VIRES Fall/Winter 2017

VIRES

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A Pu b l i ca t i o n of t h e F l o r i d a S ta te Un i ve rs i ty A l u m n i Asso c i a t i o n Fa l l / Wi n te r 2017 Vo l u m e I X , I ss u e 2

National Merit Scholars FSU’s Golden Age in Recruitment Where Are They Now?

People’s Choice Orlando Seminoles in Public Service

The Moment Monday, Aug. 21, 2017 2:26 p.m.

SOLAR SENSATION: FSU President John Thrasher (B.S. ’65, J.D. ’72) and first lady Jean Thrasher join a group of students to view a solar eclipse at the Oglesby Union. That afternoon, the sun was totally covered by the moon along a 14-state swath of the nation from the Northwest to the Southeast. In Tallahassee, almost 90 percent of the sun was eclipsed. Photo by FSU Photography Services/Bill Lax Vires 1

CROWNING ACHIEVEMENTS: After winning Miss Florida 2017 in July, 22-year-old Sara Zeng (B.M.E. ’17) began a whirlwind year that has included competing in the 2017 Miss America pageant in September. Since then, Zeng’s platform has allowed her to promote restoration of the Everglades through the Everglades Foundation and music education through Music Matters. She also has visited schools throughout the state to talk with teens about the dangers of substance abuse through Real Talk with Miss Florida, an awareness campaign of Advanced Recovery Systems and the Miss Florida organization. Photo by AJ Studios Photography

VIRES

VIRES is the first torch in the university seal and represents strength of all kinds: physical, mental and moral.

VIRES

®

A Pu b l i ca t i o n of t h e F l o r i d a S ta te Un i ve rs i ty A l u m n i Asso c i a t i o n Fa l l / Wi n te r 2017 Vo l u m e I X , I ss u e 2

National Merit Scholars FSU’s Golden Age in Recruitment Where Are They Now?

People’s Choice Orlando Seminoles in Public Service

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®

Cover: Leading plantation broker Jon Kohler (B.S. ’91), owner of Kohler & Associates, at the historic Greenwood Plantation in Georgia. A fierce advocate for the ecological preservation of the Red Hills – 300,000 acres in northern Florida and southern Georgia – Kohler evaluates prospective buyers on their willingness to serve as stewards of the land. To read his story, see “The Gatekeeper” on Page 16. Photo by Andrew Kornylak

Contents

Departments

Features

Catching Up With ...

University News Ten Questions Association News Seminoles Forever Class Notes In Memoriam Parting Shot

7 16

8 24 54 27

64 66 32 76

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The Gatekeeper The most successful plantation broker in the South aims for sales that place conservation above profit

Seminole 100 The definitive list of top businesses owned

by FSU alumni

The School of Dreams A primer on FSU’s new Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship

The People’s Choice

Always excelling, three Orlando-area public

servants gain their neighbors’ trust and

get rewarded at the ballot box

46

The Golden Era

A 1990s fling at recruiting National Merit

Scholars boosted FSU’s image and

academic prominence Vires 3

THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES

THE FSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION IS PLEASED TO INTRODUCE THE NEWEST DIRECTORS OF ITS NATIONAL BOARD:

CHRISTOPHER BOSLER (B.S. ’93) College of Business Indian Shores, Florida Senior Vice President, LabCorp

Edward E. Burr, Chair Leslie Pantin, Vice Chair Todd Adams Maximo Alvarez Kathryn Ballard William Buzzett Emily Fleming Duda Mark Hillis Craig Mateer Kyle Hill Bob Sasser Brent W. Sembler

THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

JEFF BOYKINS (B.S. ’92, M.ACC. ’93)

ZACHARY HENG (B.S. ’07)

College of Business Acworth, Georgia Partner, EY Transaction Advisory Services Practice

College of Communication and Information Arlington, Virginia Associate, Booz Allen Hamilton

DAZI LENOIR (B.A. ’02, M.S. ’03)

MAJ. JOSHUA TYLER, M.D. (B.S. ’02)

College of Arts and Sciences College of Education Orlando, Florida Founding and Managing Partner, Lyons & Lenoir LLC

College of Arts and Sciences Ocean Springs, Mississippi Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery and Director of Robotic Surgery, Keesler Air Force Base

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Executive Committee Craig T. Lynch, Chair Steve Pattison, Immediate Past Chair Max Oligario, Chair-Elect Samuel S. Ambrose, Vice Chair Robert Cox, Treasurer B. Dan Berger, Secretary Tom Jennings, Vice President for University Advancement and Foundation President Scott Atwell, Association President and CEO Jennifer Guy-Hudson, At-Large Rose M. Naff, At-Large Jean C. Accius Christopher Bosler Jeff Boykins Stephen T. Brown John Crossman Tracie Domino Kyle R. Doney Mark Ellis Eric Friall Michael G. Griffith Ritesh A. Gupta Thomas C. Haney Maura Hayes Zach Heng Ronald H. Hobbs Clay Ingram Samantha G. Klaff Dazi Lenoir Sandra McMandon Bruce W. McNeilage Eric Muñoz Laura C. Russell Michael J. Sweeney James F. Thielen Joshua Tyler Will Whitmire Scott Wiegand Allisson Yu

VIRES

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A PUBLICATION OF THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 1030 West Tennessee Street Tallahassee, FL 32304 850.644.2761 | alumni.fsu.edu

PUBLISHER Scott Atwell EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jeffery Seay DESIGNER Jessica Rosenthal COPY EDITOR Ron Hartung EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Marquis Washington CONTRIBUTORS Brian Hudgins Amanda McCorquodale University Communications ALUMNI ASSOCIATION STAFF Scott Atwell Anna Biggerstaff Louise Bradshaw Valerie Colvin Keith Cottrell Trevor DeGroot Beth Edwards Dawn Cannon Jennings Adam Kabuka Chance King Cristian Gonzalez Mendez Torri Miller Nancy Minev David Overstreet Kaylee Parent Whitney Powers Juliet Reilly Jessica Rosenthal Jeffery Seay Angie Standley Jennifer Tobias Marquis Washington Aimee Wirth

FROM THE PUBLISHER We didn’t win the state championship in football this year, but Florida State University is tops in a competition that is even more important: alumni giving rate. That’s right, FSU had more alumni donate to the university than any of the state’s other footballplaying schools: UF, UM, USF, UCF, FAMU, FIU, FAU and UWF. The statistic, as measured by U.S. News and Scott Atwell World Report, is stated as a two-year average, and in the latest calculation our alumni giving rate jumped from 17.9 to 19.5 percent. That almost one in five alumni donated to their alma mater is an amazing statistic for a public institution, which is why our national ranking in this category leaped from No. 14 to No. 9. If you’re among those who added an additional gift to the bottom of your annual alumni membership, or a life member who made a continuing gift, you impacted this upward trend.

Our U.S. News reputation among guidance counselors also improved, jumping from 117 to 106. Your alumni association has been working to influence this outcome by facilitating alumni visits to their local high schools over the last two years.

Alumni giving and guidance counselor reputation are two of the 15 metrics that determine the U.S. News rankings of the best colleges. Overall, FSU advanced in 12 of the 15 latest measures, as we moved up to No. 33 among public institutions. That’s a 10-spot leap over the past two years, on our way to the Top 25.

Additionally, the Princeton Review ranked the FSU Alumni Network No. 19 in America, up one spot from the previous tabulation. The Princeton stat is based on student ratings of alumni activity and visibility on campus, along with PayScale.com’s percentage of alumni who would recommend their school to prospective students.

All this is to say that FSU’s alumni base – now 340,000 strong – is among the healthiest in all of higher education. Keep up the good work. You should be proud.

In Seminole Spirit,

Scott Atwell (M.S. ’15) President & CEO FSU Alumni Association THANK YOU TO OUR CORPORATE PARTNERS

The FSU Alumni Association extends a special thank-you to FSU Photography Services and others for allowing VIRES to use their photographs.

VIRES is a registered trademark of the Florida State University Alumni Association. All rights reserved. © 2016

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FSU CREDIT UNION + FSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

A WINNING TEAM FSU Credit Union has been serving the FSU Community since 1954 and is proud to be the official financial institution of the FSU Alumni Association. With convenient online banking options and more than 5,000 shared branch locations, FSU Alumni Association members anywhere can take advantage of great benefits, including: > > > >

: N O O S MING Signature

CO U Alumni Advantage UCU.org/alumni

An Upgraded No-Monthly-Fee Platinum Checking Account Discounted Rates on Auto, Home, Personal and Business Loans Promotional Rates on CDs And Much More!

Learn more at FSUCU.org/alumni.

The FS . Visit FS d r a C a is to receive Rewards V o be one of the first lumni pt UA and sign u edit card of the FS l cr the officia n.

Associatio

850.224.4960 www.fsucu.org

Membership eligibility required. Subject to credit approval, terms, and conditions.

LAUREN MILLER ROGEN (B.F.A. ’03) Comedian, writer and director “Writers,” says FSU Film School grad Lauren Miller Rogen, “are very communal. You can’t write by yourself – that would be a mistake.”

Fortunately, Miller Rogen’s creative muse is her husband, famed actor/comedian Seth Rogen, a frequent contributor to her artistic process.

We caught up with Miller Rogen in September, not far from her hometown of Lakeland.

Hurricane Irma had just waylaid shooting of her current script, “Like Father,” which also features her debut as a Tinseltown director. “If anyone had listened to me when I said we should shoot this movie in Florida at any time other than August and September, we wouldn’t be in this situation,” she said with perfect comedic timing.

“But no one listened to me.”

Miller Rogen, 35, clearly was listening during her FSU education. “On set now I literally think of being in directing class,” she says, “and I can hear the professors say, ‘Use these types of terms,’ or, ‘Look at the actor this way.’ I use what I learned all the time.” That experience came in handy when dealing with stars like Kristen Bell and Kelsey Grammer, the headliners of “Like Father,” a comedy about a jilted bride reconnecting with her estranged father on what was supposed to be her honeymoon vacation. “I put a lot of time into the human emotion of the story and really am trying to make an effort to make it feel real and grounded. That challenge is the most fun part of directing.”

Off set, the Rogens have turned their comedy into a weapon against Alzheimer’s, a disease that has taken Miller Rogen’s grandparents and is taking her mother. Their Hilarity for Charity project has raised more than $7 million in six years. “Emotionally speaking, it helps me deal with that and get a perspective that is healthy,” she says. “Otherwise I would be in a dark hole. This need is literally inside of me, and I have to do it to make what has happened with my mom matter.”

Lauren Miller Rogen and Seth Rogen speak onstage at Hilarity for Charity’s 3rd Annual Los Angeles Variety Show benefiting the Alzheimer’s Association.

Photo by Alex Berliner/ABImages

“Like Father” should be available on Netflix in 2018.

via AP Images

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UNIVERSITY NEWS

FSU AT A GLANCE Highlights

National rankings leap FSU has jumped to No. 33 among national public universities in the U.S. News & World Report rankings after moving up five places for the second consecutive year. The rankings appear in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2018 guidebook. FSU has vaulted 10 spots among public universities since placing No. 43 in 2016. Last year, FSU ranked No. 38 among public universities.

The university’s excellent graduation and student retention rates are the driving forces behind the ranking among the nation’s best public universities. FSU’s four-year graduation rate is among the top 25 nationally, the six-year graduation rate is 80 percent and the university’s freshman retention rate is nearly 93 percent, which ranks 18th nationally.

Criminology’s No. 1 ranking The FSU College of Criminology and Criminal Justice has been ranked No. 1 in the world for the study of crime and criminal justice by the Center for World University Rankings. The rankings, organized by subject, are based on an empirical methodology that considers the quality and quantity of a program’s scholarly publications in top-tier journals for the past 10 years.

Named ‘diversity champion’ For a second consecutive year, FSU has been recognized by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine as a “Diversity Champion” in higher education. FSU is one of only 10 colleges and universities nationwide receiving the award from the magazine, which is the nation’s largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education.

Our big, bright freshman class This fall, FSU welcomed about 42,000 students, including one of the largest and most academically talented incoming freshman classes in university history.

6,500 students, the incoming freshman class is about 300

• With about students larger than last year’s.

4.1, with an average ACT 29 • Women make up 59.8 percent of the new freshman class.

• The top five majors selected by this year’s freshman class are biological • Their average high school grade-point average is composite score of .

science, pre-health professions, business, engineering and psychology.

Among best of alumni networks The FSU Alumni Association was ranked No. 19 among the nation’s Best Alumni Networks in the Princeton Review’s Best 382 Colleges for 2018. The ranking was based on students’ ratings of alumni activity and visibility on campus, and PayScale.com’s percentage of alumni who would recommend the school to prospective students.

Stay updated: fsu.edu, news.fsu.edu

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RESEARCH Chemistry Scientists ‘do the twist’ to make better chemical reactions FSU scientists are working to make chemical reactions faster and more selective by reinventing fundamental organic chemistry concepts. Chemistry Professor Igor Alabugin and doctoral student Trevor Harris developed a new way to control one of the most commonly used reactions in chemistry today – the alkyne-azide “click” reaction. Alkynes and azides are two combinations of atoms – or functional groups – that can form a strong connection with each other, what scientists refer to as click reactions. Click reactions reliably combine groups of atoms, like Lego blocks, into larger, more complex and useful molecular structures. Alabugin and Harris’ research was published in the journal Chem.

Read more: gonol.es/ChemicalReact Professor Igor Alabugin with FSU graduate students Gabriel dos Passos Gomes and Trevor Harris. Photo by FSU Photography Services

Research partnerships FSU leads autism research network

Distinguished Research Professor Amy Wetherby, director of FSU’s Autism Institute.

Photo by Colin Hackley/College of Medicine

FSU researchers have been awarded a five-year, $10.2 million Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) network grant to test a two-part home intervention designed to bridge the gap between diagnosis and treatment. In order to catch autism early and prepare underserved children for regular kindergarten, the grant will help to develop and train a new workforce that specializes in helping families understand autism. The grant makes FSU part of a new ACE Action Network – one of four networks announced this fall by the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development – that assembles unique, interdisciplinary teams with expertise in early detection, maternal mental health, clinical trials, health disparities, implementation science and policy. Other institutions in FSU’s network include Boston Medical Center, the University of Miami and Kaiser Permanente.

Read more: gonol.es/AutismNetwork

National MagLab Shrinking the size of particle accelerators When you think particle accelerator, you think big. CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, for example, spans two countries, features a tunnel more than 16 miles (27 km) long, employs thousands of scientists and requires an annual budget of $1 billion. Turns out, particle accelerators need not be so massive.

In fact, proton-smashing technologies initially developed to reveal the mysteries of the universe are being scaled down to solve less lofty, but no less important, problems related to environment, health and safety.

Lance Cooley, a scientist and professor at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, examines the cross-section of an RF cavity. Photo by Reidar Hahn/Fermilab

The FSU-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory is playing a role in a nationwide effort to make human-scale particle accelerators. With a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, scientists are developing a key component of these slimmed-down accelerators called radio frequency (RF) cavities.

Read more: gonol.es/RFcavities

UNIVERSITY NEWS Vires 9

UNIVERSITY NEWS Criminology and Criminal Justice

Geology

Medicine Alzheimer’s onset not signaled by personality changes

School board diversity reduces school suspensions

Read more: gonol.es/Suspensions Cresean Hughes, second from left, a recent graduate of the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, with FSU criminology professors Patricia Warren, Dan Mears and Eric Stewart. Photo by FSU Photography Services

Jeremy Owens

Ancient ocean deoxygenation: An urgent warning A 94-million-year-old climate change event that severely imperiled marine organisms may provide some unnerving insights into long-term trends in our modern oceans. In a study published in the journal Science Advances, FSU Assistant Professor of Geology Jeremy Owens traces a 50,000-year period of ocean deoxygenation preceding an ancient climate event that dramatically disturbed global ocean chemistry and led to the extinction of many marine organisms.

While examining organic-rich sediment from an underwater plateau off the coasts of Suriname and French Guyana, Owens discovered evidence of rapid oxygen loss tens of thousands of years before the globally recognized climate event. He says the 50,000-year interval of deoxygenation preceding the climate event may help explain the relationship between buried organic carbon and major climatic shifts.

Read more: gonol.es/AncientOceans

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Read more: gonol.es/PersonalityChange

Photo by Colin Hackley/College of Medicine

A new study from FSU criminology researchers reveals that a more diverse school board can lead to more equitable school punishment among black, white and Hispanic students. The team found that black and Hispanic students were more likely to be suspended in schools with larger minority populations. However, white students attending schools with larger minority populations were less likely to be suspended.

Researchers also found that district school boards that were more diverse, comprising black, white and Hispanic board members, reduced the likelihood of suspensions for all students. Additionally, the disparity among minority and white students was significantly diminished. The findings were published in the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency.

For years, scientists and physicians have been debating whether personality and behavior changes might appear before the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Now, a new and comprehensive study from FSU College of Medicine Associate Professor Antonio Terracciano and colleagues, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, has found no evidence to support the idea that personality changes begin before the clinical onset of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. Terracciano, along with College of Medicine Associate Professor Angelina Sutin and co-authors from the National Institute on Aging, examined data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.

The study looked at personality and clinical assessments obtained between 1980 and July 2016 from more than 2,000 individuals who initially showed no cognitive impairment.

Antonio Terracciano

Psychology

Art Education

Aaron Wilber

Your brain and GPS Wherever you are, you immediately see where you are and then, without even thinking about it, step toward a destination.

Simple, right? Not exactly. The brain performs a complex calculation that works a lot like the Global Positioning System. FSU’s Aaron Wilber, assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience, has discovered new insights into this brain function. His findings appear in the September issue of the journal Neuron. In studying the parietal cortex, the part of the brain that makes the transition from someone seeing a scene to then translating the image into a plan for navigation, Wilber found it integrates information coming in from various senses and helps a person understand what action to take as a result.

The response gets recorded as a memory with help from other parts of the brain, creating a “map” of the location that a person can recall to help get around from place to place.

Read more: gonol.es/GPSandTheBrain

Theresa Van Lith, assistant professor of art therapy in FSU’s Department of Art Education, is working with art therapists to find better ways to treat children who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

In a study published in the journal Arts in Psychotherapy, she surveyed art therapists working with children with ASD to develop a clearer understanding of their techniques and approaches. Some of their best practices include using the same routine to begin each session, giving a consistent explanation of instructions, making an effort to spark curiosity to teach new skills and making clear transitions between activities.

Read more: gonol.es/AutismAndArt

Music Marching Chiefs go green

Katie Olney uses the “eFlip” mount on her clarinet during practice.

Theresa Van Lith

Photo by FSU Photography Services

Photo by FSU Photography Services

Best practices: Autism and art therapy

The Marching Chiefs have traded in their instrument-mounted music flipcharts that carry printed sheet music and drill charts.

In their place are smart phones loaded with “eFlip,” a recently developed app developed by marching band students at Louisiana State University. Now, musicians can store PDF files of music in the cloud. The change will allow the 400-plus members of the Marching Chiefs to save 200,000 sheets of paper each year. College of Music Dean Patricia J. Flowers, who helped push the idea forward, praised band directors Patrick Dunnigan and David Plack for pursuing an inventive concept that saves money, boosts efficiency and represents the type of creativity encouraged by the university’s sustainable campus initiative.

Photo by FSU Photography Services

Read more: gonol.es/GreenChiefs

UNIVERSITY NEWS Vires 11

UNIVERSITY NEWS Institute for Successful Longevity Living long, going strong: Research sheds light on making the most of life past retirement

By Bill Edmonds (M.A. ’96, Ph.D. ’14) Ask Marylyn Feaver (M.A. ’69) how she spent her summer and you’d better brace for a long and energetic answer. She’s been busy.

“We just rescued a new paddler…,” she said from Maine, where Marylyn, 83, and her husband, Ed, 75, were staying in a tent and kayaking in mid-September. “That was on Long Pond, Acadia National Park, an incredible place to camp and paddle…. The view from Cadillac Mountain was superb.”

Retirement keeps the Marylyn and Ed team on the go. “We now have paddled 49 U.S. states,” Marylyn said via email between the wash and dry during a laundry stop on Mount Desert Island. “Alaska is for 2018 – our 50th wedding anniversary, the 50th state to paddle.”

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When not out in their kayaks or working in their organic garden at their Gadsden County home, they are actively engaged with early child development programs, with environmental organizations, in expanding kayaking opportunities for youth and with Florida State University’s Institute for Successful Longevity.

The institute, one of the newest at FSU, conducts research into how to live longer, stay active and be fully engaged in life.

Marylyn and Ed Feaver – healthy, active, always learning – can be seen as models of those research goals.

“The Feavers are not alone in living full and active lives late in life,” said Neil Charness, FSU’s William G. Chase Professor of Psychology and director of the institute.

“More and more Americans are living longer. Our longer lives bring many personal challenges as well as community issues, and through our institute and others, such as the Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy, FSU is exploring strategies to deal with these challenges and to help individuals enjoy their older years.”

of only 47 years, shockingly short by 21st-century standards. Today, a child will likely live to be 80 years old. Many will live into their 90s, and some will cross the 100-year-old threshold.”

Successful longevity isn’t only about long life. “We want people to live well, too, as they grow older,” Charness said. “That’s the focus of our research, examining how people can live longer and plan, pursue and hopefully achieve their goals.”

Unlike traditional research institutes, with faculty from one or two departments, the Institute for Successful Longevity draws on the work of more than 80 researchers in schools and colleges across the FSU campus to better explore the complexities of life as an older individual. The institute also approaches the study of longevity with a modern attitude.

The institute works to fill a growing need for research into longevity as each year millions of Americans, the baby boomers of years past, take advantage of the longevity dividend. They may work past normal retirement age, take up new careers, or enjoy retirement filled with volunteer experiences and educational opportunities such as FSU’s OLLI program.

“In the past, aging was seen as a problem, a condition or malady,” Charness said.

“Today at FSU, we see aging as a natural stage of life, and so our researchers look at all the components of an older person’s experience. We look at health, of course, and cognition, the two big worries of anyone entering older years, but we also look at fitness, mobility, nutrition, financial security and many other aspects of living.

This is why we designed the institute around a multidisciplinary approach, with faculty from many fields of study, so we can study the complete range of life as an older individual.”

“People are simply living longer than ever before,” Charness said. “Most of us have witnessed tremendous gains in longevity.

A child born in 1900 had a life expectancy

As a result, the institute’s research is expansive. Recent projects have dealt with helping older drivers stay safe as they adjust to diminished vision or other

changes in perception. For example, in one study conducted for the Florida Department of Transportation, researchers using a driving simulator looked at why older drivers may confuse an exit for an on ramp and end up going the wrong way down the interstate. One of their findings: Wrong-way warning signs need to be much larger and more visible.

The institute is also pursuing new uses of technology to combat common problems of loneliness and social isolation. In a joint project with the University of Miami, Georgia Tech and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, FSU researchers are working to see if older individuals in rural areas can use carefully designed computer tablets to stay connected with family and friends and benefit from internetaccessible resources such as news, information and entertainment.

Other research efforts are found in labs and offices throughout the university.

For example: • In the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, John Sobanjo directs the Center for Accessibility and Safety for an Aging Population, which works to improve roadway safety and strengthen transportation planning to provide seniors with safe and convenient access to the goods and services that they need.

• In the Department of Psychology, Walter Boot takes a critical look at claims that brain-training software and games provide improvement in general cognition.

His finding: The claims lack credible supporting evidence.

• In the Department of Sociology, Dawn Carr is working with Natalie Sachs-Ericsson in Psychology to test the hypothesis that pets are beneficial to the health of older people, particularly those who are socially isolated and have experienced the loss of a husband or wife.

The projects enjoy strong support in the aging community. “We have more than 1,300 volunteers who have signed up to help,” Charness said. “That says a lot about how important this research is to older individuals.”

Marylyn Feaver, the kayaking senior, is among these volunteers who are keen on the institute and its work. “Not only do seniors wish to learn how to live productive and quality lives,” she said, “we wish to assist in and support any research that helps us do so.”

Charness said the institute’s scientists are grateful for the public’s support.

“Whenever I talk about the Institute for Successful Longevity,” Charness said, “I hear the same message: It means a lot that Florida State University is conducting serious research into how people can live longer and enjoy the full scale of their lives.” @FSUResearch

Marylyn Feaver at a recent open house at the Institute for Successful Longevity.

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UNIVERSITY NEWS Pomp and circumstance

FSU debuts redesigned commencement gowns So long, basic black.

Baccalaureate and master’s-level graduates at FSU’s fall commencement ceremonies became the first class to wear newly designed commencement gowns with garnet-and-gold, FSU-specific touches. The gowns, developed in partnership with Herff Jones and the FSU Bookstore, will be worn for the foreseeable future at all commencement ceremonies.

“Many schools use custom regalia featuring their seals. It’s becoming a popular option,” says Taylor Gomez, FSU’s commencement ceremony coordinator.

The new bachelor’s gowns – still mostly black – now have garnet piping around the collar and garnet bands featuring the FSU lettermark around the end of both sleeves.

In addition, a garnet stole features the FSU lettermark and the FSU seal.

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The new, all-garnet master’s gowns feature the FSU seal stitched in gold on the left collar. In addition, mid-forearm-length sleeves taper toward the back, draping toward the gown’s hem.

