2023 was a historic year for the University of South Florida (USF) and the Judy Genshaft Honors College. The university reached new heights of achievement and the Honors College celebrated the beginning of a new era with the opening of a new world-class facility as well as continued growth across all three USF campuses. As the Honors community looks forward to building on the momentum of 2023 with an even greater 2024, here's a look back at the highlights, accomplishments, and the biggest Honors news stories of the year.
THE TOP 10 STORIES OF 2023
10: RECORD NUMBER OF USF STUDENTS EARN PRESTIGIOUS FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS
With 10 students selected as Fulbright Scholars for the 2022-23 academic year, USF was recognized for the first time as one of Fulbright’s top producing institutions. According to rankings published by the Chronicle of Higher Education, USF was 47th among national doctoral institutions and second in the state of Florida.
Housed in the Judy Genshaft Honors College, the USF Office of National Scholars (ONS) helps guide students through the application process for programs like Fulbright,
providing mentorship both before and after the program.
“As Fulbright U.S. Student Program recipients, these students have connected their
academic and professional pursuits at the University of South Florida to solving real
world challenges in their host communities, leaving lasting and positive impressions,”
said ONS Director Sayandeb Basu. “Our students serve as ambassadors for the United
States abroad and will return with strengthened cultural competencies, research and
teaching skills, thus impacting their home communities in Tampa Bay and beyond.”
9: 2023 HONORS CONVOCATION
The Judy Genshaft Honors College extended a warm welcome to all incoming students with its much-beloved Honors Convocation ceremonies.
Unique ceremonies, rooted in the traditions of each USF campus community, took place in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota-Manatee. Speakers Dr. Sylvia Thomas, Peter Kageyama, and Dr. Cayla Lanier urged students to take risks, immerse themselves in the rich and multifaceted Honors experience, and pursue their passions during their college careers. These inspiring addresses encouraged students to embrace new possibilities, while sharing the many resources and opportunities that USF’s Honors College has to offer.
Dr. Thomas’ key message provided a vibrant refrain for the enthusiastic Honors crowd: “Together, we are an un-stopp-a-Bull force.”
8: JUDY GENSHAFT HONORS COLLEGE HELPS GROW WORLDWIDE CLIMATE TEACH-IN
In March, Honors students and educators collaborated to share information on climate change, climate action, and climate justice as part of the Annual Worldwide Teach-In on Climate and Justice.
Themes such as individual action, systemic change, education, and application were explored through activities like expert panels, climate art exhibits, environmental career fairs and more. As the Honors College looks back at the success of the annual event, plans are already underway to expand beyond the college to a university-wide, weeklong teach-in this spring.
7: JUDY GENSHAFT HONORS COLLEGE CLASS EXPERIENCES THE HIGH SEAS FIRSTHAND
USF Honors students produced creative works of fiction, film, art, and journalistic writing after venturing out into open water in the Gulf of Mexico. During the 2023 Spring Break, Honors students from USF and other State University System (SUS) universities boarded a research vessel and took an overnight trip where they conducted research, watched marine life, and investigated the complex relationship between humans and the ocean.
The trip was part of a new class titled, Honoring the Ocean, which is the product of the collaboration between the Florida Institute of Oceanography and the SUS honors colleges. Before embarking on their sea bound excursion, students completed a six-week online course and experienced a similar trip through the Florida Keys.
6: 2023 GRAND CHALLENGE: ACCESS TO MEANINGFUL WORK
This year, Judy Genshaft Honors College students were challenged to investigate how ideas of social-entrepreneurship could bridge the barriers to employment faced by individuals in the disability community. As part of the 2023 Grand Challenge Competition, teams of students conducted research and developed proposals around these issues, with three groups of finalists ultimately chosen to pitch their solutions to a panel of expert judges.
The winning team, ARThritis, created a non-profit organization to develop employment
opportunities with therapeutic benefits for people with arthritis. Sponsored by the
Richard and Jule Salem Scholars’ Fund for Disability, the ARThritis team will now
work with a local nonprofit, The Well Inc., to implement their idea in the Tampa community.
“It is wonderful to see how creative and passionate our students are in proposing
solutions to problems faced by the disability community,” said Judy Genshaft Endowed
Dean Charles Adams. “Our Honors students continue to strive to better the USF and
Tampa Bay community through their ingenuity. We’re very grateful to Richard and Jule
Salem for making this annual challenge possible!”
5: AN UNBELIEV-A-BULL YEAR ABROAD
Over 200 Honors students enjoyed eleven unique Honors study abroad experiences in 2023, engaging in international programs designed to help students form a greater understanding of global perspectives. While abroad on their globetrotting adventures, Honors students were able to immerse themselves in different cultures, conduct research, sightsee, try new cuisine, and forge lifelong connections.
2024 promises to be another perspective-broadening year, with expanding study abroad options to Japan as part of the Beyond the Classroom Exploring Japanese Medical Humanities program.
4: WELCOME HOME CELEBRATION
The Judy Genshaft Honors College kicked off the Fall semester with a Welcome Home Celebration and Student Lunch hosted by President Emerita Judy Genshaft and her husband Steve Greenbaum.
The event introduced Honors students and their families to their long-anticipated home in the new Judy Genshaft Honors College building on USF’s Tampa campus. A diverse array of local food trucks provided attendees with delicious food and beverages, while live music created a celebratory atmosphere for students and their families to enjoy before they toured the impressive new facility.
3: USF SARASOTA-MANATEE BREAKS GROUND FOR FIRST-EVER STUDENT HOUSING
In March, USF’s Sarasota-Manatee campus broke ground on an ambitious new construction project, as it began work the campuses first-ever on-campus student housing facility. Set to be completed for the start of the Fall 2024 semester, the new six-story housing complex will have living space for up to 200 students, as well as dining halls, a bookstore, event space, lounges, and meeting rooms.
Previously known mainly as a “commuter campus,” the addition of the residence hall will transform the Sarasota-Manatee campus and allow students even more opportunity for community building and increased academic offerings. Honors students will enjoy even more campus events and programming as preparations are underway for a Sarasota-Manatee Honors Living Learning Community. Interested student can learn more here.
2: USF UNVEILS HISTORIC NEW JUDY GENSHAFT HONORS COLLEGE BUILDING
It was a historic day and the moment the Honors community had been waiting for, as USF celebrated the unveiling of the new Judy Genshaft Honors College building on the Tampa campus. Funded largely through philanthropic donations, including a visionary lead gift from USF President Emerita Judy Genshaft and her husband Steve Greenbaum, the five-story, 85,000-square-foot building instantly ranks among the finest Honors facilities in the nation. Featuring open-design classrooms, 39 signature learning lofts, spacious student collaboration spaces, an outdoor terrace and amphitheater, and designated studio spaces for art, music, food and culture, and technology, the building serves as a launching pad for Honors student’s academic aspirations and artistic pursuits.
Speaking at the event, Dean Adams remarked: “What binds these students together in my mind is that they care about making the world a better place. Here they have, at last, an academic home worthy of their dreams.”
1: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA ACCEPTS INVITATION INTO THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES
It would take a truly game-changing event to knock the grand opening of the Judy Genshaft Honors College building from the top spot on the Honors year-in-review list ... But that’s what happened this June, as USF accepted an invitation into the Association of American Universities (AAU).
Comprised of 71 leading research institutions in the United States and Canada, the AAU considers numerous factors for membership, such as research activity, faculty excellence and the quality of educational programs, as well as graduation rates and number of lower-income students who receive financial aid through the federal Pell Grant program. The historic invitation to join the AAU is as a reflection of USF’s unwavering commitment to positively shaping the future of society through education, research, and innovation, as USF is the first public university in Florida to be invited to join the AAU in nearly 40 years and is now one of two institutions from the State University System of Florida to serve as an AAU member.
AAU membership will make USF an even more attractive destination for high-achieving students from across the world. In the past year, USF received a record number of applications and welcomed its largest and strongest academic incoming class, which included 79 National Merit Scholars – a 27 percent increase from the record set the previous academic year.
“Receiving an invitation to join the Association of American Universities is one of the most significant accomplishments in University of South Florida history,” said USF Board of Trustees Chair Will Weatherford. “To be asked by our peers to join such a highly regarded group of the top research universities is a credit to our students, faculty, staff, alumni and other supporters. Having an AAU institution located in Tampa Bay will have a major impact on our region and the state of Florida for generations to come.”