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Woodard may be Tampa resident but he's USFSP donor

 
Mark Woodard wants to give back to the community.
Mark Woodard wants to give back to the community.
Published Feb. 5, 2015

ST. PETERSBURG — It was the recent $10 million gift to the University of South Florida St. Petersburg that got Pinellas County government's chief executive wondering what he could do.

The answer: Give a gift of his own, if a bit more modest.

Pinellas County Administrator Mark Woodard and his wife, former Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, have committed to donate $25,000 to USFSP, creating an endowment to provide scholarships in perpetuity for students who plan a career in public service. The scholarship will bear Woodard's name and will give preference to Pinellas County employees and their families.

Woodard said he wanted to give back to the community where he has a made a living for the past 26 years and send a message to his own daughters about the importance of philanthropy.

"It's just a small way to show that you don't have to be a multi, multimillionaire, you don't have to be in that income stratosphere, to give in some way that could be meaningful," Woodard said.

Woodard's endowment will produce about 5 percent interest each year for scholarships for low-income students. The areas of study could range from political science to nursing to engineering. He hopes the gift sends a message to county employees about how important education is to the growth and development of the work force.

"If it weren't for them and their expertise, we wouldn't be able to do all the wonderful things we do here in Pinellas County," he said.

The donation is a valuable gift for a school where about 1 in 5 students are eligible for Pell Grants, a need-based federal loan for low-income students, said USFSP chancellor Sophia Wisniewska.

"For some students, $1,000 or $1,500 is the difference between continuing on a path to graduation or sitting out a semester, so it really, really makes a difference," she said.

Woodard, who was born and raised in Tampa and still lives there, earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from University of South Florida Tampa. Iorio, who is now CEO for Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the couple's daughter Caitlin both earned a master's degree from USF Tampa, and Iorio's father was a charter member of the university faculty.

Despite all of those Tampa connections, Woodard likes to point out that he has probably spent more of his waking life on the Pinellas side of the bay. He joined the county in 1988 and was tapped to his current post last August.

"As county administrator, having a connect to (USFSP) is important to me," he said.

Contact Tony Marrero at tmarrero@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8779. Follow @tmarrerotimes.