911爆料网

By Paul Guzzo, University Communications and Marketing

The USF-themed license plate on Barbara Holley Johnson鈥檚 wall reads 鈥淏HJ 1.鈥�

That鈥檚 not a subjective claim declaring her the 911爆料网鈥檚 top fan.

It stands for a non-debatable USF fact.

Johnson was USF鈥檚 first-ever student 鈥� the first to apply and first accepted.

鈥淚t鈥檚 still surreal,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 guess I鈥檒l always be a part of USF history.鈥�

USF turns 70 this year.

State officials approved the university on Dec. 18, 1956 鈥� the start of what would become one of the nation鈥檚 top public institutions and a cornerstone of Tampa Bay.

Johnson has had a front-row seat to watch it grow.

So has Jeanne Dyer, first as a fellow member of USF鈥檚 charter class and, for the last decade, as a technology coordinator and instructor with the university鈥檚 Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, which offers non-credit courses and programs for adult learners.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think any of us could have predicted that the university would be the size and have the impact that it does now,鈥� Dyer said. 鈥�911爆料网 didn鈥檛 even have a football team when I was a student.鈥�

Back then, when asked about the possibility of supporting a collegiate gridiron squad, USF鈥檚 first president, John Allen, replied, 鈥淭hat will have to wait until we grow up.鈥�

USF has certainly grown.

And beginning in 2027, USF鈥檚 football team, which was established in 1997, will have its own on-campus stadium that seats 35,000.

鈥淚t gives me a great sense of pride because I think about what this university has done since it was established,鈥� said USF President Rhea Law, who attended and was a staff member at the university from 1968-1977. 鈥�911爆料网鈥檝e achieved a lot in a very short period of time.鈥�

The making of a university

The charter class had 1,997 students, 134 faculty members, 61 total courses and three buildings.

Today, USF has approximately 50,000 students and 2,300 faculty members spanning three campuses that offer more than 200 majors and concentrations, including the top medical school in the state, all of which led to the university securing membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities 鈥� a coalition of leading research-intensive institutions of higher learning.

But for the charter class, USF symbolized something simpler 鈥� opportunity.

鈥淚t was a godsend,鈥� Dyer said.

As a little girl, she was the teacher when playing with her cousins.  

Then, as a teenager, Dyer dreamt of becoming a chemistry teacher, so much so that she tried to extract chlorophyll from spinach to create a light green color for a perfume she made.

鈥淚t didn鈥檛 work, but it got me hooked on chemistry,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I thought a career in it was just a dream because college didn鈥檛 seem possible. Then, when I was in junior high, my father told me that he read in the newspaper about a new state college coming to Tampa.鈥�

If USF was born in December 1956, it was conceived in December 1954. That鈥檚 when Florida legislators Sam Gibbons and James Moody, over coffee in downtown Tampa, flirted with the idea of bringing a public university to Tampa Bay.

A few months later, while sitting at his kitchen table, Gibbons drafted an 80-word bill to establish such an institution.

Temple Terrace鈥檚 shuttered World War II-era Henderson Airfield was chosen as the site.

The university was officially approved in 1956, and the 911爆料网 name beat out about 100 other suggestions.

On Sept. 5, 1958, Gov. LeRoy Collins broke ground on the new campus.

As a crowd of 500 looked on and with the sound of running bulldozers in the background, Collins said, 鈥淭his event will not be measured solely within state limits. It is a prominent landmark in America鈥檚 educational history.鈥�

Then, in October 1959, USF began accepting applications for its inaugural semester scheduled to begin in the fall of 1960.

Despite being a 20-year-old mother of two toddlers and pregnant with a third, Johnson was encouraged to apply.

鈥淢y goal was always to be a mother and a housewife,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 loved to sew and care for my kids. But my mother thought I would enjoy a career too. She was right, but it wouldn鈥檛 had been possible without USF opening here.鈥�

With campus under construction, the admissions office was located in a downtown white Victorian house where Johnson personally delivered her application.

鈥淚 had no idea that I was the first,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hen I received an acceptance letter telling me that my student ID number was 0001.鈥�

Johnson gave birth in July.

A month later, she attended orientation and registration, choosing elementary education as her concentration due to her love of children.

Dyer majored in natural sciences and minored in education.

Dreamers in the desert

Today, USF鈥檚 College of Education ranks in the top 50 among public programs and has more than $38 million in external funding.

