By Brianna Brinker, Arts & Culture Editor
Welcome new and returning Lions! The community of Saint Leo has had a busy summer improving Saint Leo University for the benefit of students and faculty. There have been many exciting changes, renovations, and new additions to the campus since last semester, from new palm trees and office relocations to international partnerships!
This is all because of recent donations.
The State of Florida awarded Saint Leo $1.8 million to fund the nursing and cybersecurity programs.
Bill Pope gave $1 million, which Saint Leo was able to launch the Derek J. Mitchell Collegiate Recovery Program, a residential program and the only one of its kind at a private Catholic university in the state of Florida.
Lastly, Dewey and Becky Mitchell gave a gift of $1 million. These donations added to make $3 million, and it is because of these gracious donors that Saint Leo is able to make these changes.
Organizations, services, and faculty have been moved to different locations.
Faculty in Saint Edwards were moved to Kirk Hall and Tapia College of Business. This was done so professors can be easier to find and surrounded with their colleagues in the same field as them.
“My honest suggestion to students is to walk the halls this semester and get familiar with where your professors now sit. You might be surprised how many good conversations start that way,” said Dr. Bryan DePoy, Provost of Academic Affairs at Saint Leo.
Saint Leo is proud to welcome “Leo 360,” an all-in-one student services location. It will be opened on Aug. 20 along with a ribbon-cutting.
DePoy stresses that students had an issue with being sent to different buildings for different situations. Leo 360 is how to solve this issue.
“The goal is to get students lined up quickly with the personnel and resources they actually need, all from one location, so in most cases a student can walk in, explain what they need, and get connected right there instead of being sent somewhere else to start over,” said DePoy.
Leo 360 is advising, registration, billing, counseling, and financial aid all housed on the ground level in Kirk Hall.
DePoy explains how both the office changes and “Leo 360” both come back to our core value of community.
“The advising work comes from listening to what students told us they need beyond the classroom. We created a centralized Office of Advising, combining campus advising and online advising into one team,” explained DePoy. “That has already opened up more collaboration and cross-training between the two groups, and regular idea sharing about how best to support student success.”
DePoy shares the development of a three-phase experiential model. The three steps are explore, immerse, and integrate.
This is for the students to have more of a community and support to go to when they need it. Students will have their resources in one place whether it is all their professors near their classrooms or whether it is questions they have about advising, counseling, or financial aid.
Student clubs and organizations have all been moved into the Student Activity Building (SAB). The idea behind this is to make it a student union. Organizations such as Student Government Union (SGU) and The Lions’ Pride Media Group (TLPMG) will be there.
The campus store has been relocated to the room across from Kirk Hall, where the robotics room once was. The reason for its move is to have a more enhanced space. It is stocked up with new Saint Leo merchandise!
When you come onto campus, you will also notice the food choices have been expanded. Benedicts has lunch items such as salads, sandwiches, and flatbreads, and they are coming out with more soon. FUZ is being moved to the baseball field and going to be used as a concession stand; it is being replaced with Jimmy John’s, a new food option right above the dining hall.
Also, Saint Leo signed a new dining hall services agreement with Genuine Foods to improve the quality of the food.
There are also ongoing projects to improve the entrance of the university and the lakefront. Currently, by the dock, there are new hammocks hung up and a fire pit area for all students to enjoy.
Dr. Jim Burkee, Saint Leo’s President, has made many partnerships that are going to positively impact Saint Leo. Burkee is finalizing new international partnerships this year. This includes UCAM, one of Spain’s leading private Catholic universities. As well as, Richmond American University in London. Burkee has plans to branch campus initiative in India in Fall of 2027.
“Partners are choosing to invest in Saint Leo because they see an institution serious about its future,” said Burkee.
Saint Leo launched “Saint Leo Academy” and added new leadership for Beneficia Academy.
For those who stepped away from their education, Saint Leo signed a new partnership with ReUp Education to allow students who didn’t finish their degrees to help re-engage students with the long-term online enrollment strategy.
“None of this happens by accident, and none of it happens without the discipline this community showed over the past year. It happens because Saint Leo did the hard work, and because partners, donors, and prospective students are responding to what they see,” said Burkee.