Custom doctoral gowns, introduced in the late 1990s, have been updated with a deeper shade of garnet and feature FSU seals on a black velvet stole and three black velvet bars on each sleeve.

Upper left: University Communications Social Media Coordinator Bayard Stern (B.S. ’90, M.A. ’09) wearing the master’s gown. Center: Business student Monica Marino wearing the baccalaureate gown.

Above: Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Rick Burnette (Ph.D. ’98) wearing the doctoral gown. Photos by FSU Photography Services

Arts and the community A look back: Opening Nights at 20 To the delight of its audiences, FSU’s 20-year-old Opening Nights Performing Arts series has always delivered the talent.

From world-class artists and show-biz legends to lesser-known but equally show-stopping performers, Opening Nights has never failed to leave big smiles and satisfied customers.

Yet to come during this 20th-anniversary season are performances by George Benson (Feb. 13), Michael McDonald (Feb. 14), Kathy Mattea (Feb. 18), the Martha Graham Dance Company (Feb. 27 and 28), Patti LuPone (April 5) and the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma (April 17).

Thinking back to how it all began, Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte – FSU’s president from 1994 to 2003 – remembers a conversation he had shortly after taking office with one of his predecessors, John Champion, who served from 1965 to 1969.

Photo by AJ Studios Photography

“When I asked John what kinds of things should I consider doing as president, he said one of his great regrets was running out of money to fund the Fine Arts Festival, part of the university’s Artist Series from that time. He asked me to consider bringing it back in some form.”

With the idea for a resurrected university arts festival now planted and with destination festivals such as Charleston’s Spoleto in mind, D’Alemberte set out to create a weeklong festival that would both involve FSU’s students and attract people from the community and around the country. The festival debuted in February of 1999.

“My initial thought – what we originally called Seven Days of Opening Nights – was to create a concentrated festival where people from far and wide could come and enjoy the arts. That happened to some degree, but not to the level I always hoped.

To be able to attract a national audience and have students involved at the same time, we’d have to schedule it in the summertime, exactly when many of our students aren’t on campus.”

As for D’Alemberte’s other goals, Opening Nights has consistently scored. “A critical principle was that if we got a great violinist like Joshua Bell, he would give a public performance and teach a master class for students. Just the presence of somebody like him on campus would really help students understand what it meant to be a professional and really give them guidance.

It’s a principle we’ve largely adhered to.”

Community interest in each new Opening Nights season has continued to run high.

“The people of Tallahassee, especially at FAMU and TCC, immediately bought into what we were doing. We created community enthusiasm for the arts and community appreciation for what FSU provides to enrich our lives.”

And through it all, D’Alemberte was able to honor John Champion’s request.

“John and Mary Champion were both thrilled with what we did. In a way, what Opening Nights has morphed into is the Artist Series from his days as president. I think that John, looking down on us now, would be very pleased.”

For the full 2017-2018 Opening Nights lineup and ticket information, visit openingnights.fsu.edu.

Sandy D’Alemberte

UNIVERSITY NEWS Vires 15

The most successful plantation broker in the South aims for sales that place conservation above profit

By T. Edward Nickens

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We’d given up on the bird dogs. We came off the horses when the dogs first pointed, and marched in for the shot, but the quail broke and ran, followed by the pointers, who trailed the covey up a long North Florida slope of scattered pine. Three times the dogs pointed, and three times the covey bolted up the hill. That’s when our hunt master, Shane Stuckey, hacked the dogs in and Jon Kohler (B.S. ’91) and I unloaded our guns.

But as we turned toward the horses, Stuckey stood shaking his head. The dogs were on point again, near a lone live oak tree shading the crest of the hill.

“Get ready,” Stuckey grinned. “The birds’ll be pinned down at that big oak.”

There was no more running. This time the quail covey burst from underfoot, a roaring cluster of wings and beaks that atomized in every direction. I missed once, connected on the second trigger pull, and glanced toward Kohler. Feathers drifted around him like a North Florida snowstorm. “Double?” I called over, and he answered with a grin.

And that’s when I realized what had come together over the last few minutes. That old oak tree wasn’t there by accident. Arthur and Jenny Cahoon, who

own this Valhalla Plantation, made a conscious decision to keep big oaks in the quail woods. Many quail plantation owners have little love for them.

They harbor quail-eating raccoons and snakes and hawks. In fact, few elements at the 2,400acre Valhalla are here by happenstance. Not the well-trained dogs, the gaited McCurdy horses, the wild character of the bobwhite quail, the primeval aspect of the pines, and certainly not that aged live oak shading the savannah.

The Cahoons deserve much credit for creating a place where impressive numbers of bobwhites share the land with old oaks and ribbons of brush crowding winding creeks. Over a three-hour hunt, we put up eight coveys of wild quail. I give a nod to the pointers, too, who trusted their noses and knew that the birds were likely to hold tight at the base of that live oak.

Kohler stood near the crest of the hill as an English cocker raced through the underbrush, searching for the felled birds. He’s a big man, 6-foot-4, with a white cowboy hat that has become something of a trademark. In no small fashion, too, Kohler plays a significant role in the Red Hills’ reputation as the nation’s preeminent quail-hunting region. It’s a place seeded with incongruity, after all: where fire gives life, where some of the country’s savviest business minds seek to turn back time, and where one of the region’s great champions of conservation is a real estate broker.

Opposite top: A road winds through iconic live oak trees at the 2,400-acre Valhalla Plantation. Photo by Mark L. Atwater Opposite bottom left: A bird dog on the hunt for quail at Valhalla. Photo by Mark L. Atwater Opposite bottom right: Jon Kohler, wearing his signature white cowboy hat, on a quail hunt at Covey Pointe Plantation. Photo by Chris Mathan Below left: An aerial view of the main house at Valhalla Plantation. Photo by Ray Stanyard Below right: Jon Kohler takes a shot while quail hunting at Covey Pointe.

Photo by Chris Mathan

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From Tallahassee, Florida, to the Ochlockonee River north of Thomasville, Georgia, 300,000 acres of rolling open pinewoods, golden wiregrass, ancient lakes and river swamp create a landscape lifted from the 19th century. This is the Red Hills, where more than 100 quail-hunting plantations, most with roots in the Gilded Age, maintain an ecosystem and a sporting culture that has passed from other parts of the South. It’s a national park-sized expanse of land, much of it in semiwild condition, scored by sandy roads and farm paths that lead to massive plantation homes.

Some have been built in the last few decades, but most were constructed by wealthy Northern industrialists who flocked to the region to build quail plantations after the Civil War. Over time, and by coincidence, a sprawling ecologically rich landscape today is among the most natural and native ecosystems remaining in the South. Owned by some of the wealthiest Americans, the Red Hills plantations are famed for perhaps the densest population of wild bobwhite 18 Vires

quail remaining on the planet. It’s not uncommon for a hunting party to find 15 or 20 wild coveys in a day of hunting, a figure practically unheard of elsewhere.

The quail are here in high numbers because landowners spend small fortunes managing these pine forests. They employ biologists and foresters to burn the woods as frequently as every other year.

They restore longleaf pine and wiregrass savannahs, and tailor timber harvest to the needs of quail.

More than a few are willing to go to such lengths because Jon Kohler convinced them that it’s the right thing to do.

Behind the wheel of a white Ford F-150, Kohler can eyeball a piece of pinewoods at 60 mph and tell you if it carries 60 square feet of timber per acre or 40. He can tell which landowners are taking care of their grass. Who is squeezing their woods for a bit more profit. On our first drive through the Red Hills, with smoke from a prescribed burn

As an FSU student, Jon Kohler played second trombone for the Marching Chiefs in 1987 and 1988.

“I jokingly tell people I played for Bobby Bowden in both the Fiesta Bowl and the Sugar Bowl,” says Kohler, who praised the Marching Chiefs as one of the most respected bands in the nation. “The talent was amazing. Being a business major, not a music major, I found it very cool that musicians in the College of Music wrote or arranged many songs we played.” Kohler is pictured with fellow Marching Chiefs and hunting buddies Mark Shellahamer (B.S. ’94) and Glenn Shellahamer (B.S. ’90), the sons of former Marching Chiefs director Bentley Shellahamer (B.M.E. ’66, M.M.E. ’70).

drifting in the woods by the highway, Kohler kept up such a chatter about the lands lying to each side of the highway that I double-checked my seatbelt.

“That’s Ted Turner’s place, Avalon, about 30,000 contiguous acres.”

“This is about where DeSoto came through the capital of the Apalachee nation.”

“That’s Oak Hill, owned by a former speaker of the Florida House and former president of Florida State University.”

Many of these plantations are properties Kohler has sold, parcels in a $342 million portfolio of quail plantations, sporting ranches and conservation lands closed by Kohler & Associates and his Plantation Marketing Group since 2008.

“Kohler has a true heart for conservation,” says Kevin McGorty, director of the Tall Timbers Land Conservancy, which holds conservation easements on more than 114,000 acres in the Red Hills.

Perhaps the most successful plantation broker in the South, Kohler sells property from Florida to Montana, but his home and heart and family and future are in the rolling Red Hills, a region he protects with messianic zeal.

Kohler grew up east of Tallahassee, on a 40acre parcel once a part of the famed Verdura Plantation. The son of a neurologist, the grandson of a real estate broker, both his mother and father loved life outside the city. When Kohler was 4 years old, the family bought 160 acres of wild land along Florida’s Gulf Coast, east of Keaton Beach.

There was marsh and live oaks, longleaf pine and the freshwater Blue Creek spilling into the Gulf.

Kohler learned to hunt and fish there, learned to burn the woods and till food plots and plant longleaf pines until his hands bled. And he learned that the hardest work involved in the stewardship of land is done by the heart.

Opposite top: A view of longleaf pine trees at Long Pine Plantation. Photo by Mark L. Atwater Opposite bottom: Jon Kohler watches over a controlled burn on a Kohler & Associates property. He has been certified to conduct controlled burns by the Florida Forest Service since he was a student at FSU.

His parents clashed about the costs of keeping Blue Creek wild. “I remember them fighting about the property,” Kohler says, nodding slightly. “The money and labor involved in taking care of it – I saw how much my dad loved and cherished it, but there was a cost.”

Neighbors suggested they clear-cut the old pines, maybe subdivide a lot or two to take the sting out of property taxes. But that ran counter to his parents’ dream. “As I got older,” Kohler continues, “I realized: This land produces nothing. Its only utility was its place in the natural order, and our enjoyment of it. That was instrumental for me, remembering my parents’ struggles and evolving a land ethic that brought together reverence for the land and a realistic understanding that nothing is free.”

It’s unlikely that a 9-year-old Jon Kohler could have articulated a balance sheet weighing the intrinsic and extrinsic valuations of open country.

But soon he could. In his third year at Florida State University, while he was double-majoring in entrepreneurship and small-business management, Professor John Lewis told the story of two plantation brokers who recently sold the storied Valhalla and Chemonie Red Hills plantations. For Kohler, it was a moment of epiphany.

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Thank you for your generosity and recurring support for the past 30 years with the purchase of an FSU License plate! Your contribution helps advance FSU’s ranking as one of the top universities in the nation. For information on purchasing your FSU license plate and rebates for first-time buyers, go to mytag.fsu.edu or simply visit any tax collector’s office and request an FSU plate today!

“I remember hearing that phrase – plantation broker – and it was a jolt. I said: That’s a job?

From that day to this, it’s all I ever wanted to do.”

After college and law school, Kohler moved to a ranch outside Red Lodge, Montana, where his family had relocated. While practicing law and selling real estate, Kohler and his former wife started a company making tile tables painted with trout and mountains and other Western icons.

Within three years they had 250 dealers around the country, but his heart was still in the Red Hills.

He left Montana in 2000 for a four-year stint as an exclusive broker for Jacksonville-based Rock Creek Capital, managing billions of dollars of land sales across the Southeast. In 2004 he struck out on his own, a Florida cracker with membership in the Florida and Montana bars, real estate licenses in Florida, Georgia, Montana and Wyoming, and a firm idea of what it would take to keep his beloved Red Hills from falling into a subdivided ruin.

“The last 10 years was a scary time,” Bill Palmer says. “There was a lot of turnover in plantation ownership.” He sits in a rocking chair on a porch at the Tall Timbers Research Station, the privately funded, internationally renowned science institute that fosters land stewardship in the Red Hills. “It could have been a game-changer depending on what kind of new ownership came in. Jon played a key role in keeping this area together.”

Palmer is CEO of Tall Timbers, which employs a 30-person staff of scientists and land managers.

The new generation of plantation owners, he says, is more interested in biodiversity, longleaf pine restoration and the Red Hills ecology than many earlier owners, but the foundational interest remains quail and quail hunting. “I don’t know what would happen here without that bird,” he says, shaking his head. “This region is sustainable only as long as private landowners stay engaged and interested for the right reasons.”

Which explains why Kohler considers himself a “gatekeeper” – his wording – to the region. As a broker, he vets potential buyers, weeding out not only those who would develop the land, but those who might not subscribe to the full – and expensive – program of prescribed fire and forest management required to maintain the Red Hills ecology. “This is a unique landscape that pivots on aesthetics and recreation and less on capitalistic endeavors,” Kohler says. “My job is to make sure that everything is in place so that proper

stewardship of the land results in an increase in net worth or capital. If the numbers fall apart, it’s a lose-lose for everybody.”

Above: Jon Kohler and his wife, Erica, with a team of horses at Greenwood Plantation. Photo by C.J. Brown

According to many Red Hills observers, this is where Kohler & Associates and its marketing arm, Plantation Marketing Group, shine. Kohler’s wife, Erica, oversees plantation valuations and managing contacts for the firm. Lauren FieldingVann delves into historic document research, oral histories and a property’s pedigree of quail and timber management to tease out narratives of Deep South history and sporting heritage.

Two brokers, Walter Hatchett and C.J. Brown, manage transactions across the Red Hills and South Carolina. Most large properties get a royal treatment presented in wirebound and hardback books. Kohler’s group “does amazing storytelling to bring to life the history and culture of these properties,” says McGorty.

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Underscoring these intrinsic values is a constant Kohler mantra: How much might a historic river ford add to a property’s value? What’s the worth of long-term quail management? Why does it make sense to pay for the privilege of owning a property that will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual maintenance?

A perfect example is the recent sale of the 5,000-acre Greenwood Plantation, just outside Thomasville. The plantation was the longtime home of John “Jock” Hay Whitney, former U.S. ambassador to Britain and publisher of the New York Herald Tribune, and his wife, Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney. Whitney was a financier of “Gone With the Wind,” and the main Greenwood manor, considered among the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in America, was the ultra-private retreat to which Jacqueline Kennedy disappeared in the weeks after JFK’s assassination.

The plantation contains the 1,000-acre Big Woods, the largest contiguous, privately owned tract of virgin longleaf pine in the world, plus a campus of nearly 50 historic properties that include offices, greenhouses, a lodge and a massive winter stable.

It took five years to find the right buyers. The conservation philanthropist Emily “Patty” Vanderbilt Wade paid $22 million for a 4,000acre swath that includes the Big Woods, while a Thomasville-based investment group bought the campus with the main house and the trove of historic properties.

“A highest-yield proposition wouldn’t have conserved the ecological and cultural values of Greenwood,” McGorty explains. “Jon’s company took a documentarian approach to storytelling to explain why these properties matter. That kind of expertise is absolutely critical to the conservation of these landscapes.”

By any measure, Kohler has forged a remarkably successful career selling Red Hills dirt. In his free time, he is loath to leave it. His 600-acre Red Hills farm, Lick Skillet, is a laboratory for the management protocols he preaches. Free-range, antibiotic-free cattle and hogs. Managed timber.

Pine straw production. A duck pond. “I walk the talk,” he said. “I’ve made all the mistakes and learned from them.” Kohler rarely accepts the frequent invitations to shoot ducks in Argentina or target sailfish in Costa Rica. “Moving fences, checking on the river, that’s my fun.” Lick Skillet is his Blue Creek, his legacy to his two young sons, Greyson, 4, and Ashton, 2. A couple of weeks earlier he and Greyson were walking the edge of a Lick Skillet field and a covey of quail got up, the first bobwhites his son had ever seen.

Opposite top: The mansion at Greenwood Plantation as it looks today. Photo by Mark L. Atwater Inset: The Greenwood mansion pictured on a historical postcard. Opposite bottom: Jon Kohler on horseback at Morton Bray Plantation. This page: Erica and Jon Kohler with their sons, Greyson and Ashton.

“After the flush,” Kohler says, “Greyson said: Dad, that scared me! But he was smiling when he said it. And I told him: Son, you never get over that.”

On my last night in the Red Hills, Kohler grills steaks from his grass-fed Angus cattle, and we sit on the porch railing of the Lick Skillet camphouse and crack open Apalachicola oysters. The week before, Kohler says, a guy called him and started the conversation with an apology: His farm was only 100 acres, and he realized Kohler typically dealt with much larger properties.

“But I could tell how much he loved that land,” Kohler says. He detailed all the work he’d done, clearing brush and pruning trees, working past dark, worrying his wife. His concern was that all of his time and effort really wasn’t making the property worth more. He worried that, from an economic perspective, he was wasting time and money.

“So much of my job is listening,” Kohler continues, watching the skylight fade behind the pines. “And feeling that man’s passion for his land, it just lights a fire under me, to make sure that if he ever does sell that property, that people appreciate what he’s done. That he gets paid for loving the land so much.”

Kohler tells the story with an oyster in one hand, cracker in the other, each forgotten as he weighs his own words. “That man said something that I hear from a lot of people,” he says. “Something I absolutely understand to my core. Working on the land, he said, healed his soul.”

A version of this story was published in the June/July 2016 issue of Garden & Gun magazine.

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In his Omaha, Nebraska, office, Combs chips away at his 500-600 pages of weekly reading. Photo by the Omaha World-Herald 24 Vires

TEN QUESTIONS T

odd

Combs (B.S. ’93)

In 2010 Warren Buffett, the most famous investor in the world, plucked FSU alumnus Todd Combs out of relative obscurity and made him an investment manager at Berkshire Hathaway (BRK), his $600 billion diversified holding company. Our own Scott Atwell invested some time for a sit-down and 10 questions with the College of Business alumnus who has been inspired by the Oracle of Omaha.  If you could choose just one key to your success, what would it be and why? I was fortunate to have great parents who emphasized education, hard work, grit, determination and a sense that anything is possible. You try to get a little better, a little smarter each day and let the magic of compounding do its work. I met my wife at FSU, and I wouldn’t be where I am today had she not been by my side. And I’ve had amazing professional relationships that have all built on each other in one form or another. If any of those pieces had been missing, I wouldn’t be where I am today.  What was your FSU experience? FSU was both an amazing and a formative experience. It’s where I got my start, both personally and intellectually. I had always had an interest across a lot of different fields, and I was able to start testing that at FSU. My interests included engineering, math, sciences, psychology, international studies and business. FSU is where I gained exposure to my first finance and investing courses. I think part of the beauty of college is that you come in as a pretty blank slate and get to create your own canvas.  You first saw Buffett in a grad school class. What was your takeaway? That he’s brilliant, humble and inspiring. Warren went to Columbia B-school as well and really built BRK through insurance, which I knew well from my days at Progressive. Both investing and insurance are a game of probabilistic science, where you try to get the odds in your favor. So, things he talked about that day and the way he spoke really struck a chord with me. He said, “I read 500 pages a week,” referencing the huge stack he had walked into the room with. “Any of you can do it, and the knowledge just compounds over time.”  You and your wife are Floridians but BRK is based in Omaha. How’s life been there? Even though I was raised in Florida, my whole family is from the Midwest originally. So I knew it would be an easy fit for me – but it’s really been great for everyone. Having been here almost seven years, our friends are here and we consider Omaha home. It’s a great family town with a real sense of community. People really look out for each other.  What’s the best part of working for Warren Buffett? Well, this one is hard to describe in words. You have this special combination of an incredible human being as well as the world’s greatest investor. Both are priceless because you learn so much from both aspects, especially when they’re combined. We see so many aspects of business at Berkshire; between our subsidiaries, public and private situations, it’s a pretty robust mosaic. And to be able to discuss those situations, problems and solutions with him is really special. It’s a rare person where the closer you look, the better he gets.

 What’s the best part of your weekly lunches with Buffett? Warren loves teaching, and his ability to weave wisdom into storytelling and combine it with lessons from business history is really special. Warren credits his longtime business partner Charlie Munger with the best 30-second mind, but Warren’s ability to simplify the most complex issue is also unparalleled. Einstein lists the order of intelligence as “smart, intelligent, brilliant, genius, simple.” Warren’s mind is just frictionless in its ability to simplify issues to the core.  What’s the most important consideration for investing? Howard Marks wrote a book titled “The Most Important Thing,” and I think it had 20 lessons.

So it’s hard to distill into one – but it’s really a judgment business at the end of the day. You want to find the best business you can at the cheapest price you can. You can have a wonderful business at a high price resulting in a terrible investment, and conversely you can have a terrible business at a wonderful price yielding a terrific investment. Charlie Munger compares it to the parimutuel system or betting on horses. Everyone may know who the best horse is, but if it’s more than reflected in the odds, then it won’t pay off. You want to find the great horse that no one else thinks is a great horse.

le oo O’T y c La o by Phot

 You currently have a portfolio of $10 billion.

How do you rationalize that responsibility? You’re really just making the best decision you can regardless of how many zeroes are in the number. My smallest position is now larger than the fund I was running ($500 million), although several of the positions are the same; they’re just bigger now. So the position or decision-making process doesn’t change.

 What’s a typical day like for you? I read about 12 hours a day. Our offices are like a library. So I read annual reports, conference call transcripts, trade magazines, etc. Most things are routine, mundane and obvious, but every once in a while you find something interesting worth digging into. Warren and I will usually catch up once or twice a day on stuff that’s going on – deals, stocks, stuff with our companies. Sometimes our managers reach out or a banker calls with an idea, but that’s about it.  What’s your advice for students who want to follow in your footsteps?

You really just have to find your passion in life. Warren says to find the job you would do if you didn’t need a job. The earlier you find that, the better – because it won’t seem like a chore to follow your dream, and you’ll outwork everyone in the process. Don’t be afraid to fail. In fact, you kind of want to fail early and often because it doesn’t cost you much when you’re young – and you learn a lot more from failure than success.

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Mike Harrell, Owner Southwest Georgia Oil Co., Inc. FSU Class of 1984

0 111000000 1110000 111000 11100 111

Proud Seminoles and Proud to be Part of the Inaugural

Seminole 100

Southwest Georgia Oil Co., Inc. is a sixty year old, second generation petroleum distributor based in Bainbridge, Georgia. As CEO and President, FSU graduate and Seminole Booster past president Mike Harrell sits at the helm of 72 convenience and grocery stores in Georgia, Florida and Alabama. Harrell’s company also includes a wholesale distribution business that dispatches nearly 200 million gallons of petroleum annually. Currently employing 1,000 people, Southwest Georgia Oil Co., Inc. will add six to eight more stores and 100 more jobs in 2018.

Southwest Georgia Oil Co., Inc. is known by its brands - Total Pretroleum, Sun Stop and Inland.

1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 000 11100000 1110000 11100000 11100 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 000 1110000 110000 11100000 1100 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 00000 1100000 110000 110000 11 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 00000 1100000 1110000 110000 11 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 111000000 1110000 1100000 11100000 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1110000 110000 11000 1100 0 0 11100000 1100 10 0 1000 THE DEFINITIVE LIST OF TOP BUSINESSES OWNED BY FSU ALUMNI

This fall, Florida State University and the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship in the College of Business named the inaugural Seminole 100.

It’s a list of innovative FSU alumni and their businesses, some of the fastest-growing and most profitable in America. The businesses on this year’s list had revenues totaling $766 million in 2013 and $1.6 billion in 2016.

“Each year, the Seminole 100 will showcase the fastest-growing businesses owned by FSU alumni,” says Randy Blass, executive director of the institute.

“They are part of a large group of alumni-owned businesses that operate as important economic growth agents across the country.”

Inc. magazine verified financial information from each company and ranked them on a compounded annual growth rate during a three-year period. More than half of the Seminole 100 businesses were also named to the “Inc. 5000,” a comprehensive list of the 5,000 fastest-growing businesses in the United States.

THE SEMINOLE 100 (Listed alphabetically)

4 Rivers Smokehouse

Allied Instructional Services

BD Guidance Inc.

Winter Park, Florida*, Owner: John Rivers (B.S. ’89)

Ashland, Virginia*, Owner: Karen Walker (B.S. ’87, M.S. ’88)

San Francisco, California, Owner: Deb Goslin (B.S.N. ’74)

Accountable Healthcare Staffing

AlliedPRA New Orleans

Black & Denim Apparel Co.

Boca Raton, Florida*, Owner: Kevin Little (B.S. ’92)

New Orleans, Louisiana*, Owner: Jeff O’Hara (B.S. ’89)

Tampa, Florida, Owner: Roberto Torres (B.S. ’05)

Accurate Temperature Control

Altrua Global Solutions

Blue Air Training

Orlando, Florida, Owner: Jenny Vincent (B.S. ’94)

Tallahassee, Florida*, Owner: Melode Smelko (B.S. ’85)

Las Vegas, Nevada*, Owner: James Barlow (B.S. ’95)

Advanced Systems Design

Asker Distributors

Bolay Enterprises

Tallahassee, Florida*, Owner: John Dubard (M.A. ’73, Ph.D. ’93)

Tallahassee, Florida*, Owner: Alan Asker (B.S. ’75)

West Palm Beach, Florida*, Owner: Chris Gannon (B.S. ’09)

Auto Data Direct Inc.

