TAMPA, FL – April 17, 2020 – The University of South Florida Alumni Association has announced the 2020 recipients of the university’s highest alumni honors, the USF Alumni Awards, celebrating USF graduates for outstanding professional achievements and for service to USF and its students. One award also recognizes a non-USF graduate for dedicated service to USF and the Tampa Bay community.
This year’s honorees include
• The visionary pioneer who helped define and scale the IT managed service provider industry
• A longtime senior executive for the nation’s largest employee-owned grocery store retailer
• A record-breaking multi-Academy Award recipient
• The former two-term USF student government president who continues to shape the Preeminent State University’s future
• The former “first spouse” of USF, who quietly and generously gave his support in myriad ways
Awards will be presented Oct. 8 at the USF Alumni Awards Dinner in the Marshall Student Center Ballroom, USF Tampa.
The 2020 USF Alumni Award recipients are:
Arnie Bellini, MBA ’82 – Distinguished Alumni Award
Recognizing USF alumni who have reached the pinnacle of success in their careers
An entrepreneurial pioneer, Arnie Bellini’s work defined and scaled the technology industry’s $213 billion managed service segment. In 1982, he and his brother, David, co-founded an IT support business in Tampa, ConnectWise, Inc. Over the next four decades, ConnectWise created technology and business platforms that revolutionized IT support and managed services. In 2019, ConnectWise sold for $1.4 billion. Bellini is widely known as a leader who “drives the channel agenda” and in 2014, he was named Florida’s Entrepreneur of the Year. Bellini also holds seven software patents and is the 50th person over 50 to swim the English Channel.
Tina P. Johnson, Accounting ’80 – Distinguished Alumni Award
Recognizing USF alumni who have reached the pinnacle of success in their careers
Tina P. Johnson joined Publix Super Markets, Inc. in 1986 as a tax manager and went on to serve as senior vice president of the grocery retailer – the largest employee-owned company in the nation. Today, she’s an advisor to the CEO and treasurer for Publix Super Market Charities, which donates millions of dollars to nonprofits. A member of the USF Foundation board of directors for 19 years, Johnson is also a longtime member of the Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy’s Accounting Advisory Council, a former director of the USF Alumni Association board, and a 1995 recipient of USF’s Donald A. Gifford Service Award.
Richard King, Art ’80 – Distinguished Alumni Award
Recognizing USF alumni who have reached the pinnacle of success in their careers
Richard King holds a record four Academy Awards for sound editing, the most won by anyone in that category. He won Oscars for “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” (2003); “The Dark Knight” (2008); “Inception” (2010); and “Dunkirk” (2017). He was also nominated for his work on “War of the Worlds” (2005) and “Interstellar” (2014). King, who has nearly 100 film credits for sound editing, grew up in Tampa making Super 8 and 16mm movies with his friends. He was studying painting at USF’s College of The Arts when he got involved in film projects at the school and discovered “painting with sound.”
Mike Griffin, Marketing ’03 – Donald A. Gifford Service Award
Recognizing a USF graduate who has provided countless hours of service to USF
Mike Griffin has dedicated his exceptional leadership skills to USF and the community for nearly 20 years, dating to his college years when he served as the university’s two-term Student Body President and a charter member of the Board of Trustees. Today, a market leader and senior vice president of Savills, he is a USF Trustee; recent chair of USF’s Consolidation Planning Task Force; and past chair of the USF Alumni Association. An active community leader, he is a past chair of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and past Port Tampa Bay board commissioner, among other posts. Griffin is a 2007 USF Outstanding Young Alumnus.
Steven Greenbaum – Class of ’56 Award
Recognizing a non-USF graduate who has provided outstanding service to USF and the Tampa Bay community
As USF’s “first spouse” for 19 years, Steven Greenbaum proudly represented USF locally, nationally and internationally. A marketing research consultant, he has been the heart of USF’s beloved Rocky mascot program, directing Rocky’s 2003 costume redesign and providing continual financial support. He and his wife, President Emerita and Professor Judy Genshaft, have donated over $30 million to USF, supporting many programs including: athletics, medicine, the arts, veterans, diversity, and study-abroad scholarships, as well as the Judy Genshaft Honors College. He has also served on the boards of the Florida Holocaust Museum and Jewish Family Services.
About the USF Alumni Association
The USF Alumni Association is a nonprofit organization composed of former students and friends of the University of South Florida. Our mission is to provide meaningful ways for USF Bulls to support, protect and promote their university. There are more than 353,000 USF graduates worldwide. For more information, log on to www.usfalumni.org, like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/USFalumni or follow us on Twitter @USFAlumniAssn.