66-712: Elizabeth Castor ( née Bowe ; born May 11, 1941) is an American educator and former politician. Castor was elected to the Florida Senate and as Florida Education Commissioner , and she subsequently served as the President of the University of South Florida , and President of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards . Her public service included three terms in the Florida State Senate and one term as
132-596: A Hillsborough County Commissioner . In 2004, she was the Democratic nominee for the open U.S. Senate seat of retiring Senator Bob Graham and was narrowly defeated by Mel Martinez . After leaving elected politics, Castor was the director of the Patel Center for Global Solutions at the University of South Florida and later became chair of the J. William Fulbright Scholarship Board. She also works with Ruth's List Florida,
198-577: A man's surname at birth that has subsequently been replaced or changed. The diacritic mark (the acute accent ) over the e is considered significant to its spelling, and ultimately its meaning, but is sometimes omitted. According to Oxford University 's Dictionary of Modern English Usage , the terms are typically placed after the current surname (e.g., " Margaret Thatcher , née Roberts" or " Bill Clinton , né Blythe"). Since they are terms adopted into English (from French), they do not have to be italicized , but they often are. In Polish tradition ,
264-716: A 13-member decision-making body called the Board of Trustees (BOT), consisting of the Faculty Senate President, Student Body President, six members appointed by the Governor of Florida , and five members appointed by the Florida Board of Governors . The members appointed by the Governor and Board of Governors must be confirmed by the Florida Senate and each serve five-year terms. The BOT has many responsibilities, including setting
330-736: A delegation of faculty and staff to the African Economic Summit in Harare , Zimbabwe, and encouraged new opportunities for USF faculty to study abroad. From 1999 to 2002, Castor served as president for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards . The mission of the board is to build a system of high standards for education and encourage teachers throughout America to pursue its rigorous certification process. The number of board certified teachers grew under Castor's leadership from about 2070 to 25,000 by 2003. Financial incentives were developed in 48 states and hundreds of school districts. In
396-592: A general election opponent. She won all the contests, becoming the first woman ever elected to the County Commission. During her term, she chaired the Environmental Protection Commission and became chair of the Board of County Commissioners in 1976. In 1976, she was elected to the State Senate and served until 1978, when she ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor. She was elected again to
462-577: A group dedicated to recruiting and aiding qualified Democratic women candidates, receiving the Architect of Change Award from them in May 2018. Castor was born and grew up in Glassboro, New Jersey , the daughter of Gladys F. (née Wright) and Joseph L. Bowe. Her father was the mayor of Glassboro. She attended Glassboro State College, now Rowan University , where earning her bachelor's degree . While at Glassboro, she
528-669: A medical school. During her tenure, USF gained the Research I designation and the endowment tripled from US$ 65 million to just over US$ 200 million. The Honors Program was expanded dramatically and a major expansion of residential on-campus housing was approved. USF joined its sister institution, the University of Central Florida , in creating an academic and economic partnership, the I-4 High Technology Corridor. She pursued international exchanges with institutions in China, led
594-708: A member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 2007. Karen Castor Dentel is a former member of the Florida House of Representatives and current school board member of the Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Florida since August of 2018. Frank Castor has served as a judge in Palm Beach County, Florida , since 2007. Betty and Donald Castor divorced in 1978. In 1989, Castor married Samuel P. Bell III , an attorney and lobbyist who had also served as
660-513: A school for whites only . It integrated and admitted its first African-American student, Ernest Boger , in 1961, the school's second year after opening. Boger graduated in 1964 with a B.A. in psychology. In 1962, students voted to make the "Golden Brahman" the university's mascot, named after the state's cattle raising industry. In the early 1980s, the mascot evolved into the "Bulls". In 1963, USF held its first graduation ceremony. 325 degrees were conferred. The university grew rapidly under
726-661: A semester system, the USF academic calendar is composed of three academic semesters each year. The academic year begins in the fall, running from August to December. The spring semester generally begins in January and ends in late April or early May. The summer semester is broken down into three overlapping sessions – A, B, and C – that generally span either six or ten weeks. As of the 2022–23 academic year, tuition costs are: Tuition has been frozen at all Florida public universities since 2014. Nearly 49,000 students are enrolled at USF as of
SECTION 10
#1733084644575792-443: A state legislator. He died in 2023, at the age of 83. Birth name#Maiden and married names A birth name is the name given to a person upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname , the given name , or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth register may by that fact alone become the person's legal name . The assumption in
