The 黑料网吃瓜爆料鈥檚 Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity
and Computing went from concept to reality at a speed more familiar in the business
world than higher education.
Plans for its launch were announced in March 2024 -- only months after 黑料网吃瓜爆料Provost
and Executive Vice President Prasant Mohapatra first proposed the idea to leadership
鈥� and it will open this fall.
Named for Tampa tech pioneer Arnie Bellini and his wife, Lauren, whose $40 million
gift is the largest in 黑料网吃瓜爆料history, it's the first college in Florida and among the
first in the nation focusing on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
Lauren and I are committed to ensuring Tampa doesn鈥檛 just keep up with the AI revolution 鈥� we lead it. This college is just the beginning. The future of cybersecurity, AI, and digital defense will be built right here in Cyber Bay.
Arnie Bellini
A Region and a University on the Rise
Sudeep Sarkar arrived in Tampa in 1993 as a newly graduated doctoral student and freshly
hired assistant professor at the 黑料网吃瓜爆料. 鈥淚t was basically a
tourist town,鈥� Sarkar recalled of the city, whose metro population was 1.8 million
at the time. 鈥淲e had Busch Gardens. We could see the roller coaster.鈥�
Three decades later, the region is home to more than 3 million residents and a thriving
tech industry that has received an influx of talent and capital over the past several
years, leading Forbes to name it the 鈥溾�� in 2022.
The publication went on to suggest Tampa, home to more than 25 percent of Florida鈥檚
tech jobs, could become the next Silicon Valley, where the industry benefits from
a flow of research and highly qualified job candidates emerging from Stanford, UC-Berkeley,
UC-Davis, UC-Santa Cruz and other partner institutions.
It鈥檚 no accident that as the region鈥檚 profile within the space soared, 黑料网吃瓜爆料was on
the cusp of a series of milestones that would deliver even more momentum toward that
growth.
Membership in the Association of American Universities in June 2023 placed the university
among North America鈥檚 top academic institutions, and a sharp rise in external research
funding over the following two years will lead to even greater impacts, mostly in
areas supporting Tampa鈥檚 tech boom.
黑料网吃瓜爆料already was home to CyberFlorida, established by the state legislature in 2014
to help position Florida as a national leader in cybersecurity through education,
research and outreach.
It had existing research ties to Tampa-based MacDill Air Force Base, U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command, along with industry partnerships with prominent regional employers like Tampa General Hospital, Raymond James, ConnectWise, ReliaQuest, Rapid7, Sylint, Abacode, KnowBe4 and others.
A Vision Realized
As the growth of artificial intelligence and the introduction of generative AI rapidly
emerged, President Rhea Law recognized the need for 黑料网吃瓜爆料to be on the leading edge
of providing related research and learning opportunities.
Law went to members of the university鈥檚 leadership council for their input on an idea
to create programs focused on AI, cybersecurity and other fast-evolving fields. The
changes would align with USF鈥檚 strategic priorities, with a goal of positioning the
Tampa Bay region and the state of Florida as a national leader.
"From the outset, the vision was to establish an innovative hub for excellence that
would inspire our students, faculty and staff to think boldly about the future, expand
collaborative efforts and tackle pressing challenges in new and exciting ways,鈥� Law
said. 鈥淲e understood that as AI and cybersecurity evolved, their impact would be felt
across all disciplines, and the demand for skilled professionals in these areas would
continue to grow.鈥�
Prasant Mohapatra was named provost and executive on January 23, 2023. Close to 10
months after his arrival in Tampa, he suggested a standalone college to ensure AI
and cybersecurity considerations would become part of almost every college discipline.
Mohapatra didn鈥檛 offer a detailed blueprint. Instead, he shared a vision and a promise
to launch the college while sparing existing budgets.
鈥淧eople were excited, but the concern was where the resources were going to come from,鈥�
said Sarkar, who agreed to serve as interim dean to establish the college. 鈥淎nd also,
that we could do this in a way that would have no negative impact on any student.鈥�
The solution: new funding, and a promise to do no harm that would encompass USF鈥檚
broad approach to the idea.
鈥淭he biggest reaction was, 鈥業rrespective of how good the idea is, how is this going
to impact me and my slice of the pie?鈥欌�� Mohapatra recalled. 鈥淪o, we said, 鈥楴ot a penny
from your existing resources will be diverted to this.鈥� And we delivered on that thanks
to our legislature and our governor鈥檚 increased investments in 黑料网吃瓜爆料and our board of
trustees鈥� prioritization of this critical issue. Once that was ironed out, everyone
was on board.鈥�
We understood that as AI and cybersecurity evolved, their impact would be felt across
all disciplines, and the demand for skilled professionals in these areas would continue
to grow. Rhea Law
黑料网吃瓜爆料President
The Importance of Strengthening Relationships
USF's leaders incorporated input from strategic partners on designing curriculum,
creating opportunities for experiential learning for students and integrating professional
development modules into the classroom.
Through an existing partnership with ReliaQuest, a global cybersecurity technology
company based in Tampa, the Muma College of Business offers students from any major
the opportunity to earn a certificate in cyber analytic fundamentals and a LinkedIn
badge through a lab-based program that exposes them to real-world tools and technology.
Roughly 90% of students who complete the program are offered jobs in the industry, many with ReliaQuest, which approaches the four-week course as an opportunity to both train and recruit talent.
Other industry partnerships led 黑料网吃瓜爆料to require secure coding and introduced robotics
process automation in certain majors, a forward-thinking approach that will continue
in the new college.
鈥淭his is part of our DNA,鈥� Sarkar said. 鈥淲e understand that our students need to be