USF surpasses academic benchmarks

TAMPA — The University of South Florida in Tampa has reached the required number of benchmarks to earn the designation as one of Florida's “preeminent” research universities.

USF president Judy Genshaft announced the achievement last week during her annual fall address at the Marshall Student Center. She also says USF has reached a new record-high endowment level.

USF Tampa's six-year graduation rate has increased to a level (70%) that meets preeminence standards, according to a press release. State universities must meet at least 11 of 12 established benchmarks, which are subject to change in the 2018 Florida legislative session.

“Last year we embarked on a path to preeminence, one that required us to dig deeper, work smarter and go further than ever before,” Genshaft says in a statement. “This past year has been truly extraordinary.”

Genshaft also announced the USF System set a new record during the 2016-17 academic year with more than $475 million in research grants and contracts. The amount is up from over $458 million in 2015-16, representing an increase of about 3.6%.

“It's not just the dollars attached to our research productivity,” Genshaft states. “It's also the way we harness it - applying our creativity to real-world problems and finding practical solutions that have a major impact.”

USF's endowment has now reached $441 million, the highest it's ever been. According to the release, only two universities in the country founded after 1950 have endowments higher than USF.

“It's extremely rare,” Genshaft says in the release. “It says a lot about the passion of our supporters, our university, our students, our alums and our community. We are extremely appreciative.”