Dear USF community:
I am pleased to share that Thomas Smith, vice provost of Academic Affairs at USF St. Petersburg, will serve as the campus鈥檚 interim regional chancellor, effective Nov. 4. As we announced last week, Regional Chancellor Christian Hardigree is leaving USF to become president of Texas A&M University-Victoria.
Dr. Smith also will retain his vice provost role.
With 25 years of dedicated service at USF St. Petersburg, Dr. Smith brings extensive knowledge of the campus, USF and the community to the position. In addition to being vice provost, he also served as the campus dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and prior to that, as campus dean of the Judy Genshaft Honors College. In his current role, he鈥檚 been a member of our University Leadership Council, which provides added familiarity and experience working with leaders from across the institution.
Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Smith co-founded the annual St. Petersburg Conference on World Affairs in 2013 and served on the Florida Holocaust Museum Board of Directors from 2019-2025.
I am grateful to Dr. Smith for his willingness to serve in this role and look forward to his many additional contributions to the St. Petersburg campus, our university and the broader community.
Sincerely,
Rhea F. Law
President