University of South Florida

The University of South Florida (USF), known within its system as USF Tampa^[2][3][4], is a public university system located in Tampa, Florida, USA, with an autonomous campus in St. Petersburg^[5], and branch centers in Sarasota and Lakeland.^[6] The main campus is located in North Tampa, near the City of Temple Terrace. It is bordered on the south by Fowler Avenue and on the north by Fletcher Avenue with Bruce B. Downs Boulevard to the west and 50th Street on the east side. The university is in close proximity to the Museum of Science and Industry as well as Busch Gardens and the University Mall shopping center.

The university is the third largest in the state of Florida (after University of Florida and University of Central Florida), with a total enrollment of 44,891 for the 2007 academic year.^[7] USF is currently ranked ninth in the country in terms of enrolled students. In terms of academics, USF is a first-tier research university, and one of three "research flagship schools" in the State University System of Florida.^[8]

USF's mascot is the Bull (originally called the Brahman) and its colors are green and gold. The university's sports teams participate at the NCAA Division I-A level. In 2005, USF joined the Big East Conference. USF previously belonged to Conference USA, the Metro Conference, and the Sun Belt Conference.

USF is currently the national headquarters for Phi Alpha Theta, a professional history honor society which promotes the study of history.^[9]

History

USF's "Iconic Bull" logo was introduced in 2003, replacing the gold-colored "USF" script. Since then, sales of athletic merchandise have skyrocketed.

Old USF Athletics logo, replaced in 2003 by the "Iconic Bull" seen to the left.

USF was founded in 1956, though it was not even named until the next year and classes didn't commence until 1960. Some of the original proposed names included "Citrus State University", "Sunshine State University," "The University of the Western Hemisphere" and "The University of Florida at Temple Terrace." ^[10] Former US Representative Sam Gibbons was instrumental in the school's creation when he was a state representative and is considered by many to essentially be the school's founder. It was built on the site of Henderson Air Field, a World War II airstrip. Although located in west-central Florida, at the time of establishment USF was the southernmost public university in the State of Florida, a geographic situation that lent USF its sometimes confusing name.

The university first grew under the leadership of John Allen, who was the president from 1957 until 1970. During this time, the university expanded rapidly, due in part to the first graduate degree programs commencing in 1964. Allen elected to resign and retire in 1970. Today, the main administration complex is called The John and Grace Allen Center, named after him and his wife.^[11]

USF is also one of three public universities in the State (with the University of Florida and Florida State University) to have received first-tier research university status by the Carnegie Foundation, a mission first started by former USF president Betty Castor in the 1990s.^[12] As such, the university takes great pride in advancing its position as a research university in promotional advertisements and brochures. USF emerged as a major research institution during the 1980s under the presidency of John Lott Brown, Ph.D. ^[13] President Brown appointed scholarly administrators such as Jim Strange, Ph.D., Dean of Arts and Letters, and Andor Szentivanyi, Dean of Medicine. Two university hospitals, The H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and USF Psychiatry Center, as well as the college of public health were built during Brown's presidency.

USF is considered one of the top universities in Florida, being named a first-tier research university in 1998, and named a "research flagship school" along with the University of Florida and Florida State University by Governor Charlie Crist in 2007.^[8] USF has surpassed the $300 million mark in research grant funding ^[14]. In addition to a heightened emphasis on research and academia, the university played its first football game in 1997. Its marching band, the Herd of Thunder formed in 1999.^[15]

USF's Fiftieth anniversary was in 2006. Part of the celebration year were numerous special events, announced plans for a bigger student union and guest lecturers such as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Fernando Chavez, Judy Shepard (mother of Matthew Shepard), and conservative author Ann Coulter, all part of the University Lecture Series. The Campus Activities Board (CAB) has brought comedians Monique, Dane Cook and Bruce Bruce among others. CAB has continued and begun new traditions such as the Yacht Party, Winter Wonderland and Movies on the Lawn.

