Higher education in general and USF in particular can no longer rely on traditional state and federal appropriations for the flexible and discretionary levels of support that were provided in the past. The University must pursue competitive funding opportunities through new and aggressive strategies in order to accomplish its goals. Shaping the University for the future means that USF must critically analyze, cultivate, and manage new linkages with its external constituents. It must expand partnerships with constituents with whom it has common interests and under circumstances whereby shared visions lead to strategic advantage in bringing about innovation and change. This concept is exemplified by the new Electric Vehicle and Solar Energy Research and Development Program which is a joint effort of the College of Engineering with partners in the private sector, public utilities, federal agencies, and city, state and county governments.
All participants have a share of the program s vision and a stake in the outcomes.
The program fosters innovation and leverages University resources to create knowledge leading to solutions to problems with world-wide significance. Not all academic areas have equal potential to engage in such dramatically effective linkages. Nevertheless, it is critical that the University undertake an on-going and systematic process to identify and formulate opportunities for extending its relationships, expanding its partnerships, and improving its strategic advantage. The accomplishment of USF s visions for its future rests on the University s ability to conceptualize its role in innovative ways and to leverage its skills and resources in creative and sustainable directions.