Exciting changes and additions for the new academic year (2024)

HERE WE GROW

As construction will soon begin on USF’s new transformational on-campus stadium, the university is transitioning the recreation facilities currently occupying the Sycamore Fields site, where the on-campus stadium will be built, to a new location in the southwest portion of campus near the USF Research Park. The new Recreation Field Complex, located along Fowler Avenue, will open in early 2025 with Sycamore Fields remaining in use through the end of the fall semester. The complex will include four multi-purpose fields, two softball fields, a fitness trail, maintenance infrastructure, restrooms and parking. In an effort to minimize environmental impacts, steps are being taken to retain as many trees as possible. Replanting will occur in other spaces across campus to fully offset the loss of any trees during construction.

USF fans can start the countdown to seeing shovels in the ground to begin the construction of a transformational stadium on the Tampa campus. A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled during Homecoming Week, with the stadium set to open in time for fall 2027. More information on the project is available here.

Atala Hall will soon open with 200 students calling it home. Named after a rare tropical butterfly that feeds and breeds in the landscaping on campus, the six-story building is comprised of suites and apartments and a student center. The student center includes a ballroom, the campus’s first-ever dining hall, a bookstore, game room, study lounges and offices for student organizations and USF World. Click here to learn more about living at Atala Hall.

The Tampa library building, opened in 1961, is undergoing a major renovation to its front entrance that will ensure a secure and comfortable experience. The project includes:

• Storm weather resistance – stormproof windows and doors will provide safety in severe weather events.
• Expanded egress – widening of entry and exit spaces.
• Security upgrades - electronic gates will be installed to limit entry to USF ID-holders who will have to scan their ID card to enter. A service desk will be located at the front entry to assist students or USF employees who have forgotten their IDs and to assist visiting scholars and community members.
• University police presence – a substation for the University Police Department will be added near Starbucks to better serve the east side of the Tampa campus.

Construction on the Tampa library building is expected to continue through May 2025. The Nelson Poynter Memorial Library on the USF St. Petersburg campus will soon begin similar renovations.

The official home of USF Esports will open at the start of the fall semester inside the Campus Recreation Center on the Tampa campus. The Esports Living Lab is a 2,500-square-foot space featuring 40 high-end Lenovo Legion Gaming PCs, a Play Station 5, Xbox Series X and a Nintendo Switch for casual gaming and watch parties, content creation and competitive gaming. The living lab will serve the general USF student population, USF Esport clubs, academic initiatives and overall student success. Learn more about the space here.

The USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy’s Doctor of Pharmacy program has moved into USF Health in Water Street Tampa. Located on the 11th and 12th floors of the state-of-the-art downtown building, the 30,000-square-foot space includes a clinical learning center, a 120-person classroom, a collaborative “maker” space and creativity lounge. Students will have access to virtual and augmented reality, an interactive video wall, 3D printing and holographic technology.

The USF Health College of Nursing Expansion project is being undertaken to upgrade and expand the Simulation & Learning Labs while adding new classrooms and other minor support spaces. The project will include full-demolition of the existing one-story MDN-S building and building back a connected two-story 34,000-square-foot building. The project’s demolition phase finished in July 2024. Site-work and underground work will begin early Fall 2024 with an overall anticipated project completion time of early Summer 2026.

STUDENT WELLNESS

• The long-anticipated bouldering wall is almost ready for climbers in the Campus Recreation Center on the Tampa campus. Opening in late fall, the 14-foot-tall wall will span 672 square feet and feature about 500 handholds. Since bouldering does not use harnesses and rope to support the climber, a foot of multi-density foam will serve as a landing surface. Climbing shoes will be available for checkout at the equipment desk.
• A bilingual fitness program is launching in early September. Every Wednesday, a group fitness class will be taught in Spanish; the kind of class and location will rotate every week.

Student Health Services is now serving patients in need of physical therapy rehabilitation inside the Student Health and Wellness Center’s new physical therapy room on the USF Tampa campus.

In partnership with USF Health Shared Student Services, the Feed-A-Bull food pantry now has a second location on the USF Tampa campus inside the Morsani College of Medicine building (MDC). Students in need can drop in for food assistance during hours of operation there and at the Student Services building. They may also place a customized order to pick up at the Marshall Student Center lockers.

Look out for a new four-legged friend on the USF St. Petersburg campus. Snowbird, a golden retriever and labrador retriever mix from Dogs Inc., is the campus’ first-ever “comfort dog,” trained to provide comfort, support and therapeutic benefits to students, faculty and staff. The newest member of the University Police Department will attend campus events, participate in student training sessions and respond to anyone on campus in need of a few snuggles.