Boos Development Group

Aerospace Quality Research & Development

Tallahassee, Florida*, Owner: James Taylor (B.S. ’79)

Clearwater, Florida*, Owner: Robert Boos (B.S. ’91)

Addison, Texas*, Owner: Suresh Narayanan (B.S. ’08)

Avion Insurance Agency Inc.

Bourbon & Boweties

Lake Mary, Florida, Owner: Scott Langevin (B.S. ’95)

Brandon, Florida*, Owner: Carley Ochs (B.S. ’08)

Tampa, Florida*, Owner: David Romine (B.S. ’96)

Axis Management Group Holdings Inc.

Bowstern Marketing Communications

A-LIGN

Franklin Lakes, New Jersey*, Owner: Mike Smith (B.S. ’84)

Tallahassee, Florida*, Owner: Kelly Robertson (B.S. ’05)

AgileThought

Tampa, Florida*, Owner: Scott Price (B.S. ’97, M.Acc. ’97)

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BSM Media

Dorsia

Hamic Previte Jones & Sturwold PA

Pompano Beach, Florida, Owner: Maria Bailey (B.A. ’86)

Boca Raton, Florida, Owner: Christopher Lanza (B.S. ’07)

Lakeland, Florida, Owner: Steve Hamic (B.S. ’78)

CFO Alliance

Fan Fest

Iansiti Performance Group

Tampa, Florida*, Owner: Brooke Evans (B.S. ’97)

Spring Hill, Tennessee*, Owner, James Frazier (B.S. ’00)

Atlanta, Georgia*, Owner: Christopher Iansiti (B.S. ’92, M.S. ’94)

CIO Partners

Fiore Communications

Marietta, Georgia*, Owner: Mike Burgett (B.S. ’90)

Tallahassee, Florida, Owner: Dave Fiore (B.S. ’86)

Convergence Consulting Group

First GREEN Bank

Tampa, Florida*, Owner: Sam Powell (B.S. ’99)

Orlando, Florida*, Owner: Ken LaRoe (B.S. ’81)

iMobile3 Jacksonville, Florida*, Owner: Bob Leonard (B.S. ’85)

Information & Computing Services Jacksonville, Florida*, Owner: Jorge Morales (B.S. ’70)

Convert IT Marketing Fort Lauderdale, Florida*, Owner: Paul Rubenstein (B.S. ’99)

Florida Environmental & Land Services Tallahassee, Florida, Owner: Elva Peppers (B.S. ’90)

Atlanta, Georgia*, Owner: Bruce Harrell (B.S. ’73, M.Acc. ’75)

Creative Sign Designs

Florida Event Décor

Tampa, Florida*, Owner: Jamie Harden Jr. (B.S. ’90)

Orlando, Florida*, Owner: Eric Karter (B.S. ’96)

Justin Lewis, D.P.M.

Deep Blue Yacht Supply

Global Sales

Eldersburg, Maryland, Owner: Justin Lewis (B.S. ’02, M.S. ’04)

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Owner: Ryan Charles (B.S. ’97, B.S. ’99)

Gibsonton, Florida*, Owner: Jeff Collins (B.S. ’86)

Kerigan Marketing Associates GMF Steel Group

Diverse Computing

Lakeland, Florida*, Owner: Andy Norman (B.S. ’97)

Tallahassee, Florida*, Owner: Daniel Percy (B.S. ’96, B.S. ’97)

Gulf Beach Weddings

Mexico Beach, Florida, Owner: Jack Kerigan Jr. (B.S. ’90)

Kupanda Capital St. Petersburg Beach, Florida*, Owner: Brandon Wheeler (B.S. ’06)

28 Vires

Insurance Specialty Group

Washington, D.C.*, Owner: Bobby Pittman (B.S. ’97)

Paul Wilbur, Jamie Harden and Melanie Harden

100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Landsouth Construction

Jacksonville, Florida*, Owner: James Pyle (B.S. ’82)

Lynch Oil Co.

Kissimmee, Florida*, Owner: Craig Lynch (B.S. ’83)

Mad Dog Design & Construction Co. Tallahassee, Florida*, Owner: Laurie Dozier (B.A. ’72)

MCCi

Tallahassee, Florida*, Owner: Donny Barstow (B.S. ’01)

SEMINOLE 100 Spotlight Business

Ken LaRoe

Creative Sign Designs

Orlando, Florida, Owner: Jeff Feulner (J.D. ’97)

Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo

Tampa, Florida*

Orlando, Florida*, Owner: Dan Moisand (B.S. ’89)

A turnkey architectural signage company that excels in providing consultation, design, fabrication and installation services to a variety of industries.

Headquartered in Tampa, Creative Sign Designs serves the entire state of Florida and the Southeast.

Momentum Medical St. Cloud, Florida, Owner: Darryn Dierickx (B.S. ’98)

North American On-Site Duluth, Georgia*, Owner: Jesse Vance (B.S. ’82)

Oasys McLean, Virginia*, Owner: Tony Johnson (M.S. ’00)

Owner: Jamie Harden Jr. (B.S. ’90) “Seminoles are well represented at Creative Sign Designs! My wife, Melanie, her sister Betsy Diecidue, CFO Paul Wilbur and I all graduated from the College of Business, where Dr. Robert Turner, Melanie and Betsy’s father, was my professor. Dr. Turner was passionate about helping FSU students get jobs in banking, and I was one of those students. After 15 years with Bank of America, I relocated the family back to Tampa and bought what is now Creative Sign Designs.” – Jamie Harden Jr.

Men’s Divorce Law Firm

Owenby Law

SEMINOLE 100 Spotlight Business First GREEN Bank Orlando, Florida*

Jacksonville, Florida*, Owner: Joy Owenby (B.S. ’93)

Partners in Association Management Tallahassee, Florida, Owner: Bennett Napier (M.S. ’02)

Pathways Psychology Services

A financial institution based on offering sustainable banking principles that are good for the environment and local communities. Offers personal, business and attorney banking services.

Winfield, Illinois, Owner: Joe Roszkowski (B.A. ’96)

Owner: Ken LaRoe (B.S. ’81)

Marietta, Georgia, Owner: Will Peterson (B.S. ’78)

Paul Consulting Group Tallahassee, Florida, Owner: Marc Paul (B.S. ’95)

100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 “I began my career as an auto mechanic in my late teens and progressed to the level of service manager of a Datsun dealership. After earning my A.A. degree, I transferred to FSU. The professors and atmosphere in the business school encouraged and fueled my passion in business. The real-life entrepreneurial experiences of my professors were revelatory to me, and the rigor and effort necessary to achieve stellar grades affected every aspect of my life.”

– Ken LaRoe

Peterson Foods

ReEmployAbility

Tampa, Florida*, Owner: Debbie Livingston (B.S. ’87)

ROI Healthcare Solutions

Atlanta, Georgia*, Owner: Bill Starks (B.S. ’98)

San Francis Veterinary Hospital Spring Hill, Florida*, Owner: Carlos Campos (B.S. ’96, B.S. ’96)

Simpluris

Costa Mesa, California, Owner: Troy Hoffman (B.S. ’02)

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4RsMoKeHoUsE.CoM // 844-4RiVeRs

DINE IN • DELIVERY • CATERING

30-DAY AGED SMOKED ANGUS BRISKET

TaLlAhAsSeE 1817 ThOmAsViLlE RoAd TaLlAhAsSeE FlOrIdA 32303

100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Southern Proper Hospitality

Atlanta, Georgia*, Owner: Chris Hadermann (B.S. ’94)

Southwest Georgia Oil Co.

Bainbridge, Georgia*, Owner: Mike Harrell (B.S. ’84)

Synergy Settlement Services

Orlando, Florida, Owner: Jason Lazarus (J.D. ’96)

Debra Livingston

Tal Search Group

Tallahassee, Florida*, Owner: John McFarlain (B.S. ’97)

The Aleksander Group Tallahassee, Florida, Owner: Sebastian Aleksander (B.S. ’01)

The Connect Agency Jacksonville, Florida, Owner: John Ream (B.S. ’00)

The Mortgage Firm Altamonte Springs, Florida*, Owner: Brett Lindquist (B.S. ’83)

The White Magnolia Bridal Collection Jacksonville, Florida*, Owner: Kerrie Hileman (B.S. ’07)

Tribridge Tampa, Florida*, Owner: Tony Dibenedetto (B.S. ’87)

SEMINOLE 100 Spotlight Business

Trident Technical Solutions

ReEmployAbility

Trinity Analysis & Development

Tampa, Florida*

Shalimar, Florida*, Owner: Mo Evans (B.S. ’86)

Provides return-to-work services that help companies reduce the cost of workers’ compensation and rehabilitation programs for employees who were injured while on the job.

Venture Medical

Owner: Debbie Livingston (B.S. ’87)

Visiture

“My experience at FSU gave me selfesteem, confidence and leadership abilities. Living with different people and participating in activities really prepared me for life. I found myself developing new interests by becoming acquainted with those who had completely different life experiences than mine. FSU was where I began to take charge of my life by making my own choices. The experience and bonds created there prepared me for whatever life threw at me.” – Debbie Livingston

Charleston, South Carolina*, Owner: Ron Dod (B.S. ’11, M.S. ’12)

Tampa, Florida*, Owner: Joe Albano (B.S. ’06, B.S. ’06)

Tampa, Florida*, Owner: John Pritchard II (B.A. ’96)

Veteran Energy Gainesville, Florida, Owner: Rich Blaser (B.S. ’91)

Warchant.com Tallahassee, Florida, Owner: Gene Williams (B.S. ’88)

Wherry Truck Lines Fort Myers, Florida, Owner: Kendell Wherry (B.S. ’87) To learn more about the Seminole 100, visit seminole100.fsu.edu. *Companies also named to the Inc. 5000.

Kerrie Hileman

SEMINOLE 100 Spotlight Business The White Magnolia Bridal Collection Jacksonville, Florida* A specialty, designer bridal boutique focused on creating a unique and memorable bridal shopping experience.

With four locations across the Southeast.

Owner: Kerrie Hileman (B.S. ’07) “FSU prepared me for life as an entrepreneur by allowing me to see the rewards associated with hard work and dedication. As a student of the FSU College of Business, I was educated and mentored about what the business world would look like. Combined with leadership skills I obtained through campus organizations, I was able to navigate entrepreneurship in ways I never thought possible.”

– Kerrie Hileman

100 10 100 10 100 10 100 10 100 10 100 10 Inc. magazine’s final rankings of the Seminole 100 will be announced during a special dinner and awards ceremony, co-sponsored by the FSU Alumni Association, Saturday, March 3, 2018, at the University Center Club in Tallahassee. The ranking will be published in the Spring/ Summer 2018 issue of VIRES.

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THE SCHOOL OF DREAMS A primer on FSU’s new Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship

By Jeffery Seay (B.A. ’91)

You’ll never meet a group of students more excited to come to school.

Whether they are just beginning to consider what type of business to start or are already making sales, the students of FSU’s new Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship – which opened this fall – are extremely enthusiastic. The reason? Unvarnished passion to innovate, according to Kirsten Frandsen, the assistant to the director and program coordinator who gets to know every student as she answers their questions and listens to their plans.

Above: Social entrepreneur-in-residence Bruce Manciagli teaching the Jim Moran School’s Foundations of Social Entrepreneurship course.

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“It is so much fun. Even before they start the program, they just have a million ideas,” Frandsen says. “They’ve dreamed about running their own businesses since they were kids in middle school and elementary school. Back then, they did lemonade stands and lawn-mowing services. Now, they’re in college, and they didn’t come here to just

read from books and write papers. They came here to start their dreams and start their businesses.”

Some students, such as Wesley Lopez of Gainesville, have already begun, just doing what comes naturally. In November, the 19-year-old started an event-staging company, managing the setup and breakdown of stages, podiums, tables and chairs, and the cleaning and maintenance of venue spaces. In addition, he has his sights set on starting a company that specializes in ultra-affordable, professional livestreaming in the Big Bend.

“I see this degree as a catalyst to my career,” Lopez says. “The knowledge I gain at the Jim Moran School will be the tool that empowers me to create a career from the ventures I undertake.”

» “When I asked Mrs. Moran what

she wanted to see in the school, she said she just wanted it to be the best.” — Susan Fiorito

Jan Moran and her late husband, Jim Moran.

AIMING TO BE THE BEST

FSU created the Jim Moran School with the help of a record $100 million gift – the stuff of dreams for any university – from Jan Moran and The Jim Moran Foundation in 2015. (A significant portion of the gift continues to fund the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship, which has a 22-year history of serving entrepreneurs and small businesses throughout Florida.)

Susan Fiorito (B.S. ’73), the school’s director and one of its entrepreneurs-in-residence, helped transform the program from idea to reality a full year ahead of schedule. Under the original terms of the gift agreement, classes were not scheduled to start until fall 2018, which would have been the 100th birthday of automotive legend Jim Moran, who believed in creating opportunities to prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs for success.

“When I asked Mrs. Moran what she wanted to see in the school, she said she just wanted it to be the best,” Fiorito says. That request has become a challenge and a call to arms. Fiorito, who has experience in helping run a family business that

owned four denim and leather goods stores and a leather manufacturing company, along with FSU faculty members and administrators, is determined to make the Jim Moran School the best school of entrepreneurship in the nation.

“We have a new, three-story building nearing completion in downtown Tallahassee and huge opportunities to grow,” Fiorito says. “Deans around the university are talking about how they can partner with us and what kinds of programs their faculty might teach. And we have a central administration, led by President John Thrasher and Provost Sally McRorie, that is bending over backward to help us. It is a real joy to see the entire university working toward the goal.”

The Jim Moran Building also will be home to the College of Business’ Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship. The Jim Moran School and Jim Moran Institute will share space to accommodate events, presentations, receptions, meetings, collaborative projects and administrative functions.

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A STAND-ALONE SCHOOL

The school, now halfway through its first year of operation, was created with several aspects that make it stand out. For starters, it is the first school of entrepreneurship in the nation to operate independently outside of a college of business at a public institution. “This arrangement makes us unique and should be a big point of pride for FSU alumni,” Fiorito says.

Below: An artist’s rendering of the Jim Moran Building at 111 S. Monroe St. in downtown Tallahassee. Renovations to the former Guaranty Bank Building, donated to the university by Brian Ballard and Kathryn Ballard (B.S. ’87) in February 2016, are expected to be finished by year’s end. The three-story, 20,000-square-foot building will be home to the Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship and the College of Business’ Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship. Photo by Architects Lewis + Whitlock

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Because of its stand-alone nature, the school can accept more students than if it had been created as part of a college. “The FSU College of Business had to restrict its number of entrepreneurship students because it had a limited amount of resources and limited space for faculty and programs. To grow the entrepreneurship program, the Jim Moran School had to be our own entity.

Now we can keep building to serve many more students than otherwise,” Fiorito says.

THE HUB OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The school is intended to develop as the hub of the university’s entrepreneurial offerings. “We’re trying to connect with all the entrepreneurial activities on campus,” Fiorito says, pointing first to the entrepreneurs-in-residence housed in every college. “Those faculty members will stay in their own colleges and do what their colleges feel is important for them to do, but they’ll also teach for the Jim Moran School.”

Other spokes in the wheel include: • The Student Government Association’s Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and various other student entrepreneurship clubs throughout the university.

• The technologically impressive Innovation Hub, a new, 14,000-square-foot laboratory for students, set to open in January in the Louis Shores Building at Landis Green. One sure sign the university intends it to be a mecca of student activity: It will have a café with outdoor seating.

• A new entrepreneurship and innovation livinglearning community in Deviney Hall, scheduled to launch this fall with space for 40 freshmen. “This community will encourage their entrepreneurial spirit,” says director Wendy Plant. Residents will take several classes together as a cohort, including a liberal studies course in Deviney and a colloquium, taught by Plant, in the Innovation Hub. By offering this type of living-learning community, FSU joins universities such as Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Ball State and Florida.

The Jim Moran School also is working with Domi Station, a nonprofit startup incubator and community workspace that already has ties to FSU.

ACADEMICALLY TRENDING

The school is interdisciplinary, which will give students the benefit of learning from a broad range of subject-matter experts. “This is a big trend that we see in academics,” Fiorito says.

“Similar to the way that FSU’s interdisciplinary health program involves faculty from several colleges and departments, the Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship has faculty from across campus, including the departments of economics, art and English.”

For Lopez, the commercial entrepreneurship major is an extension of a trajectory he’s been on his entire life. “I’ve always wanted to own a business. All throughout middle and high school, I was involved in the entrepreneurial process.”

That process has included selling snacks outside his family’s business, making and selling candles and soap to neighbors, operating a website design company and caring for the pets of outof-town friends.

The interdisciplinary nature of the school pertains not only to courses designed to round out the core courses of the majors, but to the core courses themselves. “Usually in the last two years of a student’s degree program, the instruction stays focused in the one area of the major,” she says. “So, accounting students would only take courses from accounting professors.

By contrast, our students are taking classes from a variety of faculty who can offer students the best information and application to their various entrepreneurial interests.”

“That early passion for entrepreneurship continues to exhilarate me today,” he says. “I consider my calling to entrepreneurship to be innate. This major will help me hone my passion because the classes are personal, hands-on and force me to think.”

TWO KINDS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The Jim Moran School gives instruction on both varieties of entrepreneurship – commercial and social.

Lopez is especially enjoying Experiences in Entrepreneurship, a core course in his major where students start and operate a business in partnership with other students over one academic year.

“There is no greater way to learn than through practice, and that opportunity was presented to us in our very first semester. Being surrounded by classmates who are just as passionate about entrepreneurship as I am and having opportunities to collaborate with a group of people who are diverse in thought and passion, the outcomes are nearly limitless.”

Below: FSU President John Thrasher (B.S. ’65, J.D. ’72) and Jan Moran survey the progress of renovations to the Jim Moran Building in October.

The building will include classroom, business incubator and office space for the students, faculty and staff of the Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship. Photo

by FSU Photography Services/Bill Lax

Commercial entrepreneurs address problems and opportunities for which the competitive marketplace does a good job of assessing value.

Social entrepreneurs, on the other hand, aim to address the types of problems that the marketplace is not effective at valuing, such as “market failures,” “wicked problems” and “unjust equilibriums.”

“For social entrepreneurs, the social and/or environmental mission is what drives their work.

Revenue or economic value creation is in service to that mission,” says Bruce Manciagli, social entrepreneur-in-residence with the FSU College of Social Sciences and Public Policy. He teaches the Jim Moran School’s course in Foundations of Social Entrepreneurship.

STUDENTS IN THE MAJORS

This year’s first class of 80 juniors, including several at FSU Panama City, is made up of 60 students in the commercial entrepreneurship major and 20 in social entrepreneurship.

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Karen Wilkening’s interest in entrepreneurship was sparked by a different approach to business.

In high school, she discovered fair trade jewelry companies and the idea that a business could create revenue and solve a social problem at the same time.

“The idea of creating a business that recognizes someone’s need and doesn’t only treat a symptom but solves a problem appealed to me, so I chose to major in social entrepreneurship,” says the 21-yearold junior from Jacksonville. “The thing that drives my entrepreneurial passion is deeper than financial gain. It’s about restoring dignity to someone whose dignity has been diminished, whether through poverty, war or inadequate resources.”

When she enrolled at FSU – before the Jim Moran School opened – Wilkening majored in studio art with a focus on ceramics. “These days, one of my favorite questions to get asked is, ‘You’re a double-

» “The thing that drives my

entrepreneurial passion is deeper than ffinancial gain.

It’s about restoring dignity to someone whose dignity has been diminished, whether through poverty, war or inadequate resources.” — Karen Wilkening

major in studio art and social entrepreneurship – what do you want to do with that?’ I tell people that fostering my creative mind is never going to be a waste of time, nor will it hinder me from my entrepreneurial dreams. Stepping outside the box is what sets us apart as entrepreneurs. This doublemajor sets me apart.”

Though the school debuted with four minors – retail entrepreneurship, hospitality entrepreneurship and its two majors presented as minors – more minors are being developed.

As many as 10 are envisioned to give students a wide range of entry points into some kind of entrepreneurial experience. One such minor would be STEM entrepreneurship, involving a class taught by a researcher from the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, or a faculty member from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering who might teach a robotics class.

A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO TEACHING

Students at the Jim Moran School study subject areas similar to those for typical business students – accounting, finance and marketing, for instance – because entrepreneurship involves starting and running a business. But the school’s approach to teaching these subjects is different in one important way. Understanding the nitty-gritty details of each subject area is less important than having a broad working knowledge to give entrepreneurs the ability to communicate with all the people they’ll need to work with to run their businesses.

“We ask, ‘What does an entrepreneurship student need to know about accounting or marketing or finance?’ In a way, we’re teaching our students just enough to be dangerous,” Frandsen says. “We want them to be able to work with accountants and marketing people and financial officers so that they can make decisions for their businesses based on what those experts tell them. So, they can know the lingo.”

STARTING A BUSINESS

During the second week of fall classes in September, a roomful of commercial entrepreneurship majors listened as Jim Dever and John Breed – former entrepreneurs now serving on the school’s faculty – described the signature requirement of the class they co-teach, Experiences in Entrepreneurship: Start a business in partnership with other students and run it through the end of the academic year.

36 Vires

One by one, the students walked to the front of the classroom to introduce themselves and share their ideas for the business they might start. Creating a fraternity house cleaning service.

Making individual nutrition packets for earlymorning workouts. Manufacturing custom beerpong tables with retractable cup holders. Making homemade soaps. Launching a full-service social media company. Restoring classic vehicles, such as Broncos and Land Rovers. Developing a wrinklefree fabric.

By mid-October, 38 student-run companies had been created, prototype products were being built and actual orders were being received. “We worked with students individually and in groups to flesh out their ideas. Now, the businesses are up and running and the students are having a great time,” says Dever, an entrepreneur-in-residence.

Core courses such as Experiences in Entrepreneurship were developed by the school’s faculty and entrepreneurs-in-residence to prepare students for real-world challenges in their own businesses or existing companies they might work for. The courses teach fundamental business concepts, but from an entrepreneurial perspective.

They include: • Personal Finance – to help students make good decisions in budgeting, saving, investing, credit and buying insurance.

• Entrepreneurial Technologies – to provide students with an awareness of current technologies and innovations.

• Innovation by Design – to help students gain a sense of what it is to be innovative and how to think through the design process.

BEYOND THE FOUR WALLS

Because activities outside of the classroom are vital for any entrepreneurial student, the school’s Center for Student Engagement offers a variety of cocurricular experiential programs, such as business model and pitch competitions, micro-grants, speaker events and the InNOLEvation® Center student business incubator. “Entrepreneurship is a highly experiential discipline,” says Plant, “I think offering these outside-of-the-classroom experiential learning opportunities is something special about the school.”

In addition to other events, the center hosts 7 Under 30, an annual event featuring seven FSU alumni who have started businesses before turning 30. During a panel, they talk about their experiences in business and answer questions from the audience. Afterward, students have the chance to visit with them during a reception.

Entrepreneurship faculty also serve as faculty advisers to the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO) at FSU, Collegiate DECA, ENACTUS, the Society for Advancement of Management and the Young Entrepreneurs Society. Of all of these, only one is limited to entrepreneurship majors. The rest draw students from across campus in all different disciplines and colleges.

LESSONS TO BE LEARNED

One of the best lessons young entrepreneurs can learn is that they don’t have to be great at everything to be a great entrepreneur. “We’re learning that the trick is to find people whose skills make up for our own shortcomings,” Lopez says. “Entrepreneurship absolutely is a team sport. Working with others is inevitable when you are an entrepreneur. One of the things I most look forward to in the future through my business ventures is having the chance to help others advance in their careers and provide for their families.”

Being a team player is built into the nature of any good entrepreneur, according to Wilkening. “This is a skill that must be practiced. The Jim Moran School does a great job of encouraging us to grow that skill by giving us opportunities to collaborate on projects in and out of the classroom. Having the ability to partner and interact with the people we’re trying to help is of special importance to a social entrepreneur.”

Above top: Wesley Lopez, a stand-out commercial entrepreneurship student, is serving as this year’s president of the FSU Young Entrepreneurs Society.

Photo by FSU Photography Services Above: Jim Dever, an entrepreneur-in-residence at the Jim Moran School, co-teaches the Experiences in Entrepreneurship course.

As the first year unfolds for the Jim Moran School, Fiorito foresees it as a year of discovery building up to the school’s grand opening in 2018. Mistakes are likely to be made in the administration of a brand-new school, and some classes will likely have to be fine-tuned. Working to find solutions for each new challenge, however, is integral to what entrepreneurship is all about.

“We’re giving this a try, taking a risk, and we’re off to a great start,” Fiorito says. “We don’t know what is going to happen, but our goal is to do the best that we can for our students.”

Vires 37

Three Orlando-area public servants gain their neighbors’ trust and get rewarded at the ballot box

By Zac Howard (B.A. ’14)

38 Vires

“Look around. One out of three of you won’t be here at the end of the year.”

