University of South Florida

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University of South Florida
University of South Florida Seal
Motto "Truth and Wisdom"
Established 1956
Endowment $310.2 million
President Judy Genshaft
Faculty 2,503
Undergraduates 34,077
Postgraduates 9,961
Location Tampa, Florida, USA
Campus 1,913 acres (7.74 km²)
Colors Green and Gold
Nickname Bulls
Mascot Rocky the Bull
Website http://www.usf.edu

The University of South Florida (USF) is a public university system located in Tampa, Florida, USA, with an autonomous campus in St. Petersburg, and branch centers in Sarasota and Lakeland. The main campus is located in North Tampa, near the city of Temple Terrace. Bordered on the south by Fowler Avenue and on the north by Fletcher Avenue, 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, with a total enrollment of 44,038 for the 2006 academic year. USF is currently ranked ninth in the country in terms of enrolled students.

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 university president Betty Castor in the 1990s. As such, USF takes great pride to advertise its position as a research university in promotional advertisements and brochures.

USF's mascot is the Bull 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 history honor society.

Contents

[edit] History

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

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 "University of the Western Hemisphere", "Citrus State University", "Sunshine State University" and "The University of Florida at Temple Terrace." [1] 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. However, growing student unrest pressured Allen to resign from his post; he had traditionally been very firm in punishing protesters in a time of general unrest throughout the nation. Today, the main administration complex is called The John and Grace Allen Center, named after him and his wife.

USF emerged as a major research institution during the 1980s, under the presidency of John Lott Brown, Ph.D. [2] President Brown appointed talented underlings such as Jim Strange, Ph.D., Dean of Arts and Letters, and Lee Rose, Head Coach for basketball. Two university hospitals, The H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and USF Psychiatry Center were built during Brown's presidency as well as the college of public health. However, Brown's popularity waned because he tried to micromanage administrative decisions. Currently, USF is considered one of the top universities in Florida, being named a first-tier research university in 1998. Recently USF surpassed the $300 million mark in research grant funding [3]. In addition to a heightened emphasis on research and academia, the university played its first football game in 1997, with its marching band, the Herd of Thunder, forming in 1999.

WUSF-TV
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WUSF-TV

[edit] University Media

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, University of South Florida's own newspaper and was first published on September 6, 1966 as a weekly. Today The Oracle is published five times a week and has a circulation of more than 12,000. The student radio station, WBUL, is located in the Phyllis P. Marshall Center, the student union named for an administrator who spent 40 years at USF. [4] The school also operates WUSF, an FM station which offers classical and jazz music and NPR programming.

[edit] Current

2006 is the fiftieth anniversary of USF's existence, and with it brings special events, plans for a bigger student union, and famous guest lecturers, such as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Fernando Chavez, and Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard.

[edit] Art

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.

[edit] Athletics

See also: South Florida Bulls football

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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 for studying and tutoring.
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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 for studying and tutoring.

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.

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 a $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.

Old USF athletic logo
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Old USF athletic logo

Coach Jim Leavitt has enjoyed success in the first nine 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 only its second win over a ranked opponent by beating widely favored #7 West Virginia University on November 25, 2006.

USF, which was passed up for bowls in 2001 and 2002, was extended an invitation to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl on December 31, 2005 against N.C. State from the ACC. The bowl game was only the 100th football game in school history, a feat unmatched in NCAA Division 1-A history.

[edit] Housing

Beta Hall, which houses first-year "University Experience" students, was built in the early 1960s, and is the largest residence hall on the Tampa campus.
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Beta Hall, which houses first-year "University Experience" students, was built in the early 1960s, and is the largest residence hall on the Tampa campus.

Students mostly live off-campus or at home and drive to class. Despite demand for on-campus housing rising for the last five years, thirteen percent of USF's student body (approximately 5,600 students) lives in a university residence hall. Many students find it much more cost effective and desirable to live in one of the many apartment complexes near campus that cater specifically 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 let the lease expire on Fontana Hall, located outside campus boundaries.

Most housing on-campus was built rapidly from 1960 to 1965, and each hall was named after a Greek letter. Older residence halls, such as Beta Hall (which houses freshmen only), Betty Castor Hall (formerly Gamma Hall, women-only), and Kosove Apartments (formerly Alpha Hall, upperclassmen) 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.

Betty Castor's contributions to the University, and A. Harrison and Ruth Kosove's donations have caused two of the "Greek letter" halls to be renamed. Newer housing subdivisions, such as the Cypress Suites and Apartments, Maple Hall, Holly Apartments, and the Magnolia Apartments, were built starting in the late 1990s, with the Cypress complex last to be completed, in the summer of 2004.

In 2006, construction will begin on a project tentatively titled "Magnolia Towers." The new 1,000-bed endeavor will be built near the existing Magnolia Apartments complex, and will be taller than any current housing structure at USF, possibly reaching as high as eight or nine stories. Magnolia Towers will also bring with it a parking garage structure, a gym annex, and another dining hall. After Magnolia Towers is completed, the president and the Board of Trustees will decide whether or not any of the Andros Complex buildings will be demolished. With the addition of Magnolia Towers, the Board of Trustees will also decide whether or not to make on-campus housing mandatory for first-year students.

[edit] Fraternities and sororities

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.

All nine of the "Divine Nine" black Greek fraternities and sororities also have chapters on the USF campus.

[edit] Fraternities

[edit] Sororities

[edit] Points of interest

The USF Sun Dome, where many sporting and live entertainment events are held.
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The USF Sun Dome, where many sporting and live entertainment events are held.
Palm Ave. and the water tower, the tallest structure on campus. In 2005, the logo on the water tower was changed from the older version (seen here) to the "iconic bull" font (seen below).
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Palm Ave. and the water tower, the tallest structure on campus. In 2005, the logo on the water tower was changed from the older version (seen here) to the "iconic bull" font (seen below).
The new water tower design.
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The new water tower design.

[edit] School Songs

Golden Brahman March (Fight Song)

USF Bulls are we,
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!

Alma Mater

Hail to Thee, our Alma Mater
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!

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Graduates

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

[edit] Former students

[edit] External links

State University System of Florida
Florida A&M University • Florida Atlantic University • Florida Gulf Coast University • Florida International University • Florida State University • New College of Florida • University of Central Florida • University of Florida • University of North Florida • University of South Florida • University of West Florida


Big East Conference
Football: Cincinnati • Connecticut • Louisville • Pittsburgh • Rutgers • South Florida • Syracuse • West Virginia
Non-football: DePaul • Georgetown • Marquette • Notre Dame • Providence • St. John's • Seton Hall • Villanova
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