Tag: usf

An Open Letter To USF Regarding Jim Leavitt’s Hall Of Fame Induction

*(L.-r.) Paul, Jamie, Joel, Kathy & Jake Miller.* ***(Photo courtesy of the Miller family)***

Dear University Of South Florida:

I am not a USF graduate nor am I related to Joel Miller, the former USF football player your former coach Jim Leavitt assaulted in your locker room in front of 30 of your players who you paid $2.75 million to go away and never come back because he assaulted one of your players.

I am, however, a father to two young men who are now in their 30s with families of their own, one of whom was once a youth football rival of Joel’s who later became good friends with him — close enough friends that Joel’s mother Kathy says she thinks of my son as Joel’s brother.

*Why him?* ***(Photo: GoUSFBulls.com)***

But, Joel never made it to his 30s. He never got to have a family or even live to see if he could make his dream of playing in the NFL one day come true. And why?

Because Jim Leavitt decided to make an example of Joel at halftime of a game that USF was winning, by the way, by holding him by the throat, slamming him against the wall and — according to the reenactment Joel did for me of the events of that day in November 2009 — striking him with a closed fist three times, all in front of those 30 players.

But, Joel took this felony assault like a man. He finished out the game and the season without any attempt on his part to seek publicity, press charges or get money out of his school or even out of Jim Leavitt. All Joel wanted to do was play football. And the only thing he ever wanted from Jim Leavitt was an apology that never came.

It was another player who witnessed Coach Leavitt’s assault on Joel who contacted the local sports radio station. Colby Erskin wasn’t even necessarily calling the station to talk about Joel. Colby was calling to say that Jim Leavitt had gotten an assistant coach to throw all of his gear out of his locker and into a driving rain. He just inadvertently mentioned that what Leavitt did to him wasn’t nearly as bad as what he did to Joel.

And that lit the fire that Joel’s mother Kathy, his father Paul and his sister Jamie know in their hearts ultimately led to the end of Joel’s too-short life. Their son and brother was ridiculed, cursed at, had beer thrown on him and a brick thrown at him that sliced open the back of his head. He was unable to escape (as I wrote in the February 28, 2015 edition of New Tampa Neighborhood News when I became the first member of the media Joel allowed to tell his story) being “that kid” — that whistle-blowing, attention-seeking kid who got Jim Leavitt fired.

But, whether you knew Joel and his family as well as I did or not, if you’ve ever had a son of your own and you saw their life spiral out of control because of the actions of one pompous megalomaniac who assaulted your child, how would you feel about that worthless piece of garbage being inducted into the Hall of Fame of the school that paid to get rid of him?

I went to Leavitt’s USF Hall of Fame bio on GoUSFBulls.com for his picture and I couldn’t help but notice that there was no mention of USF being sued by this “standup guy” or having to pay him out millions in order to send him on his way.

The Letter

Kathy told me that she found Joel’s hand-written letter to “Jim” less than two years after Joel passed away in 2017, at the age of 29. It’s a powerful two-page (below) appeal to Leavitt for nothing more than an apology — one Joel knew when he wrote it (8/12/2015) would never come. Pompous megalomaniacs don’t generally apologize for their actions, especially when they get away with them scot-free. “Jim” went on to coach in the NFL and at four other college programs.

But, eight years after losing him, Joel Miller’s family is still broken. Their son and brother? Gone forever. All they really want — and genuinely deserve — is for your school to reconsider its decision to bestow this honor on a guy who never took you to a major bowl game — and committed felony assault and lied about it. Otherwise, please re-name it the USF “Hall of Shame” — and take the late, great Lee Roy Selmon out of it.

He deserves better — and so do the Millers.

University Boba Tea House Coming To Palms Connection!

Although it appears to be primarily catering to the USF crowd, the University Boba Tea House, located at 2828 E. Bearss Ave. (just west of BBD Blvd.), in the Palms Connection plaza, looks to be a pretty cool place.

I stumbled upon this still-under-construction tea room when I went to see if anything had yet been announced coming to the other empty spaces that formerly housed Woodfired Pizza, Bearss Tavern & Tap and Mint Cocktail Club, but no such luck, at least not yet.

A quick search of the UniversityBobaTeaHouseTampa.com website reveals that not only will the new tea house offer 40 different types and flavors of hot and iced teas, as well as coffee, it also will feature a USF student art gallery and different activities every night, from trivia on Tuesdays, karaoke on Thursdays, Open Mic Night on Fridays and Band Night on Saturdays.

Although the exterior signage is already nicely done, a photo taken on Aug. 31 still showed a dirt floor inside, but we’ll keep you posted. — GN.

