Photo by Kendall Bulkiewicz | The Crow’s Nest
By Sofía García Vargas
USFSP sets new record of students enrolled for summer 2024 semester
USF St. Petersburg reached a new milestone during the 2024 summer semester, welcoming approximately 770 students — the largest summer enrollment in the campus’s history. Half of these first-time-in-college students opted to live on campus or commute, while the other half began their educational journey remotely.
USFSP adopts new parking classification system
USF St. Petersburg is set to implement significant changes to its parking system, aligning with the classification structure currently in use at the Tampa campus. Beginning after the spring semester, the Green, Gold, Red, and Orange designations were replaced by GZ, E, S, and R classifications. Parking Services plans to update signage across campus, including the parking lots and garage, to reflect these changes.
To enhance monitoring and enforcement, Parking Services introduced a License Plate Recognition (LPR) vehicle. This vehicle will ensure that students and staff are parked in the correct areas by detecting unauthorized vehicles in restricted lots. The LPR system will also track multiple vehicles linked to a single permit, ensuring that only one of the registered vehicles is on campus at a time. While up to three vehicles can be associated with one parking pass, only one may be on campus at a time. If multiple vehicles need to be on campus simultaneously, an additional parking pass will be required.
USF Sarasota-Manatee celebrates milestone with ribbon cutting for first residence hall
On August 19, USF Sarasota-Manatee marked a historic moment with the ribbon-cutting ceremony for its first-ever residence hall, Atala Hall. The six-story, 100,000-square-foot building will soon be home to 200 students, signifying the first major expansion of the Sarasota-Manatee campus since it relocated to its current location in 2006.
Atala Hall, named after the rare tropical butterfly often seen on campus, offers stunning views of Sarasota Bay and the surrounding area from its suites and apartments. The building also houses a student center on its first two floors, featuring a ballroom, bookstore, dining facilities, a game room, study lounges, and offices for USF World, student government, and other student organizations.
The $43 million project, which began construction in spring 2023, represents a significant investment in the campus’s future. Students will begin moving into their new home on Friday, August 23, marking the start of a new chapter for USF Sarasota-Manatee.
USF awards over 2,600 degrees in summer commencement
The University of South Florida awarded more than 2,600 degrees during summer commencement on Saturday, Aug. 3. The ceremonies included recipients of approximately 1,739 bachelor’s, 700 master’s, 162 doctoral and 11 specialist degrees.
The group featured 10 undergraduate students earning a perfect 4.0 GPA, 66 student veterans and graduates from 41 states and 72 nations. More than one out of three graduates (775) are recipients of Pell Grants, reflecting USF’s impact on social mobility.
At 18 years old, the youngest graduate earned a bachelor’s degree in biology. The oldest graduate, who is 67 years old, received a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary social science.
USF ranked No. 1 among Florida’s public universities in Forbes’ top employers list
The University of South Florida has been named one of the best places to work in Florida, according to Forbes’ latest ranking of America’s top employers. USF secured the top spot among the state’s 12 public universities and placed No. 30 overall in Florida across all industries.
The ranking was determined through a partnership between Forbes and market research firm Statista, which surveyed over 160,000 employees from companies with at least 500 people across the United States. Participants rated their likelihood to recommend their employer on a scale of zero to 10.
With approximately 16,000 employees across its Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee campuses, and USF Health, the university continues to be recognized for its positive work environment and strong commitment to its workforce.
