Florida State University President Richard McCullough hailed the rise in the national status of the College of Business and emphasized a continued march to preeminence – with an appeal to donors for construction of Legacy Hall, the college’s future home.

You might have heard about hundreds of staffing-related flight cancellations at American Airlines on the last weekend of October.

Anne Hamilton of The Walt Disney Company certainly heard about them.

“Our phones were ringing off the hook,” she said.

They reaffirmed their affection for Florida State University. "If I woke up every day like it was my first day at FSU," Peter Collins said, "I'd be OK with that." They accentuated their appreciation for newfound enshrinement and fame. "It's probably the biggest honor of my life," Ted Ostrander said. And they proclaimed their passion for helping people. "Isn't that what it's all about?" John Rivers asked. Collins, Ostrander and Rivers emphasized those points and more on Nov. 4 when the College of Business inducted them into its Alumni Hall of Fame.

With the candor of a commander, Ash Williams likens the Florida organization that he navigated for parts of four decades to a nuclear submarine.

Courtney Porter showed College of Business students an “Open Talent Continuum” that included “traditional” work on the left and “open” work on the right. From left to right, the continuum featured on-balance-sheet employees, managed service providers, contractors, gig workers and crowdsource workers.

Danny Persaud calls it investing in tomorrow. "Especially when it comes to education, if there's some way I can benefit the next generation and I can do it, I'll do it," he says. Florida State University concurs -- because he did it.

College of Business Dean Michael Hartline announced during the 27th annual Real Estate TRENDS Conference last week that a professorship has been created to honor Professor Dean Gatzlaff, who is retiring next spring.

Blackstone Real Estate executive Kathleen McCarthy offered a “fun fact”: More data has been created in the last two years than in previous human history, she said. “So the proliferation of data … you need to process it somewhere,” she said – and that makes it a relevant real estate topic.

Luke Hopkins says he doesn't want Seneff Scholars to see the program as another graduation medallion or as another line item on a resume. "I would want them to say it was a valued experience," he says

About 170 College of Business students packed into the FSU Champions Club at Doak Campbell Stadium today as the 27th annual Real Estate TRENDS Conference got underway with an afternoon of networking and career advice from top industry professionals.