To enable all features of this newsletter, click or tap the option above the graphic to view it as a webpage. |
|
|
The Herbert Wertheim College of Business set aside April 16 to tip its hat – or hundreds of hats – to the college’s biggest benefactor. The college’s inaugural Red Hat Day featured students, faculty, staff, alumni and Florida State University officials who gathered, topped in red, in honor and celebration of Dr. Herbert Wertheim, whose record $65 million philanthropic investment launched a new era of preeminence in the college and whose ever-present red fedora has emerged as a collegewide symbol of distinction and optimism. “Wear your red hat with joy,” Dr. Wertheim said during an afternoon ceremony inside the Herbert Wertheim Center for Business Excellence. Article, video and podcast. Photos. |
|
|
|
|
|
Brown & Brown Inc., a leading global insurance brokerage with a robust record of hiring FSU business graduates, has committed $1 million to sponsor the Wertheim College’s Living-Learning Community for five years. The Business LLC engages business-intent freshmen from the moment they arrive on campus and connects them with like-minded students and business faculty members. College officials tout Brown & Brown’s investment for its emphasis on student professional development and programs equipping first-time-in-college students for career success. The company becomes the first organization to sponsor an LLC at FSU, prompting college Dean Michael Hartline to hail the investment as “remarkable and historic.” |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gail and Bob Knight continue to make FSU – where they met and launched a photo empire – their investment focus. Their latest contribution establishes the Gail and Bob Knight Distinguished Professor of Accounting at the Wertheim College, where Gail earned a degree in accounting in 1982 and became an inductee into the Alumni Hall of Fame in 2025. The $500,000 gift, part of a $1 million investment that also includes $500,000 to establish the Bob and Gail Knight Distinguished Professor of Audiology in the FSU College of Communication and Information, continues a longtime stream of support to FSU and the college, including a gift in 2020 to name the Gail and Bob Knight Auditorium in the Herbert Wertheim Center for Business Excellence. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
College honors donors on day of IMPACT
The Wertheim College last month conducted a pinning ceremony for inductees into the college’s new IMPACT Society and then hosted a companion celebration, the annual IMPACT Donor Appreciation event. The IMPACT Society celebrated and recognized the inaugural class of the college’s donors whose outright giving reached at least $500,000. The Donor Appreciation event honored the college’s broad base of donors and the difference each has made to the college. “We’re genuinely grateful for your IMPACT and the transformation you’ve created and inspired,” Dean Hartline told attendees of the latter event, referring to the college’s definition of IMPACT as “Inspiring Meaningful Philanthropy and Creating Transformation for our students, faculty, staff and the entire Wertheim College community.” Pinning ceremony photos, Donor-appreciation photos. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Graduates revel in commencement events
The Wertheim Center again turned festive on May 2, hosting a hooding ceremony for master’s students, then a celebration for all spring graduates before that afternoon’s commencement ceremonies. The ground floor and first floor accommodated about 2,100 students and their friends and families, plus faculty and staff members, in a morning of hugs, selfies, reflection and elation. The master’s hooding ceremony included remarks from Dean Hartline; keynote speaker Joe Paradise (BS Accounting ’95), recipient of the accounting department’s 2026 Accounting Alumni Achievement Award; and student speaker Ingrid Maclean, a Seneff Scholar who graduated with a Master of Science in Finance, or MSF, degree, after completing her undergraduate finance degree in three years. Hooding-ceremony video, photos. Graduation-celebration photos. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Wertheim College’s MBA specialty in real estate retained its Top 10 standing, placing No. 8 among public schools listed in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 graduate rankings released in April. Among all U.S. schools, the program ranked No. 14. “Our MBA real estate coursework has been a key offering for decades and continues to strongly compete among top-tier programs nationwide,” Dean Hartline said. The college’s undergraduate real estate program ranks No. 6 among public schools and No. 9 overall on U.S. News’ 2026 Best Colleges list. The college offers an array of MBA specialties in different disciplines, including real estate, for students who aim to boost their skills and resumes. Visit graduatebusiness.fsu.edu for more information. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Esteemed yet humble Wertheim College Professor G. Stacy Sirmans recently received the annual Graaskamp Award, one of the American Real Estate Society’s highest career honors. “There are a lot of people who would qualify for that award, so I was very honored and surprised to receive it,” said Sirmans, the J. Harold and Barbara M. Chastain Eminent Scholar in Real Estate. From his early work co-authoring seminal research on rampant assumption financing among home buyers to more recent studies analyzing the effect of climate change beliefs on risk pricing in the marketplace, Sirmans’ work often breaks new ground, generating insight for other real estate scholars. One colleague noted that Sirmans has received “the highest honors in the field,” reflecting the “lasting influence of his research.” |
|
|
|
|
|
|
FSU President Richard McCullough and First-Lady Jai Vartikar welcomed 20 elite Wertheim College students to the FSU President’s House for a spring medaling ceremony honoring the latest cohort of the James M. Seneff Scholars Program. The program features a community of top undergraduate business students who benefit from an especially rigorous curriculum. James M. Seneff, a 2006 inductee into the Wertheim College’s Alumni Hall of Fame and the founder and executive chairman of the Orlando-based CNL Financial Group, spoke as the guest of honor, urging Seneff Scholars to emphasize means, ends and time in their life and career pursuits. “Your biography will one day be a summary of how you thought about these three words,” he said. Photos. |
|
|
|
|
|
During a ceremony in April, the college inducted former faculty members Richard Corbett and William Jordan into its Charles A. Rovetta Faculty Hall of Fame and recognized 16 faculty and staff members for their work helping the college to fulfill its mission of producing the next generation of world-class business leaders. The ceremony took place in the Brian and Renee Murphy Forum, marking the first large-scale event led by the college at the Herbert Wertheim Center for Business Excellence, which officially opened in January. Dean Hartline said the annual event gives the college the opportunity “to celebrate the outstanding work and achievements of each other and the groundbreaking accomplishments of those who came before us.” Photos. Article and list of award recipients. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The college’s Student Investment Fund, or SIF, ranks among the Top 10 student-managed investment funds at public schools nationwide, according to recently released rankings published by The Center for Investment Research. The Wertheim College’s SIF secured the No. 10 spot for its 2025 performance among the nation's public schools and ranked No. 23 among all schools in North America. Completely student-driven, the FSU SIF is now valued at $11.5 million, said Steve Perfect, vice chair of the SIF oversight board and associate professor of finance. The fund’s portfolio includes the college’s Real Estate Investment Fund, recently valued at $2.7 million. The SIF’s value marks significant growth from the combined $1.3 million in private donations and FSU Foundation funds that kickstarted the SIF in 2008, he said. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Propel your future with a graduate degree
Apply today for one of the Herbert Wertheim College of Business' graduate programs designed for professionals and scholars ready to grow, lead and compete in today’s evolving business landscape. With several specialized master’s degrees and MBA formats offered online and on campus, and seven Ph.D. majors, students can choose a path that aligns with their goals, experience and next career move.
Upcoming application deadlines include June 1, for fall entry into online and part-time master’s programs, including the college’s new Online MBA with a Major in Healthcare Administration, and Dec. 1, the priority deadline for the next Ph.D. cohort beginning in fall 2027.
Explore degree options, review application requirements and take the next step at graduatebusiness.fsu.edu. |
|
|
|
|
|
Upcoming alumni events
-
May 28: West Palm Beach Alumni & Friends Networking Reception. 5:30-7:30 p.m. at FSU’s West Palm Beach collaboration space, 2751 South Dixie Highway.
-
June 19: Orlando-Area RMI Alumni & Friends Networking Reception. 4-6 p.m. at Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, 6000 W. Osceola Parkway, Kissimmee.
-
November 21: Alumni & Friends Tailgate. Time TBA, at the Heritage Tower Fountain near Doak Campbell Stadium.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This email was sent by Florida State University
402 W. Gaines Street Tallahassee, FL, 32301, US
© Florida State University
Privacy Policy | | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
