University Beat

An organizer for a group that's been fighting the University of South Florida administration over a proposal to develop a preserve in Tampa said he was “quite surprised” about the sudden retirement of USF’s president.

Timothy Boaz had issues with Currall's handling of possible development of the USF Forest Preserve and changes to the College of Education, but praised his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and willingness to work with faculty on budget issues.

Jason Salemi says the large number of unvaccinated Floridians are at higher risk for serious infection as more transmissible strains of the virus spread rapidly in the community.

USF has created a program called BOOST, meant to help student-athletes better manage their “personal brand” now that they can profit from it.

The scores measure each school's performance in 10 student success-based metrics, including four-year graduation rate, degrees awarded, and median wages of graduates.

In a statement, USF Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly said associate head coach Tom Herrion is no longer with the men's basketball program.

Health experts say vaccine engagement efforts are helping build trust in communities, but there is still a lot of work to do.

Researchers say the goal of the study is to improve health messaging so hospitals and health agencies can better connect with the community.

Early findings from a recent USF survey show that many are still unsure about the safety of hurricane shelters in spite of the COVID-19 vaccine becoming available.

Researchers are looking to enroll 7,600 people in the cognitive training study, including 3,000 in the greater Tampa Bay region.

USF scientists say they're seeing a decline in the amount of nutrients from the original release in late March.

Florida still performs better than most states when it comes to reporting deaths, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. USF epidemiologist Jason Salemi breaks down the numbers.