The first time Carol and Frank Morsani saw USF’s campus back in the 1970s, it only had a handful of buildings. Now, campus is full of additions thanks to the couple’s donations throughout the years, starting with their first gift in 1978.
In addition to the $5 million gift to support USF’s on-campus stadium announced at the Board of Trustees meeting in March, the Morsanis have pledged another $7 million to benefit students and others within the university community.
This additional gift will endow the Morsani Scholars, which will offer scholarships to USF students, create an endowed chair in geriatrics, and a directorship and professorship focused on ethical leadership in business.
“It’s very difficult for a lot of students to participate and live the American Dream,” Frank Morsani said in a press release. “Change is the only constant we have. It’s through education, we can move and handle that change.
"We could think of no greater way to return the benefits we have earned over our lifetimes than to empower young people through education. The Morsani Scholars is an investment in deserving students to help ensure that no one willing to put in the work is left behind.”
The Morsanis were key figures behind the formation of USF football in the 1990s, with the Bulls football team now training at the Frank Morsani Football Practice Complex that opened in 2011, as well as the USF Health College of Medicine that bears their name.
Both Carol and Frank Morsani said people often recognize their last name and then ask if they are related to the couple, whose names are on the medical school and other parts of USF’s campus.
“Yes. We’re it. They expect us to be dead!” Carol Morsani said in the release. “People tell us about the medical school and the (USF Carol and Frank Morsani Center for Advanced Healthcare), about how fine the doctors and nurses are, as well as the facilities. We hear that over and over. These people every day tell us how they appreciate what we’ve done. And now people’s children are going to the medical school or business school and see our names. Making these things happen has been rewarding.”
“Frank and Carol Morsani have made an indelible mark on the University of South Florida and the entire Tampa Bay area through their incredible generosity and leadership,” USF President Rhea Law said. “Their imprint can be found throughout our university, our community and beyond. The impact they’ll make on our students and faculty through this gift is yet another part of the amazing story they continue to write.”
