2019 News Stories
Stavros Center receives $20,000 grant from State Farm to continue support of economics education workshops for K-12 teachers
A gift of $20,000 from State Farm was presented to the Gus A. Stavros Center of Free Enterprise and Economic Education during one of the center’s free workshops for educators on March 11.
TAMPA, Fla. (March 25, 2019) – The Gus A. Stavros Center for Free Enterprise and Economic Education received a $20,000 gift from State Farm in support of the Center’s ongoing programming for K-12 teachers to help educate students in economics and financial literacy.
More than 1,800 K-12 educators have participated in workshops and other professional development programming offered at the Stavros Center during the 2018-19 school year. The funding provided by State Farm supports instructional costs and materials, while also ensuring the programming continues to be offered free-of-charge to teachers. To date, State Farm has provided more than $160,000 in financial support to the Stavros Center.
“We extend our appreciation to State Farm for its strong commitment to partnering with the Stavros Center in making sure that K-12 educators receive professional development in the area of economics education, especially as it relates to financial literacy,” said Dick J. Puglisi, PhD, Director of the Gus A. Stavros Center.
The Stavros Center works with educators and school district leaders from Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota county school districts to provide teacher training programs, curricula development efforts and other strategies to infuse free enterprise and consumer economics concepts into the classroom. Throughout its more than 40-year history, the Stavros Center has been recognized for excellence in economic education at the local, state and national levels.
“The support provided by State Farm empowers the Stavros Center to provide free training and resources to hundreds of K-12 educators who can later share this knowledge with thousands of their students in the Tampa Bay region,” Robert C. Knoeppel, PhD, Dean of the College of Education, said. “The College of Education is incredibly grateful to State Farm for their continuous support of the Stavros Center’s work in advancing financial literacy education in today’s classroom.”
To learn more about the work of the Gus A. Stavros Center for Free Enterprise and Economic Education, visit www.usf.edu/stavros.
About State Farm®:
The mission of State Farm is to help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected, and realize their dreams. State Farm and its affiliates are the largest providers of auto and home insurance in the United States. Its nearly 19,000 agents and nearly 65,000 employees serve more than 84 million policies and accounts – more than 81 million auto, fire, life, health and commercial policies, and more than 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 36 on the 2018 Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit www.statefarm.com.
About the USF College of Education:
Home to more than 2,200 students and 130 faculty members, the University of South Florida (USF) College of Education values high-quality education and excellence in research, teaching and learning. Through innovative research opportunities, hands-on field experiences and community partnerships, the College of Education provides the resources students need to become world-class educators, researchers and leaders. The USF College of Education is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and is fully approved by the Florida Department of Education.