University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee to establish STEM college for fall 2016
MANATEE -- Aligning with state standards and local industry needs, University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee will establish a new STEM college in the fall.
The College of Science and Mathematics will group the existing science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- more commonly called STEM -- programs under one category to better serve students, officials told the Bradenton Herald on Thursday.
"We thought if we could better align students and faculty we could build a lot of synergy there," said Sandra Stone, regional chancellor at USF Sarasota-Manatee.
With the change, the university also will rename the College of Arts & Sciences as the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, moving the school of education into the college. The business college and the hospitality college will remain unchanged.
The move, which officials described as mostly administrative, will not eliminate any existing program and will not immediately add any new programs. The official changeover will be in effect for the 2016 fall semester.
Plans for the change began more than a year ago, said Terry Osborn, regional vice chancellor for academic and student affairs. A task force was created
to see how challenges facing the college could be addressed. What bubbled to the top was creating this type of science and technology-focused school.
"We're really excited," he said.
Industry, state push
The rise in technology and machinery is spilling over from the traditional sciences into many other fields, Stone said, creating an exciting time for a university to establish such a program. With the region's focus on biosciences, health care, water and agriculture, the program has potential to hit many fields.
"The crossover is perfect to serve this community," said Charlie Terenzio, director of communications and marketing.
The establishment of the new college also falls in line with pushes from Gov. Rick Scott's office to create more science and technology-based programs to match state workforce needs. Officials say the centralized college will better tap into grant funds and other industry partnerships to strengthen the programs.
"It's really drawing from the community," Terenzio said.
The new college may also help the university on the state funding model, meaning more funds channel back into the programs for students and faculty as well.
Preparing for a new college
Officials are starting the process to bring in a founding dean for the college and, although Stone said it's a little late in the academic recruiting cycle, she'd hoping the novelty of establishing a new college will bring in attractive dean candidates.
"It's really an opportunity to shape a whole new college," Stone said.
A lot of back-end changes will be done in preparation for the new college, including recoding all course names, creating a faculty bylaws committee and creating new accounting lines for funding.
"There's a lot of detailed work that goes into it," Osborn said.
While the new college will take a lot of detailed work, Stone said other signature programs in the university will continue to thrive. The comparison she's made in the community is that of a kaleidoscope.
"We're shifting the focus a little," she said. "We're not stopping doing anything."
With the increase in technology across all sectors, the new college can help strengthen the existing programs as well.
The College of Arts & Social Sciences will include the School of Education, a Department of Liberal arts and a Department of Social Sciences. The College of Business and the College of Hospitality and Tourism Leadership will remain unchanged.
Student opportunities
Most students will not notice a chance in day-to-day operations. The new college does create exciting opportunities, officials said.
The university is in line for new academic buildings in the next few years, including one built primarily to serve the science and math programs, with labs and other specialized equipment. The new college will also open the doors for more undergraduate research, partnering with the faculty in new areas.
It is easy to involve undergraduate students in science research because it can often involve a lot of faculty-supervised lab work.
Those real-world experiences help gives USF Sarasota-Manatee students an edge when it comes to applying to graduate schools or jobs after graduation.
"Everybody wins," Stone said.
Meghin Delaney, education reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7081. Follow her on Twitter @MeghinDelaney.
This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee to establish STEM college for fall 2016 ."