USF research center to be named for Darryl Rouson

The University of South Florida will name its mental health research center after Florida state senator Darryl Rouson, after months of speculation. 

Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed the center’s name after signing a Rouson-sponsored bill, 1620: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders, into law June 25 at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute building in Tampa. 

The bill was designed to update the Florida Mental Health Act by implementing recommendations from the state’s Commission on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder. 

According to USF, the Senator Darryl E. Rouson Center for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Research will focus on research that advances “the scientific understanding of the relationship between substance abuse and mental health issues.” 

For Rouson, the honor is very special. 

Championing mental health research is personal for Rouson. He struggled with drug and alcohol addiction for many years. 

“It means the world and it’s a significant way of honoring the people that poured into me the concepts of recovery,” he explained to the Catalyst. 

“It took me eight drug treatments over nine years before it finally stuck. That’s why you can never give up supporting the addict.” 

Rouson has been representing the St. Petersburg community in Florida’s Senate since 2016. As a senator, he has been a strong advocate for mental wellness and drug addiction treatment. 

He started his professional career as an attorney for Gulfcoast Legal Services. In 1981, Rouson became the first African American assistant state attorney in Pinellas County. 

When his addiction became too problematic, he decided to leave St. Petersburg and move to Chicago after meeting Reverend George Clements, the founder of the One Church One Child adoption program. Clements hired Rouson to be a part of his One Church One Addict program. 

After returning to St. Pete, Rouson was unhoused or homeless for a period of time. 

He was able to revive his legal career and became the first chairman of the National Bar Association’s Substance Abuse and Addictions Task Force in 2003. He would also serve as president of the St. Petersburg branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 2000 to 2005. 

In 2008, Rouson was elected to the Florida House of Representatives and represented a part of the Tampa Bay Area until 2016. 

Rouson credits others for his recovery and career growth. His law firm, Rubenstein Law, has been a big support, he explained. 

While Rouson knew about a potential naming honor, it almost didn’t happen. 

When Bill 1620 was passed through the Florida Senate this April, it included a section that established USF’s new center. Under this section, there was an amendment sponsored by Florida senator Ed Hooper to name the center after Rouson in honor of his activism. 

After the bill went through the Florida House of Representatives, the Rouson amendment was taken out. This received notable backlash in the Senate. 

As a result, the DeSantis administration, Florida Senate and USF partnered together to ensure Rouson would be honored. 

Rouson had no idea that the center would be named for him after the House rejected the initial amendment. “They caught me completely by surprise,” he said. 

The senator is optimistic about what the center will achieve. 

“I hope it will engage in cutting edge research [and the] discovery of new ideas to encourage recovery and battle [the] ravages of addiction,” he explained. “I hope with the research we come up with practical solutions for combating this disease.”

The Senator Darryl E. Rouson Center for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Research will be a part of the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute at USF’s College of Behavioral and Community Sciences.