USFSM Master Plan Enhances a Vibrant Community

USF Sarasota-Manatee (USFSM) is planning for the future, and that master plan includes some exciting changes for USF’s southernmost regional campus. If all goes as anticipated, Regional Chancellor Dr. Karen A. Holbrook hopes to have shovels in the ground by the end of this year.

So, what’s on the drawing board?

“Right now, the master plan is our vision of what we want this campus to be – a very vibrant community for both residential and non-residential students,” she said.

USFSM’s first residence hall will face Sarasota Bay, which, Dr. Holbrook says, will be a wonderful way to attract students to the campus. The land on which the residence hall will be built is part of the Powel-Crosley Estate, and is currently owned by Manatee County. The County Commission voted unanimously on the concept to transfer the land to USFSM. The hall will be a 200-bed facility that will be shared with New College, with 75 beds for New College students and 125 for USFSM.

A student center is in the early planning stages and will include food service, student government offices, a work-out center, offices and space for meetings, as well as community space.

The centerpiece of the master plan, however, is the new Integrated Science and Technology Complex (ISTC), the only new academic building currently on the drawing board.

“It will accommodate all of our science and technology courses, and those courses will intersect with other programs,” Dr. Holbrook said. “This is a very interdisciplinary campus and the building will allow for cross-over programming. The building is designed with lots of interactive spaces where students can congregate to work together on projects — or socialize.

“Our planning,” Dr. Holbrook added, “also needs to be looking ahead to programs that take into account new technologies: artificial intelligence, 3-D printing, automation and virtual reality. There is no sense designing something for today. You have to design for the future. And that’s our real challenge.”

The timetable for the project is dependent on a few key dates. The agreement that transfers the land must be finalized, Dr. Holbrook explained. Once that is done, it goes to the Board of Trustees for approval, and from there to the Board of Governors. The modified master plan will also be subject to several steps for approval.

“A lot of pieces have to fall into place before any construction can begin. And, at the same time, we will be raising money for ISTC.

“We have two groups planned that are going to help with the fundraising. One will be called Women in STEM or ISTC Women – a group of women who will be role models, mentors, advocates, and fundraisers for this new building. We will also set up an ISTC Advisory Council to help with strategies for fundraising.”

If shovels do indeed go in the ground by the end of this year, the hope is to have a residence hall completed by the fall of 2021. The final academic building, three more residence halls and the boathouse (to support an NCAA Division I women’s rowing team) would be built after that.

“Everything has its time and place,” she said. “And it was time for all of this to happen.”