USF offices to relocate

To alleviate space constraints for two USF colleges and provide them with a more centralized location, the University is relocating its administrative offices, said USF spokesman Michael Hoad.

Several executive services on the Administration Building’s (ADM) second floor will move to the top two floors of the Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions, which is still under construction, off of Fowler Avenue, Hoad said.

The Honors College and the Graduate School will then transfer their offices to ADM, Hoad said. ADM is at the center of campus off Collins Boulevard.

Stuart Silverman, the dean of the Honors College, said there are about 2,300 students enrolled in the college – a number that has “leveled off” over the past four or five years.

The move would make more room for new students and help put the college into the public light, he said.

“If we were in Administration, we would be right in the center of campus,” Silverman said. “We would be in a much more visible place so that when people come to visit the University, we would be the first thing they see.”

The centralized location would give the Honors College, which is on the first floor of the Student Services Building (SVC), and the Graduate School in the Behavioral Science Building (BEH), more direct access to students and increased office space, said Karen Liller, dean of the Graduate School.

“Our current location hinders interaction because people just don’t know where it is,” Liller said. “Although we have room in our current location, we would be much more visible in ADM.”

Hoad said the space left in BEH would facilitate a “much-needed” College of Arts and Sciences expansion. It would provide more classrooms, seminar rooms, student study lounges and offices to house new faculty employees, Hoad said.

The Honors College relocation would foster student support and services expansion in the SVC, Hoad said.

Liller said the move could open up many opportunities for the Honors College and the Graduate School to work together.

“I would love to get a connection with undergraduate and graduate students because we could work with undergraduates more to introduce them to graduate education,” she said.

The Patel Center, scheduled for completion next year, is intended for global programs, Hoad said. He said the top two floors will house the administration offices, which include the President’s suite, the Provost’s office, General Counsel, Public Safety, Business and Finance, Government Relations and University Communications.

However, the move is not permanent. Once the construction is complete, the administration will move to another undetermined location, Hoad said.

Hoad said USF’s next top priority is constructing the Undergraduate Classroom and Support Building, Phase 1, which could also serve as a future home for the Honors College.

However, because of a decrease in available Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) funds, construction will “likely be delayed at least another four to five years,” Hoad said.

According to the Florida Department of Education Web site, PECO funds are “generated through the levy of the gross receipts tax on utilities and are used to accomplish fixed capital outlay projects of the education agencies.”

Details of the new Undergraduate Classroom and Support Building have not been finalized, Hoad said.

“Our students cannot wait, and we need to provide the Honors College and the Graduate School with improved and central locations to enhance their growing programs,” he said.