http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/fsu-announces-100m-gift-to-create-jim-moran-school-of-entrepreneurship/2258329
"The $100 million pledge includes $80 million over 20 years, or $4 million a year, and a $20 million charitable bequest, administrators said.
FSU officials said that they think it's the largest private donation ever to a public university in Florida and that it matches the largest ever to any university in the state. The University of Miami in 2004 also received a $100 million private donation.
Jim Moran and his family have been donors to FSU for 20 years, already giving more than $9 million to the university, said Tom Jennings, vice president for university advancement."
"The entrepreneurship school is scheduled to open Aug. 8, 2018, which would have been Moran's 100th birthday."
"A portion of the family's gift will continue to fund the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship, which was founded 20 years ago within the FSU College of Business. The institute will remain as part of the college for five years, FSU provost Sally McRorie said.
FSU's entrepreneurship program is small and highly competitive. Only 41 students out of 200 applicants were accepted this year, said Michael Hartline, interim dean of the College of Business, where the program is currently housed.
Breaking it out into a separate school will allow it to blossom, Hartline said, adding, "we expect within a year, we'll have 100 (students)."
The school will operate independently of the business college, acting much like a college itself, but it will include interdisciplinary programs that interact with other colleges within FSU, administrators said.
It will be located in downtown Tallahassee near the Capitol and other local businesses. Thrasher said the university is still in negotiations for the property, but he expects to make an announcement about the specific location in the coming weeks."
http://floridapolitics.com/archives/196906-fsu-to-receive-largest-ever-100-million-gift-for-new-entrepreneurship-school
"Friday’s news also means that Thrasher, an FSU alumnus and former state lawmaker and lobbyist, has now overseen fundraising of about $217 million in just his first 13 months as president. "
"Moran first gave nearly $2 million to FSU in 1995 toward what is now The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship.
The institute will continue separately, under the university’s College of Business, but will be housed in the new school. The university is negotiating with another donor about taking over a downtown Tallahassee office building for both by February 2016."
"In a statement, the university explained how the new school will operate:
The Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship will reside under Provost Sally McRorie and operate much like a college … The school is expected to become the go-to resource for government leaders, trade associations, entrepreneurs, nonprofits and small businesses on a national level.A faculty director, appointed by the provost, will lead the Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship. The undergraduate entrepreneurship programs currently housed in the College of Business will be moved to the school, which will award both the Bachelor of Science degree and Bachelor of Arts degree in Entrepreneurship, along with a redesigned, interdisciplinary minor.The School will be organized across five major focal areas that will offer academic majors under the B.S. and B.A. degrees in: Arts and Humanities, STEM, Business, Allied Health, and Applied disciplines such as law, education, criminology, social work and others."
“Virtually every profession demands a certain level of entrepreneurial thinking, but very few students actually gain entrepreneurial training and experience before they graduate from college,” said Michael D. Hartline, interim dean of the College of Business, in the statement.
“Florida State is changing that,” he added. “Florida State students will have the unique ability to study and practice entrepreneurship from a valuable perspective in the arts, sciences, humanities, education, communication, law, medicine and, of course, business.”
http://business.fsu.edu/aboutus/news/2015/03/12/florida-state-celebrates-women-entrepreneurs
Florida State celebrates women entrepreneurs
Florida State celebrates women entrepreneurs
Mar 12, 2015
Like many great ideas, Erin Lang’s idea for her business came to her in the middle of the night. She was changing her infant’s diaper and fumbling with the snaps on his footed onesie, unable to align them properly and trying hard not to twist his little leg in the process. Exhausted and frustrated by the time she was able to lull her son back to sleep, she knew there had to be a better way to deal with the task. It was then that the concept for Zipaboo was born.
“I think the best product ideas have been born from simple needs that are not being met,” said Lang, a 2001 Florida State University graduate who majored in entrepreneurship. “The traditional pajamas worked, but were inconvenient. It wasn’t until I became so frustrated by the snaps that I thought of Zipaboo. It seemed so simple and obvious to me.”
Lang - and a burgeoning number of enterprising Florida State alumna - represents a national trend among women whose innovative ideas have filled unmet needs and been catalysts for launching thriving businesses. “The 2014 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report,” commissioned by American Express OPEN, showed that start-up activity by women is on the rise, with the daily rate of new women-owned businesses up from 602 in 2011-12 to 1,288 in 2014.
Recognizing the value of entrepreneurs to the economy, Florida State in recent years has expanded its efforts to create a culture of entrepreneurship across campus. A $4.25 million gift in 2011 from Jan Moran and The Jim Moran Foundation through The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship in the College of Business allowed the university to set its sights on being recognized nationwide as “The Entrepreneurial University.” The university can call on an impressive roster of successful entrepreneurial alumni to inspire and foster entrepreneurial thinking among students and to help see that success is tangible.