Those words, spoken almost 40 years ago now, still ring in Teresa Jacobs’ mind as she sits at her desk as mayor of Orange County. “I remember hearing that speech they give all freshmen,” said Jacobs (B.S. ’81). “I hunkered down and was like, ‘I am determined I am not going to be the one who gets kicked out of FSU.’” Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings (B.S. ’80) and his wife, U.S. Rep. Val Demings (B.S. ’79), were on Florida State’s campus during that time as well, though they weren’t freshmen. Jerry was living with his twin brother studying finance. Val was doing ride-alongs with FSU P.D. and majoring in criminology.

The three alumni never met while in school together, but they did meet at a school, more than a decade later. Their children attended the same elementary, middle and high schools together.

They couldn’t have known then that in 2017 Jacobs would be finishing her final term as mayor and Jerry would be campaigning to succeed her, with Val observing from her post on Capitol Hill.

All this would have surprised Jacobs at the time, of course, but hindsight has made her appreciate the unexpected. “I often tell people, ‘I really believe in having a plan,’” she said. “Although when I look back on my life, all the things I’ve done that I really loved have never been part of that plan.”

Val Demings may not have been able to predict the future, but her time at FSU made her confident it would be bright. “I remember feeling like I was a part of something bigger than me,” she said. “And that ‘something’ wanted me to succeed.”

••• In high school, Teresa Jacobs wasn’t even thinking about going to college. While her parents wanted to see their children pursue higher education, she was more concerned with her part-time job as a veterinary technician. In fact, her parents’ pleading may have turned her off to the idea. “If anything, I would say – and my mom would agree – I was just a very rebellious, independent-spirit teenager,” she said. However, two years after graduating from high school, Jacobs got the itch to go get a degree, after seeing many of her friends’ successes and subsequent opportunities.

Once on campus, she stumbled into one of the university’s iconic traditions: the Flying High Circus. Her roommate was already in the circus and urged Jacobs to join, so she decided to give it a try. It wasn’t long before she was ready to disappoint her parents once again with a new aspiration. “I think I scared my dad to death when, a year after being in the circus, I told him that when I graduated I wanted to join a professional circus,” she said. “I know that was not why he was paying for my tuition.”

Vires 39

Ultimately, Jacobs laid aside the circus dream for a more ordinary career path, but her involvement led her to land her first job, in banking, as well as her husband, Bruce.

Still, she believes the experience brought her more than just a spouse and a career. “I don’t think I would’ve had the courage to run for mayor if I hadn’t been in the circus,” she said. “Some of the falls, and literally breaking my arm and recovering from that, formed strength and conviction and courage and discipline to work through difficult issues.”

Above: Teresa Jacobs during her days as a trapeze artist for FSU’s Flying High Circus. Below: Jacobs shows her Seminole spirit with President John Thrasher at FSU’s 2016 spring football game at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.

When Bruce’s job led the family to Orlando in 1991, Jacobs was a full-time mother of three and pregnant with the couple’s fourth child. She soon learned that the county intended to build a road that would run through the middle of the family’s neighborhood.

After attending a homeowners association meeting and urging members to assemble a committee, she decided to lead the effort. Although the process of fundraising for private research, galvanizing subdivisions and drafting alternative proposals for presentation took over a year and resulted in defeat, it yielded an unexpected victory.

Linda Chapin, mayor at the time, formed a new transportation planning division after Jacobs suggested the government seek community feedback before hiring consultants and engineers for future roadway renovations.

“For me, that was it. I was hooked,” Jacobs said.

“The fact that changes were made and future neighborhoods were dealing with government in an entirely different and more honest, open fashion was exhilarating.”

Former U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez (B.A. ’69, J.D. ‘73) instantly recognized Jacobs as an extraordinary citizen. “I think the first time I met her I was in the middle of a debate running for mayor and she asked a really nasty, tough question,” he said. “So, I followed up with her afterward. I don’t mean nasty – she wasn’t rude, but it was a very poignant, difficult question. I was like, ‘Who is that?’”

The two got lunch and Martinez was blown away by her intelligence and willingness to study the issues. They bonded as fellow FSU alumni, and Martinez remembers Jacobs flaunting the battle scar from her circus injury.

“Immediately it was clear to me that she was well informed and a real force in the community,” he said. Martinez later encouraged Jacobs to run for county commission in 2000, adding that he would help her succeed against the incumbent Bob Freeman. Despite her disadvantages, Jacobs claimed a 68 percent victory. “She had that ‘it’ factor, not only combining smarts, but running for the right reasons,” Martinez said.

Those same reasons led her to run for Orange County mayor in 2010, and her apparent smarts and “it” factor led her to claim 68 percent of the vote once again. Once in office she prioritized government transparency by inviting the public to speak on all issues and elevating the ethical standards for county employees. In 2015, she took aim at the opioid epidemic, creating a heroin task force co-chaired by Sheriff Demings.

Among the most exciting accomplishments during her tenure was the arrival of the Orlando City Soccer Club of the MLS and the Orlando Pride of the NWSL, both of whom play in the pristine Orlando City Stadium, which opened in February.

Jacobs enjoys seeing the fanatical home crowd cheer on their team. “Forget the game, watch the

40 Vires

fans,” she said. “I say that only jokingly because I actually love soccer, but you could go there and do nothing but watch the crowd. That, in and of itself, is a show.”

One of the county’s most endearing achievements to Jacobs is the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts. Located in the heart of downtown Orlando and completed in 2014, the project suffered multiple budget shortfalls, but Jacobs believes all the extra work and patience was worth the wait. “It’s just absolutely phenomenal,” she said. “It’s become an iconic and incredibly warm part of our community.”

chose to study finance and, after graduating, took an accounting job that brought him back to Orlando.

Still, his passion for law and order drew him to apply for positions at the FBI, Secret Service and the FDIC, all of which were in a hiring freeze. During the interviewing process, a recruiter suggested he get some local law enforcement experience, improving his odds of getting a job once the freeze ended.

Demings had a friend who had already applied to the Orlando Police Academy, so he jumped on board as well. Starting out as a patrol officer, Demings worked his way up to serve as police chief from 1998 to 2002 – the first AfricanAmerican to fill that role in the city of Orlando.

“More than a building, or the performing arts center which she was so influential in this community getting, the more important legacy is her integrity,” Martinez said. “She served with an honorable dedication that I think is exemplary of what people should be doing in public service.”

While Jacobs will leave office next year, Martinez hopes she maintains a prominent position in the community in some capacity. “I could understand if she chooses to retire from it like I did, but the community would be better for her [continued] public service.”

••• Long before Teresa Jacobs ever dreamed of making a difference in the Orange County community, Jerry Demings was growing up as a multisport athlete from a low-income family in Orlando. The only time he has ever lived elsewhere was during his undergraduate years at Florida State.

Demings’ father drove a taxi and his mother was a maid. Neither went to college, but they were determined to make sure their children got an education. His mother also kept their children involved in church activities.

While those religious values took root in Demings at a young age, his older brother, Joseph Demings, strayed into consistent drug abuse, including heroin, which culminated in his death in 1999 at age 50.

“It created a passion in me to work hard to rid our streets of drug traffickers,” Demings said. “I have, now for 36 years, devoted a life of service to our community.”

Demings and his twin brother, Terry Demings (B.S. ’80), both attended FSU. Terry studied criminology and is a successful businessman in Orlando. Jerry

Perhaps due in part to his religious upbringing, Demings is known for his old-school persona. He speaks slowly but eloquently in a calm, measured Southern drawl. The sheriff may be quick to the crime scene, but according to his pastor, the Rev. Terrance Gray, he never rushes his words. “He’s always thinking through,” he said, “and when he does speak on an issue, he’s speaking from a position of practical wisdom.”

Gray believes Demings’ roots, deeply entrenched in family and religious values, keep him from drifting as many do when power and success arrive. “When you start doing things, you can very easily bypass the route that got you there,” he said. “He has not forgotten how he has achieved or succeeded.” As an example, Gray pointed out that Demings still cuts his parents’ grass – “which speaks volumes to the kind of humility, as well as the dedication, he has.”

Above: While serving as chief of the Orlando Police Department, Jerry Demings and a departmental honor guard attend a 2001 ceremony to honor a fallen Orlando police officer at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. Vires 41

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Those same values have made him a beloved sheriff since his election in 2008, and they help make him an attractive candidate for mayor in 2018. They also helped him win over the affections of his wife, Val, who initially determined to never date a fellow police officer. Eventually she relented, once she got to know Jerry.

“I wanted a man who was a man of faith, a man who was honorable, a man of integrity, a hard worker, like my dad, family first,” she said. “Jerry had all of those qualities.” They met when they shared a case on the police force. Initially, they had a sharp disagreement about how it should be handled.

Professionalism prevailed and love won out in the end, though, and now they laugh about the memory.

••• Val Demings, like her husband, came from humble beginnings. Her father was a janitor and her mother was a maid. The couple raised their seven children in a two-bedroom home in Jacksonville.

Despite being the youngest, Demings was the first in her family to graduate from college, studying criminology at FSU. As early as elementary school, she felt drawn to law enforcement, after being selected for school patrol. “It really was a position of honor. I could help people do what they were supposed to do and stay safe,” she said. “I knew that I ultimately wanted to be in a position where I could help people. Every job that I’ve had as an adult had that capacity.”

Once she started taking her criminology courses in college, Demings became fascinated by the psychology and sociology behind crime. “It’s easy to believe that there are people who just make a decision in life to want to be good people or they want to be criminals,” she said. “Now, there are some who fall into those categories, but it’s not that simple. Crime, more times than not, is a byproduct of social ills in a community.”

Upon graduating, she moved back to Jacksonville and took a job as a social worker. Demings remembers sitting at her desk one day, feeling particularly fed up with government bureaucracy at work, when she heard an advertisement from the Orlando Police Department announcing an upcoming recruitment in Jacksonville. She had considered pursuing law school or returning to Tallahassee to join the police department there, but opportunity knocked and she answered. “Orlando P.D. was just a little faster than Tallahassee, but you know things have a way of working out,” she said.

Like her husband, she worked her way up the ranks, eventually becoming the first female chief of police in Orlando in 2007. Not surprisingly, they were the first couple to both serve as chief of police in the same agency. The crime-fighting spouses shared concurrent jurisdiction and a successful run in their respective roles when Jerry became sheriff in 2008. While they made it through scandal-free, it certainly wasn’t stress-free.

“When you have the sheriff and the chief in the same house, the phone rings all night long,” Val said. “We’d look at each other and say, ‘I hope it’s for you.’”

Above top: Val Demings on the FSU campus as a student and, in her cap and gown, as a graduating senior. Above: Val and Jerry Demings as happy newlyweds in 1988.

Similar to Jacobs, Demings never saw herself entering the political realm. It took some coaxing and convincing from Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who pitched her on the idea of running for Congress. “I initially thought that was the funniest thing I’d ever heard in my life,” she said. “I said, ‘I’m a cop, I’m a little rough around the edges. I mean what I say and I say what I mean. I don’t think that would be a good thing.’”

Dyer talked her into a sit-down with some people in Washington, D.C., and the ball got rolling. The turning point for Demings came when she heard someone say, “One out of six children go to bed hungry every night in a country that we call the greatest in the world.” She was determined to help change that, even if it meant stepping into an unfamiliar environment that wasn’t conducive to her skills.

Vires 43

••• For three public servants dedicated to serving and protecting their community, virtually nothing could prove more devastating than the Pulse nightclub shooting on June 12, 2016.

After coming home from a local gala the preceding evening, Sheriff Demings began to decompress, excited about the next day. June 12 is his birthday.

He had just gone to bed at 1:30 a.m. when he received a call from his watch commander, informing him of the situation. “Sheriff, this is bad,” he said. Demings began to put on his uniform.

“I asked him what happened, as I always do,” Val said. “Because when he responds out I know either a deputy has been seriously injured or it’s something really bad.”

Demings was victorious in her 2016 bid to represent Florida’s 10th Congressional District.

To her surprise, the transition has gone smoothly and proven to be more like her work in law enforcement than she anticipated. “Although I’m in a different city and a different position, being a member of the United States Congress is all about solving people’s problems,” she said. “While I don’t put on a uniform every day, I’m still involved in improving the quality of life for people living in my community.”

44 Vires

Jacobs was sound asleep when she got the call. “It would’ve been difficult to process even if it had happened in the middle of the day, because of the magnitude of the issue,” she said. “We were all watching the numbers coming in and just shocked to see them increase from 15 to 20, to maybe 22, to then suddenly a count of almost 50.”

“Sheriff Demings and I worked closely together,” Jacobs said. “We were both on the ground and present for pretty much every day the first full week.” Campaigning for Congress at the time, Val Demings volunteered at the blood bank and offered her support for victims in various ways, wherever it was needed.

“We were forced to work across jurisdictional boundaries. Federal, state and local government authorities were able to work together,” Sheriff Demings said. “I think we grew as a community, to be better for all people.”

Martinez admires how Jacobs and Dyer put the community first in pursuing a common goal. “Oftentimes those situations can get competitive,” he said. “They were working hand in glove. I honestly believe they made this community proud.”

“I think the most important role as mayor at that time was to provide comfort and assurance to our LGBTQ community and Hispanic community, that they were not alone. That we were going to stand with them,” Jacobs said. “And we did. I have never been more proud of the Orlando Orange County Community than I was in the hours, days and weeks that followed Pulse. Absolute unity and outpouring of support.”

••• Mayor Jacobs and Sheriff Demings have worked together extensively over the past eight years, but Jacobs and Val Demings are more familiar with one another from interactions at their children’s PTSA meetings and various other encounters. Still, their respect is mutual.

“The thing that I admire about her is what really got her into politics in the first place,” Val said.

“A lot of people will see a problem and sit on the sidelines and criticize the leaders that are dealing with the problem and really do nothing. She saw a problem in her community and she got in the arena to deal with that problem.

“She’s not a sideline person.” Which describes all three of them.

Opposite top left: As Jerry Demings looks on, Val Demings is elated moments after being sworn in as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Jan. 26. Photo

by Orlando Sentinel Opposite top right: Sheriff Jerry Demings and U.S. Rep. Val Demings walk into funeral services for a fallen Orlando police officer in January. Photo by Orlando Sentinel via Getty Images Opposite bottom: With Val Demings at his side, Jerry Demings announces his bid for Orange County mayor in July. Photo by Orlando Sentinel Top left: Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and Sheriff Jerry Demings at a workshop to address opioid addiction in May. Photo by Orlando Sentinel Top right: Flanked by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, law enforcement officials and Mayor Jacobs, Demings gives an update on the Pulse nightclub shooting at a news conference June 12, 2016, just hours after a gunman opened fire, killing 49 people and wounding at least 53 others. Photo by Orlando Sentinel Bottom: Pulse nightclub owner Barbara Poma, Dyer and Jacobs join others in the #letsALLconnect unity movement after Jacobs' State of the County address at the I-Drive 360 entertainment complex. Photo by Orlando Sentinel Vires 45

The Golden Era

The Golden Era A 1990s fling at recruiting National Merit Scholars boosted FSU’s image and academic prominence

By Gerald Ensley (B.A. ’80)

Florida State University fans love to reminisce about the great years of football recruiting. But they don’t talk much about the Golden Era of National Merit Scholar recruitment.

Perhaps they should.

Below: President Sandy D’Alemberte and his wife, Patsy Palmer, greet National Merit Scholars during a reception on the grounds of the FSU President’ s House.

From 1994 to 1996, FSU recruited more than 200 National Merit Scholars. Overnight, it became a celebrated player in national academic circles.

In 1995, in fact, FSU recruited 90 – to rank 17th in the nation. Those 90 were the most ever recruited to a state university in Florida to that point.

In 1996, FSU recruited 77 but dropped in the rankings, thanks to its archrival: The University of Florida attracted a state record of 177, ranking fifth in the nation.

Such competition was expensive: FSU offered them a full-ride scholarship – tuition, room, board, books and expenses – for all four years. And because about two-thirds came from out of state, FSU had to kick in an extra $6,000 per student for tuition.

By 1996, FSU was spending more than $700,000 a year extra on each incoming class of National Merit Scholars.

“We got in an arms race, and it had become very expensive,” says John Barnhill, longtime FSU assistant vice president for admissions. “We had to ask ourselves, ‘Is this the best way to spend our money?’”

The answer was “No.” With urging from Provost Larry Abele, President Sandy D’Alemberte agreed to end financial recruiting of National Merit Scholars. FSU continued to enroll 25 to 30 per year, drawing students who chose FSU on their own – without a full ride.

Instead, FSU began increasing its support of financially needy students, especially those from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds “A certain percentage of (National Merit Scholars) were really financially needy – but 70 to 80 percent of them were not,” Abele says today. “I argued as a state institution we have to provide opportunity to those who might not have it.”

Those who enrolled as part of that record 1995 group understand FSU’s decision. But they make no apology for their free ride.

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“I think (recruiting National Merit Scholars) raises the quality of the classroom experience for everybody to have students who are interested in learning,” says Jonathan “J.R.” Scally, an FSU National Merit Scholar in 1995. “We weren’t sequestered away. We were in clubs, we were in classes for our majors, we really participated in all the things FSU has to offer.

It bombarded National Merit finalists with letters and brochures. It invited them to visit the campus, where they were entertained lavishly and introduced to professors in their expected field of concentration. It guaranteed them semesters abroad at one of FSU’s 24 international programs.

It trumpeted their opportunity to join FSU’s honors program.

“FSU was good for me, and I loved being part of the FSU family.”

And, of course, FSU emphasized the students wouldn’t have to pay a dime for their college education.

Prestigious, but not usually lucrative The National Merit Scholarship, established in 1955, is run by a nonprofit organization in Evanston, Illinois. It’s awarded on the basis of a single test, the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Qualifying Test. Considered the most challenging standardized test for secondary school students, it measures “critical reading ability, mathematics problem-solving and writing ability, rather than existing knowledge.”

Approximately 1.5 million high school juniors each year enter the competition. About 8,000 win scholarships.

National Merit Scholars, however, receive only a modest financial grant: a one-time award of $2,500 for their freshman year.

Which is why all National Merit Scholars who came to FSU on a full ride are grateful for their opportunity.

Concierge service for the bright and talented FSU began recruiting National Merit Scholars in 1994 to improve its image. D’Alemberte noted such recruitment was already a staple at Ivy League schools.

“I thought it … would identify FSU as something much more than a Southern football school,” says D’Alemberte, FSU president from January 1994 to January 2003. “We won a national championship on the day I became president, and I feared that the enthusiasm for football would block out perceptions of our other achievements.”

FSU initiated what admissions director Barnhill called “concierge service.”

Sandy D’Alemberte

“The rationale was that ‘National Merit Scholar,’ even today, is the most recognizable label of an excellent student,” Barnhill says. “So the push was to enroll as many as we could.”

Some educators have questioned whether any one label should be so revered among university admission officials. Those who have earned National Merit status believe it is a good indicator of potential. Members of that 1995 FSU group point out most other standards of excellence, such as a high-class rank or grade-point average, vary widely from high school to high school.

Larry Abele

FSU ready to recruit Merit Scholars again As it turns out, FSU intends to resume recruiting National Merit Scholars. In 2014, the Florida Legislature created the Benacquisto Scholarship program, named for the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto.

The program provides full scholarships for National Merit Scholars who graduate from Florida high schools. FSU is one of the six state universities that can tap the fund, and won’t have to use their own resources to give full scholarships.

John Barnhill

“There’s still a lot of competition for (National Merit Scholars),” Barnhill says. “They are still outstanding students and they are recruited by everyone…. We might as well get back in the game.”

Where are they now? VIRES magazine caught up with five alumni who were part of the university’s 1995 cohort of National Merit Scholars. Read their stories on the following pages.

Vires 47

The Golden Era

Where are they now?

Doctor found his calling at FSU Damon Cudihy, 40, is a physician in Lafayette, Louisiana, who loves his career as an obstetriciangynecologist.

But he might never have become a physician had he not been a National Merit Scholarship winner in high school.

Below top: Damon Cudihy, front row left, was active in the Catholic Student Union while attending FSU. Below left: Cudihy, an obstetrician-gynecologist with Acadiana OB-GYN, a Catholic Churchaffiliated women’s clinic and birth center.

Below right: Cudihy and his wife, Lauren, on vacation with their seven children.

Because the scholarship led him to Florida State.

“I didn’t really discern a calling to medicine until my time at FSU and Tallahassee,” Cudihy says. “I went to FSU with an interest in biology, but not quite medicine; I thought I might get involved in biomedical technology.

“But while I was at FSU, I acquired a real appreciation for human relationships and the goodness of other people. I realized I wanted to put my talents in biology into medicine.”

He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in biology and Spanish in 1999. He spent his first year of medical school in FSU’s now-defunct Program in Medical Sciences (before FSU’s College of Medicine opened in 2001) and finished his medical degree at the University of Florida.

He spent four years as an Army doctor, serving a tour in Iraq. He spent six years in New York and Pennsylvania before landing in Lafayette, where he is one of two physicians at Acadiana OB-GYN, a Catholic Church-affiliated women’s clinic and birth center.

“The National Merit Scholarship was such a key step in where I am today,” Cudihy says. “It set things in motion for going to FSU and meeting my wife. There have been so many steps in my journey, and that scholarship was the first.”

Cudihy grew up in Marietta, Georgia. His parents were entrepreneurs who, among other things, ran a furniture store and sold collectible dolls.

He attended Marist, a private college-preparatory school, where he was a top student and competed in cross country and track.

While his parents made sacrifices for him to attend Marist, they couldn’t afford to send him to an expensive out-of-state college. He planned to attend an in-state institution such as the University of Georgia, which offered him a partial scholarship.

Photo by Cecil of Lafayette, Louisiana

Then he won a National Merit Scholarship. And FSU came calling, offering a full scholarship and enrollment in its prestigious honors program.

Though he attributes his medical career to FSU, it also traces to his childhood. When he was 10, his infant brother died from the complications of several birth defects. Today, his career is about helping women give birth to healthy children.

“It made a profound impression on me about the sanctity and sacredness of human life,” he says. “It no doubt had a lot to do with my eventual career.”

At FSU, he was an active member of the Catholic Student Union, taking part in numerous activities at the Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More. He met his wife at FSU: the former Lauren Kennell, of Milton, who graduated in 2000. They have seven children.

“We had a close community in Tallahassee,” he says.

“Tallahassee has a special place in my heart.”

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The Golden Era

Where are they now?

FSU helped entrepreneur rise from small town to Manhattan CEO Jennifer Fitzgerald, 39, is CEO of PolicyGenius, a company she co-founded three years ago. Call it the Trivago of insurance companies, providing consumers with comparisons of dozens of insurance companies in one place.

The company is backed with $50 million in investments from venture capitalists. Fitzgerald oversees 1,000 employees in its Manhattan headquarters. And before she founded PolicyGenius, she was an analyst at the nation’s most famous business consulting firm.

So it won’t be a surprise to learn Fitzgerald chose to attend FSU because it made financial sense.

FSU offered her a full ride as a National Merit Scholar.

Fitzgerald spent five years at McKinsey & Co., a firm that advises major corporations on solving problems. Many of her clients were large insurance companies that faced similar struggles.

Eventually, she and co-worker Francois de Lame had “light bulbs go on.” They realized an online company that analyzed and compared all insurance companies in all avenues of insurance – just as Trivago compares hotel rates – could be a boon to consumers.

So in 2014, they formed PolicyGenius, which has taken off.

“The average age of insurance agents (who advise customers) is 58; that’s an old sales force that is going to retire soon,” Fitzgerald says. “We felt the timing was good to do something for digital customers in insurance.”

“I got accepted to Harvard and other Ivy League schools,” Fitzgerald says. “But between going to Harvard for money or FSU for free, it was no contest. It was about money more than prestige.”

She is the oldest of three children of a now-retired Air Force master sergeant and his wife, a bartender.

As a military brat, she moved around before graduating from high school in the small town of Bluefield, Virginia, where she made all A’s, was president of several clubs and participated in brain bowl and math competitions. In her junior year, she became a National Merit Scholar.

At FSU, she earned a degree in political science/ international affairs in only three years, then tacked on a master’s degree in urban planning. She spent two years as a Peace Corps worker in Honduras, and a third year in Honduras as an economist at the World Bank.

Then she got serious about trying to change the world. “I realized big organizations are bureaucratic and take a long time to get things done,” she says. “I wanted to make a move to business and the private sector, where a lot can be done socially.”

Though Fitzgerald surely would have become a success without being a National Merit Scholar, she is grateful for the attention and financial support it brought her.

And while she chose FSU for that financial support, she is certain she gained an undergraduate education equal to any. “I had a great four years, and I learned a lot,” she says. “I’ve worked alongside Harvard and Princeton graduates for the last 10 years. Believe me, I’m at no disadvantage because I went to a state university.”

Above top: Jennifer Fitzgerald, left, with two classmates during their semester in London in 1997. Semesters abroad were one of the inducements FSU used to recruit National Merit Scholars. Above: Fitzgerald and Francois de Lame, the co-founders of PolicyGenius, a New York City-based company that provides online insurance comparisons for customers.

Vires 49

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The Golden Era

Where are they now?

Alabama prosecutor chose FSU before Harvard Michael Nunnelley, 40, had his heart set on going to Harvard.

you an education every bit as good as an Ivy League school,” he said. “FSU was very good to me.”

As a National Merit Scholar, salutatorian at Prattville (Alabama) High School and star of the math, science and brain bowl teams, he was a good candidate.

