UT President to be Recognized at Dining in the Dark Event

University of Tampa President Ronald L. Vaughn will receive a Visionary Award from the Foundation Fighting Blindness at its Tampa/St. Petersburg Dining in the Dark event on April 27 at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club in St. Petersburg.

The Foundation Fighting Blindness is a national nonprofit that drives blindness research. Dining in the Dark is a distinctive sensory awareness experience in which guests participate in an unforgettable dining adventure, in complete darkness. For approximately 30 minutes, attendees will wear special light-blocking blindfolds and enjoy their entrée using only their senses of smell, sound, taste and touch, to get a glimpse into the lives of the blind.

The late Edie Loebenberg, co-founder of the Florida Holocaust Museum, will also be honored. Legendary sports personality and Tampa Bay Rays Senior Advisor Dick Crippen will host as emcee.

The event will benefit the Foundation Fighting Blindness (www.FightBlindness.org), whose urgent mission is to drive the research that will lead to preventions, treatments and cures for the more than 10 million Americans affected with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), macular degeneration, Usher syndrome and the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases.

According to the Foundation, Vaughn is being honored due to his “visionary accomplishments within the Tampa Bay community.” Vaughn has been president of UT since 1995.

For more information, contact Keytia Ortiz at (954) 308-5555 or KOrtiz@FightBlindness.org.