Meet Our Donors

No Bones About Why They Support UF
More than a half-century later, one inspirational couple gives back to the university that brought them together. More

An Accidental Gator Becomes UF’s Champion
Kevin Mayeux's late decision to attend the University of Florida turned out to be one of the smartest moves of his life. More

Honoring a Father, Supporting Gator Engineers
Bryant Marshall says giving back feels right, like passing on a torch handed to him by his dad and UF engineering. “It’s always nice to be able to give back at the end of your career when so much was given to you by the university to facilitate your lifelong success.” More

Honoring a Sister’s Love of Wildlife Ecology
In 2007, Monica Stokely’s life was unexpectedly cut short at the age of 26. “She was very passionate about wildlife and the environment,” her brother shares. “I wanted a way to support causes she believed in and to help other young students pursuing studies in this area.” More

Back Home Again
Fifty years ago, Craig Opsahl was a UF senior who traded his labor for a rent-free trailer on a farm. The experience and the professor who hired him inspired Opsahl to name UF in his estate. More

Fiercely Independent
Retired schoolteacher Ada Rosenson Dorfeld has been doing things her own way for 90 years. Now, her gifts to UF are helping future educators do the same. More

An Architectural Gem Gets a 21st-Century Makeover
Preserving UF’s past and building toward the future depends on funding from donors, the state and other entities to maintain and restore its iconic buildings, like Norman Hall. Check out the photos of the recently completed historic restoration. More

Honoring a Love of Sports & History
The spirit of fellowship and generosity that defined the Golden Era Gang lives on at UF Athletics thanks to a generous estate gift from the Czar. More

A Mother's Love Creates an Enduring Legacy
In 1972, Rosario Arias Larrinaga lost her newborn son to an undetectable congenital heart defect. To honor him, she began making gifts to pediatric cardiology programs and research at the University of Florida, where he received care. Thanks to support like hers, remarkable advances have been made. More

Inventor Helps Others Through Gift to UF
Khanh Dinh dedicated his career to saving the world through his inventions, and now he’s continuing his legacy of finding solutions to build a better world through his philanthropy. More

A Philanthropist, and a Gentleman
Gator Everette Phillips never forgot the support that made his UF education possible. That’s why he decided to create a scholarship to help kids in the same position he had been in, financially, for whom it is nearly impossible to go to college. More

The House of Giving Hearts
For the Habgoods, their casual bungalow provided a place for family gatherings and memories to be made. Now, they are using it to support a place that is important to them. More

Rebel With a Cause
Sergio Galeano had a lot to be proud of in his life: He fought at the Bay of Pigs, immigrated to America and became an expert and international leader in pollution control systems. But above all, his family hopes his value of hard work continues through the UF students who benefit from his scholarship. More

From This Gator Family, a Gift to Open the Doors of Diversity
Vince and Val Green know that pasts laced with good fortune — loving parents and supportive teachers — paved the way for their own successful lives. Now, they want to clear for others the path to a brighter future by creating a scholarship to address issues of diversity on campus. More

Alumna: Provide a 'Launch Pad' for One Life, and Change Many
Through a blended gift of cash and life insurance, UF graduate Teresa Leste funded scholarships that benefit high-achieving students who fall below the poverty line and are the first in their families to attend college. More

Scholarship Celebrates Father's Memory
The Sias family hopes to inspire UF engineering students through a legacy gift. More

Gator Couple Strengthens UF and Their Local Community
Sam Block's (BSJ '68) parents believed in the power of education — and giving to Gators. Now Sam and his wife, Linda, are furthering his parents' legacy. More

Devotion Defined
Bruce McEwan learned a lot from his mother, Marion. After she died, Bruce made a gift to UF that would not only honor her memory but also help future Gators. More

UF Brain Team Saves U.S. Magistrate Judge
A gift endowing the post of UF brain expert Dr. Brian Hoh is saving lives. More

The Gift That Started It All
Capt. Arthur Hamm died in World War I but his legacy soldiers on because of a gift he made to UF. More

Gators Extend Their Family's Legacy
The family legacy is strong with John Joseph Benton's family. His 10 children created a scholarship in his name that supports students in the College of Public Health and Health Professions. More

UF is Where Their Stories Began
When her husband, Joe Rosko, passed away, Louise Sutton looked for ways to honor his memory. A scholarship for UF engineering students was exactly what she had in mind. More

Investing in Tomorrow's Gators
After her husband, Robert Smith, passed away, Eileen Blau decided to create a scholarship using a charitable gift annuity in his honor. More

Honoring Patty's Love for Teaching
Sisters Adrienne and Patty Garcia attended college together at UF. When Patty passed away, Adrienne gave back to their alma mater with the gift of real estate. More

Keeping Thomas' Memory Alive
After an accident claimed the life of UF senior Thomas Coady, his mother created a scholarship honoring his memory and passion for helping others. More

Windy City Retirees Find a Second Home at UF
When Dan and Kathleen Hayman relocated to Gainesville, the science and history buffs quickly made themselves at home at the Florida Museum of Natural History. More

For the Love of Animals ... and Humanity
Now in her retirement, Parratto-Wagner wants to do just one thing: leave the world a better place where animals and human beings can continue to benefit from each other. More

Gator Pays Forward His Scholarship
Clearwater area retiree Bill Alcorn (BSBA '71) says he was set on attending the University of Florida in junior high. There was just one problem. More

Gator Football Icon Extends His Legacy
George Edmondson Jr., known to many as "Mr. Two Bits," recently created a trust to support the school he loves.  More

Gator Transforms Nursing Profession Through Faculty Support
Linda Aiken (BSN '64, MN '66) has worked her way around the world to accomplish one goal: help provide high-quality nursing care to people who are too ill to advocate for themselves.  More

Gators Live the Way They Want to Be Remembered
John (BBC '81) and Anne Sofarelli recently created an endowment in their wills to support scholarships, teaching, research and programs in UF's Rinker School of Construction Management.  More

Gift of Land Opens Up a World of Opportunities
It was a small community, small school and small class, but a big-hearted, innovative teacher captured the minds and respect of all her students and prepared them — the old-fashioned way — for life.  More

Paul Nicoletti: Retired Professor's Gift Offers a Lesson in Compassion
It seems small now — just a $150 scholarship. But it forever changed Dr. Paul Nicoletti's life. More

Jim Packard: Lifetime of Caring for Others Continues With Scholarship
"I am happy, through this gift annuity, to be a part of other students’ education at the University of Florida." –Dr. Jim Packard More

Michael Gengler: Lawyer Honors Teachers With Gift to UF's College Education
Maybe it was the things he discovered during his years as a corporate lawyer — burrowing into the finer points of right and wrong to find the building blocks of a case — that moved Michael Gengler to want to help teachers. More

Jim Hughes: Widespread Citrus Disease Compels Grower to Take Action Through a Gift in His Estate
Jim Hughes was worried. When the citrus greening bacteria arrived in Florida nine years ago, he watched fellow growers lose their entire groves — everything they had — to the microscopic invader. His father's and his cousins' groves were at risk, too. More

Ray Cocco: What defines great American corporations and their innovative leaders?
When pinpointing what defines great American corporations and their innovative leaders, Ray Cocco (BSCHE '82) knows the key. More