The Persis E. Rockwood School of Marketing stands as a fledgling gamechanger in the Florida State University College of Business. The school is the product of a $10 million gift from Persis E. Rockwood, a pioneering FSU marketing professor who died in May 2021 at age 97, and her surviving husband, FSU Professor Emeritus Charles Rockwood.
The gift turned the college's Department of Marketing into what is believed the first U.S. school of marketing named for a woman, and it immediately inspired college and university officials to reflect boldly about what it would mean for the college and its marketing programs.
"I'll keep saying it: The Rockwood gift is life-changing and game-changing for our college, especially for our marketing faculty members and students," said Michael Hartline, dean of the college. "It's historic and transformative, and we're thrilled to continue Dr. Rockwood's trailblazing spirit."
Now about two years old, the Rockwood School of Marketing bursts with promise, excitement and optimism, amplified from the October groundbreaking of Legacy Hall, the college's world-class future home. The Rockwood gift includes $1 million to fund, in the new facility, the Dr. Persis Rockwood Academic Programs Suite and the Dr. Persis Rockwood Academic and Behavioral Research Lab.
"We believe the Rockwood gift signals the next, and most important, stage of our growth," said Michael Brady, director of the Rockwood School. "It provides resources and brand awareness that are essential for reaching our goal to become one of the most preeminent marking faculties in the world."
The Rockwood School marches onward with elite students and globally renowned faculty members under the banner of a Top 25 national public university.
The school boasts a robust network of devoted alumni and corporate partners who employ its graduates. It houses the FSU Sales Institute, which provides rigorous professional sales education through research and applied training and conducts the annual International Intercollegiate Sales Competition, the world's largest of its kind.
The Institute also conducts the semi-annual Seminole Sales Showcase, a two-day sales competition that includes a career fair for all FSU students. Due to the work of faculty members and corporate sponsors, officials say, the school continues to make such student-immersion activities free to students – a significant perk that Brady said has helped drive enrollment to more than 1,600 students.
Most importantly, Brady said, the school continues to place at least 90 percent of its students in jobs before graduation and nearly all of them in jobs within six months after graduation.
Students show their prowess in events such as the International Collegiate Sales Competition – the “Super Bowl” of sales competitions. The FSU Sales Team won that event during the 2022-23 academic year, topping a field of 80 participating universities.
Chuck Viosca, an associate lecturer in professional sales and director of the FSU Sales Institute, pointed to obvious inspiration for those achievements.
"Student success drives everything we do in the program, the Rockwood School and the college," Viosca said. "We provide students with a great education and open doors to their futures in sales and marketing."
College and school officials emphasize the global standing of the marketing faculty. Colleen Harmeling, the Dr. Persis E. Rockwood Associate Professor, became the first FSU faculty member to win the American Marketing Association’s Erin Anderson Award, for her emerging research and exceptional mentoring of doctoral students.
Also, two faculty members maintain leadership roles in the AMA – Brady as Board of Directors Chair-elect and Maura Scott, the Dr. Persis E. and Dr. Charles E. Rockwood Eminent Scholar in Marketing, as president of the organization’s Academic Council.
-- Pete Reinwald