Presidents

Academics

Admissions

Students with an Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree from a Florida public community college are automatically admitted into the University of South Florida.^[17] As of 2007, the University admitted 51 percent of all applicants. The average high school GPA of the incoming students was 3.61.^[18] For the 2005 enrolled freshmen, the average SAT score was 1125 and the ACT average was 24.^[19] U.S. News and World Report has ranked the University as "more selective."^[20]

Organization and rankings

U.S. News & World Report has ranked the University as a "third tier" national university.^[20] Collegeprowler.com has ranked the University as "B-" in academics, comparable with Arizona State, Loyola and Texas A&M University.^[21] The Princeton Review has ranked the University as one of the best Southeastern colleges and best value colleges.^[22]

USF has a total of over 18 colleges, schools and institutions.^[23] 7 colleges offer undergraduate degrees.

• Colleges (*denotes the offering of undergraduate degrees):
  • College of Arts & Sciences*
    • Dean: John Skvoretz^[24]
  • College of Business*
    • Dean: Robert Forsythe^[25]
  • College of Education*
    • Dean: Colleen S. Kennedy, PhD^[26]
  • College of Engineering*
    • Acting Dean: Dr Rafael Perez^[27]
  • College of Health Sciences
    • Vice President: Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA^[28]
  • Honors College*
    • Dean: Dr. Stuart Silverman^[29]
  • College of Marine Science
    • Dean: Peter Betzer, PhD^[30]
  • College of Medicine
    • Dean: Stephen Klasko, MD^[28]
  • College of Nursing*
    • Dean: Patricia Burns, PhD, FAAN^[28]
  • College of Public Health
    • Dean: Donna Petersen, ScD^[28]
  • College of Visual & Performing Arts*
    • Dean: Ron Jones^[31]
• Schools:
  • School of Accountancy
    • Director: Robert M. Keith^[32]
  • School of Architecture & Community Design
    • Dean: Charles Hight^[33]
  • School of Art and Art History
    • Director: Wallace Wilson^[34]
  • School of Library and Information Science
    • Director: Vicki Gregory^[35]
  • School of Music
    • Director: Wade Weast^[36]
  • School of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences
    • Associate Dean: William S. Quillen, PT, PhD, SCS, FACSM^[37]
  • School of Theatre and Dance Arts
    • Director: Marc Powers^[38]
• Institute:
  • The Louis de la Parte Institute (FMHI)
    • Interim Dean: Bob Friedman, PhD^[39]

Satellite campuses

The University of South Florida has three satellite campuses: USF St. Petersburg , USF Sarasota-Manatee, and USF Lakeland. There is also a downtown center in downtown Tampa.^[40] A fourth satellite campus, in Fort Myers, was in operation from 1974 until 1997 when campus operations were usurped into the new Florida Gulf Coast University.^[41]

St. Petersburg Campus

USF St. Petersburg was established in 1965 in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida as the "Bayboro Campus". In 2006, USF St. Petersburg was accredited as a separate entity within the University of South Florida system by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools starting with the 2006–2007 school year.^[5]

Sarasota-Manatee Campus

USF Sarasota-Manatee was established in 1975, since then it shared a campus with the New College of Florida.^[42] New College and USF Sarasota-Manatee would continue to share campuses until a new campus was built for USF Sarasota Manatee. The new campus opened on August 28 2006.^[43]

Lakeland Campus

USF Lakeland was established in 1988, it serves over 2,000 students offering over 20 complete undergraduate and graduate degrees through the areas of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Engineering, and Information Technology. The campus also supports a number of individual classes, electives, web-based courses, certificate programs and program partnerships with the main campus in Tampa.^[44]

Academic freedom

In 2003, the American Association of University Professors released a report criticizing the University for its actions in connection with Dr. Sami Al-Arian, associate professor of computer science and engineering.^[45] Dr. Al-Arian was accused of by the University of using his position to support terrorism.^[45] After placing Dr. Al-Arian on paid administrative leave, Dr. Al-Arian and three other suspects were indicted on 51 charges relating to terrorism. The University then fired Dr. Al-Arian. The report found that the University had "acted in disregard of academic due process."^[45] The AAUP also found that the University dismissed Dr. Al-Arian prior to granting him "any opportunity to defend himself against the administration's charges," and thus violating his "academic due process."^[45]

Athletics

See also: South Florida Bulls football

The USF Sun Dome, where many sporting and live entertainment events are held.

