USF Day at the Capitol gave students and university leaders a chance to advocate for the institution’s 2022 priorities at the start of this year’s legislative session.
Courtesy of USF
By Sophia George
Florida state legislators proposed hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for all three University of South Florida campuses as well as USF Health –– resulting in a successful legislative session.
In January, dozens of USF students gathered at the State Capitol in Tallahassee for USF Day at the Capitol, alongside USF Interim President Rhea Law, Board of Trustees Chair Will Weatherford, Vice Chair Mike Griffin, St. Petersburg campus Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock and Sarasota-Manatee campus Regional Chancellor Karen Holbrook.
The students and university leaders advocated for USF’s 2022 priorities, which included a $50 million increase in USF’s operational budget, at least $30 million to begin construction on the USF Environmental and Oceanographic Sciences Research and Teaching Facility on the St. Petersburg campus, over $18 million for research labs on the Tampa campus and $3 million to build a new STEM facility on the Sarasota-Manatee campus.
The effort put forth by students, faculty and leaders proved successful –– as of March 10, the 2022-2023 state budget includes significant funding for several higher education institutions including USF, according to a press release.
“We owe deep gratitude to our legislative leaders, especially USF alum and Speaker of the [Florida’s] House [of Representatives] Chris Sprowls, Senate President Wilton Simpson and the entire Tampa Bay Legislative Delegation for their recognition of USF’s immense value to our community, to our state and to the world,” Law said.
“The investments proposed for USF will help us continue our tremendous momentum and have a lasting impact on the Tampa Bay region for generations to come.”
“I am also deeply grateful to our students, faculty, staff, alumni and other supporters for all that they do to positively impact our community and our state, making USF such a compelling investment for the future,” Law said.
The state’s proposed investments agreed upon by the Legislature are as follows:
USF’s Operating Budget Priorities
- $55 million recurring increase in USF’s operational budget –– the largest single-year investment in operational support that the university has ever received.
- Over $20 million for cybersecurity workforce development and research.
- $37 million for Cyber Florida at USF to perform cybersecurity vulnerability assessments, develop improvements and solutions and to train state and local government employees against cyber-attacks.
- $12 million to expand USF’s nursing programs and operate the Florida Center for Nursing at the university’s College of Nursing.
- Over $5 million to fund the Florida Flood Hub for Applied Research and Innovation at the College of Marine Science on the St. Petersburg campus.
- $500,000 to fund a study on the effectiveness of hyperbaric chamber therapy in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Over $306,000 for the St. Petersburg campus’ Citizen Scholars Partnership program.
USF’s Construction and Maintenance Priorities
- $75 million to fund the construction of the Environmental and Oceanographic Sciences Research and Teaching Facility on the St. Petersburg campus.
- $33 million to remodel USF Health facilities and add new state of the art simulation equipment.
- $3 million to plan the construction of the new Nursing/STEM Building on the Sarasota-Manatee campus.
- Over $6 million funded by the Capital Improvement Trust Fund to invest in campus life facility projects on all three campuses.
- Over $72 million for maintenance and repair of existing USF facilities on all three campuses.
According to the press release, the $75 million going towards the Environmental and Oceanographic Sciences Research and Teaching Facility on USF’s St. Petersburg campus will help foster more research opportunities to address environmental challenges such as climate change and sea level rise.
Tadlock expressed his gratitude for the historic investment and explained the opportunities and benefits of the new facility.
“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,” Tadlock said. “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.”
The funding for the new nursing and STEM building on the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus will allow for more advanced research labs, additional majors in engineering and technology as well as help alleviate the regional nursing shortage.
“The USF Sarasota-Manatee campus is particularly grateful to the Legislature for recognizing the desperate need for well-trained nurses and investing in the future STEM workforce. We are committed to developing and growing programs that directly impact the continued success and attractiveness of the region –– for students, families, companies and the Florida economy,” Holbrook said.
Additionally, Dr. Charles Lockwood, senior vice president of USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, spoke on the investments in USF Health.
“USF Health will use their portion of these funds to greatly expand USF’s nursing program to address the state’s acute nursing workforce shortage, and to support our world-class USF Health research, educational and clinical programs, which enhance the economic well-being of our region and the personal health of all Floridians,” Lockwood said.
On March 14, the legislature voted on these funding initiatives in the state budget and will send it to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his review and approval over the coming weeks.
