What’s in a name? At the University of South Florida’s St. Petersburg campus, it’s complicated

When the University of South Florida consolidated its three campuses under a single accreditation July 1, a number of changes came along with them, and one of them starts with a seemingly innocuous lowercase “c.”

The school referred to by the community – and in the 2019 Florida statutes – as the University of South Florida St. Petersburg is now to be called the University of South Florida’s St. Petersburg campus in all written materials.

According to the USF editorial style guide, the lowercase word “campus” should be used after referring to the geographic location, and it would apply not only to the smaller St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee campuses but the main Tampa campus as well. The guide goes on to note that the use of the word “campus” is a necessary component of USF’s accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and demonstrates that USF is one university geographically distributed within three campuses. 

“​We recognize that we have to strike a balance between state law and the plan approved in June by our accrediting agency,” said Carrie O’Brion, the director of marketing and communications for USF’s St. Petersburg campus, adding that the university is aware of the community’s concerns about preserving the school’s unique identity. “We believe that using ‘campus’ when describing the geographic location is a solution that satisfies both requirements.

However, that rationale doesn’t satisfy everyone, including St. Petersburg mayor Rick Kriseman, who has long been critical of the consolidation. In an early October letter to state Sen. Jeff Brandes, one of the key drivers behind consolidation, Kriseman expressed his “disappointment in the manner that consolidation is occurring within the University of South Florida” and made reference to the change in names. 

“Of the utmost importance to me is the future of USF St. Petersburg, which by law, is required to be called USF St. Petersburg and not the ‘St. Petersburg Campus’ (as it currently appears on their website),” he wrote.

During a recent interview with the Catalyst, Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock said that questions remain about whether the name change meets the intent of the legislation.

“The legislation was very clear that we’d continue to be called the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. There was no ‘campus’ in that legislation,” he said. “That’s a question for the legislators if it matters to them or not.”

Regarding Brandes and his thoughts on the name change, Tadlock said the two have spoken at length about the topic.

“He said as long as it’s applicable to all three campuses and they’re all held to the same expectation, he’s fine with the idea,” Tadlock said. “I think a lot of people here believe it still should be the ‘University of South Florida St. Petersburg’ without campus on it, even if it is a small ‘c,’ but that goes to individual thinking preference about that.”

Some might argue that there are more pressing consolidation-related concerns than a simple lowercase “c.” Overall enrollment at the St. Petersburg campus has been steadily declining, dropping from 4,981 in 2017 to 3,878 in 2020. This year’s freshman class totaled 157, with only one Black student and 25 Hispanic students. The school has set an ambitious target of attracting a larger, more diverse freshman class of 650 students between the 2021 summer and fall semesters.

Those students will likely see some signs bearing the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus name when they arrive. O’Brion said an inventory of signage is currently being conducted and campus officials have reached out to SACSCOC for guidance on the timeline for when changes need to be made. The cost of the project has yet to be determined.

“For us personally, we’ve accepted the change in our signage and on my clothing and other things because we’ve been asked to do that as a part of the rebranding of One USF,” Tadlock said. “But it’s expensive. Every time you change a brand, it’s a costly thing to do.”