The USF Athletic Facility, opened in May of 2004, totals over 103,000 square feet. The building contains locker areas for nine USF teams, a 10,900 square foot weight room, a sports medicine clinic, and an academic center.

Sailing

A nationally recognized women's sailing program at USF is coached by Allison Jolly the gold medalist in the first olympic women's sailing event at the 1988 Korea Olympics.

Football

Given its short history, there has been unprecedented growth in the school's football program. USF began football play as a 1-AA independent in 1997, moved to 1-A in 2001, then to Conference USA in 2003, and now competes in the Big East conference (as of 2005) with its Bowl Championship Series (BCS) tie-ins.^[46]

Additionally, USF's rapid advancement to the Big East Conference and the associated gains in recruiting have been helped greatly by its facilities. The Bulls recently opened an $18 million athletic facility on campus, and the football team plays its home games in Raymond James Stadium, also the home field of the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Bulls' Head Coach Jim Leavitt has enjoyed success in the first ten seasons, and the program is seen as a program on the rise, and a model for establishing a football program at other colleges. On September 24, 2005, USF defeated ninth-ranked University of Louisville, for its first victory over a Big East rival as well as a Top Ten opponent. As a result, USF received its first-ever votes in the AP college football poll. USF saw its second win over a ranked opponent by beating widely favored #7 West Virginia University on November 25, 2006. On September 8, 2007, they beat yet another ranked opponent in #17 Auburn University. On September 28, 2007, the Bulls defeated #5 West Virginia for the second year in a row to stay atop the Big East conference standings.

On September 16, 2007, a week after defeating Auburn, USF was nationally ranked for the first time in the young program's history. The AP poll listed USF at #23, while the USA Today coaches poll had the Bulls at #24. This is an NCAA record, as USF achieved its first Top 25 ranking faster than any other Division I-A school in the modern era. Since becoming a bowl-eligible Division I-A member in 2001, the Bulls were ranked after 104 AP polls during the fourth week of their seventh season. Boise State had the previous record, getting ranked after 115 AP polls during the 13th week of its seventh year as a bowl-eligible Division I-A member^[47]. On October 14, 2007, after the AP, Coaches', and BCS rankings were released, the Bulls were ranked #2, #3, and #2 respectively, the highest ranked the school's football program has ever been. However, on Thursday October 18th, the Bulls fell to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in a 30-27 upset in Piscataway, New Jersey.

University and student media

WUSF-TV

Beginning in 1991, USF's first student newspaper was the Campus Edition of The Tampa Times, a now defunct local afternoon newspaper. It was succeeded by The Oracle which was first published on September 6, 1966 as a weekly.^[48] Today The Oracle is published five times a week and has a circulation of more than 12,000.

Also, The student radio station, WBUL (AM), is located in the Phyllis P. Marshall Center, the student union named for an administrator who spent 40 years at USF. ^[49]

In 1963, the school began to operate WUSF, an FM station which offers classical and jazz music and National Public Radio (NPR) programming.

The major television studio associated with USF is WUSF-TV studios. The station is funded by local corporate and private contributors as well as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and is affiliated with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It has been serving the Tampa Bay area for nearly 50 years. Full-time employees as well as part-time student trainees and those seeking Mass Communication course credit staff the state-of-the-art facility. ^[50]

Art

Bust of Martin Luther King, Jr. in MLK Plaza at USF

USF's Contemporary Art Museum features regular exhibitions of contemporary art, including a show of faculty work every three years and an annual juried student show. USF also operates Graphicstudio, an art studio and printshop which has hosted artists like Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, and James Rosenquist. Regular exhibitions of student work are featured in the William and Nancy Oliver Gallery and the student-run Centre Gallery in the Marshall Center. The art department puts on an event called "art house" that happens the same night as the annual juried student show where all of the studios are open with current work on display for people to walk through.

Music

USF's School of Music has been steadily growing since the university opened in 1956. The school now boasts some of the finest, world-renowned faculty who travel internationally as performers, clinicians and lecturers in their respective fields.

