Bulls Notebook: USFSM anticipates fall enrollment jump

Admissions officials say they expect to welcome at least 114 first-year students this fall, eclipsing a record set in 2014 when the campus shifted to a four-year institution and admitted freshmen for the first time. Ninety-one enrolled that fall.

“This says that the community is beginning to recognize the quality of education available at this research-active university that is a part of the USF System,” Interim Regional Chancellor Dr. Terry Osborn said during a ceremony this week recognizing the Admissions team.

Andrew Telatovich, director of Admissions and Financial Aid, cited several factors for the enrollment jump, including USFSM’s recruiting efforts at local schools, the campus’ low tuition – roughly $5,580 per year – and its low student-to-faculty ratio of 13:1, which promotes interaction between students and professors as well as personalized attention.

“We have a great group of local high school counselors and teachers that we work with to help spread the word on what USF Sarasota-Manatee has to offer their students,” he said.

Also contributing, the campus has introduced several academic programs in recent years, launched a College of Science & Mathematics and made numerous improvements to impact student life, from a new sand volleyball court and basketball court to a new Student Commons and fitness center. Additionally, the campus is now planning an on-campus café to be run by students and faculty.

The growth is greater compared with last year. If the numbers hold, USFSM can expect to see a 31-percent increase in freshman enrollment compared with last fall when 87 freshman students enrolled.

“The quality of education that students receive on our campus, the small classroom environment and affordability make USFSM a great option as we become more well-known as a four-year campus,” Telatovich said.

USFSM redoubles its recycling efforts

USF Sarasota-Manatee is reinvigorating its commitment to recycling by introducing a single-stream recycling program to cut down on landfill waste.

The program debuted a week ago when the campus replaced its regular-sized trash cans in offices and classrooms with mini-cans that attach to the sides of blue recycling bins.

The idea is to make faculty, staffers and students think about what they discard. The blue bins accept more than white paper: The now accept cardboard, newspapers, magazines, glass and plastic bottles, jars, metal cans and dairy and juice containers.

“I applaud this small action that I think will have a large positive effect!” Dr. Jane Rose, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, said in an email to Richard Lyttle, director of Facilities Planning & Management.

Students return from Folklife Festival

The group of USF Sarasota-Manatee students that traveled to Washington, D.C., for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival has returned home.

Keith Phillips, Jaime Hernandez Carranza, Dina Thelusma and Geborah Joseph-Smith attended the circus-themed event on the National Mall as guests of the Sarasota-based Circus Arts Conservatory and the Florida Center for Partnerships for Arts-Integrated Teaching (PAInT) at USF Sarasota-Manatee.

For two weeks in June and July the students led demonstrations and discussions to teach children about the science behind circus performances, such as tightrope walking to teach about gravity and balance.

One display, a Rube Goldberg-type device called the Marvelous Miraculous Circus Machine, delighted audiences and taught about cause and effect.

“I loved interacting with the kids and seeing the excitement on their faces,” Thelusma, a biology student, said. “When they understood how to do something, their faces lit up.”

The students were joined by Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton, coordinator for the Florida Center for PAInT, and Jay Riley, who oversees the Student Ambassador program at USFSM.

The students spent most of their time interacting with children and their parents, but in their free time they toured several of Washington’s museums and monuments.

Among the sites, Thelusma, Joseph-Smith and Dr. Davis-Cotton together visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The museum, which opened in January 2016, traces the history of African-Americans from slavery through the Civil Rights movement to the modern era. It contains 37,000 objects in its collection, including Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves, a trumpet owned by Louis Armstrong and a hymnal that belonged to Harriet Tubman.

“It was very moving,” Thelusma said.

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