Since graduating from USF in 1976, Mike Crew and his friends have visited every continent — often with his plush Rocky D. Bull in tow. He and Rocky are pictured here in Antarctica in 2021 with bestie Nancy Laudando.

5/14/25
By Kiley Mallard

When College of Engineering alum Mike Crew looks back on his career, he can clearly see the threads of green and gold. 

“Now that I’m older, I see how all these little threads tied together to form this web that got me to where I am,” he says.

After a successful 20-plus-year career as an engineer and technology manager, he’s the owner of Homeowner Management Services Inc., a thriving homeowners association management company he founded in 1993.

“I’ve always used my engineering knowledge in some way, shape or form,” says Crew, who earned his Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering in 1976. “It’s been critical to my success in life and my enjoyment.”

Looking back inspired Crew to give back. His multifaceted estate gift to the College of Engineering will ensure future students graduate as well prepared for life as he was. His $3 million gift will be divided between a scholarship he’s already established and a new professorship and lecture series.

“The University of South Florida is so grateful to Mike Crew for his support that will provide new scholarship opportunities for our students and enhance the engineering programs that had such a significant impact on his own life,” says USF President Rhea Law. “With the help of his gift, our College of Engineering will continue to deliver an outstanding education, create innovations and develop new technologies that lead to a better future for our society.”

Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Crew planned to attend local Washington University. His mother, however, wanted to move somewhere warmer and the family relocated to Florida, where they had vacationed for years. Crew toured schools in the state and settled on USF, impressed by the engineering program.

“For a kid who spent his whole life in one place — I went to one school system and probably half my high school graduating class went to elementary school with me — coming to USF was a huge expansion,” he says.

He dove into campus life, serving on the Student Disciplinary Committee, the Student Publications Committee, and in Student Government as a senator, joining Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, and doing page layouts and writing headlines for the Oracle newspaper.  From his first day on campus, he worked as a student assistant in the College of Engineering, in the Science Center and for the beloved Phyllis Marshall in the student center.

He sees connections between all of those experiences and the way his career unfolded.

For instance, a fellow engineering alum, Del Kimbler, played a crucial role in helping him get his first job at Armstrong World Industries, where he worked for five years after graduation. Kimbler won a contest with the company, and when representatives came down to USF to present Kimbler with an award, Crew was invited along for lunch by the industrial engineering department chair.

Two days later the company flew him to its Pennsylvania headquarters for an interview.

Later he would call upon skills he learned in class and during an internship to design a computer program for Armstrong that allowed them to easily mix scrap material into new patterns for their vinyl flooring.

“The production departments used up hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of scrap material and turned it into a useful product,” he says. “I was a hero. I made a little bit of a name for myself in my job. Got one minute of fame.”

A guiding principle throughout his life — “Don’t let perfection get in the way of progress” — he credits to a USF professor who taught him he didn’t need to work out every problem to the nth decimal place.

“There’s all these little pieces that fit together to make up my university experience, where people influenced my life,” says Crew. “And those things made a difference.”

After a couple of decades working as an engineer, eventually moving into the technology sector, Crew reached a fork in the road — he could see his tech skill set would eventually be phased out. 

So when his neighborhood homeowners association in Atlanta elected him treasurer, he saw an opportunity. He figured he’d learned plenty of business skills through life and classes he took toward an MBA.

“I was like, ‘How hard could that be?’ Those might be the five stupidest words in the world,” he says. “It turned out to be really hard.”

He started Homeowner Management Services part-time from his living room in 1993, with two employees (him and his then-wife) and one client. By 1998, he was working on the business full time, eventually growing to 80 employees managing multiple associations.

These days, Crew is 95% retired, which allows him the freedom to travel. Since graduating USF, he, his friends, and his miniature plush Rocky, have visited every U.S. state, 85 countries, and every continent, including Antarctica.  

He is also continuing his long-standing tradition of giving to his alma mater. It started in 1978, shortly after graduation, when he gave $25 to the USF Library. He has given generously ever since to the College of Engineering and the USF Alumni Association, where he is Life Member #5226. 

“We are deeply grateful to Mr. Crew for his generous gifts to the College of Engineering,” says Interim Dean Sanjukta Bhanja. “His support will enrich the educational experience for our students and ensure future generations of engineers will benefit from the same opportunities that shaped his successful career.” 

Crew, who says he couldn’t have gone to college without financial aid, established a scholarship for engineering students in 2017. The endowment has already supported several scholarships, and his updated estate gift will add another $1.5 million to the fund, providing for many more future scholarships. 

Crew also recognized how his professors helped broaden his horizons, so $1 million of his estate gift will establish the Michael W. Crew Professorship for Industrial and Management Systems Engineering.

Prompted by lectures he attended as a student, Crew earmarked $500,000 to support a lecture series that presents timely and practical topics in subject areas outside the customary engineering curricula.

“We are incredibly thankful to Mr. Crew for the careful thought and planning he has put into this generous gift,” says USF Foundation CEO Jay Stroman. “He exemplifies the success that our alumni can achieve, and his contributions will inspire and support students for generations to come.”