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USF Now On Hunt For More Faculty

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By ADAM EMERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 10, 2008

TAMPA - Students in crowded classrooms at the University of South Florida may see relief next fall now that the university has advertised dozens of jobs for new faculty members.

USF took out a full-page ad this week in the Chronicle of Higher Education seeking applicants for about 75 positions. There also are another 30 unadvertised vacant jobs in the medical school, university Provost Ralph Wilcox said Friday.

The relief comes after months of budget cuts in a weakened economy that forced the university to eliminate 170 vacant faculty positions.

The university set aside money after cutting deeper than it needed, Wilcox said. It also got more revenue after the state Legislature allowed it to charge up to 9 percent more tuition than other schools were permitted. Lawmakers wanted that money spent on classrooms.

To fill its teaching needs, USF relied mostly on visiting instructors and adjunct faculty who it could pay out of a one-time pot of money. Wilcox said prolonging such temporary fixes could erode educational quality.

"The strength of any great university rests in its faculty," Wilcox said.

The provost acknowledged the Legislature could cut more money to schools before next spring, but he said, "We cannot wait to hear what the full extent of those cuts is going to be."

Reporter Adam Emerson can be reached at (813) 259-8285 or aemerson@tampatrib.com

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