Event moved to a larger venue on campus due to high demand
TAMPA, Fla. (Dec. 5, 2017) – Steve Wozniak, entrepreneur, philanthropist and inventor of the Apple computer that sparked a global digital revolution, will be the guest speaker at the inaugural USF Muma College of Business Thought Leader Series.
Wozniak will deliver an hour-long, wide-ranging, informal talk with Muma College of Business Dean Moez Limayem beginning at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 20. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place in the USF Sun Dome. Originally scheduled for the Oval Theater in the Marshall Student Center, the event was moved to the Sun Dome after all tickets for the 700-seat venue were quickly reserved. Guests planning to attend are required to register for tickets in advance. The website to register is available here.
Though his major contributions began to change the world decades ago, Wozniak continues to inspire inventors through his involvement in entrepreneurial and philanthropic ventures. He is currently chief scientist at Primary Data and is starting Woz U, a 100 percent digital university designed to teach students how to navigate the internet and make cyberspace bend to their every command.
With Steve Jobs, Wozniak came up with a design for the Apple I and Apple II computers in 1976. Apple II was the first personal computer that had the ability to display color graphics as well as computer language that everyone could understand, a development that established Apple as the front-runner in micro-computing and resulted in the company’s annual revenue soaring to just under $1 billion in 1983.
Wozniak has been called the pioneer of the personal computer revolution and went on to found several successful ventures including CL9, which developed the first programmable universal remote and Wheels of Zeus, which sought to make GPS technology accessible to the public and easier to use. In 1985 he and Jobs were awarded the National Medal of Technology from President Ronald Reagan. Wozniak was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2000.
The Muma College of Business introduced the Thought Leader Series to feature nationally recognized speakers, innovators, idea generators, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, authors and “turn-around artists” in business and industry. Limayem said the series will provide insight for the business and entrepreneurial communities and foster innovative thinking across the board.
“Our goal with the Thought Leader Series is to promote an environment of innovative problem solving,” he said. “The Muma College of Business is a place where students can learn the fundamentals of business and then apply that knowledge in the real world.
“And Steve Wozniak is a perfect example of how innovation, creativity and determination can not only change one’s life and one’s business,” Limayem said, “but the world we live in.”
The University of South Florida, established in 1956 and located in Tampa, is a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. The USF System includes three, separately accredited institutions: USF, USF-St. Petersburg, and USF Sarasota-Manatee. Serving more than 49,000 students, the USF System has an annual budget of $1.6 billion and an annual economic impact of $4.4 billion. USF ranks in the Top 30 nationally for research expenditures among public universities, according to the National Science Foundation. In 2016, the Florida Legislature designated USF as “Emerging Preeminent,” placing USF in an elite category among the state’s 12 public universities. USF is a member of the American Athletic Conference.
-USF-