The University of South Florida (USF) has announced a $2.7 million gift to fund student scholarships in engineering, nursing, and physical therapy.

The bequest from Tom Tiedmann, a retired NASA engineer who died in 2023 at the age of 84, will be used to establish scholarship funds at USF’s College of Engineering, College of Nursing, and the School of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences, which is housed in the Morsani College of Medicine. In 2016, Tiedmann signed an agreement laying out his plans for deferred gifts to USF and to distribute the bequest equally among the three funds.

“This generous gift allows the USF Health College of Nursing to provide holistic support for our trailblazing nursing students through the Tom A. Tiedemann Scholarship Fund in Nursing,” said USF Health senior associate vice president and dean of the College of Nursing Usha Menon. “This scholarship enables recipients to prioritize their studies without the burden of navigating the increasingly expensive landscape of education costs.”

“The world always needs great engineers, nurses, and physical therapists. Their professions touch the lives of nearly everyone on Earth,” said USF Foundation CEO Jay Stroman. “I am inspired by Mr. Tiedemann’s legacy and generosity. Gifts like this one continue to bear fruit at an incalculable scale.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/SDI Productions)