Two Foundations Give 1.5 Million to USF’s New Campus Expansion

“I am deeply grateful to the Herbst and Fletcher Jones Foundations for these wonderful investments in the education of USF students,” said USF President Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J. “The care that they will give to their future patients will truly change their world for the better."

USF has been a top destination for students who want to pursue nursing and the health professions, and is ranked in the top 10 percent of nursing programs according to U.S. News & World Report.

The support for the Health & Life Sciences campus comes at a timely chapter for the nursing industry in particular, as the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration has predicted that California will face a deficit of over 44,000 nurses within the next 10 years.

The 1.5-acre property offers a new frontier of immersive learning and real-life education for multiple programs from the School of Nursing and Health Professions (SONHP), the College of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Education. The university gains 80,000 square feet of cross-disciplinary collaborative space and will feature hands-on learning experiences. The campus will contain labs for simulation, skills, virtual reality, and research utilized by upwards of 1000 undergraduate students annually and will also offer a new opportunity to house a mental health clinic.

The purchase and development of the Health & Life Sciences Campus will be supported through a combination of philanthropic contributions and existing university resources. Tuition dollars will not be directed to this project.

Herbst Foundation

The Herbst Foundation was the first large benefactor to the project. Their one million dollar gift stands as the foundation's largest grant to the university in their 40+ year history with USF, reflecting their belief in the value of the project. The Herbst Foundation’s gift will support the rebuilding of the comprehensive new facility, which will aim to bridge the sciences and health professions while facilitating transdisciplinary learning and research throughout the university.

“These gifts give USF and the School of Nursing and Health Professions an extraordinary opportunity to create a space where students in programs of nursing, public health, clinical psychology, biology, kinesiology, and others can come together and learn with and from one another using the best technology available to support and augment their educational experiences,” said Dean Eileen Fry-Bowers.

The Fletcher Jones Foundation

The Fletcher Jones Foundation rounds off this combined funding with support designated for the creation of a Human Performance Teaching and Research Laboratory. This innovative lab will provide programmatic support for USF’s kinesiology major, which has had exponential growth in the past ten years. Their support will help provide facilities and equipment for a wide variety of physiological and performance testing and allow for cross-disciplinary collaboration in subjects like sports medicine, dance, and exercise physiology.

The Health & Life Sciences Campus will break ground with renovations in the fall of 2024 with an anticipated start for spring of 2026.

Support USF in raising the funds needed to help transform the Health & Life Sciences Campus.