Janelle Irwin Taylor
The University of South Florida (USF) has rescheduled its homecoming activities and a planned groundbreaking ceremony for the school’s new stadium due to challenges presented by Hurricane Milton.
Homecoming will now be held Nov. 4-9, while the groundbreaking ceremony will be held Nov. 8 at 3:30 p.m.
“Our focus right now is on the safety of the USF community, and getting our campuses reopened and back to normal operations. We also recognize that our students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the university are experiencing many challenges as we recover from the recent hurricanes,” USF President Rhea Law said. “By rescheduling our Homecoming and on-campus stadium groundbreaking ceremony to November, it will allow us to celebrate these important events at a more appropriate time.”
Details of the new November homecoming event schedule will be announced at a later date.
The news comes after USF announced earlier Monday that it had reopened its Tampa and Sarasota campuses that day, and that it would reopen the St. Petersburg campus on Tuesday.
Some limited facilities will remain closed. Classes will resume at all campuses Tuesday.
Though classes will resume, USF is providing flexibility to students impacted by the storm, offering in-person options as well as online. Faculty members have been urged to employ patience with students affected by the storm who may have left the region to evacuate, and to allow flexibility on completing assignments.
Business operations have resumed remotely, with only essential employees reporting to facilities that are open. Employees who do not have power at home and need a place to work are also able to do so at an open facility.
Normal business operations will resume Tuesday on all campuses using a hybrid approach to provide flexibility to faculty and staff. Employees may choose to work remotely through the week, as long as their position allows for it, in consultation with their supervisor.
USF anticipates returning to business as usual for faculty staff and students in-person on Monday, Oct. 21.
Residence halls at USF St. Pete will reopen at 10 a.m. Tuesday, with the exception of Pelican Hall (RHO), which remains closed until further notice.