A singer and saxophonist, Nunnelley planned to major in music before going to law school.

But when FSU music professors wanted him to practice six hours a day, he switched to economics.

But when Harvard wait-listed his application, Nunnelley accepted an invitation in spring 1995 to visit Florida State University, which was enthusiastically recruiting National Merit Scholars.

He learned he had a natural affinity for economic theory. And the subject introduced him to FSU’s World Affairs program, which sponsors the Model U.N. team.

Nunnelley took the visit, enjoyed the campus atmosphere and accepted FSU’s offer of a full-ride scholarship – though he fully intended to transfer to Harvard after one year.

The program combines elements of debate and clear writing, and the team competes all over the nation. Competitors are assigned a country and a committee, and have to craft a resolution addressing a specified problem.

But once he arrived that fall, he was hooked.

Nunnelley spent four years at FSU, graduated with a degree in economics – and then went to law school at Harvard.

Though FSU has competed since the 1980s, the team took off during Nunnelley’s time, winning several competitions against Ivy League teams. He says the program is even better now.

Left: Michael Nunnelley, left, with fellow National Merit Scholar Jeff Hall and fellow Honors Program member Eric Rackley in Landis Hall as freshmen in 1995. Below: Nunnelley with his wife, Whitney, and their children.

“In my opinion, it’s one of FSU’s best extracurricular programs…,” Nunnelley says. “You have to deal with different motivations and petty relationships, just like in a real job.”

Nunnelley, who only half-jokingly says he became an attorney because he was impressed by Tom Cruise in “A Few Good Men,” was accepted to Harvard Law School during his senior year at FSU. He now specializes in criminal appeals.

At FSU, he became immersed in economics, starred on the university’s Model United Nations team and acquired more than a dozen close friends who still hold annual reunions.

“FSU definitely prepared me for Harvard in terms of critical thinking,” he says. “They are very different places, but the balance of them prepared me well.”

Now a state prosecutor in Montgomery, Alabama, Nunnelley is grateful for his FSU experience.

Though educators are mixed on whether being a National Merit Scholar is an indicator of future success, Nunnelley thinks it’s not a bad measure.

“You’re probably not going to be a National Merit Scholar,” he says, “if you’re not hard-working, industrious and talented.”

“One of the things people underrate about a large state school is that, because of its size, there are a lot of resources that – if you look for them – can give

Vires 51

The Golden Era

Where are they now?

Urban planner discovered her hidden talents at FSU Corianne Payton Scally, 40, knew only two things about FSU when she was a high school senior in Cincinnati: It had been ranked the nation’s No. 1 party school, and it had a pretty good football team.

She didn’t care about partying or football. But when FSU offered a full-ride scholarship because she was a National Merit Scholar, and promised to accept a year’s worth of college credits she had earned in advanced placement high school classes, she jumped at the chance to become a Seminole.

She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in international affairs in just three years, then a master’s degree in urban planning. At FSU she also met her husband, fellow National Merit Scholar Jonathan “J.R.” Scally. They lived one floor apart in Landis Hall. They began dating, had a couple of classes together and were married in 1997.

Her FSU experience was a revelation. Her public high school, Walnut Hills, is regularly ranked among the nation’s top 100 and annually produces several National Merit Scholars. So despite making straight A’s and participating in student government, she came to FSU unimpressed by her obvious intellectual gifts.

Above: J.R. Scally and Corianne Payton Scally during their engagement. The couple met in 1995 as freshman National Merit Scholars at FSU. Right: Corianne Scally at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., where she works as a senior researcher specializing in affordable housing.

“I came from an environment where I felt everyone was smarter than me,” she says. “So coming to FSU was fun, especially in the honors classes, which were smaller than any class I had in high school. I felt it gave me an opportunity to shine and learn more about myself.”

She took an American literature class with English Professor Bruce Bickley. He was so impressed by her writing, he tried to persuade her to major in English.

“That was the first time where I felt someone had done more than just give me a compliment, but rather was saying, ‘You are good at this. You should consider it as a career,’” she says. “To have that type of personal relationship with a professor was very validating.”

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Scally instead chose a career in urban planning, becoming an expert in affordable housing.

After FSU, she and her husband moved to Chicago, where she spent three years working for nonprofits involved in affordable housing and community development. That motivated her to go back to school so she could think systemically about improving society.

After earning a doctorate in public policy at Rutgers, she spent seven years on the faculty at the State University of New York-Albany. She taught urban planning and participated in many studies of community problems. Frustrated by the slow pace of change through academia, she left to start her own research and consulting firm and find a better platform to make a difference in society.

That opportunity came in 2015, when she was hired as a senior research associate with the Urban Institute, a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C. Scally has found it the most rewarding position of her career.

“What attracted me here was the opportunity to do research that makes a difference and changes how people live…,” she says. “It’s a privilege to do evaluations on behalf of the American public on how the government can make good decisions.”

The Golden Era

Where are they now?

Born a Seminole, A.I. researcher happily graduated a Seminole Sure, the financial benefits of a full-ride scholarship brought Jonathan “J.R.” Scally through the gates of Florida State as a National Merit Scholar in 1995. He went on to earn a degree in computer science in 1999.

But when Scally looks back at his FSU experience, he says the difference-maker was being part of the honors program.

FSU’s top students spend their first two years taking courses in a wide array of liberal arts subjects in small classes under the tutelage of top professors.

Scally was enthralled by the experience, which created lifelong bonds with professors and fellow students – particularly fellow National Merit Scholar Corianne Payton, with whom he recently celebrated his 20th wedding anniversary.

“We were all living together in Landis Hall and hanging out with these really great professors. I got to take all these humanities classes and enjoy all the benefits of a great university, with a great dance program, a great music program,” Scally recalled.

“It was an incredibly rich opportunity I wouldn’t have had if I had gone to an Ivy League school.”

He spent 10 years working in the video game industry for companies in Tallahassee and Chicago.

He was personally responsible for creating three video games, including “NBA Ballers,” a millionselling basketball game.

He spent time as a logistics expert for railroads in New Jersey, while his wife was earning her Ph.D. at Rutgers. Then he earned a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and spent three years working for a tech startup company. He now is an artificial intelligence researcher for Samsung in Washington, D.C., specializing in language and reasoning applications.

Scally, 40, attended high school in Picayune, Mississippi – and grew up a diehard FSU

football fan. His parents, Douglas and Patricia, were FSU grads.

Yet FSU was not on his radar when he began considering colleges. Planning to major in physics or engineering, he applied to Rice, Texas and Georgia Tech.

But after he became a National Merit Scholar, FSU recruited him fervently, offering a scholarship that paid tuition, room, board and all expenses for all four years. As the child of two middle-class, professional parents – his mother was a librarian, his father an engineer – it was far more than he could have garnered from financial aid.

Above: J.R. Scally, an artificial intelligence researcher for Samsung in Washington, D.C., specializes in language and reasoning applications. Below: Corianne and J.R. Scally recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary.

“FSU was ridiculously competitive,” Scally says. “It was an opportunity to not take on debt and to not have to work while going to school.”

Scally and his wife met at a freshman picnic, two days before classes started in fall 1995. They married at the end of his sophomore year. They lived for three years in FSU’s Alumni Village, and now live in Alexandria, Virginia, with their two daughters. They remain ardent FSU fans and attend at least one game a year.

“What FSU did for me allowed me to launch right into my career without being loaded down with student debt. Being a National Merit Scholar afforded me an opportunity to make choices I otherwise wouldn’t have. I’m very grateful.”

Vires 53

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ASSOCIATION NEWS SPIRIT OF UNITY HOMECOMING 2017 1. The FSU Cheerleaders rouse Seminole spirit among the crowd of alumni, students, faculty and staff during the annual Homecoming Parade. 2. Members of the Class of 1967, this year’s inductees into the Emeritus Alumni Society, enjoy watching the parade at the Westcott Gate as special guests of the Alumni Association. 3. The Marching Chiefs rock the “FSU Fight Song” as they turn the corner from College to Copeland.

4. Mister and Miss Black Student Union – Gerrold Williams and Cyanne John-McClean – are all smiles as they wave to the crowd. 5. A trio of former Marching Chiefs majorettes – Rosanne Bush (B.S. ’59, M.S. ’60), Barbara Miller (’60) and Lanny Skelly (B.S. ’61) – still enjoy twirling as members of the Marching Chiefs Alumni Band. 6. Craig T. Lynch (B.S. ’81), a partner with the law firm Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, is this year’s board chair of the Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors. 7. Damon Andrew (Ph.D. ’04) enjoys the parade with his children. A Louisiana State University administrator, Andrew is one of this year’s recipients of the Grads Made Good award, given by FSU’s Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa and the Alumni Association. 8. Retired College of Law Professor Emeritus Charles Ehrhardt waves to the crowd as this year’s recipient of the Alumni Association’s Bernard F. Sliger Award. 9. Osceola and Renegade, symbols of the special relationship between FSU and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, proudly parade up College Avenue. 10. Homecoming Chief Diont’e Boddie and Princess Emily Galant are presented by Miss Florida Seminole Randee Osceola and Jr. Miss Florida Seminole Kailani Osceola during halftime at the FSU-Delaware State football game. The Seminoles defeated the Hornets 77-6.

11. Junior wide receiver Justin Motlow makes a diving catch to score a fourth-quarter touchdown. It was history in the making because Motlow is the first member of the Seminole Tribe of Florida to play for and, now, make a touchdown for FSU. Parade and Homecoming Court photos by Steve Chase; Justin Motlow photo by Ross Obley

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Vires 55

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HOMECOMING AWARDS BREAKFAST

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With the excitement that only Homecoming can bring, the FSU Alumni Association celebrated some of the most outstanding members of the FSU family during the annual Homecoming Awards Breakfast, held the morning of Nov. 18 in the Alumni Center Grand Ballroom. Photos by Steve Chase 1. Three alumni were lauded as Grads Made Good: Damon Andrew (Ph.D. ’04), dean of Louisiana State University’s College of Human Sciences and Education and the Dean E.B. “Ted” Robert Endowed Professor; Sandra Dunbar (B.S. ’72), associate dean for academic advancement and the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Cardiovascular Nursing at Emory University’s School of Nursing; and Dulcidio de la Guardia (B.S. ’84), Panama’s minister of economy and finance. The awards, presented by the FSU Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa and the Alumni Association, recognize people whose professional accomplishments have gained national or international prominence. Pictured, from left, are ODK President Stephanie Gannett, Andrew, Dunbar, de la Guardia and Craig T. Lynch (B.S. ’81), board chair of the Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors. 2. Andrew Damon makes remarks after being introduced as a Grad Made Good. 3. College of Law Professor Emeritus Charles Ehrhardt receives the Bernard F. Sliger Award — the Alumni Association’s highest honor – from Lynch. An expert on trial evidence, Ehrhardt wrote the definitive book on the subject, “Florida Evidence,” which has been cited by Florida appellate courts more than 500 times. 4. Dr. Tom Haney (B.A. ’64) with President John Thrasher (B.S. ’65, J.D. ’72). 5. First lady Jean Thrasher with Miss Florida Sara Zeng (B.M.E. ’17). 6. Suwannee Room cashier and campus icon Eva Killings, who endearingly refers to FSU students as her babies and greets them with a heartfelt “I love you,” is surprised to receive the Ross Oglesby Award, presented by Garnet and Gold Key for distinguished service to students and the university.

View more photos: gonol.es/HCAB2017

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EMERITUS ALUMNI SOCIETY REUNION Members of the Class of 1967 were honored as Emeritus Alumni this year during Homecoming. The Alumni Association’s annual Emeritus Alumni Society Reunion began with a campus tour and welcome luncheon Nov. 17 and culminated with a brunch and induction ceremony Nov. 19.

1. Judy Bense (B.A. ’67, M.S. ’69), president emeritus of the University of West Florida, addresses the welcome luncheon. 2. Stephen Winn (B.S. ’67) and Judy Winn catch up with Nancy Sawyer (B.S. ’68) and Alec Sawyer (B.S. ’67) at the welcome luncheon. 3. Charlie Durbin receives this year’s EAS Dean Eyman Distinctive Service Award.

4. Lee Hinkle (B.S. ’71) accepts the EAS Conradi Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of her late husband, Clifford Ross Hinkle (B.S. ’71), from Craig T. Lynch (B.S. ’81), board chair of the Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors. 5. Florence Ashby (B.M.E. ’57), who was inducted into the Alumni Association’s Circle of Gold, with Richard “Dick” Puckett (B.S. ’58, M.S. ’60), who received an EAS Commitment to Excellence Award. 6.

Peggy Everett (B.S. ’63) makes remarks after accepting an EAS Commitment to Excellence Award. 7. President John Thrasher (B.S. ’65, J.D. ’72) congratulates Cynthia Tunnicliff (B.S. ’67, J.D. ’71) on her induction into the Emeritus Alumni Society. Photos by Steve Chase

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1 CIRCLE OF GOLD The FSU Alumni Association honored four distinguished alumni with induction into the Circle of Gold during a ceremony Sept. 15 in the Alumni Center Grand Ballroom. The distinction recognizes service and achievement that personifies the university’s traditions of excellence.

1. FSU President and Circle of Gold member John Thrasher (B.S. ’65, J.D. ’72), far left, and FSU Alumni Association National Board Chair Craig T. Lynch (B.S. ’81), far right, flank the fall 2017 class of Circle of Gold inductees: Benjamin Crump (B.S. ’92, J.D. ’95), William Sexton (B.S. ’74), Julie Dunn Eichenberg (B.S. ’94) and Ritesh Gupta (B.S. ’98).

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• Crump, a noted civil rights attorney, is the owner and president of Ben Crump Law. • Sexton is a development officer with Seminole Boosters.

• Eichenberg is vice president of brand distribution for Turner Content Distribution.

• Gupta, a producer with Vaynermedia, is a director of the FSU Alumni Association National

Board of Directors.

2. Robbie Cox (B.A. ’99, J.D. ’02), a director of the Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors, shows off pictures of his toddler – a future Seminole – to Cassandra Jenkins (B.S. ’79, M.S. ’81), a member of the Circle of Gold. 3. Attorney and Circle of Gold member John Marks (B.S. ’69, J.D. ’72) and Jane Marks (B.S. ’69), with Max Oligario (B.S. ’99), chair-elect of the Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors. 4. Maura Hayes (B.S. ’82), a director of the Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors, with Jacinda Haynes, Abigail Haynes-Suhr, the Student Alumni Association’s assistant director of recruitment, and Samantha Garrett (B.S. ’02, M.S. ’05), a director of the Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors. 5. Julie Dunn Eichenberg with first lady Jean Thrasher and President John Thrasher.

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Show your SEMINOLE PRIDE anywhere and everywhere!

FSU Alumni Association Members: Purchase exclusive alumni apparel, tailgating accessories and more from the FSU Alumni Reward Zone!

Log on to alumni.fsu.edu/rewards to purchase items.

2017 NOTABLE NOLES

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JAMES KASSAGA ARINAITWE (B.S. ’09, MPH ’11), CEO and co-founder, Teach for Uganda, Kampala, Uganda MEGAN BAGWELL (B.S. ’03, M.D. ’10), obstetrician and gynecologist, Volusia OB/GYN, Daytona Beach, Florida CAPT. MICHAEL BAILEY (B.S. ’10), combat operations adviser to Iraqi Security Forces, U.S. Army, Iraq

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ASSOCIATION NEWS

YOUNG ALUMNI AWARDS DINNER The Alumni Association honored 23 young alumni as Notable Noles during the annual Young Alumni Awards Dinner on Nov. 3. Recipients are alumni, 35 or younger, who have made significant contributions to their profession, their community or the university, and who exemplify outstanding professional and personal development.

1. Young Alumni Council President Chris Evans (B.S. ’08) and Notable Nole honoree Sara Murphy Hess (B.S. ’05). 2. Mark Johnson (B.S. ’04) and Maj. Michael Lopez (B.S. ’05), a Notable Nole honoree. As undergraduates, Johnson and Lopez were roommates in DeGraff Hall, 2001-2002, and Reynolds Hall, 2002-2003. 3. Notable Nole honoree Caroline Roller (B.S. ’12) with her mother, Maggie Roller.

4. Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Sally McRorie congratulates Notable Nole honoree Kara Payne (B.S. ’11). Photos by Steve Chase See Pages 62 and 63 for 2017 Askew Young Alumni Award recipients.

RICHARD DESMOND (B.S. ’07), program specialist, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C. MARCUS GADSON (B.S. ’09, M.B.A. ’10), senior capital analyst, Fresenius Kidney Care, Atlanta, Georgia SARRAH CARROLL GLASSNER (M.S. ’05), deputy executive director, Florida Sheriffs Association, Tallahassee, Florida LAWRENCE GONZALEZ (B.A. ’07), auditor, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Inspector General, Washington, D.C. SARAH HARMAN (B.S. ’10, M.S. ’12), emergency management specialist, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, D.C. SARA MURPHY HESS (B.S. ’05), director of marketing, Chartwells School Dining Services K12, Charlotte, North Carolina DONGYU JIA (PH.D. ’15), assistant professor, Department of Biology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia LAUREN KERVICK (B.S. ’10), intelligence officer, U.S. Navy, Washington, D.C.

View more photos: gonol.es/2017YAAwards

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STACEY KOSTEVICKI (B.A. ’05), executive director, Gulf Coast Kids House, Pensacola, Florida SHANNON LIGON (B.S. ’03), attorney and entrepreneur, PrettySMART Law, Orlando, Florida MAJ. MICHAEL LOPEZ (B.S. ’05), chief of training, 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron, U.S. Air Force, Haughton, Louisiana VALERIA OBI (B.S. ’10), staff attorney, Midland Credit Management Inc., Tampa, Florida KARA PAYNE (B.A. ’11), news and copywriting specialist, FSU University Communications Tallahassee, Florida CAROLINE ROLLER (B.S. ’12), payload operations engineer, NASA, Hampton, Virginia CARLY NASEHI ROS (B.A. ’09), foreign service officer, U.S. Department of State, Panama City, Panama

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VICTORIA ROSE (M.S.W. ’13), director of elder day-stay, Elder Care Services Inc., Tallahassee, Florida RONALD G. RULE (B.S. ’05), senior vice president-senior support manager, Strategic Portfolio Management, Charlotte, North Carolina HILARY URBANEK (B.S. ’13, M.S. ’13), special education teacher, Hawks Rise Elementary School, Tallahassee, Florida DAVID WARD (B.S. ’12, J.D. ’15), chief legal officer, iMobile3, Jacksonville, Florida JUSTIN A. WILEY (B.S. ’04), area assistant vice president, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Orlando, Florida

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ASSOCIATION NEWS ASKEW YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD A special group of this year’s Notable Noles were recognized with the Reubin O’D. Askew Young Alumni Award, the highest award that the Alumni Association gives to young alumni. First presented in 2012, the award is given to no more than six alumni each year.

1. Kevin Askew, representing his late father, Reubin O’D. Askew (B.S. ’51), speaks during the Young Alumni Awards Dinner. Reubin O’D. Askew, widely considered FSU’s most outstanding alumnus, served as Florida’s governor from 1971 to 1979. 2. The 2017 Askew Young Alumni Award recipients, from left, are David Ward, Megan Bagwell and Richard Desmond. A fourth Askew recipient, James Kassaga Arinaitwe, lives in his native Uganda and could not attend the event. Photos by Steve Chase View more photos: gonol.es/2017YAAwards

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JAMES KASSAGA ARINAITWE (B.S. ’09, MPH ’11)

MEGAN BAGWELL (B.S. ’03, M.D. ’10)

CEO & Co-Founder, Teach for Uganda Kampala, Uganda

Obstetrician and Gynecologist, Volusia OB/GYN Daytona Beach, Florida

James Kassaga Arinaitwe founded Africa’s first chapter of Teach for America. Known as Teach for Uganda, the organization reaches more than 4,500 students because of Arinaitwe’s effort to recruit 30 top graduates who teach at 13 schools. A native of Uganda, Arinaitwe overcame tremendous odds to even attend high school. In that country, 70 percent of students drop out of elementary school. Of those who make it to middle school, more than half do not comprehend second-grade reading.

Arinaitwe graduated from FSU with a major in mathematical and computational biology, with plans of becoming a doctor. But in thinking of the power of his own education, he pivoted to pay his education forward, returning to Uganda to enrich the lives of children.

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After working in corporate finance and insurance, Dr. Megan Bagwell returned to FSU to pursue a career in medicine. Today, she is a partner in a private OB-GYN practice, and the hallmark of her medical career is service.

She serves on the Healthy Start Coalition of Flagler and Volusia Counties’ Fetal Infant Mortality Review board and is physician champion for the Baby-Friendly Initiative at Florida Memorial Hospital. In addition, she teaches third-year students at FSU’s medical school campus in Daytona Beach.

Her service work began at the College of Medicine and continued as an OB-GYN resident, serving underserved populations in Florida, India and Guatemala. Her volunteerism has been recognized by the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

NOLE CONNECT ONLINE NETWORKING FOR FSU ALUMNI

Nole Connect

events are held on the third Thursday every month and allow you to network with fellow FSU alumni with similar interests or backgrounds.

Always free, each hour-long webchat might help you:

FIND a new job LEARN something new COLLABORATE with a Nole 2

SHARE career advice EXPAND your social network

RICHARD DESMOND (B.S. ’07) Program Specialist, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Washington, D.C.

DAVID WARD (B.S. ’12, J.D. ’15) Chief Legal Officer, iMobile3 Jacksonville, Florida

After six years of service in the Air Force, Richard Desmond earned a graduate degree in human resource development so he could help his fellow veterans achieve their goals. Today, he is a program specialist with the Department of Veterans Affairs, helping veterans with service-connected disabilities find gainful employment or live independently. Desmond’s work supports 1,000 vocational rehabilitation counselors at 56 regional offices across the nation. With service to others as a guiding principle, he also volunteers as a board member for a nonprofit that assists convicts and exconvicts with resources to reduce recidivism.

With an FSU law degree in hand, David Ward began his career as general counsel for Jacksonville software company iMobile3. But that job was put on hold last year when Ward was asked by a private foundation to help save thousands of refugees from the terror group ISIS. He made his way through Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, helping refugees find a new life in Australia. For six months, Ward negotiated charter aircraft, bargained with foreign embassies and even directed a paramilitary security team. He helped more than 4,000 refugees escape one of the greatest humanitarian crises in modern times.

During his military service, Desmond was a distinguished aircraft maintenance officer while deployed to Afghanistan. After returning home, he was one of the Air Force’s top recruiters for three years in a row.

Now back in Jacksonville at iMobile3, Ward has established side ventures named after the FSU torches: Vires Strategy, a corporate consulting business, and Artes, a merger and acquisition law firm.

More than 500 FSU alumni around the globe have made new connections networking online through Nole Connect, and here’s what some of them are saying: “I got a lot out of it. Picked up a lot of good info over the last hour. Thanks for organizing it and working to get it out there.”

– Bill Wilkens (B.S. ’00)

“Three great conversations, and one where we agreed to discuss referrals. That is the most helpful take-away. It increases knowledge base and expands the network.”

– Anaeli Petisco (B.A. ’11)

“Joined the chat to see if I could help anyone with digital marketing, social media, email marketing, etc. Love that the Alumni Association is hosting online events like this for people who can’t make some of the events in person.”

– Ashley A. Peterson (B.A. ’06, M.A. ’08)

alumni.fsu

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SEMINOLES at SEA 2017 In October, we sailed to the Caribbean on our Seminoles at Sea cruise for the sixth time. Almost 500 alumni, family and friends boarded the Disney Dream for Halloween on the High Seas, complete with a scavenger hunt, game-watching party under the stars and tons of Seminole fun!

Natalie Seminoles at Sea was fun for our family, including our future Noles!

FSU Alumni Association

Our view at sea! What do you think Seminoles? ld family McDona e h ting T i n m r decora FSUAlu ook doo b e c a F won our likes! with 213 contest

Like • Comment • Share

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250 people like this.

View more comments Christina 2 great things… Disney cruise + Noles!!!!

Like • Reply Angie It was an awesome experience!

Like • Reply Lori We had a great time, even with the tropical storm.

Can’t wait until next one! Go Noles!

Like • Reply David Need to go next year!

Like • Reply

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red on We c h e e a m a n d i n m lu FSUA tball te unnel inole foo our Sem e game on the F th ive watched en at an exclus re c e s at s a!

Vision ing party h tc a -w game ney ear’s Dis h This y l! it d e r e M a as magic Cruise w

Judy Pirate night on the Disney Cruise is a night to remember!

Amy Marie My daughter lost her first tooth during Seminoles at Sea. Bell family It was our first Seminoles at Sea trip and nice.

FOLLOW US ONLINE Facebook /FSUalumniassociation Instagram @FSUalumni Pinterest @FSUAA Twitter @FSUalumni YouTube /FSUAlumniAssn

Thank You to Our New Life Members The following alumni and friends recently* became Life Members of the FSU Alumni Association. Their support creates opportunities for our students, alumni and members who are and will always be #SeminolesForever.

