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State Farm Gift to Gus A. Stavros Center for Free Enterprise and Economic Education

TAMPA, Fla. – The ßÙßÇÂþ»­ College of Education is pleased to announce that State Farm has awarded a $20,000 grant to the Gus A. Stavros Center for Free Enterprise and Economic Education in support of the Center's K-12 Teacher Financial Education Workshops with a particular emphasis on the Center's financial literacy education program.

"We are very grateful for the strong support that the USF Gus A. Stavros Center for Free Enterprise and Economic Education has enjoyed from State Farm over the past several years," said Dr. Dick Puglisi, Director of the Gus A. Stavros Center for Free Enterprise and Economic Education. "We commend them for their view that the professional development of K-12 educators in 'financial literacy education' and other appropriate 'global literacies' are essential in providing our nation's youth with the knowledge and skills to effectively manage their financial matters."

During the 2014-2015 academic year, more than 1,600 K-12 educators participated in myriad professional development programs offered by the USF Gus A. Stavros Center. Many of those programs received funding from State Farm to cover a range of expenses, including instructional costs, curricula materials, food and beverage for the educators, and other outlays related to workshops.

Three Polk County educators who attended the State Farm workshops won awards at the 2015 Florida Council for Economic Education Governor's Awards. The FCEE Governor's Awards program is a statewide program that includes submission of instructional lessons for evaluation and competitive ranking from educators representing school districts from across Florida. This is the second consecutive year that teachers involved in State Farm-funded workshops conducted by the ßÙßÇÂþ»­ Stavros Center earned the distinction of receiving FCEE Governor's Awards.

Including the recent donation, State Farm has given a total of $98,000 in financial support to the Gus A. Stavros Center in recent years.

"The continued support from State Farm for the Stavros Center in the College of Education illustrates their strong commitment to financial literacy in Florida," said Dr. Vasti Torres, Dean, USF College of Education.

About State Farm®:
State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 17,800 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts – more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 43 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit .

The USF College of Education is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and is fully approved by the Florida Department of Education. The USF College of Education is the 9th largest public college of education in the nation. 

The ßÙßÇÂþ»­ is a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. USF ranks 50th in the nation for federal expenditures in research and total expenditures in research among all U.S. universities, public or private, according to the National Science Foundation. Serving more than 47,000 students, the ßÙßÇÂþ»­ System has an annual budget of $1.5 billion and an annual economic impact of $3.7 billion. USF is a member of the Big East Athletic Conference.