858-412: Is by far the largest of the three campuses, spanning 1,562 acres. The campus is divided into different districts, with most housing located in the northeast, athletics and recreation in the east and southeast, research in the south and southwest, USF Health in the west, northwest and north, and undergraduate classes and student services in central campus. Each college is divided into its own section within
924-581: Is designated by the Florida Board of Governors as one of three Preeminent State Research Universities. Founded in 1956, USF is the fourth largest university in Florida by enrollment, with 49,766 students from over 145 countries, all 50 states, all five U.S. Territories , and the District of Columbia as of the 2022–2023 academic year. In 2022, the university reported an annual budget of $ 2.31 billion and an annual economic impact of over $ 6 billion. According to
990-424: Is still used to describe USF and other colleges in large cities today. USF Sarasota–Manatee was founded in 1975 and shared a campus with New College of Florida , which later became part of the USF system as well before becoming an independent university again. USF emerged as a major research institution during the 1980s under the leadership of the university's third president John Lott Brown. During his tenure,
1056-416: Is the feminine past participle of naître , which means "to be born". Né is the masculine form. The term née , having feminine grammatical gender , can be used to denote a woman's surname at birth that has been replaced or changed. In most English-speaking cultures, it is specifically applied to a woman's maiden name after her surname has changed due to marriage. The term né can be used to denote
1122-515: The 2004 Senate campaign , Castor faced two Democratic candidates, Miami-Dade County, Florida mayor Alex Penelas , U.S. Congressman Peter Deutsch , and businessman Bernard Klein in the Democratic primary election . Castor won the Democratic nomination on August 31, but lost the general election to Republican Mel Martinez on November 2, 2004, 49.5% to 48.4%. The overwhelming support for Martinez among Latinos effectively counterbalanced Castor's relatively high popularity among swing voters throughout
1188-607: The American Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I . USF's 19 varsity teams have won a combined 6 national championships and 166 conference championships. Athletes representing the Bulls have won an additional 23 individual and relay national championships and 223 individual and relay conference championships. USF was the first state university in Florida built during the 20th century. Former U.S. representative Samuel Gibbons
1254-501: The Association of American Universities , and to build an on-campus football stadium. USF was accepted into the AAU in 2023. In 1958, President John Allen commissioned a seal for the new university, wanting a symbol that would represent education on a global scale. Each element of the seal has a special meaning: USF's original colors were green, gold, and purple. These are also the colors of
1320-494: The Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, of which President Allen was a member. Purple was later dropped and the official colors became just green and gold, but purple accents are visible on some of the older buildings on campus including the administration building which now bears the name of John Allen and his wife, Grace. Purple has since returned as a tertiary color for the university, though it has very limited use aside from some of
1386-578: The National Science Foundation , USF spent $ 568 million on research and development in 2019, ranking it 43rd in the nation and 25th among public universities. USF's $ 889 million endowment is the third-largest among Florida public universities and the largest of any American public university founded post-World War II. In its 2018 ranking, the Intellectual Property Owners Association placed USF 1st in Florida, 7th in
SECTION 20
#17330846445751452-486: The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools . USFSP serves approximately 4,500 students per year and offers 33 undergraduate and graduate programs in arts and sciences, business, and education. When USF Sarasota-Manatee was established as a branch campus in 1975, it originally shared a campus with what is now the independent New College of Florida , but was at the time a USF system member called New College of
1518-548: The State University System of Florida . USF is home to 14 colleges, offering more than 240 undergraduate, graduate, specialist, and doctoral-level degree programs. USF is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools . USF is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU) and
1584-599: The University of Miami , Castor moved to Tampa, Florida , where she joined the League of Women Voters 's Tampa chapter, and became its president in 1970. Castor's second daughter, Karen, was born in 1968 and her son, Frank, who currently serves as judge in Palm Beach County, Florida , in 1970. In 1972, she ran for the Hillsborough County Commission. Castor faced ten opponents in the Democratic Primary and
1650-507: The Western world is often that the name from birth (or perhaps from baptism or brit milah ) will persist to adulthood in the normal course of affairs—either throughout life or until marriage. Some reasons for changes of a person's name include middle names , diminutive forms, changes relating to parental status (due to one's parents' divorce or adoption by different parents), and gender transition . The French and English-adopted née
1716-405: The 14 dorms. The tree motif is also seen on USF's ceremonial mace , which has a gold pinecone on the top to symbolize both growth and the fact that the first trees to be planted on the campus were pine. These pine trees are still around today, in the field next to the main south entrance to the campus on LeRoy Collins Boulevard between Fowler Avenue and Alumni Drive. USF first occupied the site of
