External Affairs
External Affairs serves to connect our campus in collaborative partnership with local organizations to address issues that positively impact our community. We believe that through this engagement, our students, faculty and staff become knowledgeable, involved citizens within the community we serve and will contribute meaningfully to the overall social and economic success of the region, state and nation.
Community engagement is at the core of our mission, vision and strategic plan as a university. The Office of Community Engagement supports these institutional values by:
- Assessing community needs
- Developing and coordinating strategic, mutually beneficial partnerships
- Reporting and reflecting on the impact of these collaborations to our university and the communities that we serve
Who We Are
Casey Welch, Assistant Vice President for External Affairs and Government Relations
caseywelch@usf.edu 941-359-4572
Casey Welch serves as the assistant vice president for external affairs and government relations at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus. As a member of the University of South Florida Office of Government Relations, he serves as the official liaison between the Sarasota-Manatee campus and government entities. Under External Affairs he oversees community engagement and corporate partnership activities for the campus.
Welch is also is the executive director of the Institute for Public Policy and Leadership at USF. The Institute for Public Policy and Leadership (IPPL) is the designated Office of Public Policy Events at the University of South Florida.
As part of his leadership of IPPL, he serves on the Government Issues Council of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, the Career Edge Regional Workforce Council, the Government Affairs Committee of the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance, the Public Policy Committee of the Venice Area Chamber of Commerce and as Chair of the Legislative Committee for the Manatee Chamber of Commerce.
Before joining USF in 2011, Welch served as senior staffer for a Member of Congress who represented portions of central Florida and the greater Tampa Bay area. Prior to his position in Washington, D.C., Welch worked in the Florida House of Representatives and the Executive Office of the Governor of Florida. He also represented two of Florida’s largest agricultural trade associations at the U.S. Congress and various federal agencies.
Welch is a graduate of Florida State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and history. He is a Sarasota native, former president of the Florida 4-H Foundation and a member of the Mote Marine Laboratory Advisory Council.