The top stories of 2024 at USF Sarasota-Manatee

By Marc R. Masferrer, University Communications and Marketing

The University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee in 2024 continued its trajectory of transformative growth, marked most notably by the opening of the new Student Center and Atala Residence Hall. The first major expansion of the campus since it opened in 2006, the debut of the building was a fitting culmination of the leadership of Karen Holbrook, who has announced plans to retire as regional chancellor at the end of the year.

Come ‘home’ to USF Sarasota-Manatee

The University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee changed forever when the first residents moved into the Student Center and Atala Residence Hall in August. USF Sarasota-Manatee was no longer just a “commuter campus,” but had evolved into a place where students could enjoy a full college experience, complete with an on-campus bookstore; dining facilities; offices for student government, other organizations and USF World; and apartments and suites for 200 students.

The mood was electric when university officials and students cut the ribbon on Aug. 19, an excitement that was surpassed only a few days later when the first residents — including members of the first “living learning community” at USF Sarasota-Manatee — moved into their new on-campus homes.

“Those of us who chose the Sarasota-Manatee campus embraced the natural beauty of the grounds, the unique architecture of the buildings, smaller class sizes, great sense of community and collaborative opportunities,” said campus student Gov. Spence Gerber. “Our new student center checks off one box that has been empty for too long. Living on campus!”

Karen Holbrook retires as regional chancellor

Karen Holbrook’s tenure as regional chancellor, which started in January 2018, has been marked by tremendous change and growth at USF Sarasota-Manatee. With Holbrook’s steadfast leadership, the campus emerged from a global pandemic and a consolidation of USF’s three campuses with a larger student enrollment, more robust academic offerings, stronger connections with the community and a new student center and residence hall.

At USF, prior to the regional chancellor position Holbrook held several key leadership roles, including senior vice president for global affairs and international research and senior vice president for research and innovation.

"Joining USF Sarasota-Manatee has been a treasured experience, made meaningful by our dedicated students, faculty and staff who bring our campus values to life,” Holbrook said. “It has been a privilege to lead this remarkable community, and I will always be a proud member of the USF family. I look forward to witnessing all that the university achieves in the future."

Holbrook is being succeeded as interim regional chancellor by Brett Kemker, vice provost and regional vice chancellor of academic affairs and student success on the Sarasota-Manatee campus.

New academic programs

Students returning to USF Sarasota-Manatee this fall had three new majors to choose from, including behavioral healthcare, business analytics & information systems and health sciences — USF’s most popular undergraduate program. At the same time, the master's in criminal justice program added a new administration concentration.

"These programs will address local and regional needs by providing comprehensive education and training in critical fields," said Brett Kemker, vice provost and regional vice chancellor of academic affairs and student success. "Our faculty in each of these key areas brings a wealth of knowledge and deep subject matter expertise that significantly enhances experiential learning opportunities for our students. These new offerings will make USF Sarasota-Manatee an even more attractive option for students."

Hurricane disruptions

Three hurricanes that rocked the Tampa Bay region — Debby in August; Helene in September; and Milton in October — spared the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus of major damage, but they each brought their disruptions.

Debby forced a two-week delay in the ribbon cutting for the Student Center and Atala Residence Hall, and Helene and Milton, the latter of which made landfall just a few miles south of USF Sarasota-Manatee, forced the closing of all USF campuses for multiple days. Hurricane Milton, which caused destruction throughout the Sarasota-Manatee community, led officials to reschedule Brunch on the Bay, the campus’s signature fundraiser originally planned for Nov. 3, for March 2.

The hurricanes also highlighted the hurricane-related research of several USF faculty members.

College of Education in the community

In recent years, the College of Education on the Sarasota-Manatee campus has established a dynamic presence in the Manatee and Sarasota public school districts, marked, for example, by paid internships for USF teaching students, an Educator Signing Day celebrating graduates as they sign their first teaching contracts and faculty-run programs designed to strengthen the quality of teaching and leadership in local classrooms.

A hallmark of these efforts in 2024 was an award of more $250,000 from the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation of Sarasota to provide full scholarships to a cohort of 15 K-12 teachers from the Sarasota and Manatee school districts who are beginning graduate work in educational leadership in the College of Education at USF Sarasota-Manatee.

Another donor, CORE Construction, which managed the construction of the Student Center and Atala Residence Hall, provided $42,000 for a USF program that prepares teachers to be leaders at their schools, and organized a benefit golf tournament that raised an additional $56,000. The Manatee Community Foundation also provided $7,500 for the Grow Your Own Teacher Leader, or GYOTL, program.

Campus hosts Latino high school students

About 60 Latino high school students enrolled in a college preparation program organized by UnidosNow, a local community organization, spent almost two weeks of their summer at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee learning what it might be like to attend USF.

The students were part of UnidosNow’s Future Leadership Academy, described on the group’s website as “a rigorous year-round program focused on addressing the disparity in college enrollment of low-income, first-generation Latinx high school students and their families in Sarasota and Manatee counties.”

Brett Kemker, regional vice chancellor of academic affairs and student success, noted that about 20% of the students at USF Sarasota-Manatee are of Hispanic/Latino origin, and many are the first in their families to attend college. “We provide the best support to each and every student,” Kemker told the students. “Take the tour and feel the vibe. This can be your home.”

Going green: Teaching lab earns certification for sustainability efforts

The USF Sarasota Manatee teaching lab’s two-year goal to earn My Green Lab Certification has come true. The lab, located eight miles from the USF Sarasota Manatee campus at the Mote Marine Research Lab and Aquarium, serves as a teaching lab for undergraduates who are earning a degree in majors requiring a lab component, such as biology, biomedical sciences, chemistry or cellular biology. According to laboratory manager Victoria Ramirez, about 250 students use the lab each week.

Earning a 93 percent assessment score places the lab in the highest level for certification — the “green level,” which is a designation given only to labs that meet 80 percent or more of overall sustainability processes assessed. USF now joins a community of hundreds of labs that have been deemed My Green Lab certified.

“I am really proud of our accomplishment,” Ramirez said. “It recognizes our initiative to move toward a sustainable future and validates our efforts by achieving Green Status. I’m thankful for the hard work and dedication of my team and support of my supervisor Dr. Paul Kirchman to pursue this designation.”

Bloomberg lab gets an upgrade

USF Sarasota-Manatee's pioneering Bloomberg Lab, which since 2017 has given finance students an invaluable edge as they enter the workforce, received a makeover this year, complete with 12 new Bloomberg Terminals, a new scrolling stock ticker and other enhancements.

The best evidence of its success may be that an identical lab opened this year on the Tampa campus.

“We are at a point where the Bloomberg Lab facilities are ready to explode as far as competitions, outreach to community and the combined efforts of our campuses,” said Joni Jones, Sarasota-Manatee campus dean for the Muma College of Business. “That will make our students stand out from other students who are graduating with finance degrees.”