First dean: Frank Dame created a buzz around business

J. Frank Dame led the FSU School of Business -- formerly the university's Department of Commerce -- from 1950 to 1953 and helped establish three core principles that the college embraces to this day.
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In the fall of 1952, a simple administrative request crossed the desk of J. Frank Dame, a pioneer in the Florida State University College of Business. 

"A buzzer system should be installed in order to facilitate calling staff members to the telephone," a faculty member wrote in a memo dated Oct. 27 of that year. 

Harry Truman was finishing his second term as president. Eggs were about 55 cents a dozen. The smartphone was science fiction. And Frank Dame was shaping the fledging FSU School of Business as its first dean. 

Dame led the school – formerly FSU’s Department of Commerce -- from 1950 to 1953 and helped establish three core principles that the college embraces to this day: comprehensive academic offerings, responsiveness to industry needs and commitment to student success.

He did so from a simple, one-story building at 842 W. Jefferson St., roughly where the FSU Police Department stands today, with additional offices and classrooms spread across campus. The basic infrastructure stood in stark contrast to today's College of Business, which boasts nearly 8,000 students pursuing business degrees as it prepares to transition into Legacy Hall, a world-class, five-story facility scheduled for completion in August.

The building’s planned completion comes as the college continues to celebrate its 75th anniversary as a separate academic unit focused on business education.

“Frank Dame's visionary leadership as our founding dean established the blueprint for excellence that continues to guide the College of Business,” said Michael Hartline, the current dean of the College of Business. “Our celebration of 75 years honors the enduring legacy of pioneers like Dean Dame who saw potential where others might have seen limitations.”

Dame expanded the school's offerings to include 16 undergraduate majors – including accounting; finance and banking; insurance and real estate; secretarial science; personnel management; and baking science and management -- and multiple graduate programs. 
Even though it hadn’t yet officially launched, the School of Business counted the class of 1949 as its own. It featured 27 students.

In a 1951 review of the school that appeared in “A Golden Moment,” a 2001 book commemorating the college’s 50th anniversary, Dame predicted "impending large growth in demand for business education programs." His assessment came four years after the Florida State College for Women became Florida State University, which would accommodate an influx of World War II veterans seeking education through the G.I. Bill. 

As Dame predicted, the school grew quickly, and in three years, he oversaw the awarding of 446 degrees.

By 1953, Dame had assembled a team of 25 full-time faculty members, compared with 112 today. The college continues to honor his legacy with a namesake faculty line, the J. Frank Dame Professor of Management, currently held by Jack Fiorito.

Since Dame’s day, the college has embraced technological advances from typewriters to computers, from chalkboard presentations to virtual classrooms, from “buzzer systems” to personal smartphones. 

The pitch for the School of Business’ buzzer system came from Edward D. Trembly, Dame’s accounting department head at the time.

In his memo to Dame, Trembly came across as, well, an accountant.

“A more expensive system is not justified for the purposes to be served,” he wrote.

Trembly also was direct.

“The buzzer system should be installed as soon as possible,” he added.

-- Pete Reinwald