22 Facts About Betty Castor

Elizabeth Castor is an American educator and former politician.

Betty Castor was elected to the Florida Senate and as Florida Education Commissioner, and she subsequently served as the President of the University of South Florida, and President of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Betty Castor attended Glassboro State College, now Rowan University, where earning her bachelor's degree.

Betty Castor returned to the US in 1965, and settled in Miami-Dade County, Florida, where she was a teacher while studying for her Master of Education degree at the University of Miami, which she received in 1968.

Betty Castor's second daughter, Karen, was born in 1968 and her son, Frank, who currently serves as judge in Palm Beach County, Florida, in 1970.

Betty Castor faced ten opponents in the Democratic Primary and a general election opponent.

Betty Castor won all the contests, becoming the first woman ever elected to the County Commission.

Betty Castor was elected again to the Florida Senate in 1982 and became the president pro tempore of the Senate in 1985, the first woman to hold the post.

Betty Castor served on numerous education committees and became chair of the appropriations sub-committee on education.

Betty Castor was the co-sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment and championed bills to end discrimination and fund spouse abuse centers statewide.

Betty Castor successfully sponsored legislation providing for the early childhood education program.

In 1986, Betty Castor was elected statewide to the Florida Cabinet as Florida Education Commissioner, the first woman ever elected to the state cabinet.

Betty Castor worked with the legislature to fund the first statewide program to provide funding for the early childhood education program.

Betty Castor worked with the Insurance Commissioner to develop the Healthy Kids program, providing health insurance for low-income children enrolled in public schools.

In 1994, Betty Castor became the first female president of the University of South Florida, one of the largest universities in the southeast with an enrollment of over 40,000 students, four campuses, and a medical school.

Betty Castor pursued international exchanges with institutions in China, led a delegation of faculty and staff to the African Economic Summit in Harare, Zimbabwe, and encouraged new opportunities for USF faculty to study abroad.

From 1999 to 2002, Betty Castor served as president for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

In January 2007, Betty Castor was appointed executive director of the Patel Center for Global Solutions at the University of South Florida.

Kathy Betty Castor has been a member of the US House of Representatives since 2007.

Karen Betty Castor Dentel is a former member of the Florida House of Representatives and current school board member of the Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Florida since August of 2018.

Frank Betty Castor has served as a judge in Palm Beach County, Florida, since 2007.

In 1989, Castor married Samuel P Bell III, an attorney and lobbyist who had served as a state legislator.