Lots of people aren't thrilled about the reunification of USF Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee, but elected officials in Pinellas are trying to minimize the damage to the St. Petersburg campus — and the community.
On Thursday, Nov. 29, Congressman Charlie Crist, along with Florida State Senator Darryl Rouson, Florida House Representatives Ben Diamond and Jennifer Webb, the entire Pinellas Board of County Commissioners, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman and the entire St. Petersburg City Council sent a letter to outgoing USF President Judy Genshaft with a list of requests.
Among the requests — which you can read in their entirety here — the elected officials asked that USFSP be allowed to continue hosting both graduate and undergraduate marine science programs, that the campus be granted an arts major, that the campus be granted STEM majors and that the Kate Tiedemann College of Business remain housed and "intact" at the Pinellas campus.
Finally, the representatives asked that USFSP remain accessible to local high school students.
"We share the desire to boost USF’s standing, and the benefits those rankings bring, but would emphasize that USFSP remain attainable for the diverse array of students that call Pinellas County home," the letter reads.
The consolidation, signed into existence by Governor Rick Scott, should take effect in 2020. When it was noticed in the two last pages of 52-page HB 423 earlier this year, the proposed consolidation shocked many.
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