From the president

For the first time since March 2020, we were back to full operations for the fall semester. And what a semester it has been. We welcomed the largest, most diverse and highest-achieving class of first-year students in our history. The group of nearly 6,400 first-year students included record increases in out-ofstate and international students.

While we all have been grateful for technology that has helped us navigate the challenges created by the pandemic, it has been wonderful to come back together — to see full classrooms and residence halls, in-person events and members of the USF community socializing on our beautiful campuses. Thanks to our students, faculty and staff — and our outstanding health-care professionals — the number of COVID-19 cases has remained low.

This issue of USF magazine is filled with stories about the accomplishments of our students, faculty, staff and alumni. As just one example, we were thrilled to learn that USF is the nation’s fastest-rising university over the past decade, public or private, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 Best Colleges rankings. As the story on page 10 notes, USF ranks as one of the nation’s top 50 public universities.

Another highlight was the return of our Homecoming festivities. Though the heavy rains disrupted some of our activities, they didn’t dampen our Bull spirit. I enjoyed spending time with many of you, including at the 45th Alumni Awards. We recognized seven very deserving recipients for their contributions to USF and the community: Stephanie Goforth, Carrie Williams Nero, Mike Griffin, Tina Johnson, Richard King, Steven Greenbaum and Jeff Vinik. Congratulations also to the winners of the 2021 Fast 56 Awards; you can learn about these impressive Bull-led businesses beginning on page 52.

As alumni and friends of our great university, you know the role USF plays in your lives and in our communities. As you will read in our cover package that begins on page 24, we now know in real-dollar terms how much of an economic catalyst USF is for the state. A report compiled by a team from the Muma College of Business shows that our university had an impact of $6.02 billion across Florida during the 2019-20 fiscal year.

Among the report’s important findings: In the 2019-20 fiscal year, USF-related direct spending, together with ripple effects, supported 68,704 jobs in Florida. Many of the jobs are in high-skill, high-wage, knowledge-based industries, such as life sciences, information technology and financial services. As you will read in the related stories in this issue, the members of the USF community are focused on creating opportunities and contributing to the vibrancy of our region and state.

One of the keys to our ability to have such a positive impact is philanthropy. We recently received a very generous gift from Diamond View Studios and Vū Technologies in Tampa to support virtual production education and training in the Zimmerman School of Advertising & Mass Communications. As the story on page 20 explains, it includes an in-kind contribution of state-of-the-art virtual production technology and camera equipment valued at approximately $500,000. This donation allows our students to gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology and graduate with the skills needed to contribute immediately to the field.

Thank you for all that you do for our students and our university. It is through your continuing support that we are able to maintain our remarkable trajectory. I wish all of you a wonderful holiday season and a new year filled with peace and good health.