find its way into the net, he said. The soon-to-be-junior at Gulf High also served the corner kick in the first half that teammate Lakota Thomas finished off.

As if one walk-off goal in a single tournament isn't enough, the score in the finals was actually Jehs' second in four games - and third of the year. Playing in the final game of group play, Jehs bailed out RSL Florida again with a winner in extra time against Oklahoma's TSC 94 Black.

"He's scored some real important goals for us this year," said RSL Florida coach Steve Wolf.

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Get To Know a USF Basketball Player

Leading up to the 2010-11 USF women's basketball season, GoUSFBulls.com will take some time to get a closer look at the players who will make up the roster this season.

The 2010-11 season is one of the most anticipated in recent history for the USF Bulls, and leading up to the season, we will take some time to get to know the players, on and off the court. This week we feature sophomore guard Tiffany Conner...

http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=204959832

 

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USF Gives Heath Raise, New Deal Through 2015

Fresh off a 20-win season, USF has announced a new contract extension for men's basketball coach Stan Heath, who picks up a solid raise and is now the Bulls' coach through 2015.

Heath, who led USF to its first postseason appearance in eight years in the NIT in March, had two years remaining on the contract he signed when he came to Tampa in 2007. This new contract, combined with the Muma Center practice facility being built just south of the Sun Dome, represents a substantial financial commitment to basketball as the Bulls try to move up in the Big East standings.

"My family and I are honored and appreciative of USF's commitment to our basketball program," Heath said in a statement. "My staff and I look forward to the work ahead in building a championship program. It's an exciting time to be a USF Bull."

Heath, 41-54 in three years at USF, was making $675,000 a year under the original contract, but his new deal averages $900,000 a year, a raise of 33 percent. The contract was signed by Heath, athletic director Doug Woolard and USF President Judy Genshaft on Wednesday, the final year of USF's fiscal year.

"I am very pleased to extend Stan's contract," Woolard said in a statement. "In just three years, he has been able to position our men's basketball program as a viable competitor within the Big East Conference and\ nationally. Winning games in the best conference in America is no small feat, and to have us in the postseason in that period of time is one heck of an achievement.”

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Woolard: New USF soccer stadium OK'd for '11

USF athletic director Doug Woolard, who has been talking recently about adding a new $3.5-million soccer stadium to the ambitious package of facility upgrades, said Monday that he can now officially announce that USF has secured the funding to include soccer in this wave of construction.

That means USF soccer will have a new home immediately east of the athletic facility in time for its 2011 fall season. Woolard is saying that all the construction -- new stadiums for baseball and softball, the Muma Center practice facility for basketball and new practice fields for football -- will be completed a year from now.

Taken from http://blogs.tampabay.com/usf/

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Quarterback B.J. Daniels impresses during USF Bulls spring football game

By Greg Auman, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, April 18, 2010

It was against a "very vanilla" defense that couldn't so much as tackle him, but Saturday was an impressive night for USF QB B.J. Daniels. The sopho­more-to-be threw for 381 yards and five touchdowns in leading the "South Florida" team past the "Bulls" team 49-31 at Raymond James Stadium. "I really didn't want it to be this much of a passing fest," said first-year coach Skip Holtz, who set limitations on his defense to help limit injuries. "But I was really impressed with the job that B.J. Daniels did as a quarterback. We all know he's a great athlete and what he can do, but I think he's starting to do some good things from a mental standpoint." Four of Daniels' touchdowns went to senior WR Dontavia Bogan, who caught nine passes for 228 yards, including a 77-yarder down the sideline for the game's first touchdown. Said Holtz: "Bogan really stepped up and did some great things."

Up-and-down defense

The first-team defense gave up far too many big plays even while being limited to no blitzing and certain coverages. But it did score two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman S JaQuez Jenkins, a graduate of Lakewood High in St. Petersburg, returned an interception for a score, and LB Mike Lanaris returned a fumble for one. LB DeDe Lattimore returned a fumble to the 10, setting up a Mo Plancher touchdown.

Read the full story at TampaBay.com

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