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TAMPA, Fla. – Officials at the University of South Florida and a major university benefactor are planning to build a new college for Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity at USF in Tampa.
A new building is planned, but 3,000 students are already enrolled and will begin classes in a couple of weeks. Initially, the new classes will be held in existing USF facilities.
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The backstory:
Arnie Bellini, the major university benefactor, sold the local company ConnectWise for a reported $1.5 million. Seventy workers at the employee-owned company reportedly became millionaires.
Bellini said USF is uniquely positioned to house the artificial intelligence and cybersecurity programs. It’s because the university is in a large metropolitan area, and it’s near MacDill Air Force Base, where thousands of people already work in high-level cyber positions at SOCOM and CENTCOM.
Bellini wants to create a tech ecosphere in the Tampa Bay region where business, industry, the military and USF can create synergy that will include new, high-paying jobs.
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What’s next:
Bellini plans to donate millions of dollars and USF will seek additional funding from the Florida Legislature. USF officials said it will be the only center of its kind in the state and one of just a few in the nation.
USF also projects 5,000 students will be enrolled in the new cyber college by 2028.
The Source: FOX 13’s Lloyd Sowers interviewed Arnie Bellini and the USF provost who is heading the project.
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