The University of Tampa

Spartan Club opened today with a new look! Visit Einsten’s Bagels, Fresh Creations, La Havana and The Grill. Ordering is now done on the GrubHub app or via the kiosks in SpartanClub. Once in the GrubHub app, click ‘account’ and The University of Tampa under ‘Campus Dining’ to get started.

What’s your go-to place to eat on campus?

Did you know you can now find one of artist Robert Indiana's famous, six-foot "LOVE" sculptures at the The University of Tampa?❤️

📍 Campus lawn to the east of Plant Hall in front of the Southard Family Building

The Class of 2028, brought to you by The University of Tampa.

Comment below to wish all new and returning Spartans a great start to the fall semester!

Today the University welcomed Spartans to their new home! Move-in will continue through Friday, with the first day of classes taking place on Monday.

The Spartans in the 2024 Physician Assistant Medicine cohort were all smiles the first day of their fall semester last week! Have a great year!

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Summer research update: History major Michael Skarupa '26 is in Madison, examining nineteenth-century manuscripts and music scores in the Mills Music Library at The University of Wisconsin-Madison. Skarupa is working with original German and English language sources to explain the popularity in America of the Black Hussar, a Viennese operetta that celebrated German nationalism and militarism. His research is one part of a larger OURI-sponsored project on operetta and American popular culture that includes musical theater major Ben Sutherland '26 and Associate Professor of History, Geography and Legal Studies ,Charles McGraw Groh and Music Lecturer Rodney Shores.

Summer research update: History major Michael Skarupa '26 is in Madison, examining nineteenth-century manuscripts and music scores in the Mills Music Library at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Michael is working with original German- and English-language sources to explain the popularity in America of the Black Hussar, a Viennese operetta that celebrated German nationalism and militarism. His research is one part of a larger OURI-sponsored project on operetta and American popular culture that includes musical theater major Ben Sutherland '26 and faculty Charles McGraw Groh (History) and Rodney Shores (Music).

Congratulations to the graduates of the Master of Arts in Professional Communication (MAPC) and Master of Arts in Social and Emerging Media (MASEM) programs, who received their hoods last week!

Happy ! Today is a celebration of an area code (813) that incorporates the city we call home, , and surrounding neighborhoods. Love where you live and learn!

Robert Cooper '25 is planning to protect the national parks through his Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) grant. He received $2,000 to travel to Zion National Park, where he collected data, formed a recommendation plan and presented to park rangers.

Full story: https://www.ut.edu/news-and-ut-life/2024/planning-to-protect-national-parks

Raise your hand if you’re counting down the days until you’re back on campus? 🙋‍♂️ 🙋‍♀️ Just two weeks until move-in begins!

It’s a big leap to college, but you can look forward to a happy landing at .

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Brian Veit, a senior in The University of Tampa’s Department of Chemistry, received the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship with Assistant Professor of Chemistry John Struss to pursue their likeminded goal of developing a more efficient method of producing biodiesel from waste cooking oil. Their research aims to quantify the energy requirements of their new process and compare it to the current “industry standard” process (methanolysis). The rate of their small-scale reactions will be monitored via GC-FID. Veit aims to develop a fuel that can be efficiently produced and directly used in road diesel vehicles with minimal modification, ultimately providing a greener and more energy-dense fuel for weight-sensitive industries such as long-haul shipping.

Given the potential for tropical storm force winds and flooding rain associated with Tropical Storm Debby, the University will adjust operations for Monday, Aug. 5. Find complete details at https://www.ut.edu/weather.

Tropical Weather Alerts The Emergency Operations Team will announce closings and other weather-related communications via global emails, www.ut.edu, text messaging and voicemail messages.

T-minus 20 days until move in! We look forward to welcoming our new Spartans and seeing familiar faces of continuing Spartans this fall!

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A new exhibition, Always Welcome: In Honor of Dorothy highlights the history of the sculptural arts at UT and one of its greatest champions, former University of Tampa art gallery director, alumna and artist Dorothy Cowden ’70.

Full story: https://www.ut.edu/news-and-ut-life/ut-community-sculpture-exhibition-always-welcome-celebrates-arts-mentorship-legacy

The UT track got a makeover this summer. The old track and subsurface were completely removed. The base below the track was regraded and paved to provide proper drainage. The new surface is a multilayered system that provides both high performance and a shock absorbing cushion, which will reduce injuries and improve ergonomics for our athletes.

For Steven Pichardo ‘25 and Alyssa Rannekliev ’25, what began as a class requirement ended with international aspirations. The students were two of more than a dozen taking Principles of Management with Assistant Professor of Management Ashley Salaiz this spring, traveling as a class to Madrid.

Full story: https://www.ut.edu/news-and-ut-life/global-trip-ignites-student-inspiration-in-international-business

Three University of Tampa sports teams visited Washington, D.C., last week to participate in NCAA Sports Day.

Full story: https://www.ut.edu/news-and-ut-life/ncaa-national-championship-teams-visit-the-white-house

Repost : Elizabeth Wilson ’26, marine science - biology, was awarded the NOAA Hollings Scholar Fellowship. The appointment includes tuition and living expense funding, a 10-week paid internship at a NOAA marine research facility next summer and funding to attend national scientific conferences. On The University of Tampa campus, Lizzy is a Lab Mentor for the biology department and works in the Slug Lab with Associate Professor Michael Middlebrooks. She will choose her NOAA internship placement this fall.

Recent alum Morgan Bierbrunner ’24 was interviewed about Rush Power, a business she co-founded with fellow alum Isabella Diilio ’24, by Spectrum Bay News 9. On the morning broadcast, Bierbrunner credited the accelerator entrepreneurship program at UT, which was recently ranked #1 and #2 in the South for its undergraduate and graduate entrepreneurship programs, and 15th and 16th in the U.S., respectively, by The Princeton Review in partnership with Entrepreneur magazine.

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University of Tampa ranked one of the top entrepreneurship programs Nationally, the rankings have UT at #15 for its undergraduate program

The packing list looked a little different this time for Karen Duritza ’26 and Sergio Santana ’27. The two traveled to Ghana as part of a course titled 'Community-Based Development.'

Full story: https://www.ut.edu/news-and-ut-life/political-science-class-gets-real-in-africa-

Sara Festini, associate professor of psychology at The University of Tampa, recently received a three-year, $277,536 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for research about memory.

Full story: https://www.ut.edu/news-and-ut-life/university-of-tampa-professor-receives-277k-grant-from-national-science-foundation-for-memory-research

Jessie Wahlers, marine science-biology '25, with Assistant Teaching Professor of Biology, Kristian Taylor received UT's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship to study the effects of the Brazilian peppertree on mangrove crab cannibalism. To do this, Wahlers has been out in the field collecting specimens and analyzing their intraspecific interactions in the lab. She is looking to determine if the presence of Brazilian peppertree increases the frequency of mangrove crab cannibalism in comparison to the presence of red mangrove. If evidence suggests an increase, this may indicate a higher need to combat the invasive nature of the Brazilian peppertree as it influences a vital mangrove forest species.

More from yesterday’s NCAA Sports Day at the White House, where three of our UT teams were in attendance.

As part of NCAA Sports Day, , and were among the 90 NCAA Division II national championship teams from the 2023-2024 season invited to the White House, where they were addressed by Vice President Kamala Harris.

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