Posted on October 7, 2012

University of South Florida Receives $12 Million to Establish Patel College of Global Sustainability

The University of South Florida in Tampa has announced a $12 million endowment gift from longtime supporters Kiran C. and Pallavi Patel to establish the Patel College of Global Sustainability.

The new college will elevate the work of the Patel School of Global Sustainability — created in 2010 as a graduate-level program for engineers, entrepreneurs, and environmental managers looking to advance sustainability projects around the world — expanding its portfolio of projects focused on improving urban systems, water resources and access, and transportation. The school has been selected by the World Bank to help develop and implement its urban water strategy in Africa and is partnering with the UN-Habitat Partner University Initiative to promote education, professional development, and policy advice with respect to emerging cities.

The Patels' gift, which will be counted toward the university's ongoing capital campaign, boosts the couple's total contributions to USF to nearly $26 million. Previous gifts from the couple have supported the Dr. Kiran C. Patel Endowment Fund, construction of the Patel Center for Global Solutions, the Dr. Kiran Patel Center for Global Solutions Operating Fund, and USF Health. The Zambia-born Kiran and Pallavi met while studying medicine in Pallavi's native India, and they both received advanced degrees at Columbia University before founding a successful physician-owned and -run managed-care plan.

"The world's rapidly depleting resources and growing population require us to become more efficient and think of new ways to develop sustainable and renewable sources of clean water, energy, food, and transportation," the couple said in a statement. "The new college will create lasting changes that will improve and preserve the standard of living of global communities for many generations to come."