USF president addresses pay, HR issues at town halls

USF President Moez Limayem addressed universitywide concerns at the Marshall Student Center’s Oval Theatre on Monday. ORACLE PHOTO/COLE ABRUZZESE

USF President Moez Limayem said he has been “a little bit busy” during his first seven weeks at the university.

That’s because he has spent his time visiting all three USF campuses and holding listening tours with staff, faculty and students.

And on Monday, he added two Tampa campus town halls — one for staff and one for faculty — to his ever-growing checklist.

“I made it a point for the first few weeks of my presidency to just hit the ground listening,” Limayem said. 

Limayem will hold two other town halls for staff and faculty on Tuesday — one at St. Pete’s University Student Center Ballroom at 10 a.m., and another at Sarasota Manatee’s Atala Hall Ballroom at 2 p.m.

USF staff and faculty received an email invitation to the town halls on March 25, which included a link to submit questions in advance. A selection of those questions was used during the hour-long events at the Tampa campus.

A QR code was also displayed on a projected screen behind the Marshall Student Center’s Oval Theatre stage for those wishing to submit audience questions during the event.

Despite discussing universitywide concerns at the events, which ranged from USF Sarasota-Manatee transfer talks to issues with Oracle HR, Limayem said he will continue to prioritize listening during his tenure.

“This is not a speech, really, it’s not meant to be a speech,” Limayem said. “It’s an attempt to answer all your questions.”

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One recurring question on Monday’s town halls was how USF could balance salary raises with other increases in the Tampa Bay area, such as inflation and gas prices.

Limayem said that since taking office in February, it has become clear that salaries for faculty, staff and graduate assistants at USF are not where they should be.

USF President Emerita Rhea Law approved a base salary increase for out-of-unit faculty, administrative and staff employees last fall. However, these increases did not apply to in-unit employees or ranked faculty at USF Health. 

In-unit jobs at USF are covered by a collective bargaining agreement that determines the terms and conditions of employment, while out-of-unit jobs do not have a CBA, according to USF Human Resources.

Ranked faculty at USF Health include assistant, associate and full professors, according to USF Health.

Additionally, Limayem said USF reached an agreement with its United Faculty of Florida chapter on Monday after roughly two years of bargaining for higher salaries.

“I am just thrilled to see that our faculty will start seeing salary bonuses and salary increases in just a few weeks,” he said.

However, Limayem said these recent salary increases for staff and faculty are still not enough.

“My team will be working really hard, leveraging on the great relationship that we have some of the leaders in Tallahassee to continue taking care of our people,” Limayem said.

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Beyond salaries, another recurring topic on Monday was USF’s transition to Oracle HR, which became the university’s workforce management system in March 2025. 

Some questions submitted via the email link raised concerns about delayed hiring timelines and late pay after Oracle HR was introduced. 

And while Limayem hadn’t taken office at USF when Oracle HR took over, he said he is working on trying to understand “what went wrong” with the system since its implementation.

“We cannot start thinking about the audacious, ambitious, exciting next chapter for USF if we still have hundreds of people who are not paid correctly every single time, if it still takes a long time to hire people,” he said.

As part of his solution, Limayem said he hired Brian Verkamp as USF’s senior vice president and chief administrative officer in March, with one duty of the role designated to evaluating and optimizing Oracle HR at the university. 

Limayem added that feedback on issues with Oracle HR will be heard and managed as a human project rather than a technological one.

“This is my commitment — we will fix it,” Limayem said. “We want you to be the patient. It will take time, but you will know exactly how it is going.”

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Limayem also addressed questions about the proposal to transfer the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus to New College of Florida.

In May 2025, USF drafted a campus transfer agreement with New College of Florida that would wipe out $53 million in campus debt in exchange for its Sarasota-Manatee buildings. 

And while that idea died in legislation in 2025, Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed a lease transfer between the colleges through the 2026–27 budget, which has yet to be approved.

“Uncertainty is not good,” Limayem said. “Unfortunately, the suffering is extended now because of the pause that the legislators are taking right now. But they will be back, hopefully very soon.”

Because the governor’s budget was not approved during the 60-day regular session, Florida House and Senate representatives will return to session in mid-April, according to the Florida Phoenix.

USF’s Sarasota-Manatee community has combated transfer discussions through town halls and advocacy groups, which Limayem said has led some people to ask him to issue a public statement on the topic.

But Limayem said he doesn’t believe a public statement is the most productive approach in this scenario.

“The best way, the most effective way, is go and talk to your legislators,” he said. “They are making the decisions. We are not making the decisions.”

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In the meantime, Limayem said he is committed to doing everything he can to protect faculty, staff and students at USF Sarasota-Manatee.

“I really understand the fear,” Limayem said. “I understand the concerns. I feel concerned. We’re going to be transparent.”

Limayem said he plans to form a team of faculty, staff and students in the next couple of weeks, who will constantly attend town halls and listening sessions with USF administration.

“We have all that it takes together to write the next chapter for this great university, so that we move from a rising star to the star in higher education,” he said. “I have no hidden agenda. This is it for me. This is my last stop.”