USF is becoming increasingly competitive.
The university is among the top research schools in the country and a member of the American Association of Universities, along with being a top 50 public university.
The school is gaining a reputation from its STEM program, especially with the rise of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine tower in downtown Tampa.
And it’s investing in on-campus infrastructure and athletics: building an football stadium and a 30-acre mixed-use development on the site of its old Claw golf course.
What kind of role does all that play when it comes to the overall success of the university?
Apparently quite a bit, according to our first guests from USF leadership: Stephanie Harff, who works with enrollment, and provost Prasant Mohapatra
Harff, an associate vice president of strategic enrollment management, says the applicant pool has been getting stronger over the past several years, with increases in grade-point averages and SAT scores.
“I’ve grown up with USF,” says Harff, who has worked for the university since graduating there 35 years ago.
She says the growth becomes evident when talking to “passionate” alumni who now have children applying to attend.
“Even they didn’t understand until their students started coming to admissions events and going on campus tours … how much USF has changed,” she tells host Matthew Peddie. “And they’re so proud of what we’ve become, and that makes them an even more passionate advocate.
Then, the show graduates to the arts.
First, we brush up on the annual SHINE mural festival, which kicks off in St. Petersburg this weekend. Then, we dive into a powerful new book, “Ocean of Bones,” about the quest to find a sunken slave ship near the Florida Keys and trace the survivors.
GUESTS:
- Prasant Mohapatra, USF provost and executive vice president
- Stephanie Harff, USF associate vice president of strategic enrollment management
- Derek Donnelly, muralist
- Helen French, St. Petersburg Arts Alliance executive director
- David Kushner, author and Florida native
- Ken Stewart, Diving With a Purpose
- Kamau Sadiki, Diving With a Purpose lead instructor
