Among the regional amenities that we can too easily take for granted are our colleges and universities – unless, of course, we are still attending one – or ponying up for the next generation’s tuition bills.
Oh, we are reminded of their presence when a big grant is trumpeted or headlines warn of impending cutbacks. Or when USF shocks the college football world or the University of Tampa wins another national baseball championship. Or the Committee of 100 churns out an economic-impact study.
But by its very nature, higher education is about being a wellspring of eclectic issues, intellectual energy and societal concerns – and that is hardly the exclusive dominion of students.
I was reminded of that reality recently when, along with about 800 others, I got up early enough to attend the annual University of Tampa Fellows Forum at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. It featured presentations by Peter Beck, Managing Director of The Beck Group, a prominent construction and development-services firm; Robert Fornaro, president and CEO of Airtran Airways; and Tom James, chairman and CEO, Raymond James Financial. Their takes on the economy and their industries were candid and complementary. A few days earlier I had spoken with (“All The Shah’s Men”) author Stephen Kinzer who was in town to lecture at USF Health against drum-beating for war against Iran.
Within that same time span, director Spike Lee also spoke at USF and writer-activist Gloria Steinem appeared at Eckerd College. And yet this was not an atypical stretch. It’s what you get when you’re proximate to all that universities offer; when you’re privy to the ultimate marketplace of ideas. When you’re, well, lucky enough to live here.
Some outtakes:
UT Fellows Forum
* “We’re in this (economic downturn) for a while. It’s been a bubble primarily driven by greed.” – Peter Beck
* “The building industry has no choice but to be a leader in green technology.” – Peter Beck
* “If we have a recession, and some already think we’re in one, it won’t be very deep. Don’t panic. The economy is amazingly resilient. The economy is still the biggest and best in the world.” – Tom James
* “Florida needs to face reality. Insurance rates still don’t reflect (hurricane) risks to the coasts here. We’re kidding ourselves and I fault the politicians who fault the insurance business.” Tom James
* “Fuel is the lightning rod for change. Look for more mergers