Jewish Press of Tampa

Genshaft, Greenbaum to be honored with Builders Award


Former USF President Judy Genshaft and husband Steve Greenbaum

Former USF President Judy Genshaft and husband Steve Greenbaum

Former USF president Dr. Judy Genshaft and her husband, Steve Greenbaum, will be honored by the Tampa JCCs & Federation at its “Hakarat Hatov” (recognizing the good) event, headlined by entertainer Lainie Kazan.

The event will be held Tueday, June 20 at the Shanna & Bryan Glazer JCC, 522 N. Howard Ave., Tampa. Genshaft and Greenbaum will receive the Maureen & Douglas Cohn Builders Award.

“With vision, leadership, and both personal and professional dedication and commitment, they have each made tremendous contributions to the Tampa Jewish community, to the USF community, and to the broader Tampa Bay community as a whole; and we are tremendously grateful for all they do,” said Jeffrey Berger, Tampa JCCs & Federation president. Additionally the JCCs and Federation will use the occasion to thank all donors, volunteers, key supporters and staff.

Dinner will be provided for major donors and leadership council members at 5:30 p.m., then at 7 p.m. the entire community is invited to hear guest speaker Kazan. A dessert reception will conclude the evening.

Lainie Kazan Photo by John Mueller

Lainie Kazan Photo by John Mueller

There is no cost to attend, but reservations are required for catering purposes. To register, visit JewishTampa.com/HakaratHatov by June 13.

The honorees

During her historic 19-year presidency, from 2000 to 2019, Genshaft catapulted USF to statewide, national and international prominence. In 2018, USF received the elite designation of “Pre-eminent State Research University.” In 2019, Genshaft and Greenbaum, donated $20 million to the USF Foundation for the honors college, which has been re-named in Genshaft’s honor, with the couple’s total donations to the university topping $30 million.

Genshaft also has played a major role in Tampa Bay’s economic development, including serving as chair of The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, the Tampa Bay Partnership, the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100. She is a member of the board of trustees at Tampa Preparatory School, where she and her husband also made the lead gift in the school’s recent capital campaign.

Greenbaum has been a career marketing research consultant, including positions with Abbott Labs, AC Nielsen, Burke Marketing Research, and the U.S. Census Bureau. As USF’s “first spouse,” he represented USF worldwide and directed the 2003 costume redesign for the university’s mascot Rocky. He has sat on several boards including the Florida Holocaust Museum, TOP Jewish Foundation and Jewish Family Services.

Lainie Kazan

Kazan, 83, is the embodiment of the word entertainer – an artist who has reached the pinnacle in virtually every area of performance. She got her big break on Broadway playing a showgirl and understudy for Barbra Streisand in “Funny Girl,” a role she got to play twice after a year and half in the production. That got her noticed and the rest is history.

As a singer, she has recorded a number of albums and appeared in concert to sold-out audiences. As an actor, she has been in countless movies, television shows and on stage, with such stars as Frank Sinatra, Yul Brenner, Lee Marvin, Bette Midler, Whoppie Goldberg, Ben Affleck and Adam Sandler.

For today’s audiences, she is probably best known for her part (and most famously the scene accepting a bundt cake from her daughter’s soon to be in-laws) in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” She will reprise her role in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3,” which will be in theaters in September. Perhaps surprisingly, though, this “Greek” mother was born Lainie Levine, with a Sephardi mother from Jerusalem and a Russian Ashkenazi father.

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