News & Impact Stories
Private support is often the difference between a good university and a truly great university. Private support plays a profound and positive role in our students’ success. Donor support creates learning, service and research opportunities for Florida State students and faculty, and it helps make FSU one of the nation's top universities. Your gifts express support for FSU’s values, community, history and future.
FSU leaps ahead in national rankings
Florida State University moved up five places in the U.S. News & World Report rankings to No. 38 among all public national universities.
FSU had the greatest gain of all of the Top 50 public universities. The rankings appear in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges 2017” guidebook. Last year, FSU ranked No. 43 among public universities.
$3 million planned gift largest in FSU Panama City history
FSU Panama City has announced the largest gift in campus history, a $3 million planned gift from Bob and Judy Fleming.
Bob Fleming has named FSU Panama City as a benefactor in his estate to establish the Robert H. and Jacqueline K. Fleming Endowed Scholarship Fund. Jacqueline Fleming, Bob’s late wife, was a teacher who valued education.
Students Use Artistic Talent to Thank Donors
Florida State University students who receive private funding through donations to the FSU Foundation write thank you letters to their scholarship donors, often offering a glimpse into their future plans.
For these three College of Fine Arts students, however, words alone couldn’t adequately express their gratitude—they let their talent say “thank you” to their scholarship donors.
Florida State Launches University-Wide Recognition Society
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State University celebrated the launch of Vires, Artes, Mores, the first university-wide recognition society, during the unveiling of a donor recognition wall Friday, May 20, in the lobby of Ruby Diamond Concert Hall in the Westcott Building.
The Vires, Artes, Mores recognition society takes its name from the Latin words found in the university’s seal that mean strength, skill and character. The society recognizes the cumulative giving of Florida State's most generous donors.
Launching Scholarship to Sea
Florida’s coastal waters — as well as Florida State University students — will be the beneficiaries of a $100,000 gift to the FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory.
FSU alumni Tommy Warren and Kathy Villacorta’s gift creates the Coastal and Marine Conservation Student Research Endowment to provide support for graduate student research into protecting and conserving coastal and marine habitats, ecologically and economically important marine species, and sustainable fisheries.
Private Support Allows Senior to Give Back Through Community Service
“Private support can have a ripple effect—by supporting one student, you, in turn, can positively impact a multitude of students’ experiences,” said Florida State University student Qaree Dreher. A public relations senior, Dreher’s leadership and participation in several of Florida State’s service organizations has helped enhance both the FSU campus and the Tallahassee community at large. But without the private support he received, Dreher’s undergraduate experience would not have been the same.
Chastains increase gift to $1.5 million to further enhance eminent scholar chair in real estate
J. Harold Chastain (pictured, middle) has said that the Florida State University College of Business prepared him for successful careers in banking and real estate. As a way to show his gratitude, the 1955 graduate and his wife, Barbara, have been generous supporters of the college, and their giving continues to grow.
Brian and Kathryn Ballard donate building to house entrepreneurship school
Brian Ballard, CEO of Ballard Partners, and Kathryn Ballard, a Florida State University alumna and member of the FSU Board of Trustees, are giving the university a building valued at $1.1 million in downtown Tallahassee that will serve as the home of the Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship and the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship and will be the physical centerpiece of Florida State’s “entrepreneurial university” initiative.
Student Spotlight: Art History Senior Receives Private Support for Native American Research
Florida State University senior Victoria Sunnergren is dedicated to dismantling preconceptions. An art history and religion double major, Sunnergren participated in the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program as a freshman in hopes to be taken seriously as a scholar.
“As an art history major, you hear a lot of jokes about how easy the classes are and how limited the job prospects are,” she said. “UROP let me take what I was learning as an art history major and apply it to research that is relevant to my career interests.”
JM Family Enterprises, Inc. creates four-year scholarship
$1.2 million gift establishes the JM Family Enterprises African-American Youth Achiever Endowed Scholarship
College-bound African-American high school seniors from South Florida will be able to compete for full, four-year academic scholarships to Florida State University, thanks to a $1.2 million gift from JM Family Enterprises, Inc. that establishes the African-American Youth Achiever Endowed Scholarship.