The new USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute, shown here under construction in June 2018, will open late 2019.

Emails are coming in about biotech start-ups, applications are pouring in from high-caliber students, powerhouse researchers are inquiring about opportunities, research funding has gone up, property values are on the upswing, and condos and apartments are rising across the urban core.

These are tangible upticks attesting that something big is happening in Tampa – even while that something is still under construction.

The USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute is building a new facility in the heart of burgeoning downtown Tampa and will be a primary anchor in the $3 billion real estate development – Water Street Tampa – by Strategic Property Partners, the joint venture between Jeff Vinik and Cascade Investment, LLC.

From left, USF System President Judy Genshaft, Frank and Carol Morsani, and Dr. Charles Lockwood, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, were among those who recently toured the construction site for USF in Water Street Tampa.

When the project kicked off several years ago, talk was hot about the potential a medical school and cardiovascular research institute in the urban core would have on the entire region. Biotechnology, pharmaceutical, biomedical engineering, translational research, biomanufacturing – these are among the forward-thinking buzzwords that painted the vision.

But today, talk has shifted from potential to more tangible, offering stronger hints of the true ripple effect expected.

University and community leaders shared their insights on some early indicators of success, giving us all a glimpse of the economic impact ahead.

“What they’re saying …

Craig J. Richard, president and CEO, Tampa Hillsborough
Economic Development Corporation:

“I’m happy to say that, with the announcement that USF is building a medical school in downtown, it has certainly helped us in promoting Tampa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. When I arrived on the scene a couple of years ago, there was already some buzz. Now the buzz has accelerated. It makes it easier for us as an organization and for our employers to attract top talent. Spin offs that could result from entrepreneurial collaborations at the medical school would have a beneficial effect on our life sciences, health care and technology industries.”

Judy Genshaft, USF System president:

“We are creating a world-class learning, research and training environment. We already know how much this exciting future appeals to the best and the brightest. Since this project was first announced in 2014, applications to our College of Medicine are up by 60 percent. And our incoming students have achieved the highest MCAT scores of all Florida universities. And our Heart Institute is attracting world-class experts. In addition to the outstanding research that will take place there, the Heart Institute is going to have a major economic impact – we expect it to drive between $66 and $73 million in local economic activity annually.”

Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, senior vice president of
USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine:

“We’ve almost doubled the total research grant dollars that the medical school received since I arrived four years ago. Our national rankings have dramatically improved. I also get a sense of the excitement just from the emails I’ve been getting from folks who are very interested in this project, interested in relocating here … It’s really drawing attention nationally … The payoff of this project probably won’t be fully realized for a decade, but the immediate impact is significant. Every $1 of National Institutes of Health funding we can bring to the Heart Institute will generate about $2.60 in local economic activity. That will happen almost immediately. We’re talking about $72 million a year within the next five years being generated in the Tampa Bay area just from the research brought into the heart institute. But that doesn’t begin to measure the impact when we think about the creation of patents, licensing fees, biotech companies, whether we start them or they come in to be part of this project. With that, we’re talking about hopefully hundreds of millions of dollars of economic impact.”

Samuel Wickline, MD, director, USF Health Heart Institute:

“We are already attracting very qualified individuals who are doing very exciting things in many different areas in cardiac research … I’ve been talking to a number of individuals who are interested in getting ideas out of the bench and into clinical practice. It’s fairly early in the game right now.  Tampa hasn’t had those sorts of investment opportunities … I’ve been talking to a large swath of individuals who might be interested in providing those types of funds for biotech start-ups. The heart institute was meant to be that kind of an attractor.”

Bob Buckhorn, mayor, City of Tampa:

“I don’t have to sell often and hard because people now are talking about us. Tampa has become that place that everyone is talking about. Inevitably, when I go tell the story, they come to me and say ‘Hey, what’s going on down there?’ … People are like, ‘What in the heck are you people doing there, because all we hear about is Tampa?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, we are good. Come on down and see it.’ ”

Carol and Frank Morsani, for whom the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine is named, ride a golf cart en route to a construction site tour of USF in Water Street Tampa.

The new state-of-the-art facility housing the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute is rising out of the ground at the corner of Meridian Avenue and Channelside Drive in downtown Tampa.

Frank Morsani in the emerging building, with downtown Tampa’s skyline in the background.

The new USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute will be a primary anchor for Strategic Property Partners’ $3 billion Water Street Tampa development.

Learn more about USF in Water Street Tampa by visiting usf.edu/waterstreet.

-Drone aerial photo by Sandra C. Roa and Ryan Noone, USF Communications and Marketing
-Construction site photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications and Marketing 

Historic achievement places USF in the top category of Florida’s universities and comes with millions of dollars in new funding that will benefit the Tampa Bay region’s future

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TAMPA, Fla. (June 28, 2018) – The University of South Florida can officially stand side by side with the University of Florida and Florida State University as the best universities in the state. The Florida Board of Governors voted unanimously on Thursday to formally designate USF as a “Preeminent State Research University,” recognizing the institution’s high performance and strong trajectory toward national excellence.

Preeminence represents the culmination of USF’s many years of careful strategic planning, focused allocation of resources and determination of thousands of students, faculty and staff. The designation comes with millions of dollars in additional funding, carries prestige that will benefit USF in many key areas, including new student and faculty recruitment, and will enhance the economic development of the Tampa Bay region.

