USF Stavros Center receives a $20,000 State Farm grant to support Financial Literacy Programs for College Students

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 programming to educate students in economics and financial literacy. State Farm’s support will directly impact college-aged students.

For more than four decades, the Stavros Center, located in the College of Education at USF’s Tampa campus, has been recognized for excellence in economic education at the local, state, and national levels. The gift provided by State Farm will allow the Stavros Center to grow its programming to provide financial literacy training to college age students across the Tampa Bay region.

“For over 13 years, State Farm has been a long-standing partner of the Stavros Center, and we are thankful for the trust they have put into the Center and our programs,” said Peter Trakas, Ed.D., director of the Stavros Center. “Many college age students have never taken a personal financial literacy course. The support from State Farm will allow the Center to grow our offerings and allow us to focus on an especially important group of students, those that are in college.”

State Farm began its partnership with the Stavros Center in 2010 to promote financial literacy education within K-12 schools. To date, the insurance company has provided more than $250,000 in financial support to the Stavros Center.
“State Farm believes that financial literacy education is critical to building stronger and more resilient communities” said Jose Soto, State Farm Corporate Responsibility Analyst. “State Farm is proud of the USF Stavros Center dedicated work in financially educating and empowering students and educators in our community,”

The Stavros Center at the USF College of Education is the premier center for Economic Education in the state of Florida. The Center collaborates with educators and school district leaders to provide teacher training programs, curricula development efforts and other strategies that infuse free enterprise and consumer economics concepts into the classroom.
“The Gus. A Stavros Center is instrumental in offering financial literacy and economic education opportunities that promote sound financial decision making in youth.” said R. Anthony Rolle, PhD, dean of the USF College of Education. “College age students are making decisions that will impact their financial health for years to come, and it is vital to give this age group the tools to manage and understand their finances. We are grateful to State Farm for their longstanding partnership with the Stavros Center and their role in advancing the Stavros Center’s mission. We look forward to seeing the impact of this support with our students and community.”

To learn more about the work of the Gus A. Stavros Center for Free Enterprise and Economic Education, visit www.usf.edu/stavros.