{"id":243249,"date":"2026-04-23T13:47:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T13:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/243249\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T13:47:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T13:47:09","slug":"usfsp-dean-of-students-jacob-diaz-announces-resignation-the-crows-nest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/243249\/","title":{"rendered":"USFSP Dean of Students Jacob Diaz announces resignation\u00a0 \u2013 The Crow’s Nest"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI hope that every student who comes here squeezes the USF St. Pete sponge dry and gets as much out of their experience here as makes sense and works for them,\u201d\u00a0Jacob Diaz, Dean of Students at USFSP, told\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of USF\u00a0<\/p>\n

By Secilia Ruiz\u00a0<\/p>\n

After 12 years as the Dean of Students at the University of Florida St. Petersburg,\u00a0Jacob Diaz is resigning.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Diaz\u2019s last day is on May 15; he will then serve as the inaugural assistant vice president and dean of Students at the University of Maryland.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Diaz described his time as dean of\u00a0students as a \u201cdream come true.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was given so much by my dean of\u00a0students as an undergraduate student, and I thought that if it would be possible someday for me to do the same and help a student and a student body achieve their aspirations and dreams, what a gift of a career that could be,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

While living this dream, Diaz\u00a0stated\u00a0that he has been stretched and pulled in ways he never thought possible\u00a0and has learned a lot in the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c[Students] taught me that I need to work at being brutally honest with myself every day,\u201d Dr. Diaz said. \u201cBecause I think students expect, rightfully so, that I\u2019m showing up on their behalf every\u00a0day, in\u00a0a way that speaks to their experience, not mine.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr. Diaz emphasized that as he moves on to this new endeavor, he will still hold tight to the fond memories he has with USF St. Petersburg students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents make my heart feel lighter. And they make my mind sharp\u2026\u00a0I will\u00a0miss that. I will miss people.\u00a0I think people\u00a0make a place. And\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0special here. It feels special to me. And\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0also simultaneously excited about the professional opportunity\u00a0I\u2019ll\u00a0get to have,\u201d Diaz told\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Diaz\u2019s impact is felt by his colleagues in the Student Life and Engagement department.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kyonna Henry, the director of student life and engagement, highlighted Diaz\u2019s people-centered approach to his leadership as dean of students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a way of navigating challenges with thoughtfulness and transparency, and he always kept student impact at the center of everything,\u201d Henry said.\u00a0\u201cHis leadership style is something I\u2019ll carry with me moving forward.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Similarly, Abigail Bradley-Tyler, the assistant director for student life and engagement at USF Petersburg, told\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest\u00a0that she will miss\u00a0Diaz\u2019s\u00a0transparency and openness as an administrator.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s one of those admins that you could feel comfortable going to his office and sitting down, having a cup of coffee with him, and [asking], \u2018What is going on?\u2019 \u2026 And\u00a0he\u2019ll\u00a0be honest with you. Which I really\u00a0appreciate, because\u00a0I value transparency a lot,\u201d Bradley-Tyler said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Along with his professional legacy,\u00a0Diaz also made a personal mark on both Henry and Bradley-Tyler.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Bradley-Tyler,\u00a0Diaz was a mentor throughout her journey pursuing a Ph.D.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was one of the first professionals to really challenge me and encourage me to do the last five years of schooling,\u201d\u00a0she said. \u201cPersonally, having him as a supporter in this journey has been wonderful for me.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0just so kind [and] supportive.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Henry\u00a0stated\u00a0that working under a supervisor as authentic and open as Dr. Diaz allowed her to grow and feel confident in her position as Director of Student Life and Engagement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOn a personal level, I appreciated how approachable and authentic he was,\u201d Henry told\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest. \u201cHe created space for honest conversations, encouraged\u00a0new ideas, and trusted his team to lead. That kind of\u00a0trust-built\u00a0confidence and made me feel empowered in my role.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Other students also expressed that\u00a0they\u2019ll\u00a0miss Diaz\u2019s leadership and character.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Elena Mere, a senior business analytics and information systems major is a student-worker at the Office of Veteran Success and the treasurer of the Latin American Student Association \u2013 where Diaz serves as the advisor \u2013 and has worked closely with\u00a0Diaz throughout her time at USF St. Petersburg.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like he is somebody who really cares about students,\u201d Mere said. \u201cI would say I can tell with him, more than any other faculty, that he is very honest and empathetic and really cares about our experience, so I was sad when I found out he was leaving\u2026but also,\u00a0I\u2019m happy for him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

With Diaz\u2019s departure, Mere wonders if there will be another approachable figure in the administration for students to come to about issues and feel heard.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cI feel like now that\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0gone,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0like, \u2018Okay, who can we talk to about this?\u201d Mere said. \u201cThat\u2019s going to be a little difficult, just the unknown of knowing that\u00a0maybe we\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0have someone we can rely on.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0definitely going\u00a0to miss that and\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0just going to miss his presence.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t Post Views: 27 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\"More<\/a>
Written by: Secilia Ruiz<\/a> on April 23, 2026.
Last revised by: Julia Ferrara<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI hope that every student who comes here squeezes the USF St. Pete sponge dry and gets as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":243250,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-243249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}