“This validates our efforts over more than a decade to transform USF into a premiere institution of higher education, rivaling peers twice our age,” said USF System President Judy Genshaft. “This critical designation will have an exponential impact on our continued efforts to grow our research enterprise, provide the highest-quality education to our students, strengthen our partnerships and help us make an even bigger difference in our community.”

The Florida Preeminence program, written into state law in 2013, rewards high-achieving universities based on 12 metrics, including graduation rates, student retention rates, research expenditures and the number of patents awarded. In order to earn Preeminence, a university must meet or exceed at least 11 of the 12 benchmarks.

In 2016, USF was designated as the state’s first “Emerging Preeminent State Research University” for meeting nine of the 12 requirements. Since that time, USF’s six-year graduation rate and student retention rates have improved to qualify for full Preeminence.

“Achieving Preeminence is a testament to USF’s longstanding commitment to student success, world-class research and faculty excellence,” said USF Board of Trustees Chair Brian Lamb. “We want to thank the Board of Governors, our Governor and our state Legislature for their continued support of higher education. Preeminence positions the university to compete for the very best talent nationally and globally, which accelerates the growing reputation of the university and the Tampa Bay community.”

This year, USF and the other Preeminent universities will each receive an increase of approximately $6.15 million in new, recurring funds through the program. The amount of additional dollars awarded for Preeminence each year is determined by the Legislature and Governor through the annual state budget.

USF will use the new funding to invest in student success initiatives, attract nationally prominent faculty members and enhance research activities in strategic areas, such as heart health and medical engineering. Those two fields are important as USF moves forward with plans to open the new Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute facility in late 2019 as part of Water Street Tampa.

“USF is relentless in its focus on student success, increasing its graduation rates, boosting its national rankings, and working to enhance performance in a number of areas that are important to students, families and taxpayers. I congratulate them on becoming the state’s third Preeminent university – this is a very important milestone,” said Marshall Criser III, chancellor of the State University System.

A new website launched today by USF, www.usfnewera.org, is designed to explain the benefits of Preeminence, detail the historic journey to earn the designation and update supporters on the university’s progress.

Inspired by the Preeminence designation, the USF Foundation has also established the USF New Era Fund. Gifts will support faculty recruitment, student success, scholarships and other critical efforts that impact students.

USF Health’s new Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation is a showcase for creating the valuable high-wage jobs that Tampa Bay needs, said U.S. Rep Kathy Castor at a press conference Monday.

“One of the ways we’re going to create jobs in Tampa during the coming years is by becoming one of the premier health innovation capitals in the United States,” Rep. Castor said as she stood on the sidewalk in front of CAMLS, with construction hammers pounding behind her. “This is going to build the jobs for the future in Tampa Bay.”

USF Health CEO Dr. Stephen Klasko, with U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, speaks with media about the economic development impact of the USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation.

Rep. Castor hosted Monday’s press conference to announce that a $500,000 job creation grant that the Tampa Bay Partnership won in 2010 is now moving into the implementation phase. She held the press conference outside CAMLS, which will be completed next month, because it is an example of Tampa Bay’s future direction.

Castor described Dr. Stephen Klasko, CEO of USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, as “a dynamo helping lift this area’s economic development prospects.”

The $30 million CAMLS project will bring health professionals from across the country to receive advanced training and assessment in surgical skills, team training and similar areas. The center will open next month, with its grand opening set for March 30th.

“What you see behind us represents the best example of how we create jobs in this area,” said Stuart Rogel, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Partnership. “This is progress right before our very eyes.”

The Tampa Bay Partnership sees job growth in Tampa Bay focusing on four key industries, Rogel said: applied medicine, business and financial services, high-tech electronics, and marine environmental activities. Rogel sees Tampa Bay as set upon a “race to 500,000 jobs” in those four sectors.

Dr. Stephen Klasko, CEO of USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, thanked Rep. Castor for her support of CAMLS.

“I would apologize for the hammers, but they are music to our ears to those of us looking for economic development in Tampa Bay,” Dr. Klasko said. “There is no community that has a greater champion for both economic development and health than Tampa Bay in Congresswoman Castor.”

CAMLS will help bring new business to Tampa Bay, Dr. Klasko said, while also becoming a national model for improving medical training and patient safety.

“This is going to be not only a beautiful building, but really a leader in healthcare transformation,” Dr. Klasko said.

Dr. Klasko pointed to two of the USF Health physicians who accompanied him Monday as examples of that leadership. Dr. John Armstrong, trauma surgeon and medical director of CAMLS, is the former leader of the U.S. Army Trauma Training Center. CAMLS already has won Department of Defense funding to help improve military training.

Also on hand was Dr. Richard Karl, former chair of the USF Department of Surgery and an expert on medical quality and safety. Also a pilot, Dr. Karl is working to help USF Health and CAMLS borrow training and assessment models used in the aviation world and apply them to health.

“This is the only place in the country that will start to assess, ‘Is this doctor, is this nurse competent,’ “ Dr. Klasko said.

CAMLS will start by adding 100 new jobs downtown, 45 of which will move from USF, said Deborah Sutherland, PhD, the CEO of CAMLS. CAMLS also expects to employ another 100 people on an as-needed basis, depending on what training programs are ongoing, she said.

CAMLS also is likely to act as a catalyst to create more jobs, as more health, aviation and other training partners bring business here, Dr. Klasko said.

– Story by Lisa Greene, USF Health Communications, and photos by Aimee Blodgett, USF Communications