Plans for more faculty and research at USF

[Drewski]

http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGB9ALGXD2F.html

USF Plans To Hire Professors, Pour Money Into Research

By ADAM EMERSON The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 1, 2007

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TAMPA - The University of South Florida plans to hire hundreds of professors and conduct more ambitious research that calls for a $1.2billion investment over the next five years.

USF's Board of Trustees on Thursday approved the university's long-term plan leaders say will usher its name into the invitation-only academic corps known as the Association of American Universities.

Entry to the group depends on the university winning millions in federal research dollars in that time, USF leaders say, and the only way to do that is to recruit high-powered professors.

That costs money. The 200 faculty members USF is seeking in that time, for instance, will cost $24million in salary and benefits.

Gov. Charlie Crist recently vetoed a 5 percent tuition hike for all state universities and community colleges. The revenue from that increase would have totaled about $24 million for USF, said Ralph Wilcox, the university's vice provost.

To get the money USF needs to achieve its goals "is going to be an uphill battle," Wilcox said Thursday.

Despite the financial uncertainties, university leaders and board members cherished what they called a "bold" plan, which also calls for stepped-up fundraising and admitting more graduate students.

The plan also calls for managing student enrollment. The number of students on all of USF's campuses is expected to grow 20 percent to 53,000 students by 2014, but there won't be much growth at the university's Tampa campus. Wilcox called for "controlled, modest growth" there, preferring instead to recruit better-performing students, continuing a trend in its admissions.

This fall's prospective freshman class is the university's smartest ever. More than half of the students admitted had at least an A-minus average in high school.

The university wants to admit more students who can graduate in four or five years, Wilcox said. Most of the growth in the USF system will be at its Lakeland, St. Petersburg and Sarasota campuses. Yet even there, growth will slow from years past.

Much of the investment in the university's long-term plan will come from the university's foundation, which has assets now totaling more than $330 million. The university is planning a fundraising campaign to raise more than $500million.

University leaders say the private money is critical because of withering support from the state Legislature. "How in the world we pull this plan off with the capital support we've received over the last few years is beyond me," trustee Lee Arnold Jr. said.

In other business, the board announced that the university hired an engineering dean, John Wiencek. Wiencek is the chemical and biochemical chairman at the University of Iowa's College of Engineering.

I love it!

[bullcocky101]

yes...more students who actually want to come to usf!

[SeaBull]

SeaBull: The newest Undergraduate Researcher at the Clean Energy Research Center!!!

I start in 2 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I didn't foresee a lot of pride while applying to USF but I love it here now!! GO BULLS!! GO CERC!!!

[bullcocky101]

Congratulations! and yea pride is getting better. I think every student now at least owns a piece of USF apparel.

[Drewski]

Congratulations SeaBull.

I agree Bullcocky... It's amazing the transformation that we are witnessing before our very eyes.