By Payton Buschhorn
President Ronald L. Vaughn announced to the University of Tampa on March 24 that he is retiring in May 2024.
An email sent to students on March 24 contained a link to a video announcing Vaughn’s retirement. As well as the video and email, the UT official website published a press release on his retirement and achievements while in his position.
Vaughn has been a part of the university since 1984 and has held his title as president since January 1995.
Vaughn has been in this position for so long that it will be interesting to see what is next for The University of Tampa.
I have been at UT for about two years now and for both years, Vaughn has been the university president. Hearing about his retirement did come as a shock to me as I do not know anything different than Vaughn being president at UT.
However, by the time Vaughn retires, I will only have one semester of college remaining, and it makes me wonder how different this single semester will be.
While I only have one semester to worry about, current underclassmen may have a few years.
Freshman Samantha Zahradka was surprised to hear about Vaughn’s retirement while in her writing class when her teacher gasped and shared the news.
“I don’t necessarily know what would change but I do think the environment or something about the school is going to change,” said Zahradka. “I don’t think it’s going to be the same University of Tampa because he’s been here for so long.”
While Zahradka thinks the university will change a little, she hopes the school will not change too much as she likes UT as it is right now.
Unlike Zahradka, Emma Pericolo, freshman, was pretty unaffected by the news of Vaughn’s retirement.
“I’m still in my first year, it’s not like he’s leaving, my senior year, so it’s still pretty new to me to begin with,” Pericolo said.
Vaughn will be retiring after next school year, so the current freshmen and sophomores will have a year or two, depending on their graduation date, with a new president.
According to the universities website, over the nearly 30 years Vaughn has been in his position, full-time enrollment has quadrupled, and he increased the school budget from $28 million to around $400 million.
While this means the school is growing, as a UT student it raises concerns.
Over the two years I have been here, it seems like there has been an issue with an overpopulation of students and a lack of parking and housing.
When I came here in 2021, many people in my class were in the midst of a housing crisis. Many freshmen had to resort to moving off campus only to have an issue with parking here.
While parking is an issue at many universities, I feel it is heavily talked about at UT, along with the lack of housing.
It seems like with the increasing enrollment, the school wants to continue to expand, for example, with the new multipurpose building coming in Fall 2024. However, with the growing student population and additions to the campus, UT is becoming more and more crowded.
One of the reasons I decided on UT was for its campus, but large parts have been under construction for both years I’ve attended.
With the announcement of Vaughn’s retirement, the UT Board of Trustees is currently in the works to hire the next president.
Until we know who the next UT president will be, students will have to be left wondering what is next for The University of Tampa.