Outgoing president donates $20M to university

TAMPA — University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft and her husband, Steven Greenbaum, have donated $20 million to the USF Foundation.

According to a press release, the gift is one of the largest ever made by a sitting university president to his or her institution. Genshaft, 71, has led USF for 19 years and plans to retire July 1. She will be succeeded by Steve Currall, who currently serves as provost and vice president of academic affairs at Southern Methodist University. 

The donation, the release states, will pay for a new, five-story building to house USF’s honors college, which will be renamed the Judy Genshaft Honors College.

“We are so passionate about this university,” Genshaft states in in the release. “It has been such an important part of our life and our family over the last 19 years. It’s only natural that we would do whatever we can to ensure its continued success.”

Genshaft established the USF Honors College in 2002. She and her husband also endowed the Genshaft/Greenbaum International Honors Study Scholarship and the Genshaft Global Presidential Scholarship, the release adds. 

“Based on our research, Judy Genshaft has given more to the university in her 19 years than any sitting university president in the United States,” states Joel Momberg, USF Foundation CEO and senior vice president of advancement and alumni relations, in the release. “This is indeed a historic moment for USF and American higher education. We are so grateful for all President Genshaft and Steven Greenbaum have done for our university.”