South University will award 39 Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees, two Bachelor of Business Administration degrees, and one Master of Business Administration degree during fall commencement at Higgins Hall in the St. Lawrence Catholic Church on Thursday, December 17, at 6:00 p.m.
Jane Castor, Tampa's first female Chief of Police and a 25-year veteran of the Tampa Police Department, will be the commencement speaker. Castor leads a department with about 1,300 employees, including nearly 1,000 sworn officers, and an annual budget of about $120 million. Her goals in the first year of her leadership include plans to streamline operations and to use new technology.
"South University graduates are improving the lives of many people in our communities by working at local hospitals, physician offices, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and anywhere they choose to apply their expertise," said Dan Coble, RN Ph.D., president of South University - Tampa. "A college education is about mastery of material, and it is also about the responsibilities that we as educated citizens have for our communities, and I expect Ms. Castor's remarks, with her demonstrated service to her our community, will be beneficial for us all."
The commencement will include a pinning ceremony, where each nursing graduate will receive a South University nursing pin and a rose to commemorate their entry into the profession of nursing. South University - Tampa opened its campus in June 2006 and offers associate, bachelor, and master's degree programs in Health Science, Nursing, Healthcare Management, Business Administration and Psychology, and an associate of science degree program in Physical Therapist Assisting.
About Jane Castor, Chief of Police
Castor began her career with the Tampa Police Department in February 1984. She has worked in narcotics, street anticrime, and sex crimes and child abuse units, as well as the Criminal Intelligence Bureau. She helped lead the Department of Homeland Security's Tampa Bay Urban Area Security Initiative and worked to secure a grant to implement the department's new radio system. Castor is on the board of the Hillsborough House of Hope, which provides temporary housing to women who were incarcerated in Hillsborough County. She also is a Big Sister through Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Tampa Bay. In August 2009, she was named Law Enforcement Executive of the Year by the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives.
A Tampa native, she attended the University of Tampa on a basketball and volleyball scholarship and was inducted into the university's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. She has a master's degree in public administration from Troy State University in Alabama and graduated in 2001 from the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Academy.
About South University
South University - Tampa opened its campus in June 2006 and offers associate, bachelor's, and master's level degree programs in Physical Therapist Assisting, Health Science, Nursing, Physician Assistant Studies, Healthcare Management, Business Administration and Psychology.
Established in 1899, South University is a private academic institution dedicated to providing educational opportunities for the intellectual, social and professional development of a diverse student population. South University offers educational programs at the associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels with campuses located in Columbia, S.C.; Montgomery, Ala.; Savannah, Ga.; Tampa and West Palm Beach, Fla. Further information on South University is available at: www.southuniversity.edu.