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USF President Judy Genshaft Donates $20 Million To Honors College

One of the biggest individual gifts in USF history will help finally establish a permanent home for the Honors College.

By Nathan Bond
A rendering of the building that will house the Judy Genshaft Honors College.
USF

This morning USF held a special event announcing a $20 million gift from outgoing president Judy Genshaft to the Honors College. The gift (made along with her husband, Steve Greenbaum) will be used to spur the construction of a five-story, 80,000 square foot facility to house the college. In addition, the college will be named the Judy Genshaft Honors College.

From the full story on the USF website:

The USF Honors College consists of more than 2,200 high-achieving, cross-disciplinary scholars who are part of a close community that provides specialized experiences and advanced educational opportunities. Students are encouraged to participate in global experiences through study-abroad, undergraduate research, and hands-on community-engagement and service projects along with professional development opportunities. The College is open to students from all academic units on each of USF’s campuses. Collectively, USF Honors College students earn an average 3.72 GPA.

With the Genshaft and Greenbaum gift, the College expects to grow to 3,000 students within the next five years. In addition to continuing to recruit the best students in Florida, the new building will greatly enhance efforts to recruit nationally and internationally by raising visibility and overall awareness.

The approximately $47 million facility is expected to feature interwoven spaces for classrooms, study areas, faculty and advisor offices, event areas, a music and computer lab, as well as numerous collaborative spaces – expanding the range of academic opportunities for students and giving them a true “home” on campus.

One part of Judy Genshaft’s legacy that absolutely cannot be debated is academics. USF has made huge strides in this area in the last two decades, and now Judy has given one of the biggest individual gifts in the history of the university to continue nurturing USF’s brightest young minds. She elevated the former Honors Program to its own college in 2002, and supported hundreds of its students with a scholarship fund established by her family. It’s a very fitting honor to have the Honors College bear her name.