Message from the Dean

A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

Dear Students, Alumni and Friends,

I don ’ t know about you, but we at the JMC are very happy to say

“ goodbye ” to 2020! On the other hand, CONGRATULATIONS to our graduating seniors and the graduate students for 2021! You persevered through one of the most difficult years that we have lived through. We have definitely turned lemons into lemonade with the help of our alumni, friends, faculty and staff who have mentored and guided our students and supported us all during this difficult time.

We had over 50% of our courses during the spring semester in a face-to-face classroom. What I have heard from both faculty and students is that all were thrilled to be back in the classroom and have enjoyed seeing everyone in person, even though we all remained six feet apart and masked. For most of us who Zoomed several times a day, seeing folks around campus and students throwing frisbees on Landis Green was pure joy.

Our online courses have continued to serve students well with faculty working tirelessly to make sure the courses are challenging and offering appropriate content. Even though we will come back to a somewhat normal schedule in fall 2021, some things may still be online such as speakers, meetings and some elective courses. The JMC continues to grow stronger and better every day. We will be offering one new online master ’ s degree program in Social and Sustainable Enterprises in fall 2021, headed and championed by Dr. Mark McNees, our own Social Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR). This program has a strong interdisciplinary approach with faculty from across FSU and top experts from around the world teaching these graduate courses.

In addition, we will be offering two new undergraduate programs, one BS degree in STEM Entrepreneurship that was designed and develop by our own STEM EIR, Dr. Jeff Whalen. This undergraduate major has the support of our STEM colleagues from across campus and requires a STEM minor as part of the degree. We are also thrilled to be the first program in the United States to offer a concentration in Franchise Automotive Entrepreneurship within our Commercial Entrepreneurship major. This new program offers hands-on, real life experiences in the dynamic day-to-day operations of a franchised automobile dealership. Mr. Trae Hackett, the advisor and coordinator of this program, has worked closely with the present and past owners of the Peter Boulware Toyota Dealership in Tallahassee, FL to design this very exciting new concentration.

All of these programs offer FSU students excellent experiential instruction with increased potential of employment upon graduation. Stay tuned for newer programs as we work to provide exceptional undergraduate and graduate curriculum in Entrepreneurship.

We hope you will enjoy our fifth edition of our newsletter, highlighting our students, faculty, staff and alumni. Please keep in touch as we would love to hear your success stories. Send us an email or contact us via social media by following our handle @JimMoranCollege.

Take care of yourselves and each other.

With warmest regards, Susan Fiorito

S U S A N S . F I O R I T O , P H . D . Dean, Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship