Dear USF faculty and staff,
We are delighted to welcome you to another exciting academic year at the University of South Florida!
With fall classes beginning and campus activities in full swing, there are many reasons for us to be optimistic about USF’s bold trajectory.
- This year, USF received a record number of applications from first time in college
(FTIC) students. For fall/summer 2024, more than 68,000 students applied to USF, an
increase of approximately five percent from last year and over 35 percent from just
three years ago. The strong demand to attend USF has resulted in a large, high-achieving
class of enrolled FTIC students, which we look forward to telling you more about in
the coming days.
- Our residence halls are full of energy as more students than ever before will live on campus this fall. For the first time, we have students living on campus
at USF Sarasota-Manatee, as we officially celebrated the opening of the new Campus Student Center and Atala Residence Hall last week.
- We are pleased to have hundreds of new highly accomplished faculty members join USF across our three campuses and USF Health.
This talented group will elevate our university in many ways through their teaching
and research excellence.
- I invite you to read about how we are continuing to enhance the on-campus experience at USF this year, including new campus recreation facilities, dining options, library renovations and much more.
It is important for me to reaffirm that the safety and well-being of the university community is our highest priority. As part of our commitment to provide a welcoming environment, we urge everyone to do their part to ensure that USF is a place where we always treat each other with respect. We condemn hate speech, and will not tolerate discrimination, antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism or bigotry.
USF values the right to free speech, expression and the open exchange of ideas, which we recognize are central to the mission of a university, even if we strongly disagree or find some of what is said to be offensive. However, we will not allow violent, disruptive or aggressive acts that do not comply with university policy or the law.
Over the summer, we updated our policy regarding on-campus activities to more clearly reflect our expectations for maintaining a productive setting for teaching and learning. We have also updated our policy on discrimination and harassment to explicitly prohibit antisemitism and Islamophobia, along with all other instances of hateful expression targeting individuals because of their religion, shared ancestry or cultural heritage. I encourage you to take a few moments to read the message recently shared with our students and our updated policies.
As we embark on this journey together, let us all strive for a semester filled with growth and remain united in our continued pursuit of excellence. I invite you to stay connected with me on X and Instagram, where I regularly share updates that showcase our institution’s impact within our communities.
I wish you all a successful start to the academic year. Go Bulls!
Sincerely,
Rhea F. Law
President