About

Community Engagement

The Office of Community Engagement and Partnerships

OCEP exists to expand and strengthen university–community engagement locally and globally in support of USF's strategic priorities. In support of the above goals, OCEP provides a variety of services, delivered through workshops, conferences, scholarly resources, off-campus events, one-on-one consultations, and digital media. Many community-engaged programs are developed by or highlighted by the Office of Community Engagement and Partnerships. Additionally, many departments take their own initiative to establish working relationships within the community for the betterment of our local and global societies.

Psychological Services Center

The Psychological Services Center (PSC) at the University of South Florida is a teaching, research, and service clinic. The PSC offers affordable outpatient mental health services to the Tampa Bay community while providing graduate students in the Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology experience in the assessment and treatment of psychological problems. The PSC is equipped to provide assessment and therapeutic services for adults, children, families, and couples.

Anthropology

Community engagement has long been central to the Department of Anthropology's mission of "making a difference" through applied anthropology. Engagement has two major dimensions: First, it represents a commitment to involve community partners actively in the development of research, teaching, and service projects, with the goal of bringing positive results to the community. Second, we aim to bring the insights of anthropologists into the public sphere, at both the local and global levels, through engagement with media, and development of alternative paths for public information, such as blogs, websites, exhibits and visual creations. 

 Anthropology Community Outreach Initiatives

Mathematics

The Department of Mathematics is committed to advancing community engagement by improving opportunities for pre-college and undergraduate STEM education.

  • Center for Industrial and Interdisciplinary Mathematics
  • STEM Education Center: The Mission of the STEM Education Center is to prepare gifted pre-college students to effectively use science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to analyze and resolve current problems through an active and engaging teaching approach, promote careers in these disciplines and give high school students a glimpse of the college experience.
  • Mathematics Umbrella Group (MUG): Seeks to involve USF students with mathematical projects of interest to the Tampa Bay business community.
  • Nagle Lectures: Annual lectures by world-renowned scholars on the mathematics of interest to the general public.
  • Suncoast Region: A consortium of colleges that strives to guide mathematics education in west central Florida.
  • Urban Scholars: Provides educational assistance and guidance to urban students in the Tampa Bay area. The sister program to Urban Scholars is the Dr. A. N. V. Rao Gurukulam Program.

Public Affairs

Engagement with the community, and especially with our many partners in the Tampa Bay region, shapes the educational and scholarly mission of the School of Public Affairs. We emphasize engaged learning across our curriculum, and our students interact with local practitioners and address real-world problems through applied research projects and service learning classes, including internships.

Our faculty researches regional and national issues. From the impact of rising sea levels, government adoption of new technologies, administrative and school reform and much more, SPA faculty are active in identifying and developing solutions in our community. SPA is also home to research centers and institutes including the Florida Institute of Government, the Sunshine State Survey and the USF Center for Brownfields Research and Redevelopment.

Sociology

In spring 2015, the Department of Sociology forged a relationship with the Tampa Heights Junior Civic Association (THJCA). Faculty and students from various departments came together in February and March to help renovate an old church that will become a new center for older youth in the Tampa Heights community. The mission of the THJCA is to provide services for youth that will promote positive development and marketable skills. The department will continue to support the mission of THJCA through collaborative research projects and volunteering so stay tuned for further developments!