Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed a healthy and relaxing holiday season with family and friends. Despite the ongoing challenges brought on by the pandemic, a new year brings new hope, new energy and renewed excitement for what lies ahead.

A pair of Florida State University graduates are giving back to the place where they say their success started with a $1.25 million gift to the FSU College of Business.

Two College of Business alumni are among five FSU graduates recognized by the FSU Alumni Association with this year’s Circle of Gold Award, which is presented to individuals who, through their service and achievements, personify the university’s tradition of excellence.

The highly competitive James M. Seneff Honors Program recently welcomed a new cohort of 14 College of Business students. The program, which dovetails with the university’s Honors Program and Garnet and Gold Scholar Society, is available to a select number of motivated university honors students majoring in business.

For the first time in its 12-year history, the real-world investment fund managed by undergraduate and graduate finance students in the College of Business broke the $5 million mark. The Student Investment Fund (SIF) closed on Sept. 2 with a total value of $5,038,175. The fund had hit a low this year of $3,291,360 on March 23, which works out to a +53% return over the 163 days prior to the new record.

The college’s nine department and center advisory boards, comprising accomplished alumni and industry leaders, are essential to helping our curriculum remain relevant, enabling the exchange of ideas from many perspectives and providing students networking opportunities with influential executives.

For nearly six decades, Henry Herzing and Robert Doherty maintained a close friendship based on mutual admiration for each other’s intellectual and professional accomplishments.

The executive committee of the Florida State University College of Business Board of Governors honored former dean Mel Stith by creating a new professorship, the Melvin T. Stith Sr. Professor of Business Administration.

The Florida State University College of Business moved closer to its goal of achieving a Top 25 ranking among the nation’s public business schools. The college’s undergraduate program jumped to No. 28 from last year’s ranking of No. 31 among public universities in the U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges Guide 2021” rankings released Sept. 14. Among all universities, the college rose six spots to No. 44 from No. 50.