TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

USF Official To Resign

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 18, 2009

TAMPA - The University of South Florida associate vice president who was caught on videotape taking a student's bicycle last week says he will resign his post.

Abdul Rao's last day will be Friday, according to an agreement he has given to Stephen Klasko, the dean of the college's School of Medicine. Klasko announced Rao's decision at a faculty council meeting Tuesday.

Reached Tuesday night, Rao said he was drafting his resignation letter and that the university will receive it today. He declined to make any further comment.

Rao has said a "failure in judgment" led him to take the mountain bicycle outside the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute on Feb. 10. He said he offered the bike, valued at $100, to a handyman doing work for him and didn't think it belonged to a student.

The security video has been widely seen on the Internet site YouTube.

The incident was under investigation by USF police and a group of senior USF administrators. The Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office is considering whether to file charges.

USF spokesman Michael Hoad said the university did not ask Rao to resign. Rao, who oversees research grants at USF and makes nearly $400,000 a year, has been on paid leave pending completion of the investigations.

The security tape shows a woman parking her bicycle against a railing at 2 p.m. About 8:50 p.m., a minivan pulls up and Rao and a man get out, take the bike and leave with it in the minivan.

The man, Victor Waiters, 45, has a criminal record in Florida dating to 1988, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

In 1996, Waiters pleaded guilty to cocaine possession and served six months probation, records show. In 1998, he pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and served one year of probation.

Hoad said the criminal record would have been part of the internal USF investigations. Rao had told USF officials he was unaware of the man's history, Hoad said.

Reaction has been fierce, with dozens of people calling for Rao to be fired.

Hoad said Rao already had detractors because of his personality. "He could be blunt." But, Hoad said, USF officials had never questioned his job performance or competence.

Rao was educated at Oxford and hired by USF in 2006 after serving as vice provost for research at Middle Tennessee State University.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT