Photo credit: Ray Reyes, Rocket Science Photography

The gifts, announced at today’s CyberBay Conference, come from Rhea Law, Kate Tiedemann and Ellen Cotton and Arnie and Lauren Bellini

Oct. 14, 2025

The University of South Florida today announced $2.3 million in new private philanthropic gifts, all to support its newest college, the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing.

The announcements were made at the CyberBay conference, a new initiative to combine technology, academic, government and military sectors in a shared mission to drive Tampa Bay’s evolution as the nation’s leader in the convergence of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and national security.

USF President Rhea Law announced that she has made a personal $1 million gift to the college and that her friends, philanthropists Kate Tiedemann and Ellen Cotton, did the same. USF’s Bellini College, which launched this fall, is the first named college in the nation devoted to AI and cybersecurity together.

In March 2025, Arnie and Lauren Bellini announced a $40 million gift to name the college, the largest single gift in USF history.  At that time they also kicked off the Bellini Challenge, agreeing to match every additional dollar donated to the college up to $5 million.  The two gifts announced today qualify for the challenge, doubling the impact. 

“AI and cybersecurity not only safeguard our data and infrastructure, they also drive innovation and are key to the future success of our university and the Tampa Bay region,” Law said. “We are at a pivotal moment in history and thanks to partners and friends like the Bellinis, we are investing in the next generation of leaders — those who will shape the future of cybersecurity, technology and our global economy.”

In another surprise announcement at today’s conference, Arnie shared that he and Lauren are donating an additional $300,000 to the college, specifically for its faculty, staff and students to conduct cybersecurity research and recommendations to enhance protection of the computer systems for the Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater governments.

Tiedemann and Cotton are long-time supporters of USF, most recently donating $3 million to the new Center for Executive and Leadership Education, part of the Muma College of Business, on the St. Petersburg campus.

“We are deeply grateful to President Law, Kate and Ellen for their vision and generosity in support of USF and the entire Tampa Bay community,” said Jay Stroman, CEO of the USF Foundation. “I am inspired by their dedication to this pivotal college that sets a national standard for the future of AI and cybersecurity education and research.”

The Bellini College opened this fall with over 3,000 students and is built with a focus on three areas: delivering high-demand academic programs, advancing excellence in research and promoting ethical use of AI and cybersecurity to foster social good.