USF Lakeland low on SUS construction list

Ouch! First Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed $10-million budgeted for USF's long-sought Lakeland campus.

Now, as the 2008 legislative session nears, USF is asking for $15-million in PECO construction dollars for the campus. But on a list of 41 prioritized projects for all 11 state universities, the Board of Governors staff has ranked the Lakeland construction dead last.

Between that and USF's push to fold the Byrd Alzheimer's Institute into USF Health, administrators and their lobbyists will be busy this spring.

The Board of Governors will discuss the construction project during its meeting at FAMU in Tallahassee next week.