University officials seek to grow enrollment from 4,700 students to 10,000 by 2024. Next week, they will make a case to turn USF St. Petersburg into a high-profile campus by increasing real estate, making it a research destination for faculty and raising enrollment. But in order to grow, the university needs money and approval.
The first step is approving the strategic plan, which will be reviewed Sept. 4 in a meeting with university System President Judy Genshaft and the USF Board of Trustees.
Tuition dollars provide the primary funding for the university, and more students means more tuition. The problem with more students, however, is the need to provide sufficient housing and classrooms.
Frank Biafora, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said that the university won’t rush into the expansion. “You don’t grow from 4,700 to 10,000 overnight,” Biafora said. “You have to grow incrementally. You have to grow wisely.”
One of the biggest obstacles for the 48-acre campus is finding the room to stretch. The water to the immediate south prevents southbound development, and university buildings in Albert Whitted Airport’s flight path can’t extend vertically.
“We really got a space-crunch here,” said Bill Heller, dean of the College of Education.
Heller doesn’t expect much growth toward the north where vacant land is sparse, but spreading south along Third Street could be an option. The Poynter Institute at 801 Third St. S currently has 4 acres on the market.
The university may consider purchasing more buildings from existing businesses similar to the spring purchase of Gulfcoast Legal Services at 641 First St. S. Paula Clair Smith, a broker associate at Merritt Realty, said that around downtown “land is being gobbled up by developers.”
The fervor for downtown property escalates its market value. On the low end, vacant lots cost approximately $25 per square foot, which estimates an acre at more than $1 million.
The university has long-term goals for its student services, including a greater focus on student success and culture. Jacob Diaz, who became the university’s first dean of students when he was hired in July, said that the creation of his position could be seen as a pre-emptive step for the strategic plan.
“I think it factors into the strategic plan particularly because one of the items in the plan itself is student success and culture,” Diaz said. “And I think a dean of students plays a pivotal role in contributing to student success.”
Students seem to support the strategic plan as long as there are enough heads to justify the expansion.
Bill Milazzo, a criminology major who graduated in May and served as building manager of the University Student Center during the summer said that “it’s great as long as we can maintain student enrollment.”
