Strength in numbers: WUSF Interns Get a Big Boost from Donor’s Generosity
Any way you add it up, Dr. Joe Rush has a true knack for numbers. As a child in St. Petersburg, the third of 12 siblings was a grade-school math whiz. Years later, as an honors math major at the University of Florida, he placed first in the challenging Putnam Mathematical Competition three straight years — placing 95th in the nation as a senior. In a way, numbers and relationships say a lot about Rush and his powerful impact on WUSF Public Media — including the fortune he earned with a fellow physician by creating the first online medical resource for doctors in the early 1990s.
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Excavating a Lasting Legacy
During the summer of 1981, a funny thing happened in the life of James Strange, then a distinguished USF religious studies professor and acclaimed Biblical archeologist. His home phone began ringing off the hook with calls from newspaper reporters — each one inquiring about a certain new movie featuring a mystical ark.
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Nearly Endowed: A USF Scholarship Closes In on Perpetuity
Hiram Green’s distinguished, 45-year career at USF – along with the scholarship he and his wife, Freida, established to help students in need – almost never materialized. Now, their Set the Captive Free scholarship is nearing the $25,000 endowment threshold, which opens the door to providing USF student scholarships in perpetuity.
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J.D. Porter and family give $5.1 million in support of USF’s Indoor Performance Facility
The University of South Florida has announced a $5.1 million gift from J.D. Porter and
the Porter Family to name its new Indoor Performance Facility. The Porter Family Indoor Performance Facility will help support all USF student-athletes.
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Give It to Cancer
When his grandfather surprised him with an early Hanukkah present of $100, Justin Tieder decided the best way to spend the money was to support cancer research at USF.
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The Highlight of a Career, a Legacy for Future Doctors
After the passing of his late husband, Dr. Marion Ridley, Mark Lundy established the Marion B. Ridley Endowed Resident Fund with a gift of $50,000 to both honor his beloved husband and further cement Ridley’s legacy at the university and in the profession. He recently added a $1 million bequest in his estate plan that will greatly increase the impact of the fund.
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$500,000 gift from Mary Kay and Joe Henson to USF funds tutoring, mentorship program at Sarasota middle school
Ensuring young students can read, so they are free to accomplish their dreams, is a goal of a literacy program based at the University of South Florida’s Sarasota-Manatee campus that matches USF students with middle schoolers needing support to boost their reading skills — and to set a course for brighter futures.
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Remembering a USF Marine Science Legend
William T. (“Bill”) Hogarth, 83, of Treasure Island FL passed away after a short illness on November 5, 2022. In 2007, he became the acting Dean of the USF College of Marine Science. There he was able to secure funds to rebuild laboratories, recruit new faculty, acquired the research vessel Weatherbird II and, perhaps most importantly, led efforts on behalf of the state of Florida to study the impacts of the devastating Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010.
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Supporting a “Resource for Truth”
Dinkins and Lally, who recently celebrated their 44th anniversary, have listened to WUSF ever since they moved to Tampa from Louisville, Kentucky, in 1979. They’ve been regular donors to WUSF Public Media since 2003 and have included a generous bequest for WUSF in their estate plan.
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Bulls Explore the Globe
It was a typical late September Friday afternoon on USF’s Tampa campus — warm and sunny, with most students and faculty members wrapping up their final classes in anticipation of the weekend ahead. But inside one room in the Interdisciplinary Sciences Building, a group of students, professors and USF supporters were being transported far from campus, back to ancient Athens, Sicily and Malta.
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Rhea F. Law, USF President
The growth and success of Tampa Bay is intrinsically linked with the growth and success of USF. There is so much potential, and the future is very bright.
- Quiet generosity, lasting impact
- Marine biology major dives into her passion
- Marine biology major dives into her passion
- Grateful engineering grad’s generous payback
- USF Giving Week 2025 breaks records in participation and number of causes supported
- $1M gift solidifies David C. Anchin Center as a hub for cutting-edge professional learning
- Centene Foundation invests in future of clinical social work through $300,000 grant to USF
- USF United Support Fund: Helping students weather the storms
- $1M gift solidifies David C. Anchin Center as a hub for cutting-edge professional learning
- Gift sets the stage for theater and dance students
- There's perfect harmony in USF concert hall's new name
Your Impact

U.S. News & World Report ranks USF as the “best value” among all public universities in Florida (2023).

25% of USF students are first generation. Your support enables them to create a new cycle of education within their families.

U.S. News and World Report ranked USF Tampa as a Best College for Veterans (2023)

USF is a member of the Association of American Universities, the most prestigious association in higher education.

U.S. News & World Report ranks USF #45 among public universities (2024).

USF is home to approximately 50,000 students from 146 countries!

USF professors and students were awarded 314 patents over three years.

USF leads the nation as the top producer of faculty Fulbright Scholars! Way to go Bulls!

You can find approximately 394,000 USF graduates worldwide.