The Moms Project
“A mother’s love liberates.” ~ Maya Angelou
The University of South
Florida’s College of Behavioral
& Community Sciences
prepares students, scholars,
human service providers,
policy makers, and other
professionals to improve the
quality of life, health, and
safety of diverse populations,
and to promote positive
change in individuals, groups,
communities, organizations,
and systems.
Three CBCS faculty who share a passion for mentoring undergraduate students in research, also
share the experience of caring for their mothers whose average age is 92. As the years passed,
these faculty affectionately began to refer to their mothers as The Moms. They would take The
Moms to dinner, to USF basketball games, to birthday celebrations, and to other social events.
Each of these mothers had dreams and aspirations that were delayed or unfulfilled because
of the Great Depression or World War II. The Moms Project honors these strong women by
establishing an undergraduate research scholarship in an area of special interest to each mother.
The Alice Armstrong Scholarship is awarded to a student conducting research in the area of
substance abuse and its impact on families.
The Ruth Boothroyd Scholarship is awarded to a student conducting research in nutrition and
well being.
The Ellen Nizzi Scholarship is awarded to a student conducting research on positive aging.
We invite you to honor your mother by making a contribution in her name. Your contribution
will provide support to an undergraduate student who is conducting research. You may
participate in The Moms Project by selecting any of the following options:
Endowed Scholarship. This contribution will carry your Mother’s name and
$25,000
will be awarded annually in perpetuity in an area of importance to your mother. *
Rotating Scholarship. This contribution will establish a scholarship that will
be awarded in your mother’s name every third year along with one of the
three original donor scholarships.*
$5,000
*Payments may be made for the entire amount at one time or in partial amounts over 5
years. Contact Lisa Isenbeck at (813) 974-2327 or [email protected]
Moms Project Honor Roll. Add your mother’s name to the Honor Roll by making a gift of
$25.00 or more.
Platinum Level: $1,000 – $4,999 Silver Level:
$100 – $499
www.cbcs.usf.edu
Gold Level:
Bronze Level:
$500 – $999
$25 – $99
Make your contribution on-line at: http://www.cbcs.usf.edu/, click on Make a Gift, then
CBCS General, & select 530028 The Moms Project Honor Roll.
For additional information, please see: www.cbcs.usf.edu/Development/MomsProject/
Meet The Moms!!
My mother, Ellen Nizzi, grew up thinking she would
attend college in her home state of Minnesota. This
dream was interrupted by the Great Depression when
the family moved to Texas so her father could find work.
Her lack of education haunted her until the age of 77
when she decided it was time to quit focusing on the
negative and go to college. She obtained her AA degree
at the age of 84 and then moved to Florida where she
decided to pursue a B.A. in Creative Writing. Although
not her original intent, she became a role model on
positive aging for the younger students, and they were
all younger by the time she graduated at age 90! Thus,
Ellen’s scholarship is for a student who is pursuing
research on factors that affect positive aging.
Catherine Batsche, Ph.D., Associate Dean
College of Behavioral & Community Sciences
My mom, Alice Armstrong, has had a long standing interest on the impact of substance abuse on families. She
would like to support an undergraduate student who
is conducting research on the prevention of substance
abuse problems and on effective interventions. Alice,
pictured on the left in this photo, is also interested in
research that will identify methods to communicate
prevention strategies and intervention strategies to help
friends and families affected by substance abuse.
Mary Armstrong, Ph.D., Division Director
Department of Child & Family Studies
13301 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.,
MHC 1110
Tampa, FL 33612-3807
Phone: (813) 974-1990
Fax: (813) 974-4699
www.cbcs.usf.edu
My mother, Ruth Boothroyd, was accepted by Framingham State University to study nutrition following high
school. Due to family circumstances, these plans had
to be deferred. She then got married and her plans to
go to college were again interrupted by World War II.
Following the safe return of her husband from the war,
she devoted her life to taking care of her children and
was never able to pursue her goal to become a dietician. Ruth, pictured on the right in this picture, would
like her scholarship to be awarded to a student who will
conduct research on nutrition and well being.
Roger Boothroyd, Ph.D., Chairperson
Department of Mental Health Law & Policy