Much has been made of the University of Tampa’s rapidly ratcheting enrollment. It’s now at 5,600, including more than 700 graduate students.
Put into context, the overall enrollment is nearly double that of a decade ago.
More to the point, UT’s enrollment was less than a third of today’s total in the early 1990s. It had reached the point where talk about UT turning into the downtown campus of USF was more than the usual, self-serving speculation. It was that serious.
With new residence halls, beefed-up academics and better-targeted recruiting, UT has more than survived, thank you. And it’s more than an academic amenity.
It’s a key component in the ongoing upgrading of the Hillsborough River’s west bank. It’s also what any major city worth its civic salt must have: a first-class university in its downtown.