Dear USF St. Petersburg campus community,
I hope all of you had the opportunity to see President Law’s message about the transformational investment that state legislators are making in USF this year. While we are still awaiting a final vote on the budget, we feel very positive about the current situation and I echo President Law’s comments on the tremendous impact these allocations will have on our university and our campus.
We are incredibly thankful to our Pinellas County legislative delegation, particularly House Speaker and USF alumnus Chris Sprowls, for being unwavering supporters of our campus. Thanks to their dedication and hard work, we are starting a new chapter in our history, one that is filled with exciting opportunities for students and faculty, as well as tremendous benefit for our community.
We are so fortunate that USF’s top legislative priority this year centered on our campus, with the request for funding of the Environmental and Oceanographic Sciences Research & Teaching Facility. As you saw in President Law’s message, legislators allocated $75 million for the project, more than the $60 million we were hoping to receive.
Folks, as I have said all along, this is a game changer for us. The facility will be the hub for our USF Interdisciplinary Center of Excellence in Environmental & Oceanographic Sciences and will provide state-of-the-art research and instructional space for both graduate and undergraduate students.
Just imagine the impact this center will have, as we harness the collective talents of faculty and staff throughout USF and work together to address challenges such as resiliency and sustainability. Think about the opportunities this will create for students pursuing careers in this evolving field, as well as for businesses looking to build a talent pipeline. Think about the benefit to the community, as we enhance our ability to analyze sea level rise and high-tide flood events, and to make that information accessible to policymakers, planners, elected officials and the general public. This historic investment will be paying dividends for years to come.
In addition to our legislative delegation, we are immensely grateful to our community partners who stepped up to voice their support for this initiative. There are too many to name, but we are particularly thankful for the efforts of Jason Mathis, CEO of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership; Alison Barlow, Executive Director of the Innovation District; and Cynthia Johnson, director of Pinellas County Economic Development.
Our local elected officials also played a key role, including current St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch; former mayor Rick Kriseman and former deputy mayor Kanika Tomalin; the members of the St. Petersburg City Council; and the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners.
While all of us at USF will benefit from the legislature’s investments, I wanted to call out a couple of other highlights specific to our campus:
- $3 million in recurring funds added to our operating budget
- $306,176 to fully fund the operations of the Citizens Scholars Partnership program. This innovative program is the first of its kind in the state and gives Florida high school students the opportunity to earn college credit while gaining hands-on experience in government and public service. Professor Judithanne McLauchlan leads the initiative and has worked tirelessly to make it a success.
Nothing is final until the budget is signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, but I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you. This investment by the legislature is a vote of confidence in our campus, and all of you were key to making that happen. There’s a bright future ahead and I can’t wait to see where we go next.
Regards,
Martin