RESEARCH & ACADEMICS

The newest addition to the Florida Institute of Oceanography fleet is the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Taurus. The ROV can reach depths of up to 2.5 miles, allowing for exploration of some of the most remote areas of the ocean and the potential discovery of new species. USF, the host institution of FIO, is the only university in the continental United States to own an ROV with such advanced capabilities. Housed aboard Research Vessel Western Flyer, the most technologically advanced vessel in the FIO fleet, ROV Taurus will be used to explore the depths of the ocean during research cruises and educational programs. The ROV Taurus will livestream its dives here.

Highly accomplished Dr. Robert Gallo, who co-discovered HIV as the cause of AIDS and the HIV blood test, joined the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine as the James P. Cullison Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases. He and his team of researchers are busy moving into their new lab inside the USF Research Park. Gallo is also the co-founder of the Global Virus Network, a distinguished organization comprised of virologists spanning more than 80 Centers of Excellence and Affiliates in more than 40 countries working collaboratively to advance knowledge about viral pathogens and pandemic viruses, and USF now serves as host for the international headquarters.

• David Blackwell joins USF as the new Lynn Pippenger Dean of the Muma College of Business. Blackwell provides strategic leadership for the college, which consists of approximately 8,400 students, nearly 180 faculty members and more than 110 staff members across USF’s three campuses. He joined USF from the University of Kentucky.

• Elizabeth Spiller joins USF as the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Spiller leads USF’s largest college, comprised of approximately 18,000 students, 700 faculty members, and more than 225 staff members across the university’s three campuses. She joined USF from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
• Sten Vermund will join USF in January 2025 as the new dean of the USF Health College of Public Health. He will lead the College of Public Health, which consists of approximately 4,700 students and more than 400 faculty and support staff. Vermund joins USF from Yale University.

DINING

The Pollo Tropical at Sessums Mall is now a full-service Chick-Fil-A. This new location will offer catering and open earlier in order to offer Chick-Fil-A’s breakfast menu starting this fall. There is still a Chick-Fil-A in the Marshall Student Center, but the demand and long lines warranted a second location on the USF Tampa campus.

USF Dining is proud to offer bubble tea, also known as boba tea, as a new beverage option this fall on the USF Tampa campus. USF alumni-owned Naga Tea will be featured inside the newly remodeled Rocky's Hideaway, located in the "bunker" or Business Administration Ferguson Hall. Previously, Bulls could only find the drink, known for its chewy, tapioca bubbles, as a rotating feature at Local Restaurant Row or a seasonal drink at Starbucks, but the demand from the USF community for a permanent spot for the beverage was made loud and clear. Rocky's Hideaway will also feature a salad and sandwich concept.

ATHLETICS

USF Women’s Lacrosse begins its first competitive season in spring 2025. The program was added to USF’s varsity sports teams in 2021. Mindy McCord was hired as first head coach in 2022 and has since been active on the recruiting trail and preparing the team for competition.

• Tampa native AJ Newell joins USF as the head coach of USF Women's Golf. Newell will take over leadership of the Bulls' program following a successful three-year stint as assistant coach at the University of Michigan.

• Mitch Hannahs joins USF as the head coach of USF Baseball. Hannahs comes to USF after 11 highly successful seasons as head coach at his alma mater, Indiana State.

An NIL Strategy unit is now active within South Florida Athletics and led by Associate Athletic Director and USF Football Chief of Staff Andrew Warsaw. College athletics is changing and evolving rapidly, one factor being the NCAA policy on name, image and likeness, or NIL, implemented in 2021, allowing student-athletes to profit from their personal brand. USF's NIL Strategy staff members are tasked with identifying NIL opportunities, NIL marketing, fundraising, education, scheduling and execution of NIL commitments, and the growth of NIL resources among their duties serving USF's nearly 500 student-athletes across 21 sports.

COMMUNITY

The USF Health College of Nursing and Port Tampa Bay have partnered to create an on-site, nurse-managed clinic to provide health care for the thousands of seafarers whose global maritime routes bring them to the port each year. Additionally, this clinic will provide health services to the Port Tampa Bay maritime community and its workers and serve as a training site for nursing students. Tampa is the first port in the world to establish a nurse-managed clinic.

The state of Florida awarded USF $5 million in recurring funds to create the Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce to enhance recruitment and retention efforts and expand pathways to behavioral health professions. Based in the USF College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, the Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce joins the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute in strengthening mental health services in Florida through research, training and education.

The InfoSec GRC Analyst program, funded by a $2 million appropriation from Congress, focuses on information security governance, risk and compliance, and is designed to meet the critical shortage of cybersecurity professionals. The new online professional education program is broken up into four training modules and will be offered free of charge for up to 250 people, with priority enrollment given to those who are veterans/military, first-responders and other governmental roles.