From This Gator Family, a Gift to Open the Doors of Diversity

UF graduates Val and Vince Green created a scholarship through a donor advised fund that will give high-achieving students a path to a brighter future.

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.

The Greens — he a Field Sales Leader for Allstate’s North Georgia Market, she a recently retired Director of Commercial Operations at Merck — created the Green Family Achievement Scholarship, administered through the Association of Black Alumni, to support students who have demonstrated, among other traits, academic merit, leadership skills and involvement in UF or the Gainesville community.

The Greens themselves checked all three boxes while at the University of Florida in the 1980s. Vince (BSBA ’84), who came to UF from Panama City on a Navy ROTC scholarship, joined Phi Beta Sigma. Val (BSA ’84), who graduated high school early and left the tiny panhandle town of Lamont to attend UF, joined Alpha Kappa Alpha.

A mutual friend at UF introduced them, and they discovered they had a lot in common. Neither came from money — “I grew up on a dirt road, just like Val did,” Vince said — but both had parents who instilled the values of education, hard work and civic duty. Vince worked through his UF years at the Athletic Association and waiting tables at the Reitz Union. Val cleaned petri dishes and test tubes in a lab and sorted bones at the Florida Museum.

“I knew for sure that my future depended on my ability to graduate from the University of Florida,” Val said.

From left: Val Green (BSA ’84), Vince Green (BSBA ’84), Alisha Green-Wyche (BSTEL ’01), Olivia Green, Ian Green (BA ’18, BSBA ’18, MIB ’19), and Yvonne Hinson (BAE ’71, MED ’72).

Their scholarship, through a donor advised fund, has as its mission addressing issues of diversity on campus. The Greens learned about declining enrollment among Black students from their son, Ian Green (BA ’18, BSBA ’18, MIB ’19), UF’s 2018-19 student body president. Their daughter, Alisha Green-Wyche (BSTEL ’01), also attended UF.

For the elder Greens, UF offered a well-rounded academic and social experience. “A huge difference for us, though, was not starting out in our careers with a lot of loans and debts,” Val said. They hope that their scholarship will allow more African American students to consider UF, and in doing so, bring back the diversity they knew in their undergraduate years. “Something we could do,” Val said, “was help ease the financial burden.”

Scholarship support is life changing for many UF students. Learn how you can give someone a brighter future by contacting UF's Office of Estate & Gift Planning at giftplanning@uff.ufl.edu or 352-392-5512, toll free at 866-317-4143.