The proposal to build a medical school in downtown Tampa makes as much good sense for the University of South Florida as it does for the region. The university would raise its profile, free valuable space on its crowded main campus and position itself as a major new player in the fields of academic medicine and public health. The move would give greater depth to the region's business climate, opening new opportunities in research and commercialized medicine. USF and Tampa have a chance to build on their long relationship in ways that would produce benefits far beyond the campus experience.
A subcommittee of USF's Board of Trustees unanimously endorsed the idea last month, setting the stage for a vote by the full board in December, with a January deadline approaching to seek state funding for the coming year. Dr. Charles Lockwood, the medical school dean, and Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn are right that building downtown would reshape the relationship between USF and the city. Tampa would burnish its reputation as an academic center while USF would avail itself of an urban destination.
Building downtown instead of at the north Tampa campus has cost issues and logistical implications. The university could face higher expenses downtown, and splitting its medical campus between two locations could involve some duplication on the administrative side. But students and faculty already are spread across the region. USF's presence in downtown through its Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, or CAMLS, facility, and nearby at its main teaching hospital, Tampa General, offers the chance to create a university district in the city center. It could prod USF to take a leading role in pushing for a modern regional transit system. And downtown's proximity to Tampa's airport and the bay area bridges would provide a gateway for USF to millions of people here and beyond.
The offer of an acre for the medical school by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik would complement Vinik's plans to develop a multiuse neighborhood on 24 acres he owns near his hockey team's home at Amalie Arena. The project could bring a large, high-earning population to the surrounding Channel District, making Vinik's development more sustainable and earning the city additional tax revenue. A diverse and steady stream of residents and workers would inevitably attract new commercial investment, thus creating a spiral effect that would grow outward from the still-developing southern end of downtown.
USF's Board of Trustees needs to show an integrated plan that puts a new medical school at the apex of academic medicine and economic development. Being downtown would broaden USF's base of philanthropic support, create a magnet for sponsored research and medically related industries and create a platform for TGH and the university to raise the profile of public health. This could mark an exciting new chapter for both Tampa Bay and USF that would unlock other possibilities for development and innovation.