1782-612: The 2018–2019 fiscal year, her last year as president. In 2006, Castor returned to USF to lead the Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions ; she stepped down in 2009. The university expanded its global reach, opening the first Confucius Institute in Florida in 2008 and creating the Genshaft/Greenbaum Passport Scholarship Fund in 2011, which provides financial support to USF students who want to study abroad. Under Genshaft, USF has continuously been ranked among
1848-417: The 2023–24 academic year, including over 36,400 undergraduate students, 9,200 graduate students, 1,500 doctor of medicine students, and 1,400 non-degree seeking students. USF is one of the 40 most diverse universities in the nation, with students representing every state, U.S. territory, and more than 140 countries. International students represent approximately 12% of the total USF student population. As of
1914-477: The Fall 2022 semester, the student diversity profile of the university was approximately: 50% White, 9% African American, 23% Hispanic of any race, 9% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 4% two or more races, and 5% students who did not report their race. Roughly 60% of USF students are female and 40% are male. The Fall 2022 Freshman class of approximately 4,000 students earned admission to
1980-602: The Florida Senate in 1982 and became the president pro tempore of the Senate in 1985, the first woman to hold the post. Castor served on numerous education committees and became chair of the appropriations sub-committee on education. She was the co-sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment (1977) and championed bills to end discrimination and fund spouse abuse centers statewide. She successfully sponsored legislation providing for
2046-711: The Teachers for East Africa program. While in East Africa, Castor participated in a project to help lead two dozen African school girls to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the first all-female expedition to accomplish this. She returned to the U.S. in 1965, and settled in Miami-Dade County, Florida , where she was a teacher while studying for her Master of Education degree at the University of Miami , which she received in 1968. After receiving her Master's degree from
Betty Castor - Misplaced Pages Continue
2112-625: The USF Graduate School was established in 1980. In 1986, Brown oversaw the opening of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute on the USF Tampa campus. USF became the first university in the nation to offer a Ph.D. in applied anthropology and the first in the State University System of Florida to offer a degree program in women's studies. In January 1988, USF Lakeland opened. On February 15, 1988, Francis T. Borkowski
2178-548: The USF St. Petersburg campus in 1965, taking over the former U.S. Maritime Training Center along Bayboro Harbor in downtown St. Petersburg . It is located next to Albert Whitted Airport and less than a mile from the Salvador Dalí Museum and Al Lang Stadium . USFSP was a satellite campus from 1965 until 2006, when it was accredited as a separate entity from the USF Tampa campus within the University of South Florida System by
2244-550: The USF Tampa campus serves more than 41,000 students. The institution houses 14 colleges and is the doctoral granting campus of USF. The University of South Florida Office of Graduate Studies is based on the Tampa campus and serves as the center of leadership for graduate education at the University of South Florida. The Tampa campus is located in North Tampa east of the University neighborhood , about seven miles north of downtown . It
2310-642: The United States in the 20th century". Today the John and Grace Allen Administration Building, named after the university's founding president and his wife, houses vital Tampa campus departments including Student Affairs, the Admissions Welcome Center, and the Controller's Office. USF's St. Petersburg campus opened in 1965 as a satellite campus . The site was known as the "Bay Campus" at the time and sat on
2376-649: The United States, and 16th worldwide in the number of US patents granted. USF faculty, staff, students, and alumni collectively hold over 2,400 patents. USF is home to the National Academy of Inventors and the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame , both located in the USF Research Park in the southwest side of campus. USF's sports teams are known as the South Florida Bulls and primarily compete in
2442-558: The University of South Florida System included three member institutions: USF Tampa (which was the flagship campus), USF St. Petersburg , and USF Sarasota-Manatee . Each institution was separately accredited, had a distinct mission, and its own strategic plans. The USF System once included three other member institutions: one in Fort Myers , one in Lakeland , and a second Sarasota campus. USF Fort Myers opened in 1982 and closed in 1997 with
2508-678: The University of South Florida. New College became independent of the USF system in 2001 and USFSM took its place as a member institution in the USF system, but USFSM and New College continued to share a campus until a new campus was completed for USFSM across the street in 2006. Nearly 2,000 students take classes at USFSM each year. The campus offers 43 academic programs and certificates in arts and sciences, business, education, and hospitality and technology leadership. USF offers 91 bachelor's degree programs, 103 master's degree programs, 48 doctoral degree programs, two specialist degree programs, and several certificate programs under 14 colleges. Based on
2574-472: The area was part of a 5,000-acre temple orange grove, the largest citrus grove in the world at the time, which gave the nearby city of Temple Terrace its name. In 1957, the Florida Cabinet approved the name "University of South Florida". At the time, USF was the southernmost university in the state university system. The first five buildings on campus when the student opened were the old library (now