Find out more about alumni membership: alumni.fsu.edu/join Kevin Adams (B.S. ’94) Gregg H. Anderson (B.S. ’77) and Shawn C. Anderson December C. Baker (B.S. ’86, M.B.A. ’93) Katie J. Banks (B.S. ’03) and Timothy J. Banks Rosanne P. Bastone (B.S. ’78) Douglas E. Bishop (B.S. ’97) and Kristin Bishop David L. Bonderud (B.S. ’79) and Jana L. Bonderud M. Shaun Booth (B.S. ’89) and Melissa N. Booth (B.S. ’90) Wiatt F. Bowers (M.S.P. ’96) Gregory A. Burstein (B.S. ’17) William A. Buzzett (J.D. ’86) and Kelly H. Buzzett (J.D. ’86) David N. Christopher (B.S. ’97) Russell L. Courson III (B.A. ’67) and Janis G. Courson (B.A. ’72, M.S. ’01) Brandy B. Daly (B.S. ’07) and Raymond Daly Jennifer F. Delacruz (B.S. ’87) C. Michael DePew III (B.S. ’77) Michael P. Dodson (B.A. ’71, J.D. ’74, M.S. ’07) and Linda H. Dodson (J.D. ’01) Brooke E. Evans (B.S. ’97) and Thomas H. Evans Ruth S. Feiock (M.P.A. ’93, Ph.D. ’15) and Richard C. Feiock Matthew K. Foster (B.S. ’91, J.D. ’94) and J. Linzy Foster (B.S. ’93) Faye M. Gibson (B.A. ’76) and J. Murray Gibson Katherine E. Giddings (B.S. ’89, J.D. ’92) and Travis D. Giddings (B.S. ’76) Frances M. Gilbert (B.A. ’84) Robert A. Gilliam (B.S. ’61, M.A. ’64)

Myron R. Goff (M.S. ’68, Ph.D. ’75) and Carolyn A. Goff Wanda T. Greene (B.S. ’93) Jane A. Grimmett (B.S. ’78) and F. Doug Grimmett Jr. (B.F.A. ’78) Lillie A. Henry (B.A. ’93) and Asia Henry LeAnn E. Hirschman (B.S. ’86) and Chuck A. Hirschman Jacob W. Holehouse (B.S. ’12, M.S. ’17) Delma L. Hughes (B.A. ’69) and Roxanne M. Hughes (Ph.D. ’10) Margaret L. Janz (B.A. ’60, M.S. ’65, Ph.D. ’69) Linda K. Evans (B.S. ’77) and Timothy P. Evans Lorraine M. Kelly (J.D. ’93) Marshall M. Kraft (B.S. ’08) Edwin P. Krieger Jr. (B.A. ’73, J.D. ’77) and Brenda E. Krieger Granville L. Larimore (B.S. ’61, M.S. ’66) Rhonda L. Loos (B.S. ’73, M.S. ’76) Aaron F. Lucier (M.S. ’92) and Cliff Hill Jill A. Mizell Drake (B.S. ’91, Ed.S. ’95, M.S. ’95) Bennett E. Napier II (M.S. ’02) and Amy B. Napier Justin Nash (B.S. ’06) and Erin B. Nash (B.S. ’05) Matthew O. Neafie (B.S. ’14) Michael A. Nuzzo (B.A. ’69) JoAnn Pepper-Oreffice (B.A. ’72) and Paul F. Oreffice Marcia L. Personett (B.S. ’88) Gregory J. Phillips (B.S. ’84, M.Acc. ’86) and Deanna P. Phillips (B.S. ’88) Sharon L. Rainer (B.S. ’80) and Frank P. Rainer (J.D. ’84, M.B.A. ’94, M.S. ’04) Jeanne M. Rains (B.S. ’84) and Foster Rains

Mark C. Reid (J.D. ’00) and Alicia W. Reid (J.D. ’00) Angela M. Santone (B.S. ’93) Bradley R. Seitel (B.S. ’92) and Jennifer L. Seitel (B.S. ’94) Rachel S. Semago (A.A. ’95) and Marc Semago Sarah Sherraden (B.S.W. ’73, M.S.N. ’91) and Terry W. Sherraden Jack E. Sinks (B.S. ’76) and Peggy A. West-Sinks (B.S. ’76, M.S. ’78, J.D. ’84) Thomas J. Spulak (J.D. ’82) and Patricia L. Spulak (B.S. ’82) Robert L. Stahl (B.S. ’73) and Kathy A. Stahl (B.S. ’77) Kimberly S. Stefanski Barua (B.A. ’02) N. Wesley Strickland (B.A. ’96, J.D. ’98) and Samantha F. Strickland (B.S. ’96, M.S. ’99) Richard Tombrink Jr. (B.S. ’72) and Lynn P. Tombrink Richard H. Topfer (B.S. ’91) and Kelly A. Topfer Brant D. Watson (Ph.D. ’70) Stacy J. Weaver (M.S. ’14) Heidi S. Webb (J.D. ’94) Mary B. Whitehurst (B.S. ’68, M.S. ’71) Kendra L. Wilhelmy (B.S. ’94) and Timothy J. Wilhelmy (B.S. ’94) Paul F. Wilson (B.S. ’90) and Kristen M. Wilson (B.S. ’96) Colleen M. Winslow (B.S. ’90)

Friends Zachary P. Kelley Margarita Mestre and Luis Castellon *This list includes individuals who joined the FSU Alumni Association as Life Members between April 1 and Sept. 30.

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CLASS NOTES

William Sims Curry (B.S. ’67) received a 2017 Textbook Award for “Contracting for Services in State and Local Government Agencies” (2nd Edition), from the Textbook & Academic Authors Association. Curry was one of 10 authors honored in the Textbook Excellence Awards category.

“With the relative paucity of state and local guides for service contracting out there, Curry does much more than justice to the contracting field in those two venues. as someone with twenty-five years in federal contracting, i suggest that federal practitioners might also use this publication in the conduct of their craft. i used the previous edition for teaching contracting students and found it full of exemplars, documentation and practical examples which could be applied to any CO’s particular situation and infused with federal contract law to assist federal practitioners in understanding why. i find this new edition even more useful in this way. Thank you mr. Curry for the update of a timely, comprehensive and extremely useful publication!” frank Spampinato, Old Dominion university, uSa

Indicates FSU Alumni Association Life membership

This second edition of Contracting for Services in State and Local Government Agencies provides state-of-the-art tools for best practice in the procurement of services at state and local levels, from initial stages through to completion. including lively case studies and research conducted with state and local agencies across the united States, this book provides management advice and tips on compliance to reduce costs, selecting the best-qualified contractors, manage contractors’ performance, and prevent corruption and waste.

Indicates FSU Alumni Association membership

The roadmap and templates contained in this book and available online to readers will prove essential to state and local government agency contracting professionals and other officials and employees called upon to participate in the drafting of solicitations, writing sole source justifications, writing scopes of work, serving on advance contract planning and source selection teams, recommending award of contracts, or assisting in the management of those contracts.

William Sims Curry is President of WSC Consulting, a small business specializing in consulting on government contracting. Curry served as an air Force systems procurement officer and was employed in purchasing management for prime contractors on NaSa’s Hubble Space Telescope, DOE’s Positron Electron Project, and numerous DOD programs. He has authored three books and numerous articles and research papers on government contracting. Curry is a Certified Professional Contracts manager (CPCm) and a fellow by the National Contract management association (NCma).

PubliC aDmiNiSTraTiON & PubliC POliCy

James M. Thomas (B.S. ’56), a noted Florida conservationist and environmental biologist known as the Defender of Lake Apopka, was inducted into the Florida Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Hall of Fame and received the federation’s Bald Eagle Award. Thomas was instrumental in the founding of Friends of Lake Apopka, an advocacy group dedicated to the restoration and long-term management of the lake.

William SimS Curry

EMERITUS

utilizing the results of new research in all fifty states, author William Sims Curry offers updated best-practice documents, methodologies, and templates including: a request for Proposal (rFP), a scorecard for proposals to select the best-qualified contractor, a toolkit for meeting socioeconomic contracting goals without compromising price, quality, or on-time delivery, and a model Services Contract (mSC). Special consideration is given to obtaining services and products in states of emergency. Several additional resources for practitioners are available online, including sample contracts and a straightforward, inexpensive tool for tracking contractors’ progress and cost management.

2nd edition

Cover image: © Corbis

www.routledge.com

www.routledge.com/products/ 9781498738033

Routledge titles are available as eBook editions in a range of digital formats

Thomas Bennett (B.A. ’59), a retired biologist and former FSU biological sciences professor and chair, wrote “Encore Seasons,” a collection of poetry about nature’s diverse moods and its web of life. The poems were inspired by Bennett’s observations and study of and meditations on the seasonal ecosystems of Maryland.

Public AdministrAtion And Public Policy

ContraCting for ServiCeS in State and LoCaL government agenCieS

“Curry has written a book of both practical and academic importance. He provides a how-to for state and local government managers that takes into account the best practices in government contracting and procurement. The text includes templates and planning documents for many of the important stages of the contracting process. For scholars, Curry unpacks a complex process that will encourage more than a decade of thoughtful investigation and lead to useful theoretic insights.”

Jessica n. terman, George mason university, uSa

ISBN 978-1-4987-3803-3

2ND EDiTiON

ContraCting for ServiCeS in State and LoCaL government agenCieS William SimS Curry

Richard R.E. Kania (B.A. ’68), a professor of criminal justice at Jacksonville State University in Alabama, was named one of two distinguished professors during its annual awards ceremony. The designation acknowledges a high level of scholarship and service achievements succeeding the award of tenure and promotion to professor. Kania has written three books and more than 70 articles.

Marvalene Hughes (Ph.D. ’69), who served as California State University, Stanislaus’ first black president, first female president and longest-serving president from 1994 to 2005, was honored with the renaming of the Dr. Marvalene Hughes University Reflecting Pond.

The iconic, 4.8-million-gallon pool has welcomed visitors to the main entrance of campus for more than half a century.

1970s

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Ashbel C. Williams Jr. (B.S. ’76, M.B.A. ’78), executive director and CIO of the Florida State Board of Administration, received the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award from Chief Investment Officer at the eighth annual Industry Innovation Awards gala Dec. 7. Williams was recognized for his outstanding leadership of the Florida Retirement Pension Fund. Since 2008, the fund has gained more than $92.4 billion, outperforming its benchmark by $9.2 billion.

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Robert Steven Lewis (B.S. ’69, J.D. ’84), an attorney with Lewis Longman Walker, was named among the 2018 Best Lawyers in America. Lewis practices in the areas of environmental law and litigation.

Mark Hillis (B.S. ’64), a member of the FSU Board of Trustees, was elected as an emeritus member of the Southern Scholarship Foundation’s board of directors. In addition, Hillis and his wife, Nan Hillis (B.S. ’76), established the Mark and Nan Casper Hillis Endowed Fund for Student Veterans at FSU.

Diahann W. Lassus (B.S. ’76), co-founder and president of Lassus Wherley, received a 2017 Five Star Professional award, the nation’s largest award program for wealth managers and investment professionals. This is the fifth time she has received the award.

Bryan Norcross (B.S. ’72, M.S. ’80), senior hurricane specialist at The Weather Channel, was the subject of an Aug. 23 Orlando Sentinel article, “Hurricane Andrew: The meteorologist who became a hero,” recounting his 23-hour live coverage as the Category 5 hurricane ravaged the greater Miami area in August 1992.

Terry Lewis (B.A. ’73, J.D. ’76), an attorney with Lewis Longman Walker, was selected as a 2018 Lawyer of the Year in environmental litigation and was named among the 2018 Best Lawyers in America.

Neal Golden (Ph.D. ’77), a computer science faculty member at Brother Martin High School in New Orleans, wrote an article, “Tom Dempsey and the Record Kick that Almost Didn’t Happen,” published in the May-June 2017 issue of Coffin Corner, the magazine of the Professional Football Researchers Association.

James Linn (B.S. ’77, J.D. ’80), an attorney with Lewis Longman Walker, was named among the 2018 Best Lawyers in America. Linn practices in the areas of employee benefits law and employment law management.

Daniel Lliteras (M.S. ’77) wrote a novel, “Syllables of Rain,” about two friends haunted by the experiences, circumstances and choices that shaped them.

David Yon (B.S. ’77 J.D. ’80), a shareholder of the Radey Law Firm, was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2018 edition of the Best Lawyers in America in the practice area of insurance law. In addition, he was recognized in the 2017 edition of Chambers USA and as a 2017 Florida Super Lawyer

by Super Lawyers in the area of insurance coverage. ▲ David Yon

CLASS NOTES

NANCY SAWYER (B.S. ’68)

Before Special Olympics, which had its first games in 1968, people with intellectual disabilities had little exposure to social, recreational or sports development, says Nancy Sawyer, who recently retired after 50 years in the therapeutic recreation movement.

“Many lived in institutions where staff were busy taking care of their fundamental needs. In the 1960s, the idea of therapeutic recreation was born, and sports was seen as a steppingstone for health, life, communication, recreation and quality of life.”

Always sports-minded, Sawyer started out working in high school at a summer camp for people with disabilities. When she learned that FSU had a recreation degree with a specialty in therapeutic recreation, she knew she had found her career. “There weren’t many schools offering that curriculum at the time, so FSU was considered groundbreaking,” says Sawyer. “And our professor, Jean Mundy, was held almost as a guru in the field.”

As part of her degree, Sawyer did field work at area YMCAs and Funland, working in programs where recreation was used not only to develop motor and sports skills but also to build relationships, communication skills and independence. After

Anne Longman (J.D. ’79), an attorney with Lewis Longman Walker, was named among the 2018 Best Lawyers in America. Longman practices in the areas of environmental law and litigation.

1980s Rose Naff (B.S. ’80) is serving as chief operating and performance officer with the Arkansas Department of Human Services. In that role, she supervises 7,000 employees. Naff is a director of the FSU Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors. ▲ Rose Naff

graduating, she held various positions at Special Olympics Florida, The Kennedy Foundation and Special Olympics International. Most recently she was senior vice president at Special Olympics Florida, which serves more than 38,000 athletes and has 2,700 volunteer coaches and more than 25,000 event volunteers statewide.

Nancy Sawyer

“Most people think we do just the annual games, but we actually host 10 state and 430 regional and local competitions in everything from sprinting to standup paddleboarding,” Sawyer says.

Among her career highlights, Sawyer was instrumental in developing Special Olympics’ Athlete Leadership program, in which athletes work alongside community members and speak on behalf of the organization. A coach at heart, she says, “Even when I worked in more of an administrative role, I always made sure to have face time with the athletes.

Watching them succeed has provided some of my proudest moments.”

Marshall Cohn (B.S. ’81), the co-founder of Dunhill Properties, a commercial real estate firm in Central Florida, was named the 2017 Distinguished Alumnus by the FSU College of Social Sciences and Public Policy. ▲ Marshall Cohn

Nicholas Mazza (Ph.D. ’81), a retired dean of the FSU College of Social Work, received the inaugural Luminary Award for Lifetime Achievement from the National Association for Poetry Therapy in recognition of his 45-year career in the field. In addition, Mazza edited “Expressive Therapies” (2017), a four-volume set published by Routledge as part of its Major Themes in Mental Health series. He wrote the second edition of his book “Poetry Therapy: Theory and Practice” (2017), also published by Routledge.

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The official FSU Alumni Association app.

Now available on the App Store and Google Play

CLASS NOTES Melody Delgado (B.M.E. ’82) wrote two books.

“Royally Entitled,” a romance novel about a commoner who catches the eye of a prince, is the first in the Brides of Brevalia series. “OopsA-Daisy,” a humorous children’s novel about a 12-year-old wannabe star, is the first of the De La Cruz Diaries series.

Shannon Schunicht (B.A. ’83), a retired Army Ranger who suffered a brain injury in 1985 from a midair collision resulting in three weeks of unconsciousness, created a mnemonic technique to compensate for residual memory deficits. Schunicht, a member of the American Association of Physics Teachers, travels the country teaching the technique of vowels representing mathematical operations that allows any formula to be algebraically manipulated into a word or acronym to ease recollection.

Douglas Baldridge (B.S. ’84), a partner with the law firm Venable LLC, led the defense team that successfully represented Taylor Swift in a civil assault lawsuit she filed against a former DJ who groped her during a photo op in 2013. The jury awarded Swift the symbolic $1 in damages that she sought as a message that such behavior is not tolerable.

Sid Bedingfield (B.A. ’83) wrote “Newspaper Wars: Civil Rights and White Resistance in South Carolina, 1935-1965.” The book traces the role journalism played in the fight for civil rights in South Carolina and analyzes the role it still can play during times of social, cultural and political change.

Misia Gervis (M.S. ’85), a chartered psychologist and postgraduate programs director at Brunel University, wrote a book, “The Coach’s Guide to Mind Mapping: The Fundamental Tools to Become an Expert Coach and Maximize Your Players’ Performance.”

Bradley Saxton (B.S. ’85), an attorney with Winderweedle, Haines, Ward & Woodman, was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2018 edition of the Best Lawyers in America. In addition, he was selected as a 2017 Florida Super Lawyer

by Super Lawyers. Saxton practices in the area of business bankruptcies.

Timothy Beard (B.S. ’86, M.S. ’87, Ph.D. ’98), president of Pasco-Hernando State College, was named to the Florida High Tech Corridor Council.

Alan R. Sealls (M.S. ’87), a meteorologist at WKRG-TV in Mobile, Alabama, received a trophy hailing him as “Best Weatherman Ever” by viewers for his weathercasting during Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 hurricane that produced 185 mph winds. A video of Sealls’ calm and informative delivery went viral on the social networking site Reddit, which resulted in the award from viewers.

Sealls is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society and will serve as president of the National Weather Association in 2018.

▲ Douglas Baldridge

PAUL ATKINS (B.S. ’73) When cinematographer Paul Atkins recently filmed “Voyage of Time,” Terrence Malick's IMAX documentary about the birth of the universe, things got a little too heated.

“We were filming lava when the heat became overwhelming. We ran backward with heavy IMAX cameras only to find that the soles of our shoes had melted,” says Atkins, whose filmography is filled with both adrenaline and accolades. He shot the Cape Horn storm footage in Russell Crowe’s “Master and Commander,” which won an Academy Award for cinematography, and he stood in what he deems “the killing channel” to document killer whales’ attack on sea lions for BBC’s “The Trials of Life,” for which he won a BAFTA. Remarkably, Atkins is entirely self-taught in camera work. As a biology undergraduate at FSU, he took a graduate-level course in which he used Super 8 cameras to film guppies, examining their behavior frame-by-frame. “I loved movies, so I also took FSU’s two film courses taught by Donald Ungurait, an amazing professor who went on to found FSU’s film school,” says Atkins.

He moved to Hawaii for graduate school and continued to use cameras to study marine creatures on and in the ocean. “Eventually I met Nautilus exercise machine inventor and billionaire Arthur Jones, who wanted to find the chambered nautilus that inspired his brand,” says Atkins.

“Somehow I convinced Jones to send me to film the search for the elusive deep-sea creature. That film was my film school.” A BBC producer saw the footage and went on to use Atkins on multiple natural history films. “As a biologist, I understand animal behavior and can converse with the science advisor on set,” Atkins says. “But I’m also a movie lover, so I don’t just document a subject. I look for that entertaining twist.”

Atkins is developing a script for a feature film he wants to direct. “I can’t say much about it,” he says, “other than it involves sharks.”

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CLASS NOTES Bruce McNeilage (B.S. ’88), managing member of Kinloch Partners and Kinloch Homes, was featured in a July 21 Wall Street Journal article, “Meet Your New Landlord: Wall Street,” discussing the real estate boom in Nashville, Tennessee.

McNeilage is a director of the FSU Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors.

1990s Julie Gladden Barré (B.S. ’90, M.D. ’05), a boardcertified and fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon with a specialty in sports medicine, joined Sarasota Orthopedic Associates. ▼ Eric S. Friall

Travis Miller (B.S. ’91, J.D. ’94), a shareholder and president of the Radey Law Firm, was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2018 edition of the Best Lawyers in America in the practice area of insurance law. In addition, he was recognized for his experience in insurance regulatory matters and his expertise in corporate law and administrative law in the 2017 edition of Chambers USA, the nation’s foremost legal guide.

Ben Pautsch (B.S. ’91) in 2010 founded Lucky Goat Coffee, a popular, Tallahassee-based brand now available on the FSU campus through the Local First initiative of Sodexo, the university’s food services operator.

▲ Bruce McNeilage Alexander Douglas II (J.D. ’89), a partner with ShuffieldLowman, was selected as a 2017 Florida Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers. In addition, he was selected as a 2017 Legal Elite attorney by Florida Trend magazine. He practices in the areas of fiduciary and commercial litigation.

Eric S. Friall (B.A. ’90), principal and lead consultant at Aeson Group, was named Volunteer of the Year in social/civic services by the Tallahassee Democrat for his mentorship of entrepreneurs with startups and small companies. In addition, Friall and his wife, Dr. Andrea Friall (B.S. ’93), endowed a $25,000 scholarship that will be administered by the FSU Black Alumni Association for first-year FSU medical students. Friall is a director of the FSU Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors.

J. Marshall Shepherd (B.S. ’91, M.S. ’93, Ph.D. ’99), the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor at the University of Georgia, will receive the 2018 Helmut E. Landsberg Award from the American Meteorological Society Council in January. It is arguably the world’s most prestigious award for scientific research in urban meteorology and climatology.

Javier Soto (B.A. ’91), CEO of the Miami Foundation, was named chair of the Council on Foundations.

Laura Perry Gilbert (B.A. ’92, M.B.A. ’13) was named president and CEO of the Sarasota Family YMCA Inc.

JAMIE RICH (B.A. ’99) On the walls of Flamingo magazine founder Jamie Rich’s Ponte Vedra Beach office is a framed article from The Washington Post.

Jamie Rich

“It was my first major byline,” says Rich. “I was living in Central Africa and spent six months reporting on breast ironing, a traditional practice in which young girls’ chests are flattened to protect them from sexual assault.”

Journalism is a second career for Rich, who worked in media relations after graduating from FSU with a double major in creative writing and communication. “I always wanted to be on the other side of the phone, reporting the stories I wanted to write,” says Rich. She spent the next 10 years living abroad, freelance writing about her travels, working for outlets such as The Times of London and The Moscow Times, and earning a master’s in journalism from Georgetown University.

When Rich moved back to Florida in 2012, she kept discovering fascinating local stories but realized there was no appropriate statewide publication for them. “I came up with Flamingo, a magazine for Floridians, by Floridians,” says Rich. “People

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are quick to say that the state is too diverse. We want to celebrate that diversity while reinforcing our common identity as Floridians. Florida is also associated with weird news. We want to take back the narrative and showcase the more intelligent, authentic Florida lifestyle that draws people to the state.”

Since the first issue published in spring 2016, Flamingo has been inspiring readers to explore beyond the obvious destinations of South Beach and Disney. It also keeps an eye on conservation, as in the recent feature that examined toxic algae’s impact on Florida’s environment, tourism and lifestyle.

Rich enlisted FSU professor and fellow Washington Post contributor Diane Roberts to write a Flamingo column on everything from politics to roadside attractions of yesteryear.

“Whereas newspapers have gone almost fully digital,” says Rich, “magazines are still about that tactile experience of reading.”

CLASS NOTES Jonathan King (M.F.A. ’92) served as a producer on “Shot Caller” (2017), a film about a newly released prison gangster who is forced by the leaders of his gang to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang on the streets of Southern California.

Bert Combs (B.S. ’93, J.D. ’96), a shareholder of the Radey Law Firm, was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2018 edition of the Best Lawyers in America. Combs is listed in the practice area of insurance law.

Drew Parker (B.S. ’95, J.D. ’03), of counsel with the Radey Law Firm, was named to Florida Trend’s 2017 Legal Elite in the area of government and administrative law. ▼ Sia Baker-Barnes

Joe Greco (B.F.A. ’94), a filmmaker and magician, received the Best Parlor Magic award from Assembly 22 of the Society of American Magicians during its annual installation and awards banquet in June. Assembly 22 is the Los Angeles chapter of the society founded by Harry Houdini.

Michael K. McLendon (M.S. ’94), dean of Baylor University’s School of Education, was named The Fred and Edith Hale Endowed Professor in Educational Leadership and Policy and interim director of the Hale Center for Educational Leadership.

Charles Martin (B.A. ’92) wrote a novel, “The Mountain Between Us,” which was made into a major motion picture of the same name. Starring Kate Winslet and Idris Elba, the 20th Century Fox movie premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September and opened nationally in October. “The Mountain Between Us” is Martin’s seventh of 12 novels.

Lana Olson (B.S. ’95), a partner with Lightfoot, Franklin & White, was named among the Top 250 Women in Litigation for 2017 by Benchmark Litigation. Olson’s practice focuses on litigating environmental and toxic tort, product liability, employment and catastrophic injury cases. In addition, Olson was named to Who’s Who Legal: Product Liability Defense for 2017, a guide to the foremost legal practitioners in multiple areas of business law.

Sia Baker-Barnes (B.A. ’96, J.D. ’00), an attorney with Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, was recognized in the 2018 edition of Best Lawyers for success in personal injury litigation on behalf of plaintiffs in Florida.

LESLEY NNEKA ARIMAH (B.A. ’04) Traveling thousands of miles gave Lesley Nneka Arimah a true insight into her future.

Arimah, who was born in the United Kingdom and also lived in Nigeria before coming to the United States and graduating from FSU with a bachelor’s degree in English, has incorporated those experiences into her debut book: “What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky.” Riverhead Books published Arimah’s collection of short stories in April.

