When Stephen F. Dickey M.D. and his wife, Marsha, first became acquainted with the University of Tampa, they were asked for a $2,000 donation, but they weren’t sure about it.

“We were just starting our business, and things were a bit tight,” Dr. Dickey recalled. “But Marsha and I decided to do it, and everything with the University started from there.”

Did it ever. Since that first gift in the 1980s, the Dickeys built a powerhouse business, Doctor’s Walk-In Clinics, and have steadily grown their philanthropic support for UTampa, now capped by making a family gift, shepherded by their son Jason Dickey MBA ’03.

In doing so, the Dickeys are building a legacy of philanthropy that reflects their commitment to giving back. They’ve built a deep affection for the University and its students, shown in the involvement they’ve had with the projects they’ve helped fund over the years.

The 153,000-square-foot science facility, set to open in Spring 2029, is the latest example of their impact on the University. It will have best-in-class teaching facilities, research labs and a wide range of spaces — a good fit with the Dickeys’ interest in education and the sciences.

This is more than just a new building, though. The Science Center will help students gain cutting-edge knowledge that will serve them well, no matter what field they decide to pursue. In turn, the facility will help position the University as a key driver in the Tampa Bay area’s intellectual and scientific future.

A Savvy Idea Takes Off

The Dickeys have always been on the leading edge of innovation, seeing opportunities to make meaningful differences in how people live.

It was in the late 1970s that Dr. Dickey first decided to start an urgent care walk-in clinic. He was the director of the emergency department of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, and “we would see so many people who didn’t have serious issues, but had situations that needed to be quickly addressed,” he said. “I was struck by the concept of helping these people in a location separate from the hospital, in a facility with shorter wait times.”

After doing plenty of research and studying similar clinics in cities like Atlanta and Dallas, they opened their first clinic in Tampa in 1980. Day One went OK, with nine patients, but only two patients showed up the next day. Business was slow, to say the least.

Then, a reporter from WFLA-Channel 8 happened to see the sign in front of the clinic and asked about doing a TV news story about the concept, which was novel at the time. The story went on the air, word got out, and the business took off. By 1988, the company had six locations in Hillsborough County and one in Pinellas County. The couple is now happily retired, with Jason Dickey managing the assets owned by Dickey Holdings Inc., and another son, Chris, running his own graphic design firm in Garden City, New York.

During the years the company was growing, so did the Dickeys’ involvement with UTampa, tied to a close relationship to President Ronald L. Vaughn and his wife, Renée.

When Vaughn approached the Dickeys to help support what became the Stephen F. and Marsha Dickey Health and Wellness Center, the idea resonated with them as a place to care for the whole student. The result: a forward-thinking facility that has played a key part in the University’s evolution into a national-caliber campus.

“We were very interested when Dr. Vaughn talked about that facility being about both health and wellness, with the understanding that there are so many ways to look at wellness,” said Marsha Dickey. “It’s important to look holistically at ways we can support the University’s students.”

The Dickey Health and Wellness Center opened in 2010 and has served students with both accessible, professional medical services and programs that focus on social, physical, spiritual and emotional wellness,
including on such topics as personal safety, tobacco cessation, nutrition and fitness counseling, and stress relief.

Involvement Runs Deep

Dr. Dickey first got acquainted with the University when he joined UTampa’s Board of Fellows in 1985, with the goal of meeting more people in the community, he said. He went on in 1995 to serve on the Board of Trustees and in 2010 was named a trustee emeritus. Over the years, Marsha Dickey has been involved with such University-related groups as The Chiselers, while Jason Dickey earned his MBA from the Sykes College of Business and is currently a Fellow.

Dr. Dickey, who holds a B.S. from Indiana University and graduated from that university’s medical school, also is a former trustee of the Tampa Museum of Art; was honored as a Life Member of the American Red Cross Board for Florida’s West Coast Region; and received the Vaughn Humanitarian Award for his service to the Red Cross. He was named by Ernst & Young as the Tampa Bay area Regional Healthcare Entrepreneur of the Year in 2009.

Marsha Dickey, who earned a B.A. from Indiana University, was an elementary school educator in Indianapolis before moving to Tampa with her husband in 1970. Since then, she has been active in such groups as Red Cross Angels’ Tiffany Circle, Berkeley Preparatory School Parents Club, The Friends of Hospice and the Palma Ceia Country Club Women’s Golf Association.

The couple’s support of the University of Tampa was recognized in 2011 when they received the Champion of Higher Education in Florida Award, the highest honor presented by the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida Council of Presidents. The award is given to individuals who have shown the greatest support of independent higher education in Florida. (Other winners with ties to UTampa have included Gov. Bob Martinez ’57, Alfred S. Austin ’47, John H. and Susan Sykes, and Catherine and Hon. David A. Straz Jr..

The Next Generation of Giving