Message from Dean Michael Hartline

November 1, 2018

‘Tis the Season to be Thankful

Many thanks to all of our alumni and friends for the kind thoughts and well wishes during Hurricane Michael. FSU’s main campus and Tallahassee were very fortunate that the damage was minimal. Unfortunately, our neighbors to the immediate west bore the brunt of the devastating storm. Many people in communities such as Mexico Beach, Panama City, Marianna, Bristol, Blountstown and areas of Georgia lost everything. It will be some time before these areas return to any semblance of normalcy.

Recent events have made all of us in the College of Business exceptionally thankful for the good things happening all around the college and university. Here are a few things we are thankful for at this point in the academic year:

We are Thankful for an Exceptional Faculty

The college hired 17 new faculty members this fall, and all are off to a tremendous start. On the whole, our faculty members continue to distinguish themselves in their respective disciplines and develop international reputations for excellence. Many have won prestigious awards for research and teaching. A separate story in this newsletter highlights our newest inductions to the Charles A. Rovetta Faculty Hall of Fame: Dr. Bill Anthony and Dr. Pam Coats. Every day, our faculty members create life-changing opportunities for our students.

We are Thankful for Exceptional Staff

Our staff works hard every day to ensure our college runs at peak performance. Their efforts make a significant difference in our ability to continue upward on the path of preeminence. Three years ago, we instituted a staff awards program to recognize the many contributions of our staff members. Please take a minute to nominate a deserving employee. The deadline is Feb. 12.

We are Thankful for Exceptional Students

In every program, our students are excelling like never before. Whether collaborating in the classroom, competing at the highest level or interning for hands-on experience, our students remind us every day of the vital work we do in the college. More and more of our students are doing internships, corporate tours, mentoring with corporate executives, participating in case competitions and performing volunteer work in the community.

Later this month the university is celebrating Giving Tuesday, a global day of online giving, by asking FSU alumni and friends to give to several on-campus efforts benefiting students needing the most help: the Seminole Emergency Relief Fund, the Division of Student Affairs’ food pantry, the Center for Academic Retention & Enhancement (CARE) or the University Counseling Center. Look for FSU’s email on Nov. 27 about these meaningful and needed funds that directly impact FSU students, faculty and staff members.

We are Thankful for the Incredible Support of Alumni and Friends

Our alumni and friends continue to make incredible investments of their time, talents, treasure and teamwork to ensure the success of our college. Over the last year, our college has held more than 20 events around the country where we’ve engaged with more than 4,000 alumni to talk about our efforts along the path of preeminence. Many of these events have focused on Legacy Hall, and we are thankful for the growing contributions toward the construction of our new home.

We are Thankful that Legacy Hall is on Track

With the recent hiring of Culpepper Construction as the construction manager, the planning for Legacy Hall moved into the design development phase. We now know what Legacy Hall will look like, which you can see from these renderings and the virtual flythrough below.

The pre-engineering work has begun on the site, so you can see activity if you drive by the location on W. Gaines Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. We remain on schedule with groundbreaking set for next fall. Our fundraising efforts are also on track, and we are so incredibly grateful to our alumni and friends who have made substantial investments in Legacy Hall. If you would like to get involved and make a gift to support construction, please contact me.

We are Grateful

Due to the combined efforts of our faculty, staff, students and alumni, we moved up 15 spots over the last three years to No. 26 in U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of public business schools. While it is gratifying to achieve national recognition for our efforts, I am most proud of our daily excellence. We all work very hard every day to ensure our success and establish the preeminence of our college.

From all of us in the college, we wish you a happy and healthy holiday season! We are all blessed to be Seminoles and associated with this great university.

Warmly,

Michael D. Hartline, Dean