Guided by his parents and a legendary mentor, David Norton invests in business education and cancer research at USF.

Jan. 21, 2026
by Molly Urnek

David Norton, MBA ’03, still remembers the phone call that changed everything. Approaching burnout after a decade in a demanding engineering job on Florida’s Space Coast, he was ready for something new.

He had applied to several full-time MBA programs, weighing his options carefully. Then the phone rang.

On the other end was Dick Bowers, associate dean at USF’s Muma College of Business. Before Norton had even set foot on campus, Bowers offered him a graduate assistantship working together to fundraise for the college.

“I was flattered,” Norton says. “I was already impressed with the college’s MBA program, but that just clinched it — I was going to USF.”

That decision would later propel his subsequent career at L3Harris Technologies, where he assumed senior project engineering roles for numerous programs of national importance. Then after his retirement, it inspired a significant donation that will shape the lives of countless others. Norton recently made a charitable gift through his trust to benefit the Muma College of Business and the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

“My MBA helped me tremendously in my career and personal investing,” he says. “And it didn’t cost me anything; the graduate assistantship paid for my tuition and even gave me a small salary. This is my way of paying USF back.”

Working with the legendary Bowers, whose career spanned from athletics to business for over four decades at USF, Norton helped organize fundraising initiatives that included golf tournaments and banquets, where he was able to meet and converse with many of Tampa Bay’s top business leaders. He also served as editor of the college’s newsletter, The Executive, which reached thousands of alumni and friends of the college.

In gratitude, Bowers wrote Norton letters of recommendation, helping him expand his options for a successful post-graduation career.

“In many ways, those were the most fun and educational 21 months of my life. Dr. Bowers was a wonderful ambassador for USF, as well as a mentor and friend to me,” Norton says.

His graduate experience motivated him to establish the David A. Norton Endowed Professorship in Business, ensuring future faculty can continue shaping careers as Bowers did for him.

“David Norton’s generosity will strengthen our ability to attract and retain world-class faculty,” said David Blackwell, PhD, Lynn Pippenger Dean of the Muma College of Business. “An endowed professorship is one of the most powerful tools we have to elevate academic excellence and drive innovation in business education.”

Before USF, Norton’s parents were the driving force behind his success. His father, Kelly, began his career as a mechanical engineer at Florida Tile in Lakeland, and rose through the ranks to become its president and CEO. Then after retiring, he served for several years on the board of directors for Publix.

“I remember visiting the tile plant and seeing how much the workers respected him,” Norton says. “He treated people well, and they admired him for it.”

His mother, Donna, was a nurse who left the profession to raise Norton and his two siblings. He reflects, “I’ve always cherished my mom’s sacrifice to focus on her children over a career. In life, you have to prioritize things. 

“My parents always inspired me to further my education,” Norton says, recalling his father urging him toward law school or Harvard for an MBA. Norton laughed off Harvard, but the idea of graduate school remained.

When his parents passed away from different cancers within 18 months of each other, they motivated him in a new way: to give to research.

A visit to USF Health reinforced his decision to establish the David A. Norton Endowed Cancer Research Fund. Touring the downtown Morsani College of Medicine building, Norton met Timothy Yeatman, MD, PhD, and learned about his innovative cancer research. 

“He thinks outside the box,” Norton says. “He’s exploring things I had never heard of, like how ultra-processed foods might influence cancer risk. That impressed me.”

Norton hopes his gift will advance research to prevent, if not cure, all types of cancers, especially rare ones like his parents had.

"At the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, we are constantly pushing our research forward, striving to learn more about how to treat and cure cancer," says Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, executive vice president of USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. "I am so grateful to David Norton for supporting this vitally important work. Gifts like this help accelerate discoveries that ultimately will improve treatments and save lives."

Retirement hasn’t slowed Norton’s vision for what’s possible. Guided by the people who molded him, he’s on a new mission to make an impact that will outlive him.

“That phone call opened the door for me,” Norton says. “This gift is my way of opening doors for others.”