As a young faculty member at the 国产短视频, Kathleen Heide, PhD, now Distinguished University Professor Emerita, was unexpectedly called into the office of then Associate Dean Susan Stoudinger Northcutt, PhD, where she received a small but pivotal gift.
鈥淪usan had a few hundred dollars to allocate and decided to give it to me for my research,鈥� Professor Heide recalled. 鈥淭hat was huge! It wasn鈥檛 expected. It was very kind, generous and thoughtful 鈥� and forty years later I still remember it. It didn鈥檛 fund the whole project, but it helped.鈥�
That seed money supported Heide鈥檚 groundbreaking research on juvenile homicide offenders 鈥� work that would come to define her career and ultimately establish her as one of the world鈥檚 leading experts in the field.
Now, Heide is paying forward that generosity with a scholarship in the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences to support students at all academic levels studying criminology. Her goal for the Professor Kathleen M. Heide Criminology Scholarship is simple: impact.
鈥淢y hope is that this scholarship will make a difference in a student鈥檚 career path,鈥� she explained. 鈥淚t might enable them to take a course on methodology or psychopathy, attend a conference, or help cover data collection for their research.鈥�
Heide was introduced to the value of giving at just six years old, when her parents let her call in the family鈥檚 donation to the Jerry Lewis Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy. She was so excited to give their gift to Bozo the Clown, who was among those taking calls for the charity. That small act left a lasting impression.
鈥淲hat my parents instilled in me through their generosity and modeling was the importance of giving,鈥� Heide said. 鈥淚鈥檝e made it a point throughout my life to support my educational institutions, so it just seemed fitting to give back to USF.鈥�
Professor Heide鈥檚 largest classes would have as many as 440 students enrolled.
The scholarship fund has drawn support not just from Heide herself, but from a wide circle 鈥� faculty, colleagues in law enforcement and criminal justice, family members, and even former students.
One student who took her juvenile homicide course in the early 1980s contributed, remembering Heide鈥檚 influence from more than four decades ago.
Another gift came from an international graduate student who said he had struggled to adjust to life at USF. In a note to Heide, he wrote that her kindness had made all the difference to him 鈥� and giving back was his way of honoring that.
鈥淚 could go through all the donors and the connections,鈥� Heide said. 鈥淚t was not only an acknowledgment of me but also a belief in 鈥� and investment in 鈥� the future.鈥�
Just as that small investment from Stoudinger Northcutt decades ago helped launch her career, Heide hopes her scholarship will open doors for the next generation of criminologists.
鈥淥ver the course of my career I鈥檝e mentored and taught some truly outstanding criminology students,鈥� she reflected. 鈥淚 look back on my life and I had people in my life who believed in me. That little seed money can make a difference.鈥�
The first Professor Kathleen M. Heide Criminology Scholarship will be awarded to students in the spring for Fall 2026. If you would also like to support the fund, please visit .