University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee

Momentum

Fall 2023

Campus Magazine

Cultivating research at USF Sarasota-Manatee campus

Brett E. Kemker, PhD

Regional Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Student Success Brett E. Kemker, PhD, joined the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee in July 2018. He brings experience from a number of institutions as a tenured faculty member, accomplished researcher, department chair, dean, assistant provost and vice president.

Kemker is committed to growing USF Sarasota-Manatee campus’s research infrastructure by creating and expanding opportunities for faculty and student research endeavors. He works in partnership with the Office of Research to support faculty as they pursue research and scholarship goals. USF Sarasota-Manatee campus faculty produce impactful results that inform and benefit the region, state and nation.

He has helped lead USF Sarasota-Manatee campus through the USF System consolidation process, helped strengthen a sense of community and served as a champion for an academic community that cultivates an environment in which students join the research enterprise and faculty can pursue their scholarship.

Kemker’s research background includes investigations of student persistence in higher education and the effects of auditory and visual stimuli on cognitive resource allocation, as well as a strong record of grant-writing with awards reaching into the millions. He has published and presented more than 100 original papers in top-tier journals and conferences worldwide.

Sandra Justice

Sandra Justice arrived at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee in April 2017 to oversee the university’s newly-created Office of Research. She and Regional Chancellor Karen Holbrook have a shared vision to build a robust research enterprise reflective of a global, preeminent institution at USF Sarasota-Manatee campus.

Justice is creating infrastructure to support a solid, vibrant research enterprise that builds on the positive momentum generated by previous work in areas such as literacy, education, the health of Gulf coast waterways, terrorism, cybersecurity and aging.

She works with sponsors and the Cross College Alliance to support specific campus initiatives, develops long-range grant proposals, assists faculty with funding requests and collaborates with professors on large, project-based grant applications. She is committed to supporting the research environment in alignment with USF Sarasota-Manatee campus’s vision for students to become global citizens through internships, workforce development and inquiry-based learning.

Since arriving at USF Sarasota-Manatee campus, Justice has established internal awards, workshops focused on grant writing and compliance, research internships for students and faculty research talks, and has supported the annual Student Showcase for Projects, Research and Innovation.

Before joining USF Sarasota-Manatee campus, she served in research roles with USF’s Center for Urban Transportation Research and College of Arts and Sciences and the Emory University School of Medicine.
To LEARN MORE, CONNECT and COLLABORATE, reach us at research@sar.usf.edu.

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About Sarasota-Manatee Campus Magazine

Momentum is published by USF Research and Innovation and the Office of University Communications and Marketing on the Sarasota-Manatee campus. The University of South Florida, a member of the Association of American Universities, is a high-impact research university with campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee.