Host Owen LaFave (left), senior vice president for the Bank of Tampa, and Dr. Ken Atwater, president of Hillsborough College.
Hillsborough College is on the precipice of a monumental partnership with the Tampa Bay Rays, and its long-time president believes community integration will continue fostering the school’s success.
Dr. Ken Atwater has led Hillsborough College (HC) for over 15 years. The fourth-largest institution in the Florida College System now contributes over $1.3 billion to the county’s economy.
Atwater reflected on his tenure and contemplated the college’s future during a recent interview for the Money Market podcast, released Monday. He told host Owen LaFave, senior vice president for the Bank of Tampa, that the overarching goal is ensuring HC remains “tied to the economic health of Hillsborough County.”
“We train people to get jobs,” Atwater said. “And basically, by getting a job, that means you’re going to change the trajectory of not only that person, but their family and the community they live in.”
Dr. Ken Atwater, president of Hillsborough College, discussed what is likely the largest project in the institution’s history on a recent episode of the Money Market podcast. Image: Screengrab.
HC plans to help prepare students for 11,900 new on-site jobs at its Dale Mabry campus. The Rays are quickly moving forward with plans to redevelop the 130-acre site with new academic facilities, a stadium, and a sprawling mixed-use community.
County Commission Chair Ken Hagan has pegged the project’s privately financed price tag at $8 billion to $10 billion. The redevelopment’s 30-year economic impact is $34 billion, according to a recent analysis by RCLCO.
The real estate consultancy firm also expects the project to attract nearly 10 million annual visitors to the campus and surrounding district. Earlier this month, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state will convey the sprawling site to the college, which will then negotiate land-use agreements with the Rays.
He also noted that the Florida Department of Transportation would likely complete area infrastructure improvements. Rays CEO Ken Babby said the project is “bigger than baseball” at the Feb. 2 press conference.
“This is by building a stronger Tampa, a stronger region, by reinvesting back in the community and rejuvenating a college.”
An aerial rendering of a reimagined Dale Mabry campus, anchored by a new stadium. Rendering: Tampa Bay Rays
HC would retain ownership of the land and lease everything outside of the site’s southwest corner to the Rays for at least 99 years. The college could receive final binding agreements by mid-April, according to its legal counsel.
Atwater, in a subsequent prepared statement, said the partnership “represents a transformational opportunity for the college and its student experience. “A project of this scale and vision creates new pathways for learning, workforce development , internships, and career-connected education.”
He later told LaFave that HC would only agree to terms that are “advantageous to the college.” Atwater said the project would provide financial benefits, foster and solidify relationships, shine a spotlight on the campus, and create roles that the college would then help fill.
“All of those things fit hand in hand,” he added. “And the opportunity to work with an organization like the Ray in a collaborative fashion is something we think would be advantageous to the college.”
Atwater said over 25,000 students, a built-in “customer base,” attend the Dale Mabry campus daily. The site hosts HC’s hospitality program, and the Rays would “love for us to be there.”
When asked how he envisions the college in a decade, Atwater, who doesn’t plan on reaching his 25th anniversary at HC, said, “It would be even more integrated with situations like the Rays are talking about.”
A rendering of new Hillsborough College facilities. Image: Tampa Bay Rays.
Atwater wants to work “side-by-side with business and industry.” He also hopes to incorporate learning centers into commercial complexes.
Formerly known as Hillsborough Community College, HC is embarking on a rebrand that better reflects its baccalaureate offerings. Atwater said the institution owns nearly three million square feet of facility space, and leadership has budgeted “about $5 million over the next three to four years to do this.”
The school is expanding its financial technology (fintech), cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence (AI) programs and increasing collaboration with the University of South Florida. Atwater said roughly 60% of HC students plan to transfer, primarily to USF.
HC received $1.29 million from the U.S. Department of Education in January to bolster AI-focused programming. The college, which plans to build a new innovation center, also announced Monday that Congresswoman Kathy Castor secured an additional $250,000 to support those efforts.
Atwater told LaFave that how he would measure success was one of the first questions posed to him after taking the helm at HC. The college offered around 3,000 degrees or certifications at the time; that number topped 8,000 last year.
The president now oversees an over $290 million budget and more than 2,200 employees. “But the main thing is the number of graduates we’re producing,” Atwater said.
“Think about it – there’s a high correlation between people who graduate from college and health,” he continued. “Every dollar that the state invests in us, they get a 17.1% return on their investment. Also, every dollar that a student invests in us, they get nearly $5 …”
Dr. Ken Atwater will soon be spotlighted in the 20th Anniversary Platinum Edition of the Power Broker Magazine.
Share Your News With Us
To share news with the Power Broker, email us at reachout@powerbrokermagazine.com. To sign up for our twice-weekly e-newsletter, visit www.powerbrokermagazine.com; and to join our online conversation, subscribe to our YouTube channel at Power Broker Media Group – YouTube.
