Meet our NEW DEANS

Best advice? From ‘Hamlet’

Elizabeth Spiller, College of Arts and Sciences 

Elizabeth Spiller became dean of USF’s largest college in July. She brings more than 10 years of academic leadership, most recently as executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and dean of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California, Davis, which, like USF, is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. Spiller earned a bachelor’s in English literature from Amherst College, and master’s and doctoral degrees in English and American language and literature, respectively, from Harvard University.

Here are four things to know about Dean Spiller:

• The play “Hamlet” provided the best advice she’s ever received:
  “There is a character in ‘Hamlet,’ Polonius, who is a foolish counselor. He gives terrible advice, and that bad advice has a lot to do with what happens to Hamlet. But one of the things he says, that I think Shakespeare agrees with and that I find useful, is: ‘To thine own self be true.’ Learning who you are and being authentic to yourself will take you far.”
• If she could have dinner with any historical figure, she’d invite Galileo, Shakespeare and Cervantes:  
  “I would like a full dinner party here: Galileo, the willingness to pursue new knowledge regardless of the risks; Shakespeare, a writer who helped us imagine what it is to be human; and Cervantes, who teaches us how much power our willingness to commit can do to change the world for others. I would love to listen to what they might say to each other.”
• She’s a twin:
  “I have a twin sister. It does give me a different perspective on the world in some important ways. Having an identical twin is a bit of a ‘what if’ in that it allows me to be more open to the possibilities of otherness.”
• She’s elated to be part of the College of Arts and Sciences:
  “I love the arts and sciences. It is the largest, most intellectually heterogeneous unit on campus. The difference between English, history, philosophy, Russian, physics, statistics, mathematics, biological sciences and chemistry is vast, and yet there is a strand that connects all of these. That strand is a willingness to learn things you don’t know and a willingness to ask why. We are ‘why?’ people in the College of Arts and Sciences.” 

He worked his way up — literally

David W. Blackwell, Lynn Pippenger Dean of the Muma College of Business

David W. Blackwell became dean of the Muma College of Business in July — the second to hold the college’s Lynn Pippenger endowed deanship. He has over two decades of university leadership, coming to USF from the University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economics, where he served as associate dean, dean and university provost. His career also includes roles at Texas A&M University, University of Georgia, University of Houston and Emory University, as well as industry finance positions at PwC and KPMG. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and a doctorate in finance from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Here are four things to know about Dean Blackwell:

• He’s a first-generation college graduate and second-generation military veteran:
  “My main challenge was financial, as my parents were of modest means. I did agricultural work during summers and worked the night shift at McDonald’s, closing at 1-2 a.m. and having to show up to class at 8 a.m. … I joined the Army for the educational benefits, and now I marvel at the positions that I’ve served in, given my background.”
• He shares a love for teaching finance with his wife:
  “My lovely wife, Wendy, is also a finance professor at Vanderbilt University, so we’re spending a lot of time commuting between Nashville and Tampa.”
•  In his spare time, you might find him watching shows or reading books about organized crime:
  “‘Breaking Bad,’ ‘The Sopranos,’ throw in ‘Goodfellas’ as well … it’s a very creative business, able to get around a lot of regulation.”
• The trajectory of the Tampa Bay area and USF attracted him to the role:
  “Florida is a dynamic and growing state with a great business climate, and the Tampa Bay area is the center of that universe in many regards with the proliferation of nationally known companies and an entrepreneurial ecosystem emerging from technologies including fintech, health tech and cybersecurity. The accolades USF and the Muma College of Business receive in terms of rankings, student success and fundraising, layered with the business community, make this a wonderful environment.”

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