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- Dr. Dick Puglisi
College of Education Faculty Oral Histories
Dr. Dick Puglisi
LB: I ran across the South Florida Education Planning Council. Were you involved in that?
DP: That goes way back to the early history of the College of Education. Bill Dannenberg created the South Florida Educational Planning Council. The concept behind the council was that it was to be a council made up of the 15 superintendents of the districts in our service area. The idea was that each school district would pay a fee to be a member, and they would meet two or three times a year to discuss issues that were important to both districts and the College. It was a way of maintaining that bridge. It went on for many years until Bill Dannenburg was no longer the Assistant Dean, and Dr. Marcia Mann served in the role of the council’s executive director for several years. Marcia was ultimately appointed as the director of the Florida Lottery by Gov. Lawton Chiles. Dean Katzenmeyer asked me serve in the executive director role for the council, and I did. The council was a challenge. Just finding a time when all these superintendents could meet was a challenge. The council became dormant. It is still on the books.
LB: I’m sure you have a number of stories about USF over the years. Are there any you can share with us?
DP: I vividly remember my first visit to campus as a freshman. There was no grass anywhere, just white sand. On a windy day you needed to cover your face to walk from one building to another.
LB: If you could pass on sentiments to students coming to USF to become teachers, what might that be?
DP: I now have my daughter at USF. She is a student at the University, where I started in the charter class in 1960. I am proud to say that she chose to attend USF rather to go off to the University of Florida. She is attending USF, where both her mother and I received our degrees.
I think the key thing is the wonderful opportunities that are available here at USF. We have a wonderful university here in so many ways. USF has changed the lives of thousands and thousands of students. I am proud to be a member of the charter class and a member of the faculty.
LB: Are there any questions I did not ask that you wish I had asked?
DP: No. Actually, you did a good job of researching and asking me questions about the areas of the College that I have been involved with. I guess my only addition, and I know you and I share this, are those wonderful memories we shared with all of our fine faculty members. Most of my colleagues were ten years older then me when I entered the College, so I grew up with them. They were my mentors and friends.
LB: So many of our faculty came and stayed for their entire career here, so they became our life long friends.
DP: Yes, and I hope it is remembered that they played such an important role in building our College of Education and the University of South Florida.
LB: Thank you so much for your time, sharing your memories, and all you have done for the College of Education.
End of Interview