“We moved around quite a bit and rarely stayed in one place long enough to fully integrate into the society there,” says Arimah. “I learned to be an observer rather than a participant. That has served me well in writing as I chronicle human behavior and the ways in which we fit in and don’t.”

It is a path that revealed itself to Arimah after she originally planned to pursue a law career as a high school student. A memorable moment in her history happened at FSU. “During my last semester, I took a creative writing workshop with (associate professor) Julianna Baggott that opened the possibilities of

writing to me,” says Arimah. “I had always been an avid reader, but that class made the act of writing practical and real in a way I had not before considered.”

Lesley Nneka Arimah

As it turns out, Arimah has discovered that being an author is about more than crafting an interesting turn of phrase. Her education regarding the business of writing as a first-time author has included a team effort by the folks at Riverhead. “I try to know only as much as I need to know, and I let my agent and the team at Riverhead take care of those aspects, lest they become a distraction from my work,” she said.

To supplement the writing process with a variety of other activities, Arimah enjoys observing other people working with ceramics and textiles. She also practices those arts to provide a dual benefit. “I find that creating something tangible with my hands engages a different part of me than writing does. It is both comforting and challenging.”

Photo by Emily Baxter

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CLASS NOTES Montego Glover (B.S. ’96), who won the 2010 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical for her Broadway portrayal of Felicia Ferrell in “Memphis,” is starring as Angelica Schuyler in the Chicago company run of the hit musical “Hamilton.”

Jason T. Hinds (B.S. ’96), an Air Force colonel, was promoted to commander of the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base. Hinds will lead six squadrons of more than 1,300 airmen and be responsible for the rapid deployment of the F-22 Raptor, a highly advanced fighter jet.

Emilia Quesada (J.D. ’96), a founding partner of SMGQ Law, was named a fellow by the Litigation Counsel of America. Quesada practices complex commercial litigation with specialized knowledge in the financial services industry.

Toni Mobley (B.S. ’97) was promoted to senior vice president and chief service officer with the Audubon Nature Institute.

Tanya Spann Roche (M.F.A. ’97) won an Emmy in the Education/Schools Program Feature/Segment category at the 59th National Capital Chesapeake Bay Emmys. In addition, she received an Emmy nomination for editing the Maryland Public Television series “Maryland Farm & Harvest.” ▼ Gigi Rollini

Brittany Adams Long (B.S. ’98, J.D. ’01), a shareholder with the Radey Law Firm, graduated from Leadership Tallahassee, Class 34. A program of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, it is intended to cultivate a diverse network of emerging and experienced leaders committed to improving the community.

Lionel Rubio (J.D. ’98) rejoined Winderweedle, Haines, Ward & Woodman in the firm’s real estate and land use practice area.

Nathan Alexander (B.F.A. ’99) won two awards – the Bronze for Best Internal Marketing Sizzle for Hulu’s 2016 “upfront” and the Silver for Best Image Campaign for Online, Cable or Satellite for Hulu’s 2016 summer campaign – at the 2017 PromaxBDA Awards.

Jason Dittmer (M.A. ’99, Ph.D. ’03), a professor of political geography at University College London, wrote a book, “Diplomatic Material: Affect, Assemblage and Foreign Policy.” It provides a counterintuitive reading of foreign policy by tracing the way that complex interactions between people and things shape the decisions and actions of diplomats and policymakers.

William Guzman (M.S. ’99), director of the Dr. Lee F. Hagan Africana Studies Center at New Jersey City University, signed a book contract with the University Press of Florida to edit an upcoming collection, “The Black Power Movement in Florida.”

In addition, he joined the editorial board of the International Journal of Africana Studies.

Craig Kief (B.F.A. ’99) served as the cinematographer on HBO’s “Tour de Pharmacy” (2017), a mockumentary starring Andy Samberg about the 1983 Tour de France. In addition, Kief is serving as cinematographer on CBS’ “Me, Myself and I” and served as cinematographer on Season 1 of Fox’s “The Mick.”

Wendy Mericle (M.F.A. ’99) is beginning her sixth season as an executive producer of the CW series “Arrow.”

Michael T. Owens (B.S. ’99) wrote a book, “Burned: Conversations with a Black WWII Veteran,” about the secret chemical experiments conducted by the Army on Rollins Edwards as a young soldier serving at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, and his silencebreaking testimony before the Federal Board of Veterans Appeals in 1997.

Gigi Rollini (B.A. ’97, M.P.A. ’03, J.D. ’03), a shareholder and attorney with Messer Caparello, was named one of Florida’s Top 50 Women Super Lawyers for 2017 by Super Lawyers magazine.

Rollini’s practice focuses on all aspects of Florida administrative law, litigation and appeals.

Brandon D. Tucker (B.S. ’97) was appointed by Florida Gov. Rick Scott to the South Florida Water Management District governing board. Tucker is president of the Tucker Group, a real estate brokerage and consulting firm.

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2000s Erin Brown (B.S. ’00) is serving as the accounting specialist at the National World War I Museum and Memorial, where she oversees daily accounting activities, payroll and the receipt of donations from individuals, foundations and businesses. In addition, Brown, an independent filmmaker, won the Audience Choice award for her first film, “The Voice in the Dark,” at the Outlaw Film Festival in St. Joseph, Missouri, and the First Friday Film Festival in Kansas City, Missouri.

Tracy Ayers (M.S. ’01, M.S. ’06), an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer with the Centers for Disease Control, presented her research on acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) at the 66th Annual Epidemic Intelligence Service Conference, a forum for CDC researchers to share their findings and ideas about how to respond to health threats in America and around the world.

Jacinda Danner (B.S. ’01), who teaches visually impaired students in the MatanuskaSusitna Borough School District in Palmer, Alaska, was named the 2017 Teacher of the Year for Excellence in Braille Instruction by the Braille Institute.

Chadwick Loar (B.S. ’01) was named regional president of the Florida west region of PNC Bank.

In addition to his responsibilities as regional president, Loar will continue to lead the region’s corporate banking team.

Ramin Yazdanpanah (B.S. ’01, M.S. ’04, Ph.D. ’17) received a 10-month U.S. Department of State fellowship to teach English in Vietnam at Thai Nguyen University. He is one of 140 recipients in the 2017-2018 English Language Fellow Program.

Jean Accius (B.S. ’02), vice president of the long-term services and supports and livable communities group with the AARP Public Policy Institute, received a Torch Award from the National Academy of Social Insurance. The award recognizes Accius as a national leader in social insurance who works to ensure that programs such as Social Security, Medicare and workers’ compensation and disability programs remain viable and available.

Accius is a director of the FSU Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors. ▲ Jean Accius

CLASS NOTES

NICK WALKER (B.S. ’11, B.S.N. ’12) There’s a reason Nick Walker named his recently opened Tallahassee brewery Ology. The brewmaster comes from a family of scientists.

His father, Dr. Jim Walker, studied olfaction – the sense of smell – and was the director of the Sensory Research Institute at FSU. On his mother’s side, his grandfather, Lloyd Beidler, started the psychobiology department at FSU, studying the physiology of how we perceive taste and how that affects our psyche and perceptions.

At Ology, Walker now can indulge his interest in perfecting the taste, smell and experience of drinking beer. Among the six varieties currently on tap, Walker says they’ve sold out of their New England IPA, Sensory Overload, three times in five weeks. “We can’t keep up with the demand for IPA, so we’re adding a fourth fermenter dedicated just to that,” says Walker.

“I wanted to take how we experience those two senses and turn that toward beer,” says Walker, who worked in his father’s lab as a technician during high school. Walker majored in biology, got another degree in nursing and eventually worked four years as a nurse while making his brewery dreams a reality. “I was home-brewing for eight years. It was always something I’ve been interested in and loved but wasn’t something I thought was sustainable as a career.”

With his father and grandfather’s knack for delving into the sensory experience, Walker finally arrived at the IPA after experimenting with the amount of hop, when to hop, time of exposure to hop in boil, and using hops from different farms. “The size of our equipment means we can do more experimentation than other breweries,” says Walker. “We can push out flavors and make sure we’re changing what we want to change on a small scale first to help us dial in on the optimum experience for the consumer.”

Top: Nick Walker, brewmaster of Ology. Bottom: Walker stirring the mash, a combination of grain and water that converts starches to sugars.

Nat Sanders (B.F.A. ’02), film editor of “Moonlight” (2016) and “Short Term 12” (2013), was among 774 film professionals to be invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as part of its 2017 class.

Grasford Smith Jr. (B.S. ’02), a shareholder with Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs, was appointed to the Palm Beach County School Board Independent Sales Surtax Oversight Committee.

Jennifer L. Atkins (M.S. ’03, Ph.D. ’08), an associate professor of dance at FSU, wrote a book, “New Orleans Carnival Balls,” about the post-Mardi Gras parade festivities of krewes that take place in theaters, convention centers and banquet halls, largely unseen by the general public.

Stephen Broussard (M.F.A. ’03), an executive producer of “Doctor Strange” (2016) and “Iron Man 3” (2013) and a co-producer of “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011), was among 774 film professionals to be invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as part of its 2017 class.

Barry Jenkins (B.F.A. ’03, B.A. ’03), director of “Moonlight” (2016) and “Medicine for Melancholy” (2008), was among 774 film professionals to be invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as part of its 2017 class.

James Laxton (B.F.A. ’03), cinematographer of “Moonlight” (2016) and “Medicine for Melancholy” (2008), was among 774 film professionals to be invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as part of its 2017 class.

Lauren Miller Rogen (B.F.A. ’03) will make her directorial debut with the Netflix feature “Like Father” (2018). Miller Rogen also wrote and produced the comedy, starring Kristen Bell and Kelsey Grammer, about a woman who winds up on her honeymoon with her father. Read more about Rogen in Catching Up With on Page 7.

Crystal Swain-Bates (B.A. ’03, M.A. ’07), an author of children’s books, founded Goldest Karat Publishing, a boutique publisher of educational nonfiction and children’s books. Swain-Bates’ goal is to fill the diversity gap in traditional publishing by providing high-quality books featuring characters of African descent.

Adele Romanski (B.F.A. ’04), producer of “Moonlight” (2016) and “Morris from America” (2016), was among 774 film professionals to be invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as part of its 2017 class.

Michael A. Lockridge (B.F.A. ’05) received one of eight Emerging Cinematographer Awards for 2017 from the International Cinematographers Guild.

Andrea Lewis (B.S. ’07, J.D. ’10), an attorney with Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, was recognized in the 2018 edition of Best Lawyers for success in personal injury litigation on behalf of plaintiffs in Florida.

Jacob Mann (B.A. ’07) was promoted to vice president of the Community Bank Coast, responsible for consumer and commercial lending, portfolio and relationship management, credit analysis and oversight of office operations.

Brian Walgamott (M.S. ’08), a senior manager in the tax services department of Thomas Howell Ferguson, is participating in Class 35 of Leadership Tallahassee, a yearlong program that educates and encourages individuals to actively seek positive and constructive changes in their communities through leadership roles. In addition, Walgamott was selected as a “40 Under 40” honoree by CPA Practice Advisor.

Jackie Schutz Zeckman (B.S. ’08) was appointed chief of staff of the Executive Office of the Governor by Florida Gov. Rick Scott.

Nicholas Economides (M.F.A. ’09), a producer with Fox Networks Group in Munich, was part of a team that won a record eight awards at the 2017 PromaxBDA Awards for its Germany-AustriaSwitzerland promotion of National Geographic’s “Mars” campaign and “The Walking Dead” promotion for Season 7.

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CLASS NOTES 2010s Dana Rogozinski (B.S. ’11) founded The J & E Legacy Collection to honor her grandparents, Jakob and Ella Rogozinski, survivors of the Holocaust.

The jewelry collection features pieces of sterling silver and 14-karat gold pendants, necklaces and cufflinks with the number A5674, which was tattooed on her grandmother’s arm, and 56512, her grandfather’s number.

Nicholas Reinhard (B.F.A. ’12) won an Emmy in the Outstanding Videographer Multicamera Programming category for “Kobe’s Last Game!” at the 69th Los Angeles Area Emmys for Individual Achievement.

Gordon Folkes III (B.S. ’16), founder of Archer First Response Systems, developed a technology that uses a mobile app to call 911 and summon a drone-carrying defibrillator to cardiac arrest victims in less than three minutes. The system is geared toward use in golf and master-planned communities to get defibrillators to cardiac arrest victims as quickly as possible.

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Brett Gilman (B.S. ’16) joined Thomas Howell Ferguson as a staff accountant in the assurance services department.

Lauren Hlubny (B.A. ’14), the New York City artistic director of Danse Theatre Surreality, premiered “sans – an exposed dance-theatre experience” in Florence, Italy, this fall.

Tim Icardi (B.S. ’16, M.S. ’17), a staff accountant with Thomas Howell Ferguson, passed his certified public accountant exam.

Krysta Gardner (B.S.W. ’15), a former volunteer with Teach for America, is working as a middle- and high-school science and math teacher in Oklahoma City, showing students how a career in the STEM fields is achievable.

Jonathan Tilkin (B.A. ’16), a singer who became an Instagram sensation this year with covers of contemporary pop songs, released his debut single, “Daydreamin,” a pop track that combines elements of several musical genres, including folk, rock and rap.

MARY HEGLEY (B.S. ’12) Many of Mary Hegley’s most memorable sports moments include kids, candy and rock bands.

As director of entertainment for the Nashville Sounds Baseball Club, she must find in-game and post-game fun that appeals to all fans who enter the gates at First Tennessee Park to watch the Triple-A affiliate club of Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics.

The recent entertainment lineup included 615 Night, a celebration of the whole Nashville sports scene.

Nashville Predators hockey personnel, Tennessee Titans football draft picks and other folks participated.

Considering that Country Music Television is based in Nashville, many up-and-coming performers want to sing the national anthem before games.

During the Sounds’ contests, there are the Kids Fun Zone, the Vanderbilt Children’s Picnic Place and rotating contests, fan cameras and other favorites done between innings. “Being a young professional, there are things I might like that are different than someone who is really into baseball,” says Hegley. “I am more into the entertainment side. I strive to have people say, ‘We had a great time,’ whether we win or lose.”

Hegley’s time as a marketing student at FSU included being a Street Team Member within Seminole Boosters. Participating in intramurals and completing her sports marketing coursework helped develop her insight into sports and entertainment.

“I took a sports marketing class that helped me understand the business side of sports,” says Hegley.

“That opened my eyes to sports and to creating that fan experience.”

One of Hegley’s fun experiences came courtesy of an annual event – the City of Hope Celebrity Softball Game held during the week of the Country Music Association Music Festival. The proceeds go toward cancer treatment research and development through the City of Hope.

There is also the on-field excitement. “We do have great baseball,” she says. “A lot of the players have already been to the major leagues or they are rehabbing an injury to return there. It’s major leaguers at minor league prices.”

Mary Hegley at First Tennessee Park, home of the Nashville Sounds.

74 Vires

CLASS NOTES

SOFIA OLDS (M.S.W. ’14)

In June, Sofia and DaShoan Olds went from being a couple to the parents of seven when they adopted a group of siblings.

Their act of love was rooted in a heartfelt desire to give the children a chance to find solid footing in a new home and in their experiences with their own large families. “My mom had 11 siblings and my husband’s mom had 11 siblings,” says Sofia, a clinical social worker and a protective investigator for the Florida Department of Children and Families. The four boys and three girls – Necia, Eric, Erica, Zavian, Dava, Keyon and Gentry – had been in four separate foster homes for a couple of years before they came to the Olds home in Marianna, Florida.

For Sofia and DaShoan, making the decision to adopt came with plenty of counsel and support from the people in their lives. “I talked with co-workers, completed classes and talked with several friends and family members who have adopted,” she says.

The learning process continued when mom and dad talked with the kids about activities they like to do.

“A lot of the boys love sports, so we arranged to get them in the city leagues,” she says. The family’s first trip together was to an FSU baseball game on Military Appreciation Day – an especially fitting choice for Sofia, an Army Reservist, and DaShoan, a member of the Florida National Guard.

Sofia and DaShoan Olds with their new family, a group of seven siblings they adopted.

The children are, from left, Gentry, Eric, Zavian, Dava, Erica, Necia and Keyon.

Photo by Dr. Bryan Craven Chipola College

In adopting the siblings, the Olds’ mission is to make sure they have opportunities to just be kids, even the older ones. “We were a little worried that Necia (age 12) would want to be too motherly or feel like she had to do the parenting. We want them to have fun!”

Family activities include learning about math from DaShoan, a math teacher at Rutherford High School in Panama City, Florida. They also include meeting new friends in elementary school or at FSU events.

“The children see that support from families, friends and my husband’s students,” she says. “They have made it easier for a family of nine.”

Vires 75

IN MEM O RIA M 1930s Bernice (née Adams) Porterfield (B.S. ’34) Nettie (née Barcroft) Taylor (B.A. ’36) Ann E. (née Graham) Schelter (B.S. ’37) Sara (née Nance) Howell (B.S. ’38) Jane (née Cooper) Owens (L.I. ’38) Judith (née Bell) Perry (B.S. ’38) Flora (née Avriett) Semanik (L.I. ’38) Angelina (née Friscia) Antinori (B.S. ’39) Leslie (née Davis) Engram (B.S. ’39) Weleska (née Fulmer) Ming (B.S. ’39) Frances E. (née Meigs) Neel (B.A. ’39) Louie L. (née Fitzpatrick) Potter (B.S. ’39)

1940s Virginia C. (née Sigman) Beals (B.A. ’40) Marja (née Pourtless) Borrowes (B.S. ’40) Eleanor (née Scott) Brandon (B.S. ’40) Ada (née Lybarker) Cluff (B.S. ’40) Helen (née Parramore) Pyburn (B.S. ’40) Minnie (née Ratliff) Mize (B.S. ’41) Helen H. (née Anderson) Small (B.M. ’41) Olive (née Dell) Ryder (B.S. ’42) Alice (née May) Dormon (B.S. ’43) Doris (née Knowles) Kelynack (B.A. ’43, M.A. ’55) Betty N. (née Shriner) Lemmon (B.S. ’43) Mary A. (née Hampton) Roche (B.A. ’43) Peggy (née Barker) Teague (B.S. ’43) Clarice M. (née Wood) Adkins (B.S. ’44) Marguerite (née Severns) Berges (B.A. ’44) Dorothy E. (née Stokes) Hobbie (B.S. ’44) Barbara A. (née Constans) Parker (B.A. ’44) Carmen (née Crespo) Stecher (B.S. ’44) Margaret L. Cason (B.S. ’45) Marjorie V. Goff (B.S. ’45) Betty (née Lewis) Harrison (B. ’45) Charlotte (née Brubaker) Johns (B.S. ’45) Margery (née Loomis) Krome (B.S. ’45) Gertrude (née Pope) MacInnes (B.S. ’45) Patricia (née Halloran) Matheson (B.A. ’45)

Leonore (née Malakoff) Meyer (B.A. ’45) Marian A. (née Lambeth) Safriet (B.S. ’45) Bonnie C. (née Hunt) Corral (B.A. ’46) Lois (née Dossey) Dennis (B.S. ’46) Mary F. Hall (B.S. ’46) Jane (née Gaertner) Stimson (B.M. ’46) Laura (née Platt) Towne (B.A. ’46) Bettie F. (née Bazemore) Barkdull (B.S. ’47, M.S. ’49, M.A. ’50) Ellen (née Whitman) Bynum (B.S. ’47) Mary (née Cooney) Crum (B.S. ’47) Irene M. (née Coleman) Cundiff (B.S. ’47) Betty R. Goode (B.A. ’47) Leatrice (née Shuman) Haffner (B.S. ’47) Patricia (née Wells) Huston (B.A. ’47) Helen (née Mosley) Kelly (B.S. ’47) Marilyn N. (née Watson) Bryan (B.A. ’48) Una R. (née Evans) Powell (B.S. ’48) Emily (née Herold) Rawls (B.S. ’48) Virginia (née Varne) Bennett (B.A. ’49) Mildred (née Johnson) Burton (B.S. ’49) Doris (née Grimsley) Frizzi (B.A. ’49) Lynnette E. (née Forrester) Manley (B.A. ’49)

1950s Sallie M. Blocker (B.A. ’50) Marguerite (née Wainwright) Brassell (B.S. ’50) Raymond J. Brown Jr. (B.A. ’50) Howard J. Falcon Jr. (B. ’50) Carl P. Green Jr. (B.S. ’50) Mary E. Jones (B.S. ’50, M.S. ’68) Ernestine (née Griffin) Little (B.S. ’50) Ann (née Keyton) Lovell (B.A. ’50) Elizabeth (née Barnes) MacKinnon (B.A. ’50) Irene (née Burton) Sykes (B.S. ’50) Barbara (née Church) Wakeland (B.S. ’50) Jean (née Martin) Barus (B.S. ’51) Joy (née DeRolph) Booker (B.S. ’51) Margaret (née Stewart) Campbell (B.S. ’51) Harry C. Dean (B.S. ’51)

William C. Driver Jr. (B.S. ’51) Rita (née Zenoni) Garcia (B.A. ’51) John A. Graham (B.S. ’51) Velma (née Youmans) Rowe (B.M. ’51) Miriam (née Edwards) Sims (B.S. ’51) Charlotte (née Palmer) Watkins (B.S. ’51) Sarah F. Anders (M.A. ’52, Ph.D. ’55) Arden A. Anderson (B.S. ’52) Harold G. Anthony Sr. (B.S. ’52) Stephen G. Dardaganian (Cert.Exp. ’52) Ovid E. Ellison Jr. (B.S. ’52) Paul G. Gazzara (B.A. ’52) Dorothy (née Watson) Hanson (B.S. ’52) Patsy (née Gardner) Hummel (B.S. ’52) Helen (née Friedheim) King (B.S. ’52) Ney C. Landrum (B. ’52, M.A. ’56) Glennie L. (née Buntyn) Massey (B.S. ’52) Margaret (née Reed) Park (B.S. ’52) Beverly J. (née Peters) Vocelle (B.S. ’52) Edward N. Brown (B.S. ’53) Betty (née Holland) Chappell (B.S. ’53) Martin R. Davis Jr. (M.S. ’53) Harry P. Greenberger (M.S. ’53) Shirley (née Lavender) Jablonka (B.S. ’53) George E. Martin (B.S. ’53) Richard J. Neuman (M.S. ’53) Marie (née McCullough) Revell (B.S. ’53) Chester E. Rufh (M.S. ’53) Carmen (née Casal) Perez (B.S. ’53) Mildred (née Smith) Roseberry (B.S. ’53) Bette (née Kabeary) Smith (B.S. ’53) William B. Smith (B.S. ’53) Lauredts B. Tyndall (M.S. ’53) Glenn A. Vergason (B.S. ’53, M.S. ’54) Marinel (née Morrison) Ammenheuser (B.S. ’54) Patricia J. Duane (B.S. ’54) Nancy (née Lowe) Gahagan (B.S. ’54) Myrtis E. Herndon (B.S. ’54) Phyllis (née Jordan) Hogue (B.A. ’54) Laurel (née Boggs) Hughes (B.S. ’54)

DOROTHY DOUGLAS WHITTLE (B.S. ’53)

Dorothy Douglas “Dot” Whittle, a retired schoolteacher and member of the FSU Alumni Association’s Circle of Gold, died May 2, 2017, at age 85.

Whittle was born in the Philippines in 1931 to parents serving as missionaries. She and her family spent nearly four years as prisoners of the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. The lasting effect of the ordeal drew Whittle as an adult to FSU’s Institute on World War II and the Human Experience, where she regularly volunteered to collect and catalog letters and mementos from soldiers. In addition, she recorded an oral history of her childhood experiences in Japanese prison camps, which remains part of the FSU Reichelt Oral History Program’s World War II Collection.

At FSU, Whittle joined Gamma Phi Beta Sorority and the Home Economics Club, and was active in the Wesley Foundation and Garnet Key. She earned a degree in home economics and played an active role in the life of the College of Human Sciences as a member of its alumni advisory board.

Dorothy Douglas Whittle pictured as a graduating senior in FSU’s 1953 Tally Ho yearbook.

76 Vires

Over her 36-year career as a teacher, Whittle taught English, writing, language arts, parenting and social studies in Pensacola, Milton and Gainesville, Florida. After retiring, she became active in the FSU Alumni Association, serving on the National Board and also as an active member of the Gainesville Seminole Club, where she hosted game-watching parties. She was inducted into the Circle of Gold in 2011.

Whittle is survived by two sons, Jeff Whittle and Douglas Whittle; two daughters, Beth Upchurch and Wendy Myers; 12 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

JANICE K. PLATT (B.A. ’58)

Janice K. “Jan” Platt, a former Hillsborough County (Florida) commissioner known for her advocacy for the environment, died Nov. 3, 2017, at age 81.

First elected in 1978, Platt served on the commission for 24 years. She was nicknamed “Commissioner No” because of her votes against development projects that were poorly planned or might be harmful to the environment.

Under her leadership, Hillsborough County established a program that now manages more than 61,000 acres of environmentally sensitive lands. Platt’s advocacy extended to open and honest government and increased funding for libraries.

As an FSU student, Platt was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and Mortar Board National College Senior Honor Society. She graduated with a degree in political science.

Platt is survived by her husband, Bill Platt; son Kevin Platt and his wife, Michele; and granddaughter Emma.

