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Mock Trial Courtroom will Serve as Learning Laboratory

Program Grooms Students for Service and Tourism Industry

System Science Alumna: 30 Years Later

Mock Trial Courtroom will Serve as Learning Laboratory
By Susie Forrester, University Marketing Communications

The new mock trial courtroom at the University of West Florida may not be real, but the possibilities it creates are very real, according to those gathered to celebrate its dedication.

A former professor at UWF, Judge Ross Goodman, 1st Judicial Circuit, was present at a retreat years ago when the idea of a mock courtroom was first suggested. 

“I sincerely hope this courtroom enables students to go out in the world and do justice and seek justice and make our world a better place,” said Goodman, who hopes to preside over real life court proceedings on the UWF campus in the mock courtroom in the future.

“A dream come true” is how Glenn Rohrer, director of the School of Justice Studies and Social Work, described the mock courtroom. He praised Associate Professor of Legal Studies Kimberly Tatum, the project donors as well as the university’s staff for helping make the courtroom a reality.

“The courtroom will give our students the unique opportunity to learn about the American legal system in a direct way. It will benefit not just our UWF students, but also our local community,” said Tatum.

The courtroom will serve as a valuable learning lab for UWF students pursuing careers in the law and criminal justice fields. Primarily, the courtroom will be a place for the UWF Mock Trial Team to practice and to host inter-collegiate competitions but also serve as a training facility for high school mock trial students; local law enforcement agencies; social services agencies; and the local legal community. The facility will allow students to call on their “tactile senses” to get a real feel of what it is like to cross-examine a witness, deliver closing arguments before a jury or testify in open court according to Goodman.  

At the dedication, Don Chu, dean of the College of Professional Studies, announced that $10,000 in competitive scholarships will be used to attract students who participated on their high school mock trial team. The UWF Mock Trial Team is 9 years old and includes about 17 students.

“This mock courtroom reinforces UWF’s approach to the economy – we’re doing it anyway, we’re growing anyway,” UWF President Judy Bense told the crowd of professors, students and community supporters, including a few of the area’s most recognizable attorneys, such as Fred Levin, a major benefactor in the project.

Complete renovation costs of about $225,000 were covered by a $30,000 grant and donations from private individuals, law firms, professional association, faculty members and court reporting and paralegal groups along with university resources. The courtroom, about 1,500 square feet, features high-tech presentation systems; videoconferencing capabilities; high-speed Internet capabilities; and witness conference/witness interview room.

The School of Justice Studies and Social Work will direct the use of the courtroom.

For more information, contact Kimberly Tatum at (850) 857-6198 or e-mail ktatum@uwf.edu. 

Program Grooms Students for Service and Tourism Industry
By Susie Forrester, University Marketing Communications

The University of West Florida Hospitality, Recreation and Resort Management program, now in its sixth year, is attracting a significant number of students with its promises of high hire-ability and beachfront workplace possibilities.

Graduates of the program are managing restaurants, greeting tourists, planning weddings  and patrolling parks all along the Florida and Alabama Gulf Coast. The program, designed with the area’s business community in mind, is under the Health Leisure Exercise Sciences Division, College of Professional Studies. Steven Philipp is the program coordinator.

UWF Junior Ashley Burton changed her major to HRRM after meeting another student who was already in the program. “I had an epiphany. I thought ‘This is what I should be doing,’ ” she said. She wanted to be a part of  “creating this world for people”  where they are happy, pampered and treated with respect. Currently interning with Campus Activity Board and the Homecoming Committee, she hopes to become an event planner. 
 
“When people ask me my major and I tell them it’s hospitality, recreation and resort management, some people automatically think “Oh, hotels!” said UWF senior Agatha Castellano of Pensacola. “No, it’s more than just hotels. The program does cover the hotel industry, but it also covers tourism, recreation, resort, food and beverage, conventions and even spa management.” She hopes to pursue a career in food service management.  

According to Philipp, the generalist degree prepares students for work with a variety of hospitality, recreation, and resort businesses — unlike similar degree programs at other Florida institutions which are more specific and more limiting in regard to student job placement. “We have placed students in practically every hospitality, recreation and resort business in the Northwest Florida area,” he said. About half of the program’s graduates stay in the Northwest Florida-Alabama Gulf Coast region.

Requirements include completion of a 200-hour field study and a 400-hour internship. This past summer, more than 60 students were working on their degree while getting paid.  

 “A large percentage of our students are offered full-time employment after completion of their internship,” said Philipp, adding that at least one-third have jobs awaiting them upon graduation.

The on-site studies keep Philipp and UWF in communication with community business needs. Supervisors evaluate the students and provide feedback on their preparation for management-level jobs but also offer other suggestions to improve and enhance the program. 

Phillips said he sees opportunity in the entrepreneurial spirit of the students -- many of whom have expressed an interest in starting their own business someday. “This area is in the center of an economic zone poised for growth, especially for small businesses,” Philipp said.

For more information, contact Steven Philipp at (850) 474- 2595 or e-mail sphillipps@uwf.edu or visit uwf.edu/hles/hospitality.cfm.  

System Science Alumna: 30 Years Later
By Lauren Smith, University Marketing Communications

Since graduating from the University of West Florida in 1979 with bachelor degrees in math and systems science, alumna Diane Bourg has enjoyed a diverse career. From working on satellite tracking and control, to computer telephony, to hot air ballooning, she attributes her education for enabling her to engage in such scientific pursuits. Bourg reflects on how the university has influenced her life.

“UWF was the launching pad for both my personal and professional life,” she said. “One of my best memories of attending the university is the day I met my husband, John. In June, we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. Professionally, I earned the degrees that have afforded me a long, successful career that ultimately allowed me to retire at the age of 50.”

Bourg spent most of her career as a defense contractor, working in the defense subsidiaries of large corporations. Initially, she worked as a software engineer. Then, after obtaining a master’s in business administration, she went on to become a system engineer and eventually a program manager.

“Getting a degree in system science-scientific, or computer engineering today, opened many doors,” she said. “Most of the systems science grads back then were from the business option. I didn’t want to do business programming, so I took the scientific option, which meant I was able to work in a great deal of interesting areas throughout my life.”

Bourg says that she enjoyed the small class sizes at UWF and the fact that all of her professors knew her by name. Thirty years later, UWF still offers this type of environment. Next year, UWF science and engineering students will have a new place to call home: the new School of Science and Engineering Building complex located on the main campus in Pensacola.

When asked what advice she would give students today who were looking to study one of the disciplines in the School of Science and Engineering, Bourg offered the following suggestions:

“Major in computer science or electrical engineering instead of math or physics unless you want to be a teacher or a professor; you can always double major,” she advises. “Don’t neglect your writing courses. You need to know how to write and spell in order to be a good engineer. There’s more documentation required than you might realize. Also, skills in public speaking are good to have, because you will be expected to get up in front of people (peers, managers and customers) and present your designs at reviews. Try and find time to take a few accounting and finance courses. Engineers are business people, too.”

To learn more about the School of Science and Engineering, visit http://uwf.edu/sse/index.cfm. To learn more about the grand opening, visit http://uwf.edu/sse/alumni/grandopening.cfm or contact Gretchen VanValkenburg at (850) 474-2878 or e-mail gvalkenb@uwf.edu.