A place to learn and live
here have been two defining moments in the history of USF Sarasota-Manatee since it opened in 1975.
The first came in 2006, when USF moved out of the space it shared with New College of Florida to its own campus anchored by the Crosley Campus Center and its iconic three-story rotunda.
Even as enrollment and academic offerings grew over the next 18 years, there remained something missing: The 24/7 presence of college students living, learning and making lifelong memories in a residence hall.
That all changed on Aug. 23, USF Sarasota-Manatee’s second big moment, when 200 students moved into their on-campus homes in the new Campus Student Center and Atala Residence Hall.
“Those of us who chose the Sarasota-Manatee campus embraced the natural beauty of the grounds, the unique architecture of the buildings, smaller class sizes, great sense of community and collaborative opportunities,” says Spence Gerber, campus student governor.
“Our new student center checks off one box that has been empty for too long. Living on campus!”
Something for everyone
The six-story, 100,000-square-foot building on the south side of the campus courtyard has something for commuters and residential students alike.
You enter the building through a spacious two-story atrium that branches off into a ballroom, a bookstore, a dining area and a hallway that leads through a lounge area to a game room and offices for USF World. The atrium also features an open staircase to the second floor and offices for student organizations and university administration. A large lounge opens up to a porched terrace overlooking the campus courtyard.
The top four floors of the building — known as Atala Residence Hall, after a rare tropical butterfly that has found a home in the campus’s landscaping — is composed of suites and apartments.
On the campus’s first move-in day, volunteers helped new residents haul their belongings into their on-campus homes, many of which feature spectacular vistas of Sarasota Bay, Sarasota Bradenton International Airport and surrounding environs.
Tom Pellegrino, a 1989 graduate of USF Sarasota-Manatee, never had a moment like move-in day when he was a student. But 35 years later, he helped his daughter Lauren settle into a sixth-floor, two-bedroom apartment she is sharing with her friend Isabelle Sorensen.
“When I went here, we were on New College’s campus and there were no dorms for USF, so everything was commuter,” Pellegrino says.
The buzz of that historic first day has continued well into the fall semester.
“Campus life is much different now that students are here 24/7,” says Sorensen, a junior biomedical sciences major from Sarasota. “I love how bustling it is.”
Lauren Pellegrino, a senior biomedical sciences major also from Sarasota, loves comparing her experiences as a student with those of her father.
“My favorite part of being one of the first people to live on campus is the legacy we’re all leaving behind,” she says. “This is such a monumental year for the Sarasota-Manatee campus and it is so cool to be a part of it.”
Building offers students new options
The new building offers many new options for students as they shape their college experience.
For instance, more than three dozen residents of Atala Hall are also members of an interdisciplinary learning living community, or LLC, that provides a cohort experience with peers who share similar academic, career and co-curricular interests. The new LLC, which has already hosted events for students, is unique at USF in that it’s sponsored by multiple academic units: the Muma College of Business, the College of Education and the Judy Genshaft Honors College.
USF President Rhea Law said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 19 that she is eager to see what students are able to do with the new building, which she described as a powerful reminder of how far we have come as an institution.
“The students who have moved into the new Campus Student Center and Atala Residence Hall will create history together as the first USF Bulls to live, learn and grow in this transformational facility,” she said.
The new building has physically remade the campus. It also raises the profile of the school and of higher education in the Sarasota-Manatee region.
“We opened the door for a new profile of students,” Gerber says. “High school students from anywhere in the state — and country, for that matter — can now add the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus to their wish list.”
The facilities promise to transform the student experience, which is what many students envisioned when they were brought into the planning process — their activity and service fees partially paid for construction.
“Where before you were simply a USF student commuting to Sarasota-Manatee campus for your classes, we’ll now see students who identify much more closely with the physical campus for their core USF experience,” says Evan Fruehauf, ’20 and MA ‘23, the student body vice president from 2018-2019.
A new era for USF Sarasota-Manatee
Ask students what they like best about the new building and they’ll talk about the many ways it has changed campus life, from the bookstore to the expanded dining options to the opportunities created by being part of an LLC. The pool table in the first-floor lounge has also proved popular.
Opening the Campus Student Center and Atala Residence Hall made history for USF, the perfect start for the Sarasota-Manatee campus’s next 50 years.
“The new building marks a new era for this campus, but it is not about changing our culture,” says Regional Chancellor Karen Holbrook. “Rather, we have added to the fabric of our personalized approach to learning and creating deeper connections with all students.”
-by Marc Masferrer