Boba Drink Boba tea New Tampa University Boba Tea House usf

Porter Donation Brings Porter Family Indoor Performance Facility To Life

*Local dignitaries and members of the Porter family were on hand on Jan. 10 for the unveiling of the new Porter Family Indoor Performance Facility on the USF Tampa Campus.*

Wiregrass Ranch developer JD Porter says that athletics have always been important to his family, so when the chance came to play a significant role in helping the University of South Florida add a state-of-the-art training facility, Porter said it was impossible for him to resist.

On Jan. 10, Porter and his family were on hand to celebrate the opening of the Porter Family Indoor Performance Facility on USF’s Tampa campus. The 88,000-sq.-ft. facility features a 100-yard turf field, an observation deck, scoreboards, locker rooms, a reception lobby and more.

“We think it’s going to be a difference maker,” said Porter, echoing the sentiment of everyone involved.

For decades, the lack of quality on-campus facilities has been a detriment to recruiting, particularly for football, which also has been saddled by the lack of an on-campus stadium.

But, the Porter family’s $5.1-million donation is the first step towards correcting those deficiencies, and a new on-campus football stadium is right around the corner, perhaps as soon as fall 2026.

At the event on Jan. 10, new USF football coach Alex Golesh said that not having this type of training facility is a huge disadvantage, “but I think a facility like this puts you on a level playing field.”

The Porter family has steadfastly supported USF. The James H. and Martha M. Porter Endowment for Alzheimer’s Research was established to benefit the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine’s pursuit of collaborative Alzheimer’s research with the USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute. In addition, the Porter family started the James H. & Martha M. Porter Alzheimer’s Research Equipment Operating Fund to support equipment purchases for use in that collaborative research.

Porter said his family, which founded a branch campus of Pasco-Hernando State College in Wiregrass Ranch and donated the land for the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus, was happy to help, and applauded the team that helped make it happen, which included Wesley Chapel resident (and former Speaker of the Florida House) Will Weatherford, who currently is the chairman of the USF Board of Trustees.

“It was a natural fit,” Porter said. “Athletics and education have always been important to our family, and this was just a great opportunity. Knowing that the right team was at the helm to actually execute the plan made it a fairly easy decision for us.”

Porter Family usf

Big USF Alzheimer’s Study Looking For Volunteers

A team of professors at the University of South Florida (USF) has a new weapon to fight Alzheimer’s disease and dementia — a $44.3-million grant for the next five years to continue a study that has shown some positive results.

Jerri Edwards, Ph.D., a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neurosciences at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, is heading up the school’s Preventing Alzheimer’s with Cognitive Training (aka “PACT”) study.

Dr. Edwards says the grant could help finally find a way to prevent Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, which are among the most expensive medical conditions to treat — along with heart disease, diabetes and cancer. These diseases also are becoming more and more common.

“Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia are an increasing public health crisis,” Dr. Edwards says. “One in every nine persons 65 and older have Alzheimer’s disease right now and the prevalence of the disease increases with age. It could be that as many as 33 percent of people 85-plus have dementia. We’re living longer so that means the prevalence of Alzheimer’s is increasing exponentially.”

Edwards and many of her colleagues have been investigating an intervention commonly known as brain training for the past decade. “It is the first intervention ever shown in a randomized clinical trial to reduce the risk of dementia,” she says. “So, we’re very excited.”

Brain training is basically using computerized programs to train the cognitive abilities of participants. The trial, called the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent & Vital Elderly (ACTIVE), had more than 2,800 healthy older adults ages 65 and older participating.

The trial was essentially focused on the functional ability of older adults when it came to things like managing their finances, driving and going grocery shopping — essential tasks required to remain independent with age.

“Dementia essentially is diagnosed when you lose that functional ability,” Dr. Edwards says.

That study, after 10 years, showed that participants had a 29-48 percent lower incidence of dementia than people who received no training.

The PACT study will be expanded to across the U.S. at five different sites and will be enrolling 7,600 older adults.

“We really believe this intervention can reduce people’s chances — reduce their risks — of Alzheimer’s disease,” Edwards says. “It’s a very exciting opportunity to be a leader in the field here at USF and engaging our Tampa Bay community area.”

Dr. Edwards encourages anyone healthy and age 65 and older in Wesley Chapel and New Tampa to participate in the PACT study. She says that one of the goals of the study is to have a diverse sample. She also says that blacks are twice as likely as other adults to get Alzheimer’s, and Hispanics are 1.5 times as likely, yet both are typically less willing to participate in clinical studies.

