The USF College of Public Health (COPH) announced it has received a $100,000 gift from Florida Healthy Kids to establish an endowed fund in honor of the late Samuel P. “Sam” Bell, the college’s founder.

The gift will fund scholarships for doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows at the college studying child health policy.

Bell, who died in March, was a former Florida state legislator who tirelessly championed many public health causes, especially those that benefitted children.

Among some of his many initiatives, he advocated for the regulation of tap water temperature to prevent scalding injuries and death; rallied for subsidized adoptions for special needs children; and fought for the passage of a bill requiring child restraints in cars.

One of Bell’s enduring legacies is the establishment of Florida Healthy Kids, a government-subsidized insurance plan that has become the model for the national Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

At a ceremony held Oct. 10 naming the building housing the college after Bell, Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos, chair of Florida Healthy Kids, announced the $100,000 gift.

“To compound his good work and innovative ideas for the CHIP program for years to come, we, as a board, decided to create for the COPH the Sam Bell Memorial Endowment Fund in the amount of $100,000,” Haridopolos said to the crowd of roughly 200, which included USF President Rhea Law and former USF President Betty Castor, the wife of the late Bell.

After the gift’s announcement, Dr. Donna Petersen, senior associate vice president of USF Health and dean of the college, spoke to the crowd and made note of Bell’s passion for both students and the welfare of children.

“For the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation to create this endowment with a $100,000 gift to the College of Public Health brings Sam’s legacy full circle,” Petersen said. “It is extraordinary because it reflects Sam’s enduring legacy in promoting the health of children, and his unwavering trust in us, the College of Public Health, to develop the next generation of scholars and leaders to ensure we continue to advocate for the best policies for children.”

Dr. Steve Freedman, a COPH professor of health policy and pediatrics and Florida Healthy Kids ad hoc board member, said earmarking the funds for doctoral students studying child health policy made sense, given Bell’s ability to use policy to bring public health initiatives to fruition.

“Focusing the doctoral fellowship on child health policy was a reflection of Sam’s commitment to the health of Florida’s children and his success using the policy process to achieve those ends,” Freedman said. “Advanced work in connecting public health to public policy is so clearly manifest in Sam’s public and private history.”

Chinyere Reid, a COPH doctoral student and a recipient of one of several scholarships endowed by Bell and Castor, told gatherers that scholarships such as hers not only lighten the financial load of a student, but they also act as an inspiration.

“Sam Bell’s generosity has touched the lives of countless individuals, including mine and many public health students here at USF,” Reid said. “As I’m about to graduate and transition into a public health career, I aspire to follow in his footsteps promoting the well-being of families and the community at large, just as he did. Sam Bell’s legacy will continue to shine brightly through the lives of scholarship recipients like myself, who are committed to making a positive impact on the world one small step at a time.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health