最新天美传媒

State Budget Update

 Dear USF community,

The Florida Legislature has completed its work on the state budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. In the coming days, the Legislature is expected to vote to approve the budget and associated bills and then send them to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his review, approval and line-item veto consideration before the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2026.

During the budget negotiation process, the Legislature agreed to adopt the governor鈥檚 proposal to transfer facilities on the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus to New College of Florida while USF will retain more than $22 million in recurring operating funds currently associated with that campus. Keeping those operating dollars is critical because it allows us to retain all our faculty and staff and teach-out all current students whose home campus is Sarasota-Manatee. Though this proposal is not final until Gov. DeSantis signs the bill, we have created an initial list of FAQs should he approve. Right now, I know there are some unanswered questions, but we will continue to post information as quickly and clearly as possible throughout this process.

I fully recognize that this agreement creates significant uncertainty and anxiety for our dedicated, outstanding faculty, staff and students. My focus remains the same as it has always been: To take care of our people, to communicate with transparency and to support the workforce needs of the Sarasota-Manatee community.

Our students will have the opportunity to finish their USF degrees in Sarasota-Manatee without disruption. The bill requires USF students to have first priority for use of the facilities on the campus during the multi-year teach-out process.

We will retain all our faculty and staff, allowing them to continue to make important contributions to the success of our university. They will always be a key part of USF鈥檚 future. Our students, faculty and staff will remain at the center of every decision we make.

My commitment is that USF will still be a strong partner for the Sarasota-Manatee community. We will reach out to our stakeholders to work together to determine how our university can continue to help the region鈥檚 growth, and I will soon be visiting the campus in coordination with Interim Regional Chancellor Brett Kemker. USF鈥檚 strength is not a collection of buildings and land; our real strength has been, and always will be, our people.

In other portions of the state budget, I am pleased to share that USF will receive significant new funding for key capital projects and important university initiatives that will enhance student success, research excellence and our institution鈥檚 overall impact. As legislators have continued to prioritize reducing the state鈥檚 total budget this year and stress the need for universities to operate efficiently, we deeply appreciate their increased financial support.

Below is a summary of the newly proposed investments in USF, agreed upon by the Legislature in its budget negotiations in recent weeks:

USF Operating Budget

• A $3.5 million recurring and $2 million nonrecurring increase to USF鈥檚 operational budget. Among the use of these funds is to expand critical research initiatives, including at the Darryl E. Rouson Center for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Research.
• Over $4 million recurring and $2 million nonrecurring operational support for the Florida Institute for Parkinson鈥檚 Disease at USF Health which was established in law last year. This funding will continue to position USF as a national leader in Parkinson鈥檚 and related neurological research and advance discovery and improve outcomes for patients living with Parkinson鈥檚 disease.

USF Facilities

• $25 million to construct a new facility that will house the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing that will help further position Tampa Bay as a global leader in these fields. The state funds will supplement the record-setting $40 million private gift from Arnie and Lauren Bellini to support this new college.
• $10 million for phase one of the design and construction of the USF Health Translational Research Institute facility, which will be a transformational health research facility and allow USF to grow our research portfolio and bring the university closer to reaching its goal of securing $1 billion in annual research funding.
• $8 million to invest in various campus life facility projects, funded by the Capital Improvement Trust Fund.

In addition, the following special initiatives for USF were also funded:

• A $3 million nonrecurring investment to grow USF's initiatives that bolster national and critical infrastructure security.
• A $200,000 nonrecurring increase for the Center for Neuromusculoskeletal Research within USF Health.

I am also pleased that the Legislature authorized the use of debt to pay for the construction and development of the USF Fletcher District, which will be a vibrant, transformational mixed-use project. This authorization helps ensure the district will open on schedule for USF students and the community in fall 2028.

Given the state鈥檚 overall budget constraints, USF has fared well with funding and we are grateful for the continued investments during this year鈥檚 session from the members of the Legislature, including Senate President Ben Albritton, House Speaker Daniel Perez and our entire Tampa Bay Area Legislative Delegation. Additionally, we are grateful for the leadership of the Board of Governors, including Chair Alan Levine and Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, for their work on behalf of the State University System. I also appreciate Acting Chair Mike Griffin and our Board of Trustees for their guidance and strong advocacy for USF.

I also want to recognize our elected officials, particularly from Pinellas County, for their outreach since the devastating fire at the Marine Science Laboratory on the St. Petersburg campus earlier this month. 最新天美传媒 is still assessing the damage and working to get a more complete understanding of our needs to rebuild. While we want to move quickly, we know this will take time, and we are still going through the insurance process. As we gather more information, we will continue our discussions with legislators going into next year鈥檚 session.

In addition, it is important for me to thank our students, faculty, staff, alumni, community partners and friends of the university for everything you do to embody the impact that Bulls everywhere are making and to show our state leaders that USF delivers the strongest possible return on their investment. Together, we will continue USF鈥檚 incredible trajectory and accelerate our momentum.

Sincerely,
President
Moez Limayem, PhD