USF's receives biggest gift ever--$20M for College of Medicine

TAMPA - Frank Morsani and his wife Carol met and married in Tulsa, Oklahoma but they have made Tampa Bay their home for more than 40 years.

"I've been privileged to lead an unusual life," said Morsani.

Their unusual success in life came by way of car dealerships. Morsani was a mechanic who worked his way through college, then to the top of the business. Now they are passing along a gift, $20 million, to the University of South Florida’s College of Medicine.

The $20 million gift is the largest USF has ever received and it will go to help the neediest in Tampa Bay.

The donation will build USF a new College of Medicine and sooner than you might think.

"First we have to do the architectural design and get that done. So I would say in about six months to a year, we'll start to see some groundbreaking," said USF President Judy Genshaft.

When the new, six-story Morsani College of Medicine takes shape it will house a teaching clinic to help people in our community who may have suffered without medical attention.

"We're going to care for people who don't have health care. We are going to care for people who have a need that’s unmet and in that way, we will separate ourselves from everyone else," said Josh Robertson, third year USF Medical Student.

And USF hopes by setting itself apart, the college will become a national model.

"I think it's going to make healthcare more accessible long term because the hospitals are going to have to recognize that they have to change," Morsani said.

It's one thing to lead an unusual life. It's another to share it so freely with others.