An update on the on-campus football stadium, a look at record-breaking successes, and the latest on a planned multi-use development were among the highlights of University of South Florida president Rhea Law’s annual fall address.
One of the things she mentioned during Thursday’s speech was the Claw, the defunct golf course located just north of the Tampa campus.
"Our goal is to make this a project that will transform [the Claw] into a pedestrian-friendly and accessible space,” said Law. “A whole new area that will focus on new housing, on dining options, on retail stores, on academic and research facilities, on recreational spaces and open spaces, and other amenities.”
The proposed community hub will be built to accommodate the school’s growing student body, but Law wants it to be clear that the area is not only for students, but for faculty, staff, alumni and visitors.
RELATED: The former Claw golf course could become part of an imagined USF Main Street
She also addressed environmental concerns raised by USF faculty and students since the proposed development of the area was announced in 2021.
“The USF Forest Preserve is going to be maintained. It will not be developed,” said Law. “We are committed to maintaining the preserve and to providing research opportunities for our students and our environmental experts, because that is a treasure for us and something that should be appreciated by all.”
USF anthropology professor Christian Wells thinks the plans sound great for the USF community, but is still worried on how this will impact the ecosystem. In an email, he said that current land use around the preserve is relatively low impact, and the upcoming project could change this.
“The proposed redevelopment represents [a] much higher impact, in terms of people, activities, wastes, and so on. My continued concern is about how the redevelopment — both the process and the final build-out — will impact the environmental integrity of the Forest Preserve,” he said.
Evangeline Linkous, director of USF’s Urban and Regional Planning Program, pointed out the harm golf courses can have on the environment.
"They use a tremendous amount of water, and most notably, they are big users of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. That's not what you really want located next to a sensitive water body in wetland systems,” said Linkous.
“So potentially well-designed urban type of use could actually be less harmful to the Forest Preserve and the waterways that are located adjacent there."
There's no timetable for when the development will even begin, as the university has yet to request proposals.
One university project that is much further along is the long-awaited on-campus football stadium. Law said that a groundbreaking ceremony is set for Oct. 18, in conjunction with Homecoming Week. The stadium is scheduled to open in time for the 2027 football season.
Law highlighted other recent USF milestones, such as accepting an invitation to join the Association of American Universities (AAU).
USF also posted several record-breaking achievements, with more than 68,000 undergraduate applications for fall/summer 2024 and $692 million in research funding in the 2023 fiscal year.
“We are doing the work now to position ourselves for the future. The challenges and opportunities awaiting us underscore the importance of our mission as a public research university,” said Law.
“Institutions of higher learning such as ours are the future, and we can only move forward by continuing to innovate and set new standards.”
Law also mentioned that eligible out-of-unit administrative and staff employees will receive raises of up to 3%, starting Oct. 11. The raises will be reflected in paychecks starting Nov. 1.
This follows the USF Board of Trustees voting Tuesday to approve a 30% raise for Law. With the $282,000 increase, Law will be paid $825,000. It’s the first increase since March 2022.
The Board also approved an increase to Law’s performance-based bonus. Trustees have indicated that the raise puts Law more in line with other Florida University presidents.