“Learning to think like an entrepreneur will help you in every aspect of your life,” said Sara Blakely, Spanx, Inc. creator and a 1993 communication studies graduate committed to fostering entrepreneurship among women. “And most importantly, you will be ready when your a-ha moment comes. Owning your own business means owning your future and gives you a tremendous opportunity to help others.”
Blakely is a famous example of someone who recognized a need (an unflattering line under her white slacks) and invented a product, one that in her case, sparked a multimillion dollar revolution in women’s undergarments. Started in 1998, the company today is valued at more than a billion dollars, with annual revenues of $250 million, and earned Blakely a spot on Forbes’s list of the World’s Most Powerful Female Entrepreneurs of 2014.
Countless other Florida State alumnae, who majored in everything from marketing and education to studio art and fashion design, also have recognized opportunities and made the most of them. Some entered their fields decades ago, others are in the mid- to nascent-stages of business ownership:
“If we look at the characteristics that make great entrepreneurs in general, most people would list: innovative, hardworking, passionate for the idea, persevering, ability to reshape an idea, understanding customer needs and caring deeply. Many of these characteristics are typical of women, who are often the caregivers - they care for their families, nurture them, protect them and are often selfless in the process. Entrepreneurs are like this with their ideas.”
Seeing their ideas through
The morning after the stress-provoking diaper-changing episode, Lang took a sample onesie to a seamstress and had prototypes made until she had exactly what she wanted: a footed onesie with a zipper accurately placed to make it quick and easy for parents to change the baby without tugging at legs and spending time searching for and struggling to align snaps. She officially launched Zipaboo at the 2013 Golden Globes Boom Boom Room, the gifting suite for expectant celebrity parents, and gained a following among that group after being invited to host the baby shower for Lisa Ling of OWN’S “Our America” series.
What Jean Bates calls her “light bulb moment” came when she and friend Paula Lucas walked into a cupcake shop while vacationing in London.
“The shop was exquisite and very tiny, and we looked at each other and decided we had to open our own cupcakery in Tallahassee,” Bates said. “The country was in a recession, we were in a not so abundant job market, and we thought people needed a sweet, inexpensive treat to celebrate themselves. That’s how Lucy & Leo’s came to life.”
The business made a splash when it opened in 2009, and today, Bates and Lucas own two very popular Tallahassee brick and mortar locations plus a traveling food truck and cater special events. “Our target market are people who value made-from-scratch products, can afford them and who seek out great products from locally owned businesses,” Bates said.
For others, entrepreneurship is the next logical career move. Jan Greenwood, whose expertise is in education, spent many years in a large executive search firm. In a corporate setting, she found it difficult to focus on higher education because the fees aren’t as substantial as those collected from Fortune 500 companies. After planning for several years, Greenwood and her business partner founded Greenwood/Asher & Associates, Inc. in 2004.
“All the pieces of your career and life go into leading you down the entrepreneurial road. Florida State certainly added to that, significantly,” Greenwood said. “Don’t look at challenges as problems. Look at them as opportunities. How you look at things can lead to coming up with creative solutions and entrepreneurship.”
Greenwood’s firm, based out of Miramar Beach, is now one of the leading executive search firms in higher education worldwide, helping fill positions from Washington State University to the City University of Hong Kong.
Julianne Johnson needed a birthday present for Mother’s Day in 2014 when she came across coins her family had gathered on trips to the Bahamas over the years. It struck her that a bracelet made of the coins would make a perfect gift. The gift was a hit with her mom, who posted the bracelet on Facebook, and friends who asked Johnson to make one for them.
Within two weeks, Johnson and her business partner launched Sea la Vie and found themselves in need of additional coins after a local boutique placed its first retail order. These days, eight stores from Deerfield Beach to Stuart and Anna Maria Island sell the one-of-a-kind pieces, and Johnson has begun incorporating coins from around the world, hoping she will be able to get hold of enough of them to fill the growing demand.
Johnson of Jupiter, Fla., recently emailed Entrepreneur-in-Residence Jim Dever in the FSU College of Business to update him on her success and thank him for helping her gain the confidence and know-how to start her own jewelry-making business.
Johnson said Dever influenced her decision to become an entrepreneur.
“We not only learned from his experiences, but he gave us the opportunity to learn from our own, and this taught me so much more than a textbook ever could,” Johnson said. “Through trial and error, failure and success, I became an entrepreneur.”
Before joining the College of Business, Dever owned a string of hugely successful companies in West Florida and gladly passes on his knowledge to enterprising students. The gift to The Jim Moran Institute allowed him to be hired as the first of 18 Entrepreneurs-in-Residence placed in colleges across Florida State’s campus – from the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice to the College of Motion Picture Arts - to provide students deliberate exposure to role models.
