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USF campus has new name, new authority
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
© St. Petersburg Times,
Fresh from being granted greater autonomy from its Tampa-based parent, USF St. Petersburg begins the academic year with 31 new faculty members, three new degree programs, its own budget and unfettered optimism for the future. It also has a freshman class of 200 -- its largest ever. "This campus is just really waiting to blossom," said Bill Heller, executive officer and vice president of the approximately 4,000-student institution on Bayboro Harbor. "When you think that for over 30 years we've not been permitted to grow, that we were only allowed limited programs at the upper division level ... the campus is really going to explode in terms of growth," Heller said. "For somebody sitting where I am, you couldn't ask for a better picture as far as I can see." For most of its history, the campus served only juniors, seniors and graduate students. Now it is admitting freshmen and sophomores as well. "My vision remains to have a campus that, No. 1, is a residential campus and maintains the high quality of instructors that we already provide," Heller said. "To grow somewhere to 8,000 to 10,000 students and that would be it." Gone are the days when the waterfront campus catered primarily to what Heller referred to as "fast food" students, adults who mostly attend part time at night and "take their course and drive out." Mayor Rick Baker is "thrilled" with the change in status for the St. Petersburg campus. "I think it will offer greater opportunities for people in the city who want to go to college," he said. From the perspective of economic development, Baker said, the university also will be a boost to the surrounding community. The fresh wind blowing over the campus, now known officially as the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, is the result of recent legislative action. In May the Legislature voted to give the St. Petersburg campus fiscal autonomy, the ability to apply for separate accreditation and authority to have its own governing board. The five-person board will be made up of Pinellas County residents. It will have fiduciary responsibilities and be involved in the approval of new programs and policies. Members are expected to be appointed in September by the USF board of trustees, Heller said. One appointment, that of USF graduate Ann Wilkins Duncan, who serves on the USF board of trustees, already has been made. Ms. Duncan lives in Tarpon Springs. In keeping with its newly won autonomy, the university has applied for separate accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It is hoped that accreditation will be done by next fall, said Deborah Kurelik, coordinator of university relations. This year the St. Petersburg university is introducing three new programs. Undergraduate degrees will be offered in graphic design, visual communications and environmental science and policy. In addition, the science labs have been renovated and for the first time the university will offer undergraduate courses in chemistry and biology. The campus, home to the College of Marine Science, now also is offering a four-year honors program. Though the university is far from bulging at the seams, there is rejoicing at the size of this fall's freshman class. The influx will turn the campus that once was "a lighted schoolhouse" into a more balanced institution, Heller said. Still, he added, USF St. Petersburg will continue to serve non-traditional students. "We'll never lose our commuter group of students," Heller said, "because we are in a metropolitan area." Thursday afternoon, the quiet campus was astir with students arriving to buy books and take care of business for the new fall session. Freshman Nancy Pham, 18, was among them. "I always wanted to go to USF," the Northeast High School graduate said quietly. Besides, said Ms. Pham, "My parents say it is a good school and they want me to get a good job." She plans to study computer engineering. Kristie Rowan, 18, another freshman, said small classes played a part in her choice of the St. Petersburg campus. "I liked the small, little community. And it's pretty. Down by the water is relaxing," the Palm Harbor resident said. With its quest for growth, housing will become a central issue for the university, which is planning to hire a firm to conduct a feasibility study that will answer key questions about student housing. The study will cover issues such as rent and the type of housing that is needed, Heller said. "They are also going to look at the "beyond' student. If you had residential housing, would a student from Orlando come here? Would a student from Miami come to a campus like USF St. Petersburg? Would a student from New York come?" Randa Hassaan is from Toronto and will be a junior this year. Besides coming to the area to be near family, she said she had other reasons for choosing the St. Petersburg-based university. "I fell in love with the campus and I heard they had a pretty good English department," she said. Another junior, Stephanie Patterson, moved to northeast St. Petersburg three weeks ago just to attend USF St. Petersburg. Ms. Patterson, who is 32 and has a bachelor's degree from Auburn University, plans to study mangement information systems. "The USF campus here in St. Petersburg has everything that the big campus has to offer, but you get that small school atmosphere," she said, repeating the mantra of officials and recruiters. Her classes at Auburn were "huge," said Ms. Patterson, who most recently lived in Fort Myers and St. Thomas. "Since I've been back in the states, I've been taking a look at different campuses, and this is the one that I decided on. I like it because it is close to home, it's nice and clean, it's got personality. They have the exact major that I wanted and they also offer graduate studies." Another draw was St. Petersburg's downtown. "I love it. I love it," she said. "It's close to the water. I like all the little shops and they've got the Baywalk shopping, the parks, the beach. It's got everything, all within walking or biking distance." Words like that make Mayor Baker happy. "What you have is the opportunity for students to go to a four-year university in an urban environment that has the resources of museums, movies, restaurants and theaters and entertainment venues -- all within walking distance of where you go to university, so I can see how that would attract a lot of people," he said. For his part, Heller thinks that the university can play an important role in a "changing and dynamic" St. Petersburg. "It is a place close to the heart of downtown," he said. "The campus, by its growth, would have students who could then participate and then benefit from downtown. Baywalk, for instance, is already a major attraction for our students." He said students also will give an "economic uplift" to the community. "The more students that are here, who are residents here, the greater likelihood it is that they would participate in the economy," he said. The university, in turn, also has much to offer to the community, in terms of its library, lecture series and various events, Heller said. "It is going to be a beautiful place to come to," he said. "It is going to be very hard to beat this campus as a wonderful place to come and learn."
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