In 2005 the School of Music held the first annual Robert Helps Festival and Composition Competition. The festival and competition is named for the beloved late Piano and Composition professor Robert Helps and is held the 2nd week in February. The international composition competition is for young adult composers and features a $10,000 prize and premieres of the winning work both during the festival at USF and in New York City's Merkin Hall. The festival includes clinicians and lectures from renowned musicians in addition to nightly concerts performed by students and faculty, including the traditional Valentine's Day concert started by Robert Helps featuring the USF faculty.

The School of Music will be moving to a new building in 2009, a project the students and faculty have been pursuing for years. The new building will feature two recital halls, state-of-the-art classrooms, large rehearsal rooms, chamber music rehearsal rooms, private studios and practice rooms.

Student housing

Beta Hall houses first-year "University Experience" students.^[51] Built in the early 1960s, it is the largest residence hall on the Tampa campus.

Most students live off-campus and commute to the campus. Despite the rise in demand for on-campus housing, thirteen percent of USF's student body, which is approximately 5,600 students, lives in a university residence hall. Many students find it more cost effective and desirable to live in area apartment complexes that cater to students. These "resident commuters" make up the majority of the student body.

In recent years, Residence Services acquired the houses of various fraternities and sororities on campus and relinquished control of Fontana Hall, a high rise residential hall located outside campus boundaries.

Most on-campus housing was built from 1960 to 1965, and each hall was named after a Greek letter.^[52][53][54] During this period, an ambitious fundraising campaign called "Dollars for Dorms" was initiated and appealed to individual and business interests in the Tampa Bay area.^[55] Older residence halls, such as Beta Hall (which houses freshmen only), Betty Castor Hall (formerly Gamma Hall, women-only)^[56], and Kosove Apartments (formerly Alpha Hall, upperclassmen)^[57] received extensive remodeling in the early 2000s. The other Greek letter residence halls (named in order from Delta to Mu) are built in a confined community area known as the Andros Complex.

Newer housing subdivisions, such as the Cypress Suites and Apartments, Maple Hall, Holly Apartments, and the Magnolia Apartments, were built in the late 1990s. The last of them, the Cypress complex, was completed in the summer of 2004.

Greek life

USF has a very large community centered around Greek life, comprising of a number of fraternities and sororities. Listed below are the fraternities and sororities sponsored by USF, and the years in which they were founded on the campus.^{[58] [59]}

Fraternities

Alpha Epsilon Pi 1985 Alpha Phi Alpha 1972 Beta Theta Pi 1992 Chi Phi 1983 Delta Chi 1998 Delta Epsilon Psi 2005 Delta Sigma Pi 1970 Iota Phi Theta 2003 Kappa Kappa Psi 2001 Kappa Sigma 1968 Lambda Chi Alpha 1968 (Suspended 2006) Lambda Theta Phi 1998 Omega Psi Phi 1972 Phi Beta Sigma 1974 Phi Delta Theta 1967 Phi Mu Alpha 1968 Pi Kappa Alpha 1968 Sigma Alpha Epsilon 1968 Sigma Chi 1979 Sigma Beta Rho 2001 Sigma Lambda Beta 1995 Sigma Nu 1967 Sigma Phi Epsilon 1968 Zeta Beta Tau 2005

Sororities

Alpha Delta Pi 1967, Alpha Kappa Alpha 1972, Alpha Omicron Pi 1985, Chi Omega 1968, Delta Delta Delta 1966, Delta Gamma 1969, [ Kappa Delta 1967, Lambda Theta Alpha 1998, Sigma Delta Tau 1988, Sigma Gamma Rho 1981, Sigma Sigma Rho 2002, Zeta Phi Beta 1980 (Alpha Eta), and Zeta Tau Alpha 2003, Alpha Kappa Delta Phi 2006.

Coed Service Fraternity

Alpha Phi Omega Founded May 5, 1968, declared inactive in 1992, Rechartered March 27, 2004 (Tau Mu)

Traditions

Alma Mater

Hail to Thee, our Alma Mater ^[60]

May thy name be told,

Where above thy gleaming splendor,

Waves the green and gold.

Thou our guide in quest for knowledge.

Where we all are free

University of South Florida,

Alma Mater, Hail to thee!

