A Message from USF President Judy Genshaft

[Jim Johnson]

August 2009

It used to be summer on a university campus was a quiet time - classroom buildings would fall silent, faculty departed for studies abroad or hunkered down in their labs, and student centers all but rolled up the sidewalks. If you've seen the level of activity at the USF campus this summer, you certainly know those months of leisurely reflection and reduced office hours are from a bygone era.

USF didn't let up this summer and most days if you were on campus, you never knew this was supposed to be the off-season. If anything, this has been a summer where the university has continued its forward momentum in preparing students for the future and remaking our local economy.

Among some of our summer highpoints:

• We had more than 30,000 students on the Tampa campus. That includes 1,233 new freshmen enrolled in our summer programs this year - an incredible 72 percent increase over last summer. Many of these students are the first in their families to go to college, and we've found that when we give them just a little extra time to become acclimated to the university environment, it greatly increases success rates.

• Our researchers continue to push hard to bring home federal stimulus dollars set aside for scientific projects. The process is taking longer than we had hoped, but USF researchers have submitted 175 proposals for funding totaling more than $236 million. We expect to begin hearing more about awards in September, and we know that our scientists are in the thick of the competition in this unprecedented opportunity to boost research and the economy in turn. To date, USF has received more than $1.6 million in stimulus funding for a series of smaller awards, including one from the National Institutes of Health, which supported six students in a summer research experience in two research projects at our College of Medicine.

• The USF Academy of Inventors was launched with an initial class of more than 100 faculty, alumni and members of the USF community who hold U.S. patents. It's an incredibly impressive show of brainpower and a great way for the university to pay tribute to the innovators among us. We know innovation is the key to creating new products, new industries and new jobs. If you're interested in a glimpse at what creative minds can do, check out the list of inventors and their patents.

• Just last week we announced the launch of USF World, an umbrella initiative that captures USF's strategic international efforts and the Patel Center for Global Solutions. Mobilizing this major undertaking is Donna Petersen, dean of USF's College of Public Health, who will serve as interim executive director. Not only will USF World promote opportunities for students to study abroad and for international students to come here, it will orchestrate opportunities for faculty to conduct international research and create sustainable projects around the world. And we're starting right at home, having begun construction on the new Patel Center headquarters, which will be USF's first "green" building and a centerpiece of our commitment to more environmentally-friendly practices.

• USF will be opening two new residence halls that will help transform this campus even further. We now require freshmen who are not from the immediate Tampa Bay region to live on campus. Why? Because the research has shown that students who live on campus graduate at much higher rates and in less time than those who do not. We've taken residence life even a step further with our Living and Learning Communities, including this year's new Green Living and Learning Community. This program not only helps the campus reduce its carbon footprint with more energy efficient practices, but students who live there will have the opportunity to work with each other, faculty, and administrators on a variety of campus green projects.

• And just last week, construction on our long-awaited Interdisciplinary Science Teaching and Research Facility began. This project is going to be a landmark - one of the tallest buildings on campus and giant leap forward in providing the facilities needed to deliver world-class scientific studies and research. It will become an environment to foster the type of collaborative problem-solving across disciplines that is becoming USF's hallmark.

So as you can see, there's been very little kicking back here at USF this summer. We barely have time to catch our breath before the start of a new school year, which is always an exciting time with new students arriving, the start of football season and homecoming for our treasured alumni.

The fall semester is, indeed, a time when all things are possible. But the reality is this USF community never lets up on the accelerator when it comes to moving the university and this community forward.

[Costa]

Where is this Interdisciplinary Science Teaching and Research Facility?

[Guest]

INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE TEACHING & RESEARCH FACILITY

Project No.: 534

Architect/Engineer: HOK

Construction Manager: Skanska

Area: 234,549 Gross Square Feet including 52,122 shelled space

Total Project Cost: $91,015,589

Status: Design Phase

Occupancy: August 2011

Source of Funds: PECO

Purpose: The space in this building is designed to promote interdisciplinary research and teaching. This project will support the Physics, Chemistry, and Biology programs, and will provide large multi-user interdisciplinary shared core facilities. The plan includes two 300-seat classrooms and two smaller classrooms to support student enrollment needs in upcoming years.

On this map it is located next to the Administration building:

http://usfweb2.usf.edu/parking_services/maps/Visitor_Map.jpg