2640-529: The district, for example with fine and performing arts in the north and northwest parts of the district, social sciences in the east, natural sciences and engineering in the south, and education and business in the southeast. The campus is known for having over 19,000 trees, and has been named a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation every year since 2011. In honor of this, nearly all streets on campus are named after trees, as are six of
2706-486: The early childhood education program. In 1986, Castor was elected statewide to the Florida Cabinet as Florida Education Commissioner, the first woman ever elected to the state cabinet. As Commissioner of Education, Castor served on the Board of Regents and as a member of the Community College Coordination Board. She worked with the legislature to fund the first statewide program to provide funding for
Betty Castor - Misplaced Pages Continue
2772-530: The early childhood education program. She worked also with the Insurance Commissioner to develop the Healthy Kids program, providing health insurance for low-income children enrolled in public schools. In 1994, Castor became the first female president of the University of South Florida (USF), one of the largest universities in the southeast with an enrollment of over 40,000 students, four campuses, and
2838-491: The faculty of the Muma College of Business . After Currall's resignation, Rhea Law , a USF alumna and former USF Board of Trustees chair, was appointed as interim president. The Board of Trustees selected Law for the permanent job as president on March 22, 2022, and she is the first USF graduate to serve in the role. Law stated her top priorities were for USF to reach a top-25 public university ranking, to gain admission into
2904-495: The fastest rising university in America, jumping 84 spots on the overall list and 58 spots on the public university list in 10 years. This ranking also put USF as #4 in Florida overall and #3 in Florida among public universities. In other rankings released by U.S. News, USF was the only Florida university in the Top 10 Best Value Colleges, at #8 among public universities. USF also ranked #17 in
2970-400: The former site of the U.S. Navy Maritime Training Center. USF's campus was damaged by an F4 tornado during the tornado outbreak of April 4–5, 1966 , with the cooling towers at the university's power plant partially collapsing and the roof being ripped off of one of the dormitories. In 1970, M. Cecil Mackey became the university's second president. During his time at USF, Mackey opened
3036-604: The largest universities in the nation in terms of enrollment. In 1997, the university began its inaugural season of NCAA football. The Florida Board of Regents named USF a "Research 1" University in 1998. Judy Genshaft was selected as the new president in 2000. Under Genshaft's leadership, the university emerged as a top research university (achieving "preeminence" per the Florida Board of Governors in June 2018) and major economic engine with an annual economic impact of $ 3.7 billion in
3102-423: The leadership of John S. Allen , who served as its first president from 1956 until his retirement in 1971. During this time, the university expanded rapidly, due in part to the first master's degree programs commencing in 1964. Allen was infamously known for his opposition to college sports in favor of placing an "Accent on Learning", USF's original motto. He received national attention after declaring in 1959 that
3168-453: The nation overall, #12 in the nation among public institutions, and #1 in Florida on the U.S. News ranking of top National Universities for Social Mobility. Niche ranked USF #19 for top public universities in America and #67 for best colleges in America 2023. According to Niche, USF was home to the #6 Education Program, #10 Criminal Justice Program, #12 Information Technology Program, #18 Accounting and Finance Program, and #25 Nursing Program in
3234-431: The opening of Florida Gulf Coast University . The Sarasota institution was originally a private college called New College which sold itself to USF in 1975 to pay off debt, and became New College of the University of South Florida. As part of the deal, New College was allowed to keep its unique grading system . It shared a campus with USF Sarasota-Manatee, which opened in 1975, but was accredited differently as USFSM
3300-629: The permanent role in March 2022. The chancellor of the St. Petersburg campus is Christian Hardigree and the chancellor of the Sarasota-Manatee campus is Karen Holbrook . USF was previously identified as a university system from 1965 until 2020, but is now chartered as one university geographically distributed across three campus locations: Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee . Before being consolidated into one university geographically distributed,
3366-408: The school would have no sports teams, though he later had a change of heart and USF's first varsity teams would begin in 1965. Allen's ultimate legacy was to be the first person to build a modern state university from scratch, famously stating: "As a completely new and separate institution, the University of South Florida became the first new institution of its kind to be conceived, planned and built in
SECTION 50
#17330846445753432-504: The school's budget, strategic goals and objectives, and establishing policies related to academic programs. The USF BOT also appoints the USF president, who also serves as the chancellor of the Tampa campus and in turn appoints the chancellors of the St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee campuses. USF is currently led by Rhea Law, who was appointed as interim president following the retirement of Steven C. Currall in August 2021, then selected for