Be our guide in truth and wisdom

As we onward go,

May thy glory, fame and honor

Never cease to grow;

May our thoughts and prayers

be with thee through eternity,

University of South Florida,

Alma Mater, Hail to thee!

Golden Brahman March (Fight Song)

USF Bulls are we, ^[61]

We hold our standard upright and free.

For Green and Gold we stand united.

Our beacon lighted and noble to see.

USF Bulls are we,

For USF will always be.

With all our might we fight the battle

here and now, and we will win the victory!

(shout!) S-O-U-T-H F-L-O-R-I-D-A

South Florida, South Florida

Go Bulls!

Band

Main article: University of South Florida Herd of Thunder

The Herd of Thunder (often called HOT or the Pride of the Bay) is the athletic band of the South Florida Bulls, including the show band, pep band, and marching band ensembles, although it is often used to refer simply to the marching band. It was founded in 1999, two years after USF fielded its first football team.^[15]

2007 bomb suspects

August 2007, two USF students, Ahmed Abdellatif Sherf Mohamed and Yousef Samir Megahed were arrested by police in South Carolina after "explosives" were found in their vehicle. They were indicted four weeks later under a terrorism statute, but a federal spokesman said terrorism activity was not a focus of the case. The indictment accuses Mohamed of teaching how to make explosives between June and August 4 but does not say with whom he shared the information. Government officials have not provided specifics on the contents of the trunk or what they believe the students planned to do with the explosives they are accused of carrying across state lines. ^[62]

Notable alumni

USF is the alma mater to many notable persons.^[63]

Graduates

• Chucky Atkins, professional basketball player, Memphis Grizzlies
• Nicole Johnson, Miss America 1999
• William E. Brown, president, Cedarville University
• Kurt S. Browning, Florida Secretary of State
• Eddie Carpenter, President, Disneyland International and CFO, Walt Disney Attractions
• Mark Chung, Major League Soccer player
• Mark Consuelos, actor (All My Children)
• Frank Davis, pro football guard, Detroit Lions. First person of Panama in an NFL game.
• Tom Fitzgerald, soccer coach
• Leo Gallagher (better known as Gallagher), comedian
• Emilio T. Gonzalez, director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
• Anthony Henry, professional football cornerback, Dallas Cowboys
• Drake Hogestyn, actor (Days of our Lives)
• Melissa Howard, former MTV The Real World cast member
• Pam Iorio, current Tampa mayor (master's degree)
• Kenyatta Jones, ex pro football tackle, New England Patriots and Washington Redskins
• Joybubbles, early phreaker
• Debra Lafave, teacher arrested in 2004 for having sex with a 14-yr-old student
• Tony La Russa, manager St. Louis Cardinals
• Ann Ligouri, broadcaster on WFAN and The Golf Channel
• Lobo, musician
• Stephen Nicholas, professional football linebacker, Atlanta Falcons
• Kawika Mitchell, professional football linebacker, New York Giants
• John Patrick, former IBM VP of Internet Technology, Opera Software Board of Directors
• Mike Pride, editor of The Concord Monitor
• Michael Rao, president, Central Michigan University
• Kerry Sanders, correspondent for NBC News
• Robert Stackhouse, artist
• Ronda Storms, Florida State Senator
• Roy Wegerle, former professional soccer player, Tampa Bay Mutiny
• Kurt Wimmer, screenwriter and film director
• Tony Zappone, broadcaster, journalist, photographer. Member, founding staff of The Oracle, campus newspaper

Former students

• Terry Bollea (better known as Hulk Hogan), professional wrestler
• Elayne Boosler, comedian
• Mike Francesa, WFAN radio host (transferred to St. John's University)
• Lauren Hutton, supermodel and actress
• Mark Keil, tennis player
• Neven Subotić, professional soccer player, 1. FSV Mainz 05

Points of Interest

• H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
• Raymond James Stadium (home stadium of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, used by the South Florida Bulls for football games)
• University of South Florida Botanical Gardens
• USF Sun Dome
• WUSF
• WBUL (AM)

Footnotes

External links

• Official USF website
• Official athletics website

Coordinates: 28°3′16.42″N, 82°24′47.01″W

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