Former USF President Judy Genshaft, husband give $3M to USF Health

Former University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft and her husband, Steve Greenbaum, have made yet another donation to the university she led for 19 years before retiring in 2019. 

On Monday, USF announced that Genshaft and Greenbaum gifted $3 million to the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Department of Neurosurgery, Brain and Spine. The money establishes the Genshaft and Greenbaum Endowed Chair in Neurosurgery, and will support current chair Dr. Harry van Loveren as well as future department chairs. 

The donation is meant to keep USF at the forefront of neurosurgical care, discovery and training, Genshaft says in a release. 

“We invest in excellence, and we have complete confidence that Dr. van Loveren will steward this gift in the best possible way, not only as an exceptional clinician, but also as a champion for the continued advancement of the Morsani College of Medicine and USF,” Genshaft says in the release. 

Van Loveren has served as chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, Brain and Spine for the past 23 years and is also the chief of Tampa General Hospital’s Neuroscience Institute. In February, Genshaft and Greenbaum invested in a new intraoperative MRI suite and granted van Loveren first right of refusal on its use. That space will enhance neurosurgeons’ ability to assess their work in real time and expose residents to advanced imaging technology.

With a strong national reputation for treating complex neurological cases and training the next generation of neurosurgeons, USF’s Department of Neurosurgery has expanded its faculty to 27 neurosurgeons under van Loveren’s guidance and strengthened its residency training. 

Last year, the Department of Neurosurgery, Brain and Spine expanded its residency program, emphasizing a personalized, resident‑centered approach where trainees help shape their own curriculum guided by faculty and a professional coach.

Van Loveren has also helped grow the medical school, relocating it to downtown Tampa, and briefly served as the interim dean of the Morsani College of Medicine. 

“He's emblematic of what USF is, which is that individuals make a difference here,” Greenbaum says in the release. “One person can really be the change.”

According to the release, van Loveren plans to use the endowed funds to support initiatives that often lack early‑stage backing, including grants, pilot studies, creative projects, exclusive equipment purchases and specialized resident training rotations that can influence long‑term careers.

The real measure of the gift, van Loveren says, is in the future physicians it will help produce.

“Our goal is to make neurosurgeons who are going to care for our children, grandchildren and all of our community members for generations,” van Loveren says in the release. “This gift allows us to continue to train the best of the best and provide them with all the tools necessary to be world-class physicians.”

Genshaft and Greenbaum designed the endowment to be flexible, enabling future department chairs to invest strategically in new ideas, technologies and opportunities as the field evolves.

The endowment is just one of many major donations the pair have made to USF since Genshaft’s retirement, including at least $26 million in publicly announced major gifts. In 2019, Genshaft and Greenbaum pledged $20 million to build the new Judy Genshaft Honors College at USF, which opened in 2023, and later added $3 million to endow the deanship. The couple has contributed more than $4 million to the Genshaft/Greenbaum International Honors Study Scholarship program and $1 million to establish the university-wide Genshaft/Greenbaum Passport Scholarship Endowed Fund. Other donations have been made to USF Athletics, USF Philanthropy and the university’s Women in Leadership program.

“Judy and Steve have once again demonstrated their deep passion for USF,” says USF President Moez Limayem in the release. “Their extraordinary generosity reflects not only a commitment to academic excellence, but also their profound dedication to improving lives. Dr. van Loveren is known for treating complex medical cases as well as his reassuring bedside manner. By honoring him with this gift, they ensure that his stellar reputation will be remembered forever while also helping USF attract and support world-class faculty.”