Elma E. Dykes (B.S. ’59) Henry H. Helton Jr. (B.S. ’59) Gerald H. Henderson (B.S. ’59) Patricia (née Van Hyning) Kalitka (B.A. ’59) James L. Kirkland Sr. (B.S. ’59) J. Mark Miller (B.S. ’59, M.S. ’61) Donald J. Ray (B.S. ’59) Constance I. Yeaton (B.S. ’59)

1960s Mary G. Derryberry (B.S. ’60) Albert E. Herner (Ph.D. ’60) Leon W. Linderoth (M.A. ’60, Ph.D. ’66) James M. Lloyd (B.S. ’60) Lawrence W. Monk (B.S. ’60) Clifford L. Riles (B.S. ’60) Carmen (née O’Neal) Sheldon-Scanlon (B.S. ’60) Jerrell H. Shofner (B.S. ’60, M.S. ’61, Ph.D. ’63) George J. Spence (M.S. ’60) Kenneth B. Taylor (B.S. ’60) Carolyn (née Hunt) Wall (M.A. ’60) Thomas L. Wollschlager (B.S. ’60) Marcos H. Barrera (B.A. ’61) Lewis W. Billups (B.S. ’61) Cullen J. Caldwell Jr. (B.M.E. ’61) Naomi A. Day (B.S. ’61) Byron W. Mixson (B.S. ’61) Harold E. Pitts (B.S. ’61) Henry Rawls Jr. (B.S. ’61) Ermalou (née McDuffie) Roller (B.S. ’61) Edward J. Seykora (B.S. ’61, M.S. ’64) Harry C. Tysinger Jr. (B.S. ’61) Ruth (née Chamberlain) Kahler (B.S. ’63, M.S. ’68) Terrie (née Jones) Whittier (B.A. ’61, M.A. ’63) Wenceslaus A. Jasa (B.S. ’62) Martha (née Wynn) Millard (B.A. ’62) Rutherford B. Rainey Sr. (B.S. ’62) Joseph M. Sacco (B.S. ’62) David Saltzman (B.S. ’62) Helen O. (née Bagley) Swaine (B.M.E. ’62) Beverly L. (née Marchant) Trousdell (B.S. ’62) Thomas L. Wade III (B.S. ’62) K. Howard Wiener (B.S. ’62, M.A. ’63) Adrian D. Worley (B.A. ’62, M.A. ’63)

Photo by Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA Wire

Elizabeth (née Berckbickler) James (B.S. ’54) Arthur G. Kennerly Jr. (B.S. ’54, M.S. ’59) Julia (née Tullos) Knight (B.S. ’54) Richard W. Kurth (M.S. ’54, Ph.D. ’73) James A. McCauley (B.S. ’54) William C. Mills (B.S. ’54) William E. Mote Sr. (B.A. ’54) William H. Wesley III (B.S. ’54) James N. Yadon Sr. (B.S. ’54, M.S. ’57, Ph.D. ’74) Philip H. Alvers Sr. (B.S. ’55) Betty J. (née Larson) Fischer (B.S. ’55) Janis (née Williamson) Gillis (B.S. ’55) Bobby L. Howe (B.S. ’55) Sylvia (née Lewis) Hughes (B.S. ’55) Richard D. Ireland (B.S. ’55) Kermit G. Kindred (B.S. ’55) Susan (née Bailey) Pope (B.S. ’55) Kenneth L. Zankel (M.S. ’55) Eleanor (née Kirby) Beyer (B.A. ’56) Wilbur R. Campbell (B.S. ’56) Conrad S. Horn (B.A. ’56) Noah R. Johnson Jr. (Ph.D. ’56) Wayne E. Lewis (B.M. ’56) Joseph A. Mattman (B.S. ’56) Wayne G. Patton (B.S. ’56) William E. Pipkin (B.S. ’56) Nancy (née Vaughn) Raymond (B.S. ’56) Gene T. Sellers (B.S. ’56) Barbara (née Caldwell) Smith (B.S. ’56) Jean (née Cadenhead) Steece (B.S. ’56) Dale A. Wetmore (B.A. ’56, M.A. ’58) Robert B. Wright Jr. (B.M. ’56) Ruth (née Henshaw) Abramson (B.S. ’57) John K. Ash (B.S. ’57) Mary F. Cawthon (B.S. ’57, M.S. ’78) Shirley A. (née Ison) Duncan (B.S. ’57) Jackie W. Fortune (B.S. ’57) Robert I. Gilbert (Ph.D. ’57) James H. Gillard (B.S. ’57) Glenda (née Sherrill) Hamilton (B.S. ’57) Carolyn T. Moore (B.S. ’57) William E. Neet (B.S.W. ’57, M.S.W. ’59) Janet (née Moser) Shultz (B.S. ’57) Carl A. Schulz Jr. (M.S. ’57) Sue (née Brunson) Tapp (B.S. ’57) Sara (née Connell) Arnette (B.A. ’58) John S. Baldwin (B.S. ’58) William R. Bollinger (B.S. ’58) James F. Facos (M.A. ’58) Raymond W. Gage II (B.S. ’58) Jewell (née Langston) Hagan (B.S. ’58, M.S. ’77) Murphy R. Hinson Jr. (B.S. ’58) Elmer T. Horne Jr. (M.A. ’58) Margaret J. (née Butcher) Kempton (M.S. ’58) George D. Livingston Jr. (B.S. ’58) Charles L. Sowell Jr. (B.S. ’58) Glenda (née Moore) Spann (B.S. ’58) Patsy (née Yon) Warinner (B.S. ’58) Marynel (née Culbreth) Adams (B.S. ’59) Richard L. Ainsworth (B.S. ’59) Temple C. Bailey (B.S. ’59) Louis R. Cacciatore (B.S. ’59) Elinor (née Hager) Durham (B.S. ’59)

Robert S. Bell III (B.S. ’63) Lloyd M. Bennett (Ph.D. ’63) Frank M. Gafford (B.A. ’63) Barbara (née Ganaway) Jarvis (B.S. ’63) Sherry L. (née Minton) Lary (B.M. ’63) John L. Lewis (B.A. ’63) Larry K. Nix (B.S. ’63) John D. Rabon (B.S. ’63) Lola C. Stubbs (M.S. ’63) Maureen P. (née Carter) Brush (B.A. ’64) Imogene (née Cutts) Clark (M.S. ’64) Jerome C. Cox (M.S. ’64, Ph.D. ’67) Richard L. Griffin III (B.A. ’64) Martha S. (née Menendez) Jones (B.S. ’64) John F. Kirk Jr. (B.S. ’64) John W. Lansch (B.A. ’64, M.S. ’66) William S. Lutz (B.S. ’64) Harlen L. McCauslin Sr. (M.S. ’64) David K. Philo (B.S. ’64) Lana G. (née Murray) Pipes (B.A. ’64) Richard J. Wheeler Jr. (B.S. ’64) Lloyd D. Adsit (B.S. ’65) Leroy E. Allen (M.S. ’65) Alan J. Buick (B.S. ’65) John S. Buzzell (M.S. ’65) Peggy (née Neese) Carlson (B.A. ’65, M.A. ’77) Billy Corbin (B.S. ’65) John D. McCrory (B.S. ’65) Barbara A. McKenzie (B.S. ’65) Norma E. (née Holloway) Myara (M.M. ’65) Kenneth D. Schwartz (B.M. ’65) Joyner Sims (B.S. ’65, M.S. ’66) Peter C. Smith (B.S. ’65, M.S. ’68) Hope M. Tucker (B.A. ’65) Dorothy J. Underwood (M.S.W. ’65) Betty S. Westbrook (M.S. ’65) Alan J. Wetjen (M.S. ’65) Carol (née Folds) Cole (B.S. ’66) Donald G. Daniell (B.S. ’66) Norma M. (née Yates) Dopp (B.M. ’66) John R. Holmes (B.A. ’66) Harriet (née Hutchison) Kearney (B.A. ’66) Thomas C. Laughlin (Ph.D. ’66) Bette (née Stokes) Martin (B.A. ’66) Vires 77

KIM HAMMOND (B.S. ’68, J.D. ’72)

Kim C. Hammond, a retired Flagler County Circuit Court judge and FSU Hall of Famer, died July 16, 2017, at age 72.

Hammond lettered in football, baseball and basketball at Melbourne High School, which led to a football scholarship to FSU in 1963. As a senior, Hammond started at quarterback beginning with the second game. By the end of the season, he was named an All-American quarterback, finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting and was named Most Valuable Player in the Senior Bowl and Gator Bowl. He was inducted into the FSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Gator Bowl Hall of Fame in 1997.

After graduating from FSU with a degree in business management, Hammond played three seasons of professional football for the Miami Dolphins and Boston Patriots. He retired to pursue a law degree. He began his 38-year legal career in private practice.

In 1979, Gov. Bob Graham appointed the 35-year-old Hammond as a circuit judge for the Seventh Judicial Circuit, making him one of the youngest circuit judges in Florida. Later in his career, he served as administrative judge for Flagler County. In 2009, a new Flagler County courthouse was named the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center in his honor.

Hammond is survived by his wife, Jan (B.S. ’67); daughter Paige Wolpert (B.A. ’91, J.D. ’94) and her husband, Ed; son Todd Hammond (B.S. ’98) and his wife, Lisa; daughter Amanda Rapp and her husband, Steve; brother William Hammond and his wife, MaryK; and eight grandchildren.

Kim Hammond on the bench as a circuit judge and in action as a quarterback for the Seminoles.

John F. Sproull Jr. (B.A. ’66, J.D. ’68) Carole B. (née Sorensen) Steele (B.A. ’66) Gloria (née Poston) Tolar (B.S. ’66, M.S. ’70) Kenneth T. White (B.A. ’66) Charles T. Williams (B.A. ’66) John L. Briscoe (B.S. ’67, J.D. ’74) Thomas K. Brown (Ph.D. ’67) Chester V. Cole (B.S. ’67, M.S. ’69) Russell R. Erdley (Ph.D. ’67) Janice (née Ogozalek) Faiks-Jones (B.S. ’67) Edward T. Farley Jr. (B.S. ’67) David L. Hall (B.S. ’67) John M. Holmes (B.S. ’67) Wendy A. Hornor (B.A. ’67, M.S. ’72) Richard M. Lane Sr. (B.S. ’67) Anna F. McDonald (M.S. ’67) Michael G. O’Dair (B.S. ’67) Charles M. Petko (M.A. ’67, Ph.D. ’78) Charles L. Robertson (B.S. ’67) Clarence F. Rydeen (B.S. ’67, M.S. ’68) Mildred G. (née Lowe) Stephenfield (M.S. ’67) Jeannette E. (née Reed) Turpin (B.S. ’67) John R. Ackermann (M.S. ’68) James L. Caldwell (Ph.D. ’68) Luis I. Carreras Jr. (B.S. ’68) Neal K. Crisp (B.S. ’68) Maurice F. Curry Jr. (B.S. ’68) Patricia (née Sofarelli) Edwards (B.S. ’68) Lana S. (née Wood) Joseph (B.S. ’68) Gerald C. Miller (B.S. ’68) Robert S. Mogyorosy (M.S. ’68, Ph.D. ’74) Lynne R. (née Wilson) Oakes (B.S. ’68) Bobby E. Pyle (M.S. ’68) James F. Scearce (M.S. ’68) Louis F. Schneider (M.S. ’68, Ed.D. ’80, Ph.D. ’81) Paul J. Shellem (M.S. ’68) John D. Southwood (J.D. ’68) Katharine C. Tichenor (B.S. ’68) Thomas F. Baxley (M.A. ’69, Ph.D. ’69) Nancy S. (née Schmeisser) Beuttel (B.S. ’69) Sheila (née Mitchell) Cohen (Ph.D. ’69) 78 Vires

Joanne Eddy (B.S. ’69, M.S.W. ’74) Larry L. Fox (B.S. ’69, M.S. ’72) Paul H. Fuller IV (B.S. ’69) William J. Gunter (B.S. ’69) Hal H. Hunt (B.S. ’69) Christine M. (née Crane) Junger (B.A. ’69, M.S. ’71) Carol (née Hardy) Kornegay (B.S. ’69) William A. Moon Jr. (B.S. ’69) Stuart L. Perkins (B.A. ’69) Ramon R. Priestino (M.S. ’69) Ernest M. Rowell (B.S. ’69) Catherine M. (née McShane) Sollohub (M.S. ’69) John M. Steadham (B.S. ’69) Edward J. Zamarripa (M.S. ’69)

1970s Norman G. Asmar (B.A. ’70) Robert T. Fahnestock (B.S. ’70, M.Acc. ’71) Joseph L. Fournier (M.S. ’70) James M. Hagan Sr. (B.S. ’70) Margaret L. Hirt (B.S. ’70) William C. Kaelin (Ph.D. ’70) Phillip E. LaBrecque (B.S. ’70) Robert E. Lee (Ph.D. ’70) Victoria (née Christy) Nichols (B.S. ’70) William H. Petty (M.S. ’70) Michael A. Riley (B.S. ’70) Linda E. Trigg (B.S. ’70) Joyce (née Rose) Turley (B.A. ’70) Mary V. (née Dearstone) Dickerson (Ph.D. ’71) Helen (née Anderson) Everett (M.S. ’71, Ph.D. ’92) Phillips G. Gay Jr. (B.S. ’71) Thomas N. Hobgood Jr. (Ph.D. ’71) Guy R. Jones (Ph.D. ’71) Daniel H. Pate (B.S. ’71) Jory W. Rasmussen (M.S.W. ’71) William J. Shelley III (M.A. ’71) Chanchal Singh (M.S. ’71, Ph.D. ’72) Michael J. Slack (B.S. ’71) Martha D. Collins (Ed.D. ’72) William A. Couch (B.S. ’72)

Joseph W. Coyle Jr. (B.S.W. ’72, M.S.W. ’76) James M. Harvey (M.S. ’72) Donald E. Larson (B.S.W. ’72) Raleigh C. Leonard (B.S. ’72) Bascom L. Mahaffey (M.S. ’72) Barbara J. Mitchell (B.S. ’72) Corazon (née Alip) Mullen (M.S. ’72) James M. Prindiville (B.S. ’72) Coll E. Robertson (B.S. ’72, M.S. ’76) John D. Shacklock (B.A. ’72) Robert L. Smith (D.M.E. ’72) Leonard R. West (B.S. ’72) Robert F. Yurachek (M.S. ’72, M.B.A. ’73) Gwendolyn W. Aldredge (Ph.D. ’73) John M. Awad (Ph.D. ’73) Carolyn L. (née Williams) Graham (B.S. ’73) Paul F. Hartsfield Jr. (B.S. ’73, J.D. ’76) Gay L. Johnson (B.S. ’73) John F. McGehee (M.B.A. ’73) Curtis R. McKinney Jr. (B.S. ’73) Alford H. Ottley Jr. (Ph.D. ’73) Susan A. (née Cardoza) Patton (B.S. ’73) Linda J. (née Marlow) Shotwell (B.S. ’73) Judy K. Simpson (M.A. ’73, Ph.D. ’75) Timothy C. Thomas Jr. (B.S. ’73) Nancy (née Skaggs) Werhner (B.S. ’73) Charles E. Dixon Jr. (M.B.A. ’74) Stephen M. Fain (B.S. ’74) William B. Fredericks Jr. (M.P.A. ’74) Robert T. Fukushima (B.S. ’74) Hugh E. Marse (M.B.A. ’74) Mary J. (née Ward) Mayo (B.A. ’74, M.S. ’77, Ph.D. ’80) Virginia E. Naughton (B.S. ’74) Leila (née Oliver) Platt (B.S. ’74) Ronald C. Tennant Sr. (B.S. ’74) Glenn F. Wheeler (B.A. ’74) Robert F. Kiely (B.S. ’75) Joycelin B. (née Packard) Little (Ed.S. ’75, Ph.D. ’86) Donald R. McNish Jr. (B.S. ’75)

Clayton S. Newman (J.D. ’75) Eloise (née Spencer) Pettus (Ed.S. ’75, Ph.D. ’77) Margaret M. Scarry (B.A. ’75) Duane L. Wade (B.M. ’75) Sylvia G. Finkell (B.A. ’76) Thomas G. Hancock (M.S. ’76) C. Tracy Harrington (Ph.D. ’76) Frank S. Lewis Jr. (Ed.S. ’76, Ed.D. ’79) Mary A. Matthews (Ph.D. ’76) Norman C. Mitchell Jr. (B.S. ’76) Glynis L. (née Miller) Pulice (B.S. ’76) William G. Roberts (B.S. ’76) Lillian R. (née Ward) Wilson (B.A. ’76) Craig A. Everett (Ph.D. ’77) Richard P. Frost Jr. (B.S. ’77) Julius G. Gause Jr. (B.S. ’77) Celia (née Bugg) Hill (B.S. ’77) William M. Leeds (B.S. ’77) Carl P. Llewellyn (B.S. ’77) Joyce (née Lawrence) O’Connor (Ph.D. ’77) Diana L. (née Alcorn) Olencki (B.A. ’77) Keith M. Roberts (B.A. ’77) Robert L. Scott (Ph.D. ’77) Mirene I. Smith (M.S. ’77) Richard E. Stephan (B.S. ’77) Donald E. Thompson (B.S. ’77) William H. Watson Jr. (B.S. ’77, M.P.A. ’78) Sherri (née Stringfellow) Berley (B.S. ’78) Karlyn (née Paddock) Ellard (M.S. ’78, Ph.D. ’81) Monte W. Hicks (B.S. ’78) Mary E. (née Kirlin) Laplante (B.S. ’78) Harold W. Martindale (M.S.W. ’78) Martha (née Reed) Scott (M.S. ’78) Mary J. Sisson (Ph.D. ’78) Laura W. Smith (M.A. ’78) Laurence B. Williams (B.S. ’78) Peter W. Aldredge (B.S. ’79) Janet M. Claiborne (M.S. ’79) Malorie A. (née Lowell) Fitzgerald (B.S. ’79) Elmer Jenkins (Ph.D. ’79) James E. Speights (B.S. ’79) Alban Stewart Jr. (B.S. ’79) Dale F. Watson (B.S. ’79)

1980s Thomas B. Krieger (Ph.D. ’80) JoAnn (née Romike) Hamilton (M.S. ’80) Stephen R. Reker (B.S. ’80) Debra M. (née English) Adamek (B.S. ’81) Donny R. Betts (B.S. ’81) Lynn A. Eichelberger (B.S. ’81) Elizabeth (née Cueva) Elder (B.S. ’81, M.S. ’83) Sandra Y. Ervin (B.S. ’81) Joyce M. Jury (B.A. ’81, M.A. ’85) Max Moody Jr. (B.A. ’81) William C. Ruffin III (M.B.A. ’81) Marina L. Slagle (B.F.A. ’81) James M. Yarbrough Jr. (B.S. ’81) George A. Bain III (B.A. ’82) Craig F. Feeny (M.S. ’82, M.S. ’83) Cheryl (née Blake) Schmidt (B.S. ’82, M.S. ’82) William P. Smith II (B.S. ’82) Sam Byrts (Ph.D. ’83) Darlene A. (née Roman) Gehrke (B.A. ’83) Jed M. Hiers (B.S. ’83)

Amy C. Settlemire (B.S. ’83) Sterling L. Watson (B.S. ’83) Lisa M. Wilson (B.S. ’83, M.S. ’86, Ph.D. ’00) Theodore E. Harrison (J.D. ’84) Statia A. (née Clark) Marrocco (B.A. ’84, M.A. ’86) Luz (née Rodriguez) Marti (M.S. ’84) Walter W. Richards (M.A. ’84, Ph.D. ’84) Michael D. Sewell (M.M.E. ’85) James C. McGonagil (M.B.A. ’86) Richard Lamar “Rick” Tuten (B.S. ’86), a punter for the Seminoles who went on to play 11 seasons in the National Football League, died June 13, 2017, at age 52. Tuten played seven seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, where he was a Pro Bowler in 1994 and was chosen as the punter on the Seahawks’ all-time team. He finished his career with the St. Louis Rams as a member of the Super Bowl XXXIV-winning team.

Elizabeth (née Fuller) Ates (M.S.W. ’87) Ronald L. Dod (M.S. ’87, M.P.A. ’92) Todd Adam Miller (B.S. ’87) Charles J. Reitenbach (B.S. ’87) Brian L. Sprague (B.S. ’87) Charles L. Allen (M.S.W. ’88) Faith D. Berry (Ph.D. ’88) Lee R. Fagan (B.S. ’88) Terrence M. Zimmerman (M.S. ’88) Otis L. Bonner III (B.S. ’89) William F. Curtis (B.S. ’89) David S. Good (A.A. ’89)

1990s James A. Coleman Jr. (Ed.D. ’90) Michael E. Gilmore (B.S. ’90) James P. Hentz (B.S. ’90) Judith S. (née Bernstein) Kahn (J.D. ’90) Kathryn L. (née Raulerson) Moore (B.S. ’90, M.S.W. ’94) Melinda S. Sikes (B.A. ’90) Jill L. (née Saaranen) Sliger (B.S. ’90, M.S. ’90) Ronald F. York Jr. (B.S. ’90) Francis C. Allera (Ph.D. ’91) Raymond J. Antonucci Jr. (B.S. ’91) John S. Campbell (B.S. ’91) Pamela (née Allen) Kaperak (B.S. ’91) Melayne (née Morgan) McInnes (M.S. ’91) Elizabeth (née Johnson) Ragsdale (Ed.D. ’91) Pamela K. (née Palmer) Ruth (B.S. ’91) Isaiah Trice (Ph.D. ’91) David L. Wright (M.S. ’91) Jane E. (née Shope) Broll (B.A. ’92) Daniel T. Chang (B.S. ’92) Kirsten M. (née Conover) Hobbs-Murch (B.S. ’92, M.S.W. ’97) Melinda A. (née Lee) Bartoszewicz (B.S. ’93) Isadore Moore (M.P.A. ’93) Louvenia E. Sailor (M.P.A. ’93) Camilla D. Washington (B.A. ’93) Jeanine F. Halada (B.A. ’94, M.S. ’98) Michael E. Powers (B.A. ’94) Cynthia L. Hain (J.D. ’95) Deborah J. (née O’Connor) Pettit-Rytlewski (M.S.N. ’95)

Rebecca R. Reames (Ph.D. ’95) Patrice A. (née Reddish) Starks (B.S. ’95, M.S.W. ’97) Kara A. Hamilton (B.S. ’97) Carla M. (née Davis) Lambie (B.S. ’97) Thomas F. Thornton (B.S. ’97) Anthony J. Washington II (B.S. ’97) Stacey L. Gamble (B.S. ’98) John Graham III (M.B.A. ’98) Joseph C. D’Annunzio Jr. (J.D. ’99) Ameilia R. Latham (B.A. ’99)

2000s Christopher T. Edwards (B.S. ’00) Susan A. LaMothe (B.S. ’00) Ashlie R. (née Solow) Solow-Caceres (B.A. ’00) Felton S. Gorman (B.A. ’01) Jamie N. Cason-Lawerence (B.S. ’02) Michele A. (née Hutton) McCune (B.S. ’02) Sharon E. Pearson (M.Acc. ’02) Carolyn A. Wiggans (B.A. ’03) Catherine D. Williams (B.S. ’05) Blaise N. (née Huhta) Gamba (J.D. ’06) Raymond M. Mayne (B.S. ’07) Laurie (née Meacham) King (B.S. ’08) Tina L. Meyer (B.S. ’09)

2010s Andrew M. Dix (B.A. ’10) Mike K. Franck (B.S. ’10) Ameen Kohanyi (B.S. ’11) Shelley (née Dean) Weeks (Ed.S. ’11) Shaun P. Carres (J.D. ’12) Anais A. Tobar (B.A. ’13, B.A. ’13) Jennifer L. Rumbough (B.S. ’14) Elliot M. Waterbury (B.S. ’14)

Faculty-Staff Hodges Abner John J. Alderson Hughey L. Barrett Vandall K. Brock Suzanne M. Chadwick Ricky L. Cromartie Laura K. Hamilton John C. Harris Jr. Duane E. Jacobs Terry A. Johnson Dennis M. Kehoe James T. Kimbrell Mildred O. Lawson Mary E. Fox Malloy Cherylin M. (née Stoltzfus) Miller Kent S. Miller Ivor S. Mitchell William H. Moore III Willie J. Norton Sr. Pamela A. Overton Nancy (née White) Roberts Mary H. Siebert-Culp Thomas L. Sims Gerald Speisman Eloise Spence Patricia H. Stanley Steven G. Symmes Patricia D. (née Hammons) Warmack Vires 79

80 Vires

A LEGACY IN STAINED GLASS President Emeritus Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte and his wife, Patsy Palmer (J.D. ’07), standing at left, delight at the unveiling of a window dedicated in his honor Oct. 2 in the university’s Heritage Museum in Dodd Hall. Created by the FSU Master Craftsman Studio, the window highlights D’Alemberte’s birthplace and his service to Florida as a legislator and to FSU as law school dean, university president and the driving force behind the creation of the College of Medicine. President John Thrasher (B.S. ’65, J.D. ’72) and first lady Jean Thrasher, standing at right, and former President Dale Lick and first lady Marilyn Lick, seated at right, applaud the unveiling. Photo by FSU Photography Services/Bruce W. Palmer

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