USF benefits from $18 million donation
In an effort to bring global issues to the forefront at USF, physicians Kiran C. and Pallavi Patel have given USF an $18.5 million donation to finance a Global Solutions Center.
With state-matching funds, the donation is worth $34.5 million to USF, the largest gift from a single donor USF has ever received.
“This gift will launch a new era of global engagement for our university, the Tampa Bay region and the entire State of Florida,” USF President Judy Genshaft said in a press release Friday.
The donation will finance a center dedicated to providing solutions to global problems such as the availability of fresh water, health and underdevelopment.
During a speech at a ceremony Friday, Kiran Patel listed the energy crisis, water consumption, air quality and the significance of securing jobs in an increasingly demanding international economy as important isssues in need of change.
“These and more are the kinds of problems the Center for Global Solutions will tackle,” he said. “Not just for Florida, not just for America, but for the world.”
In addition, Genshaft said the center would recruit top students and faculty to help generate additional federal research awards and private giving.
According to a news statement, the Patels focused on many of the family’s philanthropic pursuits after selling the majority of their business interests, mainly medical practices.
A member of the USF Board of Trustees, Kiran C. Patel and his family are responsible for constructing hospitals and schools in India and have donated $5 million to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.
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