Power through Art

We are into my second year of presidency and well underway on the overarching pillars that are shaping our future: Impact on People and Communities, Academic and Reputational Excellence, and Financial Sustainability and the Endowment.

Our first year together was marked with listening, learning, benchmarking, aspirational brainstorming and, as you will read herein, tangible actions with outcomes already being realized. In preparation for this annual report, we counted the number of people at University gatherings in which I participated — mostly small dinners, all of the regional alumni events, and a couple of larger events, such as the inauguration and the Minaret Society Dinner.

We tallied engagement with more than 4,000 people. It’s been a lot of great food, and more importantly, lots of impactful time with you. I’ve enjoyed hearing your personal stories and fond memories of your time at the University — during the eras of TampaU, UT and now UTampa — and your hopes for the future of this great University.

The University of Tampa is on the precipice of being a nationally renowned university. Together we continue our upward trajectory. Thank you for your collaboration. Go Spartans!

ACADEMICS

UTampa academics are at the core of the University. Exceptional faculty guide students to think critically and creatively, communicate effectively and lead with purpose. Employers praise the knowledge, skills and tenacity of UTampa graduates as a differentiator from their peers.

We want all students to graduate, on time, with little debt. Our studies show that financial aid is the primary enabler. Therefore, we have doubled down on fundraising for endowed student scholarships. Read about the Centennial Circle in the Advancement section of this report.

The great news? Last year we achieved a 95.3% fall-to-spring persistence rate and this fall achieved an 85.5% first-year retention rate — the highest rates achieved in UTampa history. Faculty and staff are continuing to push those numbers even further.  

We hired 85 new full-time faculty and hired Mike Stephenson as the University’s new provost. Among other things, Mike is leading AI Across the University, an initiative that accelerates faculty efforts to prepare UTampa graduates to ride the wave of change as AI becomes integrated into their future careers and lives.

This year, AI literacy shows up in some Spartan Ready general education courses that address AI tools, academic integrity and using AI for career exploration. Faculty continue to integrate AI into specific disciplinary courses, and a team of faculty is participating in the American Association of Colleges and Universities’ Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum, a year-long professional development program.

In a first, UTampa launched a dual degree program with the prestigious École des Hautes Études Commerciales du Nord, a business school in France, that allows graduate students from both institutions to earn Master of Science degrees at both institutions. This is UTampa’s first dual degree program.

Also, this past spring, UTampa was recognized as a top producer of Fulbright Scholars, a program offered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. This is outstanding news, as UTampa was the only university in Florida with that designation in the master’s institution classification and was tied with four other institutions with the second highest number of scholar grants in the nation.

This type of recognition raises the value of a UTampa degree, raises our institutional reputation, and inspires future generations of faculty and students.

ENROLLMENT

UTampa is in the enviable position of being one of the most sought-after universities in the country.  Our ethos of Learning by Thinking and Learning by Doing; our distinctive campus that blends the historic, the modern and the artistic; and our location within one of the country’s most vibrant metropolitan areas brought in more than 43,000 applications for 3,400 first-year seats in the Class of 2029. This is our largest and most academically distinguished class in the University’s history. We now enroll a total of 11,500 students.

We are now in our second year as a partner institution to the Davis United World College (UWC) Scholars Program. This fall we welcomed over 70 new and returning meritorious students — all of whom completed the International Baccalaureate diploma at one of the Davis UWC high schools that span the globe. On the home front, we grew the Spartan Alliance program to more than 45 students. This is our signature cohort program where we provide wrap-around academic, financial and social support to stellar students from high schools in the Tampa Bay area.

CAMPUS LIFE AND CO-CURRICULAR LEARNING

The Learning by Doing part of our ethos is supported, in part, by the learning that takes place outside the classroom. It is a central UTampa focus that prepares students with life skills important to career and success.

This year, we launched the Internships for All initiative and formed an exploratory committee — led by Student Affairs, with participation from Career Services, faculty, Development, and graduate studies — to analyze the feasibility of enabling all UTampa undergraduates to complete a paid internship, regardless of their chosen major. We also established the Tampa Bay Nonprofit Endowed Fund to support students who intern with local nonprofits, giving students broader exposure to career options and enabling donors to make an awesome trifecta investment in students, the University and the community. In addition, more than 2,200 students participated in the UTampa 201: Career Readiness course, preparing them to secure internships
and achieve career goals.

Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) participation increased to 2,168 students, comprising 21% of our undergraduate population. Did you know that FSL students have higher retention and graduation rates than non-FSL students? This accentuates the importance of student life (what’s happening outside the classroom) in retaining students. A pride point is that FSL students raised $199,774 for Make-a-Wish Southern Florida.

Preparing students for lives of service also helped land UTampa on two prestigious lists: the Peace Corps’ 2025 top volunteer-producing colleges and universities and the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge as a most engaged
campus for college student voting.

Student well-being was also a focus this year. As part of our 10-year affirmation of accreditation, we submitted the Quality Enhancement Plan called UTampa Cares. This collaborative effort between Student Affairs and Academic Affairs is enhancing student emotional well-being by bolstering students’ sense of belonging and resilience.  

