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Fall 2003, Volume 45, Number 3

A Place to Call Home

This fall, USF's Greek Park welcomed 344 residents representing 8 fraternities and 6 sororities into 14 villa-style homes. The on-campus village adds a new dimension to university life and offers important solutions for organizations that traditionally lived off campus.

Story by Ann Carney

IT MAY NOT BE YOUR TYPICAL Greek community. But for students, alumni and university administrators, it’s all the more sweet.

Thirty years after the first proposal was made for fraternity and sorority housing at USF, Greeks now have their very own, on-campus village—a neighborhood made possible by the sheer determination of university administrators and foundation board members to provide students a special place to call home.

"Greek life has taken a very positive and exciting twist at USF," says senior Tiffany Messingham, a Tri Delta member and recruitment vice president for the Pan-hellenic Council at USF. "We now have our very own home away from home. And it’s so much fun."

Replicating a model used by only one other university in the country, USF built 14 homes for Greeks on USF land and is leasing those homes back to the Greek organizations.

As a young university, USF faced an interesting challenge—Greek organizations that desperately wanted housing, but didn’t have the savings from decades of membership to buy land and develop the properties on their own. University administrators were bound and determined to find a solution.

"We didn’t want them to fail. We worked with the organizations to find out what it would take to make this happen," says Tom Kane, director of residence services for USF. "They said they wanted the university to build the housing and they would lease it back. We beat the idea with a stick until we came up with the best possible solution."

This fall, 344 residents representing eight fraternities and six sororities moved into 14 houses. They painted and decorated, curtained and customized to create their very own slice of home right on the USF campus. The two- and three-story villas, located at the former site of the Village Apartments and the golf driving range, house 20 to 28 students each. Some feature amenities like a chapter house, paid for by the organization’s own fundraising efforts.

"The university was willing to step out of the box for us," says Messingham. "They definitely opened a door and we’re walking through it."

USF Residence Services collects the rent and serves as landlord, providing important services like maintenance and security, while the Greek organizations agree to be bound by strict policies and regulations.

"Fourteen of our 34 groups now have the ability to rally around a physical point," says Mike Farley, USF’s Greek Life coordinator. Along with adding another dimension to university life, the new village provides solutions for organizations that traditionally have lived off campus. "Where do we meet? How do we get everyone together? These things have become easier to manage," Farley says.

The 14 houses are built around a central courtyard, an entity unto itself. It’s a place where neighbors meet, greet and occasionally compete. A place that demands that each resident be a good neighbor. A place that creates a sense of communal living.

"This is no longer a regional campus. People purposefully choose USF now based on what it has to offer," says Farley. And that creates new expectations, he says, like Greek and other residential housing. "This new village is a tremendous source of pride for the Greek community, and it is an incredible move on the part of the university."

Kane hopes to see the concept expand, eventually bringing in more of the younger or smaller Greek organizations who are still in the early stages of their financial development. While those organizations may not yet have a home in the village, Messingham says they are always welcome. "Everyone is welcome here; we don’t want anyone left out," she says. "Our next big push is to get everyone in."

Apparently there’s a lot of interest. Messingham says sorority recruitment was up by more than 20 percent this fall. She expects that number to double next year. Farley reports a 30 percent increase in fraternity recruitment.

"For the first time, some of these organizations are playing host," says Farley. "They are inviting guests into their home. It’s a new dynamic here at USF."

A Home for Everyone

More and more students are living on campus each year. Thanks to an ambitious renovation and construction plan, the university now provides beds for 4250 students, roughly double the number of just ten years ago.

While the new Greek Village is a big step in the university’s development, it’s only one step in the larger residential housing plan Kane’s department oversees.

"This fall, we provided beds for 4,250 students and turned away another 300," he says. "We’re housing more than half our first-time-in-college students." That’s an impressive accomplishment considering that less than 10 years ago, the university couldn’t fill the 2,300 beds it offered in traditional residence halls and two to four-room suites. Rooms, Kane says, that didn’t have a lot of appeal. Rooms that have since been renovated or replaced with newer structures and updated layouts.

Executing a three-phase, $150 million plan, Kane and his department got to work. They renovated Alpha, a traditional residence hall, turning it into an apartment building and renaming it Kosove. And, they renovated Gamma, renaming it Castor, but keeping it as a traditional women’s residence hall with two to a room and 40 residents sharing one bathroom. Last May, Beta, a men’s residence hall, was closed. It will reopen in August 2004 as a traditional co-ed residence hall.

Though renovation has been a big part of the plan, construction plays an even bigger role. In 2000, Holly was opened, offering 728 beds in an apartment-style setting. Magnolia, another apartment complex, opened in 2001, offering 488 beds to nontraditional, professional and graduate students and students with families. This fall, Maple Suites opened adding 230 more beds to the mix.

"We’re through two of three phases. We’ve got 600 more beds to go and the renovation of Andros." Kane says the additions have been welcomed with increasing enthusiasm. "As we’ve built and renovated, we’ve filled all we’ve opened and turned some away." Next year the university will have 4,400 on-campus beds, a figure Kane says already has been exceeded in terms of demand.

It all comes down to an important milestone in the university’s young history. A milestone that signals the university’s new position as a residential campus—a place where students not only learn, but live.

"We’re providing a place for people to live, study, eat and congregate 24/7," says Kane. "It’s very important to a university; our students and residents have a greater sense of ownership," he says. "A greater sense of pride."