"Thrasher gained a reputation as a gifted fundraiser " This was the same thing said about TK despite it not being accurate. And the money raised in the campaign noted here was all PRE Thrasher (when Barron left in Nov, FSU was at $610 Million....today $630. Thrashers part has been a VERY small percentage, not a campaign on "steroids" and yes, it is too early to judge him, but why is he getting credit for what has been raised here? Odd).
I want FSU to do well here, just don't get FSU's desire to paint ex politico grads as big fundraisers when there is simply no truth to it. Why is this always an FSU agenda/narrative?
I have no desire to bash Thrasher unnecessarily, he has done a solid job so far, but I don't get the desire by FSU's base to credit him for things he has not yet achieved either. TK got this same treatment and it is just bizarre.
FSU making headway on $1-billion goal
"Florida State University filled the Civic Center with many of its deep-pocketed friends last Oct. 17 to celebrate the public launch of the school's first $1 billion capital campaign.
FSU's trustees had selected John Thrasher to be the university's next president three weeks earlier, and he took office Nov. 10 after his confirmation by the Board of Governors on Nov. 6.
Thrasher, a proud FSU alum who had been a power broker in the Florida Senate, spoke more passionately about the capital campaign during president candidate interviews than any of the others hoping to succeed Eric Barron. He said repeatedly that the $1-billion fund drive would be among his top goals; he told the presidential search committee he wanted to see the campaign "get on steroids."
Nothing has changed now that Thrasher is firmly settled into his second-floor office of the Westcott Building.
"I consider this an incredibly high priority for me personally. We're going to be very proactive," Thrasher told the FSU Board of Trustees during a conference call Monday.
FSU has raised $630 million since the campaign's "soft kickoff" in 2010, reported Tom Jennings, vice president for university advancement and CEO of the FSU Foundation. That's the total in gifts and commitments through Nov. 30, and it puts FSU 63 percent of the way toward its goal. The campaign is scheduled to close in 2018.
Thrasher has devoted considerable time during his first two months in office meeting with potential donors across the state, speaking to groups in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Sarasota and Winter Park. As chair of the Republican Party of Florida for one year, Thrasher gained a reputation as a gifted fundraiser — and it was one of the reasons FSU's trustees selected him over more traditional candidates.
"It's been going well, real well. I think there's a lot of positive energy out there for the university," he said.
Jennings has said he hopes the campaign exceeds its $1-billion goal. He reiterated Monday that it will take at least one eight-figure gift — or several substantial seven-figure pledges — for FSU to make its goal.
The foundation is drafting a strategic plan, he said, "for the final charge."
FSU has established several "big ideas," or new programs, which have been used to attract donors. One, the Institute for Successful Longevity, is an interdisciplinary center that is well positioned to be a source for the growing number of retirees in the Sunshine State. FSU expects to name a director for the institute next week, Thrasher said."
