By Jeffrey Waitkevich
The University Student Center is the “heartbeat” of campus according to some higher-level faculty members.
That heartbeat takes $1.7 million per year to keep it pumping.
But where does all that money come from?
According to Anthony Carinci, associate director of the USC, the student body pays for the student center through mandatory fees.
Students are charged $13.80 per credit hour as a student union enhancement fee that makes up part of the activities and services fees, which is also taken out of students’ tuition.
The activities and services fees are then allocated by the Student Government appropriations committee, though they are not permitted to change the USC’s budget in any way.
As a result, roughly $1.7 million of the $3.3 million of activities and services fees are already accounted for before the committee even sits down.
The appropriations budget changes every year based on enrollment, but some parts of the USC’s budget remain fixed.
According to Carinci, $620,000 goes to repaying the loan taken out to construct the USC. That payment will remain fixed until the building is entirely payed off in 2042.
Additional fixed costs include a $70,000 administration fee that is paid to the USF system and another $250,000 that is “dedicated toward on-going and preventative maintenance,” including custodial work, fire protection and risk management insurance.
That leaves around $640,000 for the USC to allocate to staff and student wages, programming, events and the associated equipment and office expenses.
The Division of Student Affairs set this budget based on recommendations by the USC administrators.
Carinci said that the three biggest priorities are student events, USF St. Petersburg’s student employment program and programming for student success.
More specifically, Carinci said that the USC “provides a welcoming environment that every student, regardless of status or major, can enjoy. With this as our main objective, we … enhance the campus community through our student employees, meeting spaces, lounges, and programs.”
Carinci and Dwayne Isaacs, director of student life and engagement, both likened the six-story building to the organ responsible for keeping the human body alive.
“Since the USC opened in August 2012, this building has transformed campus life for students, faculty, and staff in ways that we could not have imagined,” said Isaacs. “(USF St. Petersburg) ‘deserves’ this student union and all that comes along with it.”
The USC staff manages “the furnishings, audio/visual equipment, and reservations for 81 total spaces across eight buildings on campus” that make events like orientation, homecoming and USFSP week possible. It also houses meetings facilities for the university and community to use.
Header photo: Jonah Hinebaugh | The Crow’s Nest