Lastly, in response to the Department of Education’s “Dear Colleague” letter that was issued last February, the University broadened its programs to maintain its mission and serve the University community. We completed a detailed and lengthy review and modification of our programs, job responsibilities and publications to comply with all laws and to open supportive services to all students.

ADVANCEMENT

When I gaze through the windows of Plant Hall, I get a direct view of the 6-foot-tall Robert Indiana LOVE sculpture that was installed last fall as part of the McNichols Sculpture Trail. The McNichols’ generous donation facilitated the installation of seven sculptures thus far, each piece selected to spark dialogue around desirable human characteristics. Other installations include What Was Vincent Thinking? and Poise by Kevin Robb; On a Roll by Jack Hill; Zephyr by Jeremy Guy; Open Window Monument by Ted Schaal; and DNA of Success by Robert Romero.

Through last March, the Development and University Relations team successfully secured more than $8.4 million in new private philanthropic support and collected an additional $10.7 million in cash from pledge payments and the receipt of previously committed deferred (planned) gifts, for a total of over $19 million between both new philanthropic commitments and cash received.

I’m pleased to report that the Centennial Circle, UTampa’s newest philanthropic society, has 76 families that have invested in Centennial Circle endowed student scholarships, contributing a collective $47.8 million in new gifts to the endowment and providing 76 new scholarships each year in perpetuity. Nearly half of the Centennial Circle members are alumni. The Centennial Circle is an integral part of the University’s upcoming third comprehensive campaign. My husband, Brian, has joined me in investing in the Centennial Circle, and I invite you to join us.

The Centennial Circle is only one pathway to advance the University. You can also leave a legacy at UTampa by creating an estate plan to fund an endowed scholarship, providing financial assistance to a particular program or discipline of study, or even help UTampa recruit preeminent faculty by establishing an endowed faculty position. There are countless ways to support your University and future students.

Contact the Office of Development and University Relations at development@ut.edu or (813) 253-6220 for more information.

ATHLETICS

UTampa athletics had another tremendous year. We had two back-to-back national championship teams this year: baseball and women’s lacrosse, and one three-peat national champion: beach volleyball. It’s difficult to win a single championship in any sport and league, but to win one after another is a true feat.

It was the baseball team’s 10th national title, making us the only Division ll
baseball program to win double-digit national championships. In addition to winning the national title, the Spartans concluded the 2025 season with a program record 55 wins, and Coach Joe Urso was recognized as the NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year for the seventh time.  

The beach volleyball team reigned for the third-straight year as AVCA small college beach volleyball national champions. The Spartans finished the year as one of the nation’s most dominant programs.

The national championship women’s lacrosse team finished the 2025
season with a 21-1 record and ended the year on an 11-game winning streak.

On a related note, the men’s ice hockey club team won the Amateur Athletic Union Division I national championship. The title was the first in program history.

UTampa also found success in the Sunshine State Conference, with champion teams in beach volleyball, baseball, women’s basketball, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, cross country, women’s swimming, men’s swimming and softball.

The athletic department notched another major win in announcing its first head coaching endowment — the Stu and Diane Williams Head Baseball Coach endowment. Thank you to Stu ’70 and Diane Williams for being proud supporters of UTampa athletics.

My favorite athletics pride point: 3.37 grade point average across all teams and a graduation rate of 86%. Let’s go Spartans!

ADMINISTRATION

Last fall, we celebrated opening UTampa’s newest and largest building on campus, the Grand Center. In addition to housing 700 students, the Grand Center provides space for the Southard Institute for Sales Excellence, the Office of Access and Community Programs, the International Programs Office, a Starbucks café, a student veterans lounge, and a 450-car parking garage. 

Most notably, the Grand Center is the only student residence in the U.S. with an open-air, resort-style sky park embedded within the building and visible from every residential floor. I hope you caught the feature article on the Grand Center in last winter’s issue of this magazine. We hope to rename the Grand Center soon for a UTampa donor who is eager to make a gift that would impact UTampa students for generations to come.

Given the University’s continued need for housing, in March we acquired a parcel of land near campus on South Boulevard that may be used in the future for construction of a residence hall building.

While the UTampa website was completely redesigned this year, we saw tremendous growth in the University’s social media presence. Total followers on all accounts increased 49% (440,184 total audience), highlighted by a 267% increase on TikTok alone.

On the flip side of technology, phishing and ransomware threats continue to grow in complexity and seek to expose confidential and sensitive University information. The Office of Information Technology and Security has increased the number of systems with integrated AI capabilities that can monitor University access portals, networks and computers to prevent and respond quickly to any perceived threats.

I’ll finish by talking about our institutional accreditation. Last year, with the support of many UTampa staff and faculty, UTampa submitted its decennial SACSCOC (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges) report and hosted the on-site SACSCOC committee. The visit concluded with zero findings for UTampa, which is the highest outcome given. The final vote for reaffirmation will occur this December by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees.

THANK YOU

Thanks to our Trustees, donors, alumni, faculty, staff, students, families and friends of the University for help in building a great University!