Welcome to the March edition of Campus Insider, a monthly newsletter from the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, featuring exciting university news, research and stories of impact. Highlights this month include a look back at the 30th Brunch on the Bay, the recent Wall Street Trading with Bloomberg Day and how our researchers are working to address substance misuse and addictions in the Manatee-Sarasota community.
Brunch on the Bay raises more than $400,000 for student scholarships
Over the past 30 years, Brunch on the Bay has provided $1.2 million in scholarships to some 2,500 students.
USF conference takes aim at addictions in Manatee and Sarasota counties
Duvall Conference will kick off USF's effort to help local governments and other organizations to fight addictions and substance misuse.
College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing will foster USF-wide
collaborations
USF’s newest college is set to revolutionize education by producing job-ready professionals in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and computing. By integrating AI across disciplines in all USF colleges, this forward-thinking initiative will equip graduates with cutting-edge skills to thrive in the 21st-century workforce.
High schoolers discover how USF and Bloomberg Lab can prepare them for Wall Street
USF Sarasota-Manatee's Bloomberg Lab is a gateway students can take to lucrative careers in business, finance and investing.
Leadership USF class learns about what makes Sarasota-Manatee campus ‘a true gem’
Members of the inaugural Leadership USF class, a group of community leaders from across Tampa Bay convened by President Rhea Law to build new collaborations with the university and each other, visited USF Sarasota-Manatee to learn about myriad programs that make the campus unique.
USF Academic Success Center expansion boosts student achievement
Many of the gains can be attributed to a new care management model that provides students with tailored support on academic and non-academic issues.
Nault Center for Entrepreneurship celebrates successful rollout of first-of-its-kind
Every Student Entrepreneur program
The program is open to all USF students, particularly those majoring in entrepreneurship, and empowers students to launch businesses while in school.
Early bird registration has opened for the 2025 Summer Grant Writing Workshops Program hosted by the Sarasota-Manatee campus. The 8-week program is designed to guide grant seekers through the basics of the application process to develop competitive research proposals. Join to learn the latest in grant writing techniques and strategies to attract funding for your projects. The early bird registration period ends April 25.
Sunshine From Darkness, part of the Bob and Lee Peterson Foundation of Sarasota, is sponsoring The Resilience Collective: USF Student Edition, a three-session lunch-and-learn or afternoon social program designed to empower students with resilience-building skills, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. on April 3, 9 and 16. With a focus on interactive workshops, this program supports student well-being, collaboration and career readiness.
USF Youth Experiences is accepting registrations for the Judy Genshaft Honors College Mock Trial Intensive for 10th through 12th graders, July 10-12, on the Sarasota-Manatee campus. The program offers high school students a unique chance to dive into the world of law and gain real courtroom experience in Sarasota-Manatee. Beyond skill development, the camp provides invaluable exposure to the legal profession, featuring panels with legal experts and culminating in a mock trial at Stetson Law School.
Unlock the full potential of Generative AI (GenAI) with the free self-paced GenAI in Action: Impact and Possibilities micro-course from USF. The course is designed to help participants understand and use GenAI in meaningful ways, including leveraging GenAI thoughtfully and ethically.
Professor Ehsan Sheybani,who teaches in both the Muma College of Business and the College of Engineering, is part of a research team that received an Early-Stage Innovation Fund award. Now in its fifth year, this initiative supports pioneering research projects with significant commercial potential, providing each selected faculty-led team with seed funding to advance their innovations toward market readiness. The winning project, “Wearable Electronics Printer for Electronic Circuits on Fabrics,” focuses on automating a copper circuit printing system for wearable electronics by integrating smart algorithms and machine learning. This innovation could transform industries such as healthcare, fitness and defense by enabling seamless integration of electronics into fabrics. The project is co-led by Arash Takshi of the College of Engineering.
USF is accepting applications for up to $4,000 in scholarships for students who plan to live in Atala Residence
Hall during the 2025-2026 academic year.
USF Sarasota-Manatee's Support-A-Bull Food Pantry is available to students to address food insecurity by providing supplemental food
and toiletry items to students in need. Donations are accepted Monday through Friday
at the Main Rotunda desk. List of high demand items.
Interim Regional Chancellor Brett Kemker will host a First Thursday social hour on the terrace at the Student Center and Atala Residence Hall from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6.
In the News:
The Observer published a gallery of photos taken during the 30th Brunch on the Bay on March 2.
Interim Regional Chancellor Brett Kemker and Marrie Neumer, associate vice president for development, were interviewed on ABC 7’s “Suncoast View” about Brunch on the Bay and other recent campus news.
ABC Action News (Tampa) interviewed economics Associate Professor Michael Snipes about how new tariffs would affect Americans.
10 Tampa Bay interviewed Triparna de Vreede, an assistant business professor and direction of the Behavioral AI Lab, about how artificial intelligence is used in online romance scams.