The University of Central Florida is investigating an engineering faculty member accused of requiring his students to make bear deterrents for a class project then using some of their work at his home, according to school records released by the university.
An anonymous tipster said each student group spent $100 on the project for senior instructor Mark Calabrese’s class in Fall 2024, with Calabrese taking the devices back to his North Georgia home.
Calabrese, who is paid $141,744 annually, has taught at UCF since 2004.
School records said Calabrese later admitted what he did was wrong and was required to return the bear deterrents back to the students. School officials nixed him from assigning the bear projects again in the future.
When Florida Politics reached out for comment, Calabrese denied that he personally benefited from the bear deterrents. He said students were also allowed to get first dibs on their projects at the end of the assignment.
“Remember that the students didn’t want their projects, so even though I used it (once before it broke), it would have been trashed otherwise,” Calabrese wrote in an email. “There will always be a student who’s unhappy about something. It could be the grade they think they are earning or something else.”
The bear device assignment was one of several projects Calabrese teaches to help his engineering students understand project management, he said.
Calabrese said he receives high student reviews for his class, above the average for the department and across campus.
Following the complaint, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the College of Engineering and Computer Science Manoj Chopra followed up with Calabrese.
“During their conversation, Professor Calabrese acknowledged using the design and construction of a bear trap as an example of a project in the course, but stated his intention was to teach project management principles,” the Integrity Line ethics investigation records said.
“He conveyed to Dr. Chopra that students were allowed to keep their prototypes and manufactured systems. He admitted, however, to taking some for personal use, which he realized during the discussion was not appropriate. Dr. Chopra instructed Professor Calabrese to return all bear traps.”
The anonymous complaint was filed in November 2024, with the probe finishing in May. UCF took several weeks to publicly release the records after a Florida Politics records request.
The anonymous complaint said the bear deterrent project was mandatory. Students who did not submit a device would fail the class.
“He made multiple teams of 10 students, with a maximum budget of $100. Each team made a device,” the anonymous tipster wrote in late 2024. “Students had to spend their personal money to build the device. … As far as I know he made no attempt to repay the students for the money they spent on their ‘class projects.’”
The student group leaders submitted receipts.
Calabrese countered that the $100 cost was a ceiling and spread among the group, equaling roughly $10 per student.
“But as stated in the course, students are encouraged/incentivized to come in at minimal costs. Further, students can and do utilize free educational resources of the college to construct their projects (e.g. 3D printing),” Calabrese said in an email.
According to his UCF bio, Calabrese is “a senior instructor in the UCF Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, serving as director of its senior design program. He also facilitates program management for the department’s internet technology and engineering services opportunities.”
UCF is trying to build its reputation as a premier engineering school. Trustees recently supported a plan to ask for $50 million in recurring state money in next year’s Legislative Session.
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