Participants will be screened and tested during their first two visits — at a choice of the Cognitive Aging Lab on USF’s Tampa campus off E. Fletcher Ave., the St. Petersburg campus, as well as at locations in Lakeland and Winter Haven in Polk County — and will be asked to continue the brain training for three years at home.

“We really need people who are interested in joining the fight against Alzheimer’s disease,” Dr. Edwards says. “We need healthy, older adults 65-plus willing to do that. It’s low burden — we’re asking for a three-year commitment.”

If you want to volunteer for the PACT study, call (813) 974-6703, or visit PACTStudy.org.

alzheimer's disease dementia PACT usf

USF’s New Tampa Business Climate Study Begins With Packed Meeting

In order to begin a study by students in Master’s degree programs at the University of South Florida as to why so many businesses have exited New Tampa the last few years, USF helped organize a unique meeting on July 16, featuring a panel of elected officials and local business owners.

The meeting was Phase 1 of the USF group’s efforts to study New Tampa’s faltering business climate as the students endeavor to figure out what, if anything, can be done to stem the business red tide.

A panel that consisted of the director of the USF School of Public Affairs (where the Master’s degree candidates are studying) Ron Sanders, Rotary Cub of New Tampa past president Karen Frashier, Oliver’s Cycle Sports owner Randy Myhre and three local elected officials (see below) was greeted by a packed house of spectators (who were mainly New Tampa residents; see photo on next page) at the meeting, which was held at Compton Park in Tampa Palms.

Hillsborough County District 2 commissioner Ken Hagan, District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera and newly elected District 63 State Rep. Fentrice Driskell agreed to be on the panel because all of them share concerns about why major companies and mom-and-pop businesses alike are having so much trouble surviving, much less thriving, in zip code 33647.

Sanders said that the study is being conducted by USF students seeking their Master of Public Administration (MPA) degrees in either Urban & Regional Planning or Public Affairs, after then-mayoral candidate (now Tampa Mayor) Jane Castor campaigned in New Tampa.

Castor said many local residents asked her why the business climate in zip code 33647 seemed so poor, especially when compared with the booming economy in Wesley Chapel, just to New Tampa’s north, on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and S.R. 56.

One of those Castor was talking to just happened to be Sam Becker, a graduate assistant in the School of Public Affairs, and she asked Becker to look into what, if anything, USF could do to help her figure out what could be done to help New Tampa’s businesses. By the time Castor was elected in March, the wheels were already in motion.

“This meeting is the kickoff to Phase 1 of the study — to meet with the community,” Sanders said at the meeting. “Phase 2 will be individual interviews with community staples — elected officials, business owners and residents — such as those in this room. In Phase 3, the students will look at the literature (facts and figures) and the (business) practices going on in the area. For example, is (New Tampa’s situation) just part of a national phenomenon or are there local factors” causing our area’s economic gloom (or both)?

Although Hagan, Viera and Driskell all agreed that the meeting was important, there didn’t seem to be too much help for the USF students coming out of this first get-together.

Among the factors pointed to as to why so many businesses have closed in New Tampa were the high rents, the lack of tax incentives to open major businesses, and even some things brought up by Frashier and Myhre.

Frashier, who also is the co-chair of the Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel, mentioned that New Tampa doesn’t have a large enough gathering place for major events, such as the Wiregrass Wobble 5K road race her club hosts (at the Shops at Wiregrass) every year on Thanksgiving morning, or the Taste (held at AdventHealth CenterIce), “So, we have no choice but to put on these events in Wesley Chapel.”

Hagan and Viera both touted the new Village at Hunter’s Lake development that will be home to a 20,000-sq.-ft. New Tampa Cultural Center, as well as several unique restaurants and retailers (as we reported last issue), but that those are all coming online in 2020 or even 2021.

Myhre said he thinks that bicycle paths connecting the subdivisions in New Tampa would make getting to and from local businesses easier, without having to drive a car, but Hagan said, “Connecting communities is great, but have you seen how hard it is to get even one road connected between communities?” — an obvious jab at the whole Kinnan St.-Mansfield Blvd. flap between Hillsborough and Pasco counties.

Residents at the meeting also brought up how long the widening of BBD in New Tampa took, which affected local businesses, while one noted that S.R. 56, where so much of Wesley Chapel’s growth is taking place, currently has very few residences directly off of it. No one came up with any reason why this helped or how it has affected the economy in the Wesley Chapel.

For New Tampa’s businesses, the hope is that more answers will come out of Phases 2 & 3 of the study.

Hagan New Tampa usf viera