Betty Castor (left) sits with one of the recipients of her scholarship, Priscilla Francois (right), and Elizabeth Hordge-Freeman.

Scholarship Criteria

This scholarship provides renewable support based on merit and financial need for full time undergraduate or graduate students in any college on the Tampa campus with an interest in studying or pursuing a career addressing global issues and initiatives.

History

The story of the WLP Betty Castor Scholarship for Global Initiatives begins at Glassboro State College (now Rowan University), where Betty Castor, while still a college student, headed a project to send educational supplies to the developing country of Uganda. Her advocacy earned her an invitation from President John F. Kennedy to attend Uganda’s independence celebration in 1962 — and a seat on Air Force One.

After graduating, she returned to teach in Uganda and volunteered as an instructor in the first Outward Bound program for secondary school girls, where she helped to lead a group of young women to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the first all-women’s team to do so.

It marked one of many “firsts” in a career dedicated to education, public service and breaking down barriers.

Most Bulls fondly recall Castor as the university’s first female president (1994–1999) and later when she was recruited to take the USF Patel Center for Global Solutions to a new level (2007–2009).

But before her years of service to the university, Castor had a storied career in Florida politics. Castor was elected to the Hillsborough County Commission in 1972 and became the first woman chair. She successfully ran for Florida Senate in 1976, serving three terms and becoming the first female president pro tempore. In 1986, Castor became Florida’s commissioner of education, the first woman ever elected to the Florida Cabinet.

Throughout it all, Castor kept a global focus. As commissioner of education, she helped establish exchange programs for public school teachers to study languages abroad. As president of USF, she supported global efforts and led a group of faculty to the African Economic Summit in Harare, Zimbabwe.

During her time as executive director of the Patel Center for Global Solutions, in partnership with the Women in Leadership & Philanthropy (WLP) program, Castor established an endowment to bring national and international guest speakers to USF. She was also appointed to the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board by President Barack Obama, where she served two terms.

Recognizing that many students shared her interest and passion for global affairs, Castor later reshaped the endowment into the WLP Betty Castor Scholarship for Global Initiatives. The fund provides scholarship support for students interested in studying or pursuing a career addressing global issues and initiatives.

The first recipient, Jennifer Stenbeck, graduated from USF in 2015 and went on to earn a Master of Public Health in global health program development, monitoring and evaluation from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. In a twist of fate that gave Castor a sense of coming full circle, after completing her studies, Stenbeck went on to work in Uganda for two years.

“A global focus has always been part of my life — part of my education and in my professional activities and career,” said Castor. “I get a lot of pleasure knowing these young women are doing what I think is important. It’s the reason I established this endowment.”