A Trip Down Memory Lane: USF's Unlikely Alliance
Let's revisit a little journey back to 2011, when the University of South Florida (USF) decided it was a brilliant idea to join forces with the U.S. military-industrial-intelligence complex. Why? Well, who doesn't love some financial incentives and a sprinkling of undeserved recognition?
It all started when Judy Genshaft, the then USF president, put pen to paper and signed a mysterious Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CENTCOM. The goal? To promote military 'partnerships', of course! And since then, USF has been happily riding the wave of lucrative DOD/IC funding, gaining notoriety from this peculiar alliance.
Enter: General Martin R. Steele
Now, let me introduce you to a key player in this story: retired United States Marine Corps General Martin R. Steele. As mentioned in the 2017 book Spy Schools written by an award-winning investigative journalist, General Steele has an impressive resume, including a lengthy collaboration with the FBI. But it's his appearance at a USF Department of Industrial Engineering capstone course that really raises some eyebrows.
Picture this: a room full of bright-eyed, aspiring engineers, eagerly awaiting their guest speaker. In walks General Steele, a man who, by all accounts, has no business administering a personality test to these future innovators. Yet, that's exactly what he was there to do- supervise the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test, which, as it turns out, is also used by the CIA to evaluate potential recruits.
As a participant in that very course, I couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious about the whole thing. Why was a distinguished military officer overseeing a personality test for engineers? It wasn't until later that I discovered the true purpose of this unusual exercise: USF and the FBI were secretly evaluating me (and possibly others) to see if I had what it takes to become an intelligence officer.
Before leaving the lecture hall, General Steele graciously offered his business card to the students, a memento I still possess. He even kindly offered his assistance should I ever need it. Unfortunately, our paths never crossed again outside that classroom.
USF's foray into the world of military and intelligence partnerships may have filled their coffers, but it certainly left some of us scratching our heads and wondering just what we had signed up for...
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