CONGRATULATIONS TO USF

The St. Petersburg Times is reporting this morning that Tampa cardiologist and HMO executive Kiran C. Patel is responsible for the largest single donation in the history of the University of South Florida's history...one of $18.5 million which will be bolstered by $30 million in matching state funds over a period of years and $14 million in private donations.

The total $62.5 million will go toward the Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions, a facility where foreign leaders and scholars will come, discuss and study issues of a worldwide nature such as global warming and international trade.

When it is completed, the Patel Center will have four pavillions to house scholars, classrooms, a 500 seat auditorium, and housing for foreign dignataries. It will also take in USF's existing Globalization Center.