August 16, 2024 • 6 mins
A big step forward for the University of South Florida's Sarasota-Manatee campus. The ribbon gets cut Monday (19th) for a new six-story student center and residence hall. It's the biggest project since USF-Sarasota-Manatee moved into its current site in 2006. We speak with the Sarasota-Manatee chancellor, Dr. Karen Holbrook, about what it means for the campus.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Gordon Bird here with Beyond the News. The University of
South Florida is Sarasota Manatee campus is cutting the ribbon
Monday for its new campus student center and that includes
its first ever residence hall. To tell us what that
means for the campus, we have USF's Regional Chancellor for
Sarasota Manatee, Karen Holebrook, on to talk with us on
(00:22):
Beyond the News. Chancellor Wholebrook, welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Thank you, glad to be with you all right now.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
You're holding the ribbon cutting as we speak Monday, and
students will be moving in later in the week. Tell
us what this means. It's almost been almost two decades now,
and I think this is your biggest expansion on the
campus since then.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Oh, without a doubt.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
This is really our We've had minor little pieces that
we've expanded, but mostly this is a huge building. We're
going to have six floors, two floors or student center
and four floors student housing. So this is terribly exciting
to us. And one of the things that it does
is it transforms this campus from a commuter campus and
(01:09):
to a residential campus, which means we can have out
of state students, international students and even those at home
who want to get out of the house and whose
parents want to see them leave the house. So it's
really going to be exciting to have a real different
environment than.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
We've had before.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
And our student center is really going to make such
a difference. Before our students had.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
A small area along the corridor. It was very nice.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
They designed how it would be, but it just didn't
accommodate the needs for student clubs and student gatherings and
student leadership, all kinds of things. So this now they
have really two floors. The main floor for all of
the things that we want to do and they want
to do, including eat, and the second floor is all
(01:57):
student offices and student gathering area. So it's really really nice.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
So there's a lot of space there. It sounds like
there are a lot of activities on campus already and
this will allow them to expand even more. So.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Oh, absolutely, we have the new.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Uh. While the residence hall I mean, sorry, I didn't
mean the new dining room will accommodate a lot of students,
we have a ballroom that will probably accommodate up to
three hundred people. So the good thing about that is
besides student activities which can take place in any one
of the three partitioned areas.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
You know, it isn't really partition, but it can be.
We've got the.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Walls that can slide back and forth, so students can
have a smaller area or the whole thing, So that's
an opportunity for them.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
It's it's just going to be amazing.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Now, when does the residence hall open up and how
many students are going to be moving in there?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Friday the twenty third, we will have the USF students
moving in in the morning and we have New College
students moving in in the afternoon, which will we kind
of need. So we've got one hundred of each, one
hundred USF and one hundred New College, so we're right
next door to each other. So this is helping new
College find housing for their students, which they've needed.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
So it'll be interesting to see.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
But I'm suspecting they're all students and they're going to
have a good time together.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
What is now the residence hall is called the Atala
Residence Hall? What isn't Atala? And how is it decided
to put that name on the dormant?
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Okay, I'll tell you a couple of things before I
talk about what the Atala is. We had a contest
here on campus where the students participated and faculty and
staff participated, and they each submitted names and we ended
up with about twenty different names, Atala being one of them,
and then we narrowed it down to three and Atala
(03:56):
is one of the final three, and President law and
I I made the.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Decision that it would be a Tala.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Now I can come back to Wayatala we have. There's
been a little butterfly. You could look it up and
google it and you'll see what it looks like. That's
a little black butterfly with blue spots on its wings
and the rest of its underbody is bright red. It's
a cute little butterfly. At one time it was thought
to be extinct, and then it started coming back and
(04:24):
people started seeing it downtown Sarasota, and we started seeing
it on our campus because we have the plants that
the Atala butterfly likes, and so that's kind of a
signature for our campus to have that Atala butterfly. So
we have that as a name, and you can bet
nobody else is going to have an Atala Hall. So
(04:47):
that's what we ended up with and it's really cute.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Well it sounds a lot like the stories about the
monarch butterflies in terms of plant it. And they will
come and.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yeah that yep, you're right, you're right.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
All right, Well this is I'm sorry, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
I was just gonna say, this is really fun.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
To signify the importance of the Atala and to welcome
our students, We've had coffee mugs made for everybody that
we will put in their rooms. When they arrive, they'll
find them and it's just a white mug with an
Atala on it and it says Atala Hall on the
other side. So something just a little special for the
opening and for the students.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Coffee mugs are an important part of dorm life.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
So yes, yes, no matter what you put in.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Them, right, I'm sure it's coffee.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
So I'm sure it is, or maybe even ice water.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Yes, indeed, Chancellor Karen Holbrook of USF Sarasota, Manateee. Big
exciting things happening there as they get ready to cut
the ribbon on their Students Center and their first ever
