Media Relations
University of South Florida
Polytechnic
3433 Winter Lake Road
Lakeland, FL 33803
(863) 667-7077
Fax (863) 667-7097
:: Subscribe to eNews
:: Current
News
Archives 2007
:: Fall
2007
:: Summer 2007
:: Spring
2007
Archives 2006
:: Fall 2006
:: Summer 2006
:: Spring
2006
Archives 2005
:: Fall
2005
:: Summer
2005
:: Spring
2005
Archives 2004
:: Fall
2004
:: Summer
2004
:: Spring
2004
Archives 2003
:: Fall
2003
:: Summer
2003
:: Spring
2003
Archives 2002
:: Fall
2002
:: Summer
2002
::
Spring 2002
Archives 2001
:: Fall
2001
|
|
 |
Contact:
Tom Hagerty
(863)
667-7077
LAKELAND,
FL (July 23, 2007) - The University of South Florida Lakeland announced today that its recently completed Faculty & Staff Campaign led the USF system and broke three records along the way.
According to USFL's Office of University Advancement, the Lakeland campus had the highest participation rate for any campus in the USF system and set an all-time system record for highest campus participation rate, with over 94 percent of USFL faculty and staff making donations to the campaign. The campaign also set Lakeland records for participation rate and dollars raised, with almost $37,000 in gifts pledged.
USFL's participation rate more than doubled that of the second-place USF campus.
The Faculty & Staff Campaign is intended to allow personnel throughout the USF system to contribute financially to the mission of the University. Participating personnel on each campus designate their gifts for a variety of established funds in the USF Foundation, ranging from scholarships to research support, special programs and operating costs.
Faculty and staff campaigns have long been typical on college and university campuses, and one national survey of almost 700 institutions suggested an average of about 20 percent of faculty and staff support these campaigns -- putting USFL's rate at nearly five times the national average.
USFL's campus board recently offered its unanimous approval of a new strategic plan for the campus, establishing a polytechnic model that could dramatically transform higher education in the region. While developing programs on its current campus, shared with Polk Community College in Lakeland, the University is also planning to open a new campus on I-4, at the northeast edge of Lakeland.
The 2007 state legislative session in Tallahassee ended with what a USF spokesman has termed "a temporary setback" for public funding for the Lakeland campus.
Against this backdrop, the campaign results serve as a dramatic barometer of the mood on campus.
According to Dr. Marshall Goodman, Vice President and CEO, "We had high hopes for the campaign this year, but this level of participation is truly phenomenal. It sends a clear message to those who wondered about us following the recent veto. We're clearly united and focused on a bright future."
Lakeland entrepreneur Anu Saxena, a member of the USF Foundation Board of Trustees, agreed with Goodman that the campaign's success is a signal to observers.
"The unprecedented level of support during this campaign is proof positive that the USF Lakeland faculty and staff are not only supportive but also deeply and personally committed to the vision Dr. Goodman has laid out for them," said Saxena, president of ASC Geosciences, Inc. "They believe, just as our business community does, that central Florida’s destiny is tied to the success of USF Lakeland."
Polk County developer Gene Engle, also a trustee of the Foundation, voiced similar sentiments: "This is a huge accomplishment, and I am very appreciative of the dedication and support shown by the faculty and staff of the Lakeland campus," he said. "This achievement further demonstrates the interest in our campus and the important role it plays in the positive growth of central Florida."
Each year's campaign is chaired by volunteers from the campus community. This year's co-chairs for the Lakeland campus were Dr. Alice Murray and Ms. Claire Johnson. According to Goodman, "Those two set a wonderful tone for the campaign, and they challenged all of us to step up to the plate at a crucial time in our history."
|
|
