He never saw it coming. Busy with all of the details for graduating the charter class from the USF College of Pharmacy, Kevin B. Sneed, PharmD, walked into an office in Carrollwood, thinking he was meeting with a donor of the College.

But once there, he saw a room full of familiar faces – community members, friends and family, and even his 93-year-old grandmother from Orlando, all of them cheering and applauding the founding dean of the USF College of Pharmacy.

The ruse was necessary in order to surprise Dr. Sneed with the news that the charter class had established a scholarship in his name. It was important to the Class of 2015, as the founding class, to honor the founding Dean in a meaningful way and the entire Class was in on it – there was 100% giving participation from the students of the Class of 2015.

Called the Dean Kevin B. Sneed Inaugural Class Pharmacy Scholarship, the fund aims to offer scholarships to full-time graduate students pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy in the College of Pharmacy.

The ‘ambush’ offered Dr. Sneed a bit of turnabout – he is known to surprise incoming freshman pharmacy students with their acceptance letters in person.

You can help support the Dean Kevin B. Sneed Inaugural Class Pharmacy Scholarship.

Donations are payable to the USF Foundation, Inc.

Please include in the memo line: Dean Kevin B. Sneed Inaugural Class Pharmacy Scholarship. Mail checks to: USF Health Development & Alumni Relations, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. MDC 70, Tampa, FL 33612-9986

Or donate online by clicking here: Click on USF Health College of Pharmacy, then choose Fund #240021 The Dean Kevin B. Sneed Inaugural Class Pharmacy Scholarship

The University of South Florida Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization soliciting tax-deductible private contributions for the benefit of the University of South Florida. The Foundation is registered to solicit charitable contributions with the appropriate governing authorities in all states requiring registration. The organization is located at 4202 E. Fowler Ave., ALC 100, Tampa, FL 33620. Financial and other information about the University of South Florida Foundation’s purpose, programs and activities can be obtained by contacting Office of Donor Relations, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., ALC 100, Tampa, FL 33620 or by calling (813) 974-0887.

State Non-profit Disclosures

Devoting time to the needs of the community is at the heart of a new scholarship for USF medical students.

Called the Dr. John Sinnott Merit Scholarship in Medicine, the scholarship is named after John T. Sinnott, MD, FACP, FIDSA, chair of the USF Health Department of Internal Medicine, the James A. Cullison Professor of Medicine, and director of the Florida Infectious Disease Institute. The scholarship was initiated when John Ekarius, former chief operating officer for USF Health, provided its first donation. More than 50 donors have added to that seed money to grow the gift to about $33,000.

John Ekarius (right) announces the scholarship named for Dr. John Sinnott (left), with Dr. Margarita Cancio-Cabrerra and Dr. Douglas Holt.

“One can see the impact of John’s legacy by watching alumni interact with him,” Ekarius said. “His repeated winning of the Golden Apple teaching award symbolizes his dedication to the school and its future. John represents the best of the Morsani College of Medicine.”

The first word of the scholarship came when Ekarius made a surprise announcement about it at an Internal Medicine event in December. Taken aback, Dr. Sinnott was clearly moved by the gesture.

“John came up with an amazing surprise and a unique honor,” Dr. Sinnott said. “The scholarship he started in my name will assist many students as they pursue their dream of a career in medicine.”

In working with USF Health Development to fine tune the details for the scholarship, Dr. Sinnott determined that a student’s work within his or her community should be central to the tenets of the scholarship’s criteria.

“Some of my most rewarding experiences have been in working in our comunity,” Dr. Sinnott said. “This scholarship program will inspire our students to ‘give back’ to our school and community.”

The inaugural scholarship will be awarded for Fall 2014. For more details about the scholarship or to make an additional contribution to it, contact Patrick Henry, director of Development for the Morsani College of Medicine, phenry1@health.usf.edu or (813) 974-4803.