3498-471: The state. In January 2007, Castor was appointed executive director of the Patel Center for Global Solutions at the University of South Florida . In June 2009, she resigned as executive director of the Patel Center, returning her focus back to education and politics. Castor married Donald Castor with whom she had three children: Kathy Castor , Karen Castor Dentel , and Frank Castor. Kathy Castor has been
3564-468: The student services building), the science building (now the chemistry building), the teaching auditorium (no longer standing, on the site of what is now the music building), the university center (no longer standing, on the site of what is now the Marshall Student Center), and the administration building (now called the John and Grace Allen Administration building). The university was founded as
3630-547: The term z domu (literally meaning "of the house", de domo in Latin ) may be used, with rare exceptions, meaning the same as née . University of South Florida The University of South Florida ( USF ) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa , Florida , United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota . It is one of 12 members of
3696-470: The top veteran-friendly universities in the country. In 2009, USF became the first university in the nation to partner with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to offer specialized services for veterans taking advantage of the new G.I. Bill . USF continues to improve academically, being ranked among the best colleges in the nation by U.S. News & World Report . In 2012, USF
3762-634: The university broke into the top 50 best public colleges in the nation according to rankings by U.S. News & World Report , achieving a 44th-place ranking in 2019 Currall led the university through the COVID-19 pandemic , which included budgetary hardships brought by a loss in state funding (including a controversial proposal to phase out the College of Education - later dropped due to fierce opposition). On July 19, 2021, Currall announced his retirement as president, citing "health and family reasons." He remained on
3828-451: The university with an average SAT score of 1309 out of 1600, ACT score of 29 out of 36, and high school GPA of 4.21. 41% of the members of the incoming class graduated in the top 10% of their high school class. Among the incoming class were 79 National Merit Scholars . For 2023–2024, U.S. News & World Report ranked USF as tied for #89 overall on its list of Tier I National Universities and #45 among public universities. This made USF
3894-485: The university's medical school, School of Nursing, and first-ever Ph.D. program. Additionally, Mackey worked to strengthen the St. Petersburg campus, while opening new satellite campuses in Sarasota and Fort Myers. While serving as university president, Mackey continued to teach economics courses in a conference room across from his office. Mackey first coined a new descriptor for USF: a "metropolitan university". The term
3960-461: The women's sports teams having purple accents featured on their alternate jerseys. As mentioned, the current primary colors of the university are green and gold, though the shades of these colors changed from the original kelly green and yellow to a darker green and vegas gold in the late 1990s. Green represents all life on Earth and gold symbolizes the life giving heat and light of the Sun. In 2018, USF
4026-497: Was active in organizing a drive to support education in Uganda . President John F. Kennedy appointed her to a diplomatic mission to attend the independence celebrations in Kampala , Uganda, in 1962. Following her graduation from Glassboro State in 1963, she attended Teachers College, Columbia University for a summer and then returned to Uganda, where she taught secondary school as part of
SECTION 60
#17330846445754092-429: Was classified as the third Preeminent university in Florida by the state university system. For a public institution to achieve a status of preeminence, they must meet or surpass benchmarks in at least 11 of 12 metrics set forth by Florida lawmakers. USF is a member institution of the State University System of Florida (SUSF), which is overseen by the Florida Board of Governors . Like all SUSF institutions, USF has
4158-485: Was considered a branch campus rather than a member institution at the time. New College became the independent New College of Florida in 2001, but continued to share a campus with USFSM until a new one was built for USFSM in 2006. USF Lakeland opened in 1988 and split off from the USF System in 2012 to become the independent Florida Polytechnic University . In summer 2020, the system was consolidated into "one university geographically distributed" Established in 1956,
4224-520: Was inaugurated as the university's fourth president. He served as president for five years, laying the groundwork for the university's football program , establishing on-campus housing for the USF president at the Lifsey House, and merging several colleges into the College of Arts and Sciences. Betty Castor became the university's fifth president and first female president when she was inaugurated in January 1994. She served as USF president for six years until 1999. During this time, USF grew to be one of
4290-402: Was instrumental in the school's creation when he was a state representative. He is considered by many to be the "Father of USF". Although founded in 1956, the university was not officially named until the following year, and classes did not begin until 1960. The university was built off Fowler Avenue on the former site of Henderson Air Field , a World War II airstrip. Before Henderson Field,
4356-479: Was recognized as one of the nation's largest producers of Fulbright Program scholars. The university closed its Confucius Institute in 2018, citing falling enrollment, misalignment with the university's research focus, and possible consequences on US-government funding to USF. In 2018, Genshaft announced her retirement from position as president of USF. The university's seventh president, Dr. Steven C. Currall , took office on July 1, 2019. Under his leadership,
#574425