residence hall, the Atala Residence Hall. That's all happening this
week Chancellor Wholebrook, thank you very much for joining us
on beyond the news, my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Thank you, Ka
Gordon Bird here with Beyond the News. The University of
South Florida is Sarasota Manatee campus is cutting the ribbon
Monday for its new campus student center and that includes
its first ever residence hall. To tell us what that
means for the campus, we have USF's Regional Chancellor for
Sarasota Manatee, Karen Holebrook, on to talk with us on
(00:22):
Beyond the News. Chancellor Wholebrook, welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Thank you, glad to be with you all right now.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
You're holding the ribbon cutting as we speak Monday, and
students will be moving in later in the week. Tell
us what this means. It's almost been almost two decades now,
and I think this is your biggest expansion on the
campus since then.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Oh, without a doubt.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
This is really our We've had minor little pieces that
we've expanded, but mostly this is a huge building. We're
going to have six floors, two floors or student center
and four floors student housing. So this is terribly exciting
to us. And one of the things that it does
is it transforms this campus from a commuter campus and
(01:09):
to a residential campus, which means we can have out
of state students, international students and even those at home
who want to get out of the house and whose
parents want to see them leave the house. So it's
really going to be exciting to have a real different
environment than.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
We've had before.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
And our student center is really going to make such
a difference. Before our students had.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
A small area along the corridor. It was very nice.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
They designed how it would be, but it just didn't
accommodate the needs for student clubs and student gatherings and
student leadership, all kinds of things. So this now they
have really two floors. The main floor for all of
the things that we want to do and they want
to do, including eat, and the second floor is all
(01:57):
student offices and student gathering area. So it's really really nice.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
So there's a lot of space there. It sounds like
there are a lot of activities on campus already and
this will allow them to expand even more. So.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Oh, absolutely, we have the new.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Uh. While the residence hall I mean, sorry, I didn't
mean the new dining room will accommodate a lot of students,
we have a ballroom that will probably accommodate up to
three hundred people. So the good thing about that is
besides student activities which can take place in any one
of the three partitioned areas.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
You know, it isn't really partition, but it can be.
We've got the.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Walls that can slide back and forth, so students can
have a smaller area or the whole thing, So that's
an opportunity for them.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
It's it's just going to be amazing.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Now, when does the residence hall open up and how
many students are going to be moving in there?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Friday the twenty third, we will have the USF students
moving in in the morning and we have New College
students moving in in the afternoon, which will we kind
of need. So we've got one hundred of each, one
hundred USF and one hundred New College, so we're right
next door to each other. So this is helping new
College find housing for their students, which they've needed.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
So it'll be interesting to see.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
But I'm suspecting they're all students and they're going to
have a good time together.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
What is now the residence hall is called the Atala
Residence Hall? What isn't Atala? And how is it decided
to put that name on the dormant?
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Okay, I'll tell you a couple of things before I
talk about what the Atala is. We had a contest
here on campus where the students participated and faculty and
staff participated, and they each submitted names and we ended
up with about twenty different names, Atala being one of them,
and then we narrowed it down to three and Atala
(03:56):
is one of the final three, and President law and
I I made the.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Decision that it would be a Tala.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Now I can come back to Wayatala we have. There's
been a little butterfly. You could look it up and
google it and you'll see what it looks like. That's
a little black butterfly with blue spots on its wings
and the rest of its underbody is bright red. It's
a cute little butterfly. At one time it was thought
to be extinct, and then it started coming back and
(04:24):
people started seeing it downtown Sarasota, and we started seeing
it on our campus because we have the plants that
the Atala butterfly likes, and so that's kind of a
signature for our campus to have that Atala butterfly. So
we have that as a name, and you can bet
nobody else is going to have an Atala Hall. So
(04:47):
that's what we ended up with and it's really cute.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Well it sounds a lot like the stories about the
monarch butterflies in terms of plant it. And they will
come and.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yeah that yep, you're right, you're right.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
All right, Well this is I'm sorry, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
I was just gonna say, this is really fun.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
To signify the importance of the Atala and to welcome
our students, We've had coffee mugs made for everybody that
we will put in their rooms. When they arrive, they'll
find them and it's just a white mug with an
Atala on it and it says Atala Hall on the
other side. So something just a little special for the
opening and for the students.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Coffee mugs are an important part of dorm life.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
So yes, yes, no matter what you put in.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Them, right, I'm sure it's coffee.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
So I'm sure it is, or maybe even ice water.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Yes, indeed, Chancellor Karen Holbrook of USF Sarasota, Manateee. Big
exciting things happening there as they get ready to cut
the ribbon on their Students Center and their first ever
residence hall, the Atala Residence Hall. That's all happening this
week Chancellor Wholebrook, thank you very much for joining us
on beyond the news, my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Thank you, Ka
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