Video and article by Allison Long.

Photos by Freddie Coleman.

The arena erupted in cheers and applause as USF System President Judy Genshaft walked toward the stage for this year’s USF Health Commencement Ceremony – and one of her final commencement exercises.

The May 2 graduation ceremony was among her final as USF President and the students, friends and families at the Yuengling Center on the USF Tampa campus all showed their gratitude for her 19-year tenure.

The USF Health’s Morsani College of Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy and College of Public Health were represented at the 2019 Spring Commencement held in the Yuengling Center.

“These ceremonies are especially significant for me as this is my last time presiding over commencement as USF President,” Genshaft said, as she welcomed everyone to the ceremony. “Over my 19 years as president I’ve had the honor and the privilege of graduating over 210,000 USF students.”

The 2019 USF Health Commencement featured students graduating with bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees representing USF Health’s Morsani College of Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy and College of Public Health. The Morsani College of Medicine will also hold an MD commencement ceremony on May 10.

Dr. Charles J. Lockwood spoke to the graduates and their families at the 2019 Spring Commencement.

In addition to acknowledging the significance of Genshaft’s contributions to USF, the evening ceremony also offered two other milestones: the graduation of the charter class of the Physician Assistant program in the Morsani College of Medicine, and the graduation of the charter class of the Genetics Counseling program in the College of Public Health.

Zachary Ulshafer, Physician Assistant Program graduate, gave the student welcome at the 2019 Spring Commencement.

Kyle Holsted, a 2019 physician assistant graduate, understood the importance of being in the charter class. “It’s nice to set the foundation for USF Health and for the P.A. (physician assistant) program,” he said.

Audrey Heimler received an honorary doctorate in public health for her pioneering work in genetic counseling, and David Eddy, MD, received the President’s Fellow Medallion. Dr. Eddy is a professor for the USF Institute for Advanced Discovery and Innovation.

Also, the College of Public Health featured several award-winning students:

• King O’Neal Scholars: Ved Patel, Kaelan Skinner and Jessica Zelitt
• Golden Bull awardee: Whitney Fung.

USF System President Judy Genshaft and Merritt Martin, USF Alumni Association chair, presented College of Public Health graduate Ved Patel with a King O’Neal Scholar award.

And the College of Nursing also featured several award-winning students:

• King O’Neal Scholars: Loretta Bayer, Laura Rouco and Carly Stagg
• Outstanding Graduate: Roberto Velasco

College of Nursing graduate Loretta Bayer received a King O’Neal Scholar award from Genshaft and Martin.

The USF Health commencement ceremony was one of several Spring commencement exercises across the USF System. With approximately 7,500 degrees expected to be conferred, the 2019 class represents the largest in USF System history. The class features graduates from 50 states, 109 nations and 57 students with a cumulative 4.0 GPA.

USF to help meet critical demand, spurred by advances in genomics and precision medicine, for more trained professionals

Tampa, FL (Oct. 25, 2016) – The University of South Florida College of Public Health is the first in Florida to offer a graduate degree in genetic counseling. Last week, the college’s graduate program in genetic counseling earned a crucial accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling. Accreditation as a new program by this national organization is essential for graduating students to be eligible to take the American Board of Genetic Counseling examination and become certified genetic counselors.

With that milestone met, the program leading to a master of science degree in public health and genetic counseling (MSPH) is now recruiting and expects to admit its first group of students in Fall 2017.

While more people with genetic predispositions for certain cancers or other conditions are seeking out testing, there is a critical shortage of certified genetic counselors to help guide patients and their families through the process.

Laura Barton, a genetic counselor at Moffitt Cancer Center and president of the Florida Association of Genetic Counselors, said the need for a genetic counseling training program has been long overdue. “It’s very exciting because now students won’t have to leave Florida to become a genetic counselor like I had to.”

Michael White, PhD, a professor in the College of Public Health who was instrumental in initiating this program pointed out, “We’re the third most populous state, but until now we didn’t have any genetic counseling training programs.”

Deborah Cragun, PhD, is director of the USF College of Public Health’s new genetic counseling graduate program.

The USF Genetic Counseling program is a 42 credit graduate degree (21 months) with estimated total tuition costs for Florida state residents of $19,000. The program is open to students with a bachelor’s degree; however, a few key undergraduate courses including molecular biology and genetics will be required to apply.

“We’re not restricting what their undergraduate major is, they just need to make sure they have certain prerequisites,” said Deborah Cragun, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Global Health, and director for the new program.

COPH and the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, teamed up with faculty across the university and throughout the Tampa Bay area to create the genetic counseling program. USF’s Division of Genetics & Metabolism, Moffitt Cancer Center, Orlando Health and other community partners will provide students with the hands-on counseling experience required for graduation.

Cragun said students of the program will be prepared to practice in multiple areas including cancer genetic counseling, prenatal counseling, pediatric counseling and newer specialties that are arising due to advances in genomics and precision medicine.

“Students go out and work with practicing genetic counselors so they can gain the experience they need,” Cragun said. “They will work with counselors who are certified themselves and who see patients in a variety of clinical settings. Currently we have partnered with all 10 clinical genetic counselors in Tampa and six clinical genetic counselors in Orlando. In addition, our students will gain experience shadowing and learning from several other counselors who work in industry or laboratory settings.”

“This program will help the state and the profession,” Cragun said. “It will be critical, because as we start doing more genetic tests, it’s really important that we have the expertise out there to help families accurately understand those results and make decisions that are right for them.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of genetic counselors is projected to grow 29 percent from 2014 to 2024, which is much faster than the average for other occupations.

“Admissions across the country are actually highly competitive for genetic counseling training programs,” Cragun said. “To date, no other public or private academic genetic counseling program exists in Florida, and ours is one of only 35 accredited programs in the U.S.”

The COPH will host an open house for anyone interested in learning more about the field of genetic counseling and the new MSPH program. The open house will be 6 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 9, in room 302 of the IDR Building on the main USF campus located at 3720 Spectrum Blvd, Tampa, FL 33612. Please contact Miki Pomeroy at mpomeroy1@health.usf.edu for more information and to obtain a parking permit for the event.

To learn more about the graduate program in genetic counseling, contact (813) 974-6505, preadmissions@health.usf.edu or visit http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/genetic-counseling.htm.

-USF College of Public Health-

Established in 1984 as the first college of public health in the State of Florida, the USF College of Public Health is a recognized leader in community health, online education, maternal and child health, social marketing, and global infectious disease research. The college offers multiple online and on-campus concentrations that lead to BSPH, MHA, MPH, MSPH, DrPH, and PhD degrees, as well several dual degrees, graduate certificates, and special programs. To learn more about the college and its 1800 students who commit to passionately solve problems and create conditions that allow every person the universal right to health and well-being, visit www.publichealth.usf.edu.

-USF Health-

USF Health’s mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, the Biomedical Sciences Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs, and the USF Physicians Group. The University of South Florida is a Top 50 research university in total research expenditures among both public and private institutions nationwide, according to the National Science Foundation. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu

Media Contact:
Natalie D. Preston, USF College of Public Health
npreston@health.usf.edu, or (813) 974-7714