:: History Site Index
:: Historical Overview
:: Timeline of Events
:: Hall of Presidents

:: USF Site & Name
:: John Allen Legacy
:: 40 Years of Memories
:: Named Buildings & Sites
:: Medical School History
:: Medicine's 1st 25 years
:: Marshall Center History
:: Early Women's Athletics
:: Student Trends
:: Snow at USF!

:: 1st Student
:: 1st Professor
:: 1st Basketball Team
:: 1st Football Team
:: 1st Marching Band
:: 1st Years of The Oracle
:: 1st Trustees

:: USF Sarasota/Manatee
:: USF St Petersburg
:: USF Lakeland

:: Traditions Overview
:: Alma Mater
:: Academic Mace
:: USF Seal & Symbols

:: Rocky the Bull
:: Herd of Thunder

:: Homecoming
:: Student Gov. Ceremony
:: Bull Market
:: Movies On The Lawn
:: "Go Bulls" Hand Symbol
:: Retired Athletic Jerseys

USF St. Petersburg - the First 25 Years

The year was 1965. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones topped the pop charts Lyndon Baines Johnson was president and Martin Luther King Jr. led civil rights demonstrations in Selma, Ala. Andy Warhol's oversized painting of a Campbell's Tomato Soup can was an overnight sensation.

And a historical event was recorded in Florida's Pinellas County that year. What was once a blighted area of ramshackle warehouse along Bayboro Harbor began to mushroom into an intellectual and cultural hub - the University of South Florida's St. Petersburg campus was born.

The St. Petersburg City Council and area business leaders lobbied for expansion of the campus. The late Nelson Poynter, former chairman of the board of The Times Publishing Co., was instrumental in establishing the campus. Together, their efforts garnered the campus 35 acres for classrooms, laboratories, administrative offices and a library.

USF St. Petersburg, Pinellas County's only public university offering bachelors and graduate degree programs, is celebrating its silver anniversary this year.

USF St. Petersburg first opened its doors in the fall of 1965 to 257 students, overflow from the freshmen class at the Tampa campus. Classes were held in what was once a Merchant Marine training base. The base also doubled as dormitories that housed the students.
Today, the campus serves more than 2,700 junior, senior and graduate students. The campus is known nationally for its marine science program, and the U.S. Geological Survey recently established its national headquarters for coastal geology at he campus. The Suncoast Area Teacher Training (SCATT) program on campus I ranked as one of the countries best by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

From converted, World War II barracks to seven modern buildings, the campus is still going strong. The campus original four-member, full-time faculty has blossomed to 70. The 2,248 volumes of books in the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library has burgeoned to 115,000. A total of 26 bachelor's and four master's degrees are now offered, as well as a doctorate in marine science.

The newest building, the Campus Activities Center, allows USF St. Petersburg to extend unprecedented services to the campus. The center houses a gymnasium that doubles as an auditorium able to seat 1,500 people. The facility's many uses also include intramural sports and campus fitness programs. A second phase of construction is planned for later this year. This addition will include office space and meeting rooms for student government and other student groups.

Some of USF St. Petersburg's historical highlights include:

1900 Bayboro area was known as "Fiddler's Paradise," a mud flat mecca for thousands of fiddler crabs.

1940 U.S. government built Merchant Marine training base facilities on Bayboro Harbor.

1959-63 Classroom space in converted barracks utilized by Florida Presbyterian College.

1963-65 Facilities operated as Pinellas Center for FICUS (Florida Institute for Continuing University Studies).

1965 St. Petersburg campus approved by Board of Regents. First USF classes offered for freshmen at Bayboro location.

1966-67 St. Petersburg campus served as USF Continuing Education headquarters. Elementary education program began with 67 students.

1967-68 USF marine science program organized. Florida Institute of Oceanography opened facilities on land leased from campus.

1968-69 Upper-level, beginning graduate study program began with fall enrollment of 629 students.

1969 First degrees conferred to 51 graduates of elementary education program. Library opened with 2,248 volumes.

1969-70 State Legislature passed bill establishing St. Petersburg as a branch of USF.

1978 Board of Regents designated Marine Science Department as a "Center of Excellence."

1981 Phase one expansion completed (Bayboro Hall, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library).

1984 Coquina Hall opened.

1989 U.S. Geological Survey opened its national Center for Coastal Geology.

1990 Campus Activities Center opened.