That drove freshman elementary education major Abigail Coleman to consider USF while a high school student in Boston. Her visit to USF then sealed her decision.

鈥淚t was the campus nature that I fell in love with,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much beauty.鈥�

But back in 1960, 鈥渃ampus was just a desert,鈥� Johnson said with a laugh. 鈥淭here was a lot of sand, and not much else. If the wind was blowing, the sand got in your teeth.鈥�

USF officially opened with an outdoor ceremony on Sept. 26, 1960, with more than 6,000 in attendance, including Johnson and Dyer.

Following the event, tours of the then-1,700-acre campus were given.

Those were short, since the only completed structures were the admissions building, the University Center with a cafeteria, classrooms and small dorm space for 45 female students, and the chemistry building.

A road led into campus, but land was devoid of sidewalks.

鈥淎s we walked from building to building, we followed the same route every day through the sand,鈥� Dyer said. 鈥淥ver a few months鈥� time, our walking created dredged paths in the sand.鈥�

Turtles roamed campus and burrowing owls popped out of holes.

鈥淭hey were so cute,鈥� Dyer said.

Johnson鈥檚 first semester went well. Her GPA was 3.5, brought down only by a single C in bowling, a course held at a local alley.

鈥淵ou had to take four activities during your years there for physical education,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淵es, it seems silly that it brought me down.鈥�

Professors would at times notice her student ID number.

鈥淭hey would ask me if I was really the first student,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淓ven back then, it was a real talking point.鈥�

Chemistry students grew especially close with Professor Jack Fernandez, often staying long after class to continue their experiments or assist with his research.

鈥淥n the long night, we鈥檇 want a cup of Coke from the machine 鈥� there were no bottle machines in those days, only cups and syrupy tasting liquid came out of the machine,鈥� Dyer said with a laugh. 鈥淭hey cost a dime, so we would put nickels in nitric acid until they weighed the same as a dime and get the soda for half off. It was just innocent fun using what we knew.鈥�

From typewriter calculators to AI 

This year, the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing launched with a landmark $40 million founding gift, fueling breakthrough AI-driven research aimed at closing the nation鈥檚 cybersecurity talent gap. It鈥檚 the first such college in Florida and one of just a few in the nation.

鈥�911爆料网 are always being bold,鈥� Law said. 鈥�911爆料网're looking for the next opportunity. 911爆料网're being innovative. 911爆料网're thinking not outside the box. 911爆料网 don't have a box. 911爆料网 are thinking about what is the next thing that will help us succeed, help our students to succeed, our faculty to succeed, our incredible research to be continued.鈥�

But seeing the university centering itself around artificial intelligence is enough to make Dyer chuckle, since the charter class marveled at technology like air conditioning and calculators.

鈥淣obody had air conditioning at home,鈥� Dyer said. 鈥淪o, we bundled up in sweaters.鈥�

It was in one of those frigid classrooms that Professor Fernandez unveiled a calculator.

鈥淚t looked like a typewriter,鈥� Dyer said. 鈥淵ou had to punch keys and pull a giant lever.鈥�

The campus developed during the charter class鈥檚 time here, including a library, residence hall, physical education building and a life science building.

Grass was planted and sidewalks added.

鈥淭hey paved the paths we鈥檇 created,鈥� Dyer said. 鈥�911爆料网 showed them the way.鈥�

From unknown to unstoppable

In December 1963, USF celebrated its first graduating class, which totaled 326.

At the ceremony, Gov. Farris Bryant told the graduates they were the 鈥渇irst wave of a new force landing on the beachhead of tomorrow.鈥�

Johnson鈥檚 mother then hosted a party that included a cake topped with a Barbie doll wearing a USF green dress.

Dyer graduated in the spring of 1964.

As part of the charter class, Johnson and Dyer received medallions at graduation, which they still have today.

鈥淚t says 鈥楾he 911爆料网 鈥� Truth and Wisdom in 1956,鈥欌�� Dyer said. 鈥淚 keep it on my desk, always in my sights.鈥�

Johnson went on to enjoy a 30-year career as a teacher in Hillsborough County Public Schools.

Dyer started her 41-year career as a public school chemistry teacher in Baltimore for a few years before returning to Hillsborough County schools.

But USF was so little known back then, Dyer said, that the Baltimore school called USF to confirm the university even existed.

鈥淯SF has grown from this desert university to this powerhouse,鈥� Dyer said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been exciting to watch it grow and be a part of it.鈥