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University of South Alabama Mitchell College of Business alumnus Thomas Corcoran and his wife, Barbara, have established the Corcoran Scholar-Athlete Endowed Scholarship at USA through a $50,000 gift to Campaign USA. The Corcoran gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar by University funds to create a $100,000 endowment.
Through earnings from the endowment, a scholarship award will be given to a USA junior who most excels in both sports and academic achievement. Students who are outstanding in a sport and maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average will be nominated by their head coaches and have their names submitted to the USA Athletic Awards Committee. The committee will recommend an annual award winner to the USA athletic director. The Corcoran Scholarship, which will be presented at the All-Sports Banquet each spring, will be used for the following academic year.
“Barbara and I are quite happy to continue supporting the Campaign USA initiative,” said Corcoran. “The University, under the leadership of Gordon Moulton, and the campaign, under the leadership of Joe Busta, clearly show the University is headed in the right direction and we are delighted to play a very small part,” he added.
Corcoran received his bachelor of science in marketing in 1970 and joined the Diamond Shamrock Corporation that year. He worked in various sales, marketing and management positions with the company until 1985.
Corcoran then joined Fort Dodge Animal Health as president. A division of Wyeth Corporation, Fort Dodge Animal Health is the fourth-largest manufacturer and distributor of prescription and over-the-counter animal health care products. Corcoran also served as chairman of the board of Animal Health Institute, the trade association of the animal health industry.
Dr. Barbara Blumer-Corcoran received her undergraduate degree from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn. After a career in research, she earned her medical degree at the University of Kansas School of Medicine and completed her residency in family practice at USA in 2006.
Their gift is part of Campaign USA, the University’s first comprehensive fund-raising campaign that seeks to raise $75 million for USA programs, faculty, students and construction over three years. Campaign USA was launched in March 2006 and, to date, has raised $51.6 million. The Campaign USA Leadership team is comprised of local and national leaders, including Corcoran.
USA Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Dr. Joseph F. Busta, Jr., said the Corcoran gift is another example of the strong community and alumni support behind Campaign USA.
“Barbara and Tom have been leaders by example and deed to our first campaign,” Busta said. “The most recent gift from them has established our largest athletic scholarship endowment to date.” The Corcorans previously provided a gift of $100,000 to the campaign designated for scholarships in the medical and business schools as well as a contribution to USA’s Mitchell Cancer Institute.
USA Athletic Director Joe Gottfried said, “The generosity of the Corcoran gift to Athletics demonstrates the tremendous impact that philanthropy has on our institution. The confidence that Tom and Barbara Corcoran have shown to USA athletes is truly appreciated and will have a lasting impact on our student-athletes as well as our entire program.”
Campaign USA will enrich all aspects of USA, from its academic colleges and schools to its hospitals, athletic programs, libraries and campuses. The money raised will be used to fund such items as undergraduate and graduate scholarships, professorships, classroom and laboratory equipment, and health care innovations. Funds will also be used for capital enhancements to USA’s track and soccer programs, a University archives building and campus bell tower.
For information on Campaign USA, go to www.campaignusaleadership.com or call (251) 460-7032.
The University of South Alabama Since its founding in 1963, the University of South Alabama has been one of Alabama’s fastest growing universities, currently enrolling more than 13,300 students in a wide range of academic programs in Allied Health Professions, Arts and Sciences, Mitchell College of Business, Computer and Information Sciences, Continuing Education and Special Programs, Education, Engineering, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. The University has awarded 60,000 degrees.
In addition to teaching and research, USA is one of the largest health care providers in the Mobile region, with its faculty physicians and two hospitals – Children’s & Women’s and USA Medical Center – involved in more than a quarter million patient encounters annually | 
