The developer of some of the most impactful projects in Pinellas County and bustling downtown St. Petersburg has made, with his spouse, a gift to help the Florida State University College of Business soar to increasingly new heights.

Former board members and chairs Mark and Nan Hillis, both college alumni Hall of Fame members and retired banking executives, gifted $50,000 in April to establish the Mark and Nan Casper Hillis Professional Development Endowment for Excellence in Real Estate.

Excited by “shovels in the ground,” an alumnus and major supporter of the Florida State University College of Business decided to deepen his effort toward building something exceptional and transformational.

The Florida State University College of Business this fall will induct four distinguished graduates into its Alumni Hall of Fame.

The Florida State University College of Business last week enshrined four former faculty members who made such a difference for their students, colleagues and disciplines that they'll now be remembered forever. The inductions of Robert C. Earnest, Dean Gatzlaff, Patrick Pallentino and Pamela Perrewé into the Charles A. Rovetta Faculty Hall of Fame put the crowning touch on the annual Faculty and Staff Awards Dinner and Celebration.

The Florida State University College of Business last month honored 17 faculty and staff members who have championed the college's standards of excellence in service to students and colleagues. The recognitions took place at the college's annual Faculty and Staff Awards Dinner and Ceremony, which culminated with the induction of new members into the Charles A. Rovetta Faculty Hall of Fame.

Brett Lindquist scanned an expansive meeting room at the Turnbull Conference Center. “This is a superstar board,” he said to members of the Florida State University College of Business Board of Governors. “What I really enjoyed about this group are the friendships we made and the stories you shared.”

A pilot program launching this fall will allow students in the Florida State University College of Business to learn in virtual reality, guiding avatars of themselves in digital replicas of the college’s classrooms and setting – specifically those of Legacy Hall, its future home.

Abracadabra. If that’s your path to business success, Brian Murphy says, you’re doing it wrong. “Everybody wants a magic answer,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what you read. It doesn’t matter whom you follow on Instagram. It doesn’t matter that, like ‘The Rock,’ you take a picture of your watch every morning at 4 a.m. when you go to the gym.

Professor Ruby Lee sometimes finds herself going through old photos, ones that she can hold in her hands and close to her heart. They include pictures from 1990 – before the digital age – when she, on a journey to learn more about the world, backpacked across central and eastern Europe and encountered perfect strangers who shared her penchant for kindness and connection. She especially remembers their generosity.