Core Commitments
Engagement and Outreach
Community Engagement
USF’s community engagement is a purposeful means to advance learning and knowledge
for social change and is a fundamental component of an urban research university.
Intentional engagement with the public and private sectors enhances the quality of
research, teaching, and service; delivers meaningful experience and skills to students;
and prepares them to enter the job market or pursue graduate-level studies. It also
fosters collaborations among units across USF and strengthens the relationships that
the university has with its external stakeholders by providing a platform that enables
faculty and students to engage in mutually beneficial
service with community partners in efforts to find solutions to pressing problems.
In this way, USF becomes indispensable to the communities it serves.
A recent example of where USF combined its research and academic delivery to benefit
the larger community was a free, online, seven-week certificate program entitled “Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace,” produced by the Muma College of Business.
With over 130,000 enrollees, the program focused on ways organizations can create
a more diverse workplace, address equity issues, and foster inclusivity. Similarly, as
we emerge from the pandemic, the Muma College of Business also produced a certificate
in “Post-Crisis Leadership.” In this way, USF has responded to pressing contemporary
issues by providing the community with
coping tools—a purposeful means to advance learning and knowledge for social change.
Branding, Marketing, and Communications
USF has a compelling brand narrative that is uncommon across the higher education landscape. Our identity as an urban research university, embedded in a dynamic region in a fast-growing state, offers USF the opportunity to differentiate itself with confidence and clarity. This brand positioning will be incorporated into a marketing and communications campaign that is comprehensive and fully integrated across all our channels and networks, including national and international media, executive thought leadership, social media engagement, digital outreach, and public relations. These activities will enhance USF’s reputation in peer assessments and help USF reach its aspirations of earning eligibility for membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) and becoming a Top-25 public university. In addition, these campaigns enable USF’s reputation to grow, attracting the best and brightest students, faculty, and staff—igniting the virtuous cycle that will bring higher levels of visibility and investment.
Meanwhile, internal communications efforts reflect our clarity of purpose, build trust, and create brand champions among faculty, staff, students, alumni, fans, and community partners. Indeed, our brand is more than our logo or even our story: It represents everything we say and do and how we say and do it.
USF World - Global Engagement
Global engagement is essential to world-class research and educational delivery in our internationally connected world. The University of South Florida’s mission as a global, urban research university includes a deep commitment to addressing the greatest challenges facing communities locally, nationally, and across the world through impactful research and a dedication to student learning that prioritizes intercultural awareness and global literacy.
The University of South Florida is committed to comprehensive and sustainable globalization that prioritizes innovation through research and scholarship, mutually beneficial international partnerships, inbound and outbound student and faculty global mobility, and events and programs that bridge geographical, cultural, and political boundaries. USF has established itself as a leader among higher education institutions in access to global learning opportunities for all students, the global diversity of its study body, and international research partnerships that produce positive societal outcomes.