Thrasher looking toward FSU’s top 25 designation

lol

"Thrasher, who was selected as president in part because of his fundraising ability, said those funds have been hard to come by."

FSU had most of it's fan base claiming Thrasher was a fund raiser.  He himself said he had folks lined up to donate with him as president.  Now within weeks of being hired, he is defeated.

This same @#$#@ happened with TK.  FSU hires an inexperienced president who claims he can fundraise and do miracles with state leg.

Neither happened with TK, I suspect neither will happen with Thrasher....it is a sham to protect the FSU good ole boy club and FSU's football fan base plays along (mainly because they don't get it is all BS).



Thrasher looking toward FSU’s top 25 designation


"Florida State University President John Thrasher said Tuesday the school would be seeking an extra $10 million in preeminence funding from the Legislature this year.
That would be on top of an existing $20 million the school got last year, and $15 million the year before, in its quest to become one of the nation’s top 25 universities.
The money would go toward securing more science, technology, engineering and math staffing, boosting operational and program funding designed to place graduates into jobs, Thrasher said at a luncheon of the Economic Club of Florida, where he also laid out his priorities for the upcoming legislative session.
The funding has been key to bringing in top research professors at FSU and the University of Florida — the two state universities with the preeminence designation — and is the source of millions in other resources that come with it.
Thrasher said he and newly selected UF president W. Kent Fuchs both agree on the need for the additional $10 million.
“The goal is to get into the top 25, and the preeminence and performance funding is going to help us,” Thrasher said.
The designation also helps validate degrees of graduating students.
“Those degrees then mean a lot in terms of the substance, the ability to get a job and in terms of things that students come here to do,” he said.
Upgrading the school’s research buildings and labs, or building new ones, has also been a focus of Thrasher in his three months on the job.
The Florida Board of Governors recently recommended $36.1 million for construction of a new building for the Earth, Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences department. The legislative funding request is a priority, Thrasher said, and construction could start this summer if it is approved.
The BOG also estimated the split of the joint engineering school with Florida A&M University to cost $1 billion. The BOG also recommended if the school stays together, changes are needed to maintain it.
Although Thrasher took the lead on a proposal to split the school last year when he served as a senator from St. Augustine, he said he is working with state officials and FAMU on finding solutions, particularly in managing the school and increasing enrollment at both universities.
“We’re going to start working with the BOG and FAMU to see if we can come to some middle ground on issues that were in the report that don’t involve money,” he said.
The university’s $1-billion capital campaign, funding from which could go toward facilities upgrades and program development, is about halfway to its goal.
Thrasher, who was selected as president in part because of his fundraising ability, said those funds have been hard to come by.
“We’re going to have to make our case for that to the people who love Florida State University,” he said. “It also makes sure that our students have the best opportunity to achieve their hopes and dreams.”
Enrollment applications in 2015 have increased since last year, Thrasher said. Those students are also coming in with higher SAT scores and GPAs than their predecessors and more of them are graduating, with the graduation rate around 79 percent over a six-year span."