By expanding the study of entrepreneurial practices across disciplines, Florida State gives every student, regardless of their field of study, the opportunity to learn fundamental business practices and enhance their career potential. The end goal is a culture change that promotes the transition from invention and creativity to the marketplace and encourages budding entrepreneurs to think big, take risks and enjoy the rewards of business ownership.
The rewards of business ownership
For Kate Pankoke, who started out as a child selling jewelry at her parents’ garage sales and in high school sold accessories to her classmates, becoming an entrepreneur was inevitable.
“I simply can’t help it; it is in my blood,” she said. “It’s a good fit for me because I am a control freak, which would be a very hard fit in corporate America. I have always had a very clear vision of what I wanted, and entrepreneurship allows me the freedom to go after my dreams.”
Entrepreneurs can point to numerous reasons for choosing the path they did. But when it comes down to it, many, like Pankoke, say they love the freedom to do what they love doing the way they want to do it and being in control of their professional destiny.
“I like not being subjected to obstructions or restrictions and can take Coton Colors to where I want it to go,” said Laura Johnson, whose retail/wholesale company now employs 50 employees and whose market extends across the country to more than 3,000 retailers and is on Inc. magazine’s 5,000 fastest growing businesses three years in a row. “I like being able to surround myself with creative people I can depend on and want to see the business succeed. The best part is getting to do something I love every day.”
Pankoke takes the same view. “It’s important to make sure your company is focused on something that you are truly passionate about,” she said. “The biggest challenge I first encountered when I started my company, was learning to respect myself as a boss. I needed to learn to fear myself. To wake up and get to work on time for fear of upsetting myself…. it is a strange mentality, but I’m sure that every entrepreneur knows exactly what I mean. It is not easy, and it can be lonely at times, but at the end of the day, it is so gratifying when it is your company.”
Sandra Brown, like Jan Greenwood, discovered that a large firm doesn’t suit a specialized field. Brown decided to take her talent as an entertainment counselor to a smaller firm, yet she was still unable to fully establish her brand identity.
So, despite not having a natural entrepreneurial spirit, Brown gave her 30-day notice. She had six months worth of revenue saved up in order to focus on implementing a business strategy where she could build lasting, intimate relationships with her clients, something that corporate firms can’t afford to do. Based out of Atlanta, The Law Offices of Sandra L. Brown, P.C. launched in 2007. Brown admittedly was fearful to go out on her own, but discovered the benefits associated with being the boss.
“My mom was visiting and said to me, ‘You know you’re the boss, right? Technically you don’t need to go into the office.’ And that’s when a light bulb went off and I realized that I have the flexibility to work from home and in my pajamas,” Brown said.
This flexibility matched with Brown’s discipline and passion has led her to represent client projects ranging from recording artists such as Lionel Richie and Lady Gaga to television programming such as the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and MTV Behind the Music.
Zipaboo’s Erin Lang likes knowing that her rewards will be directly linked to her efforts, and she’s looking forward to the day she can offer employment and opportunities for success to others.
For now, Lang is enjoying the short-term rewards of traveling, learning about new markets and networking with other entrepreneurs. She also is keeping her eye on her primary goal. “The longer-term reward will come when Zipaboo becomes a household brand, and I have a successful team working to build that brand.”
Donna Abood, who built her brand and distinguished herself in real estate, is at the point of her 34-year career to begin enjoying one of the ultimate rewards of entrepreneurship: the sale of her business. From the start, Abood viewed her increasingly valuable company as an asset to draw upon in the future. She has worked hard to ensure it is a solid investment. “As a self-employed individual, no one is putting money aside for me, so this is my retirement fund,” Abood said, who in 2013 was inducted into the FSU College of Business Hall of Fame, the college’s top honor.
Formed in 1989, her Coral Gables-based commercial real estate firm Abood & Associates grew to be the largest privately held, locally based commercial real estate firm in Miami-Dade County before merging in 2002 with another company to become Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group, an affiliate of Colliers International South Florida. In late 2014, having amassed a remarkable portfolio of managed properties, close to 6 million square feet of property for lease and sale, employing more than 70 employees and revenue of $12 million, Abood and her partner sold the company to the expanding Canadian commercial real estate firm Avison Young.
Blessed with enviable financial freedom and energy, Abood can revel in her past successes and set goals for her current position as managing director and principal at Avison Young. At the pinnacle of her career, she is happy to be among those who set the standard for excellence, happy to be standing shoulder to shoulder with those she considers the most talented individuals in her industry, happy to be on her next chapter and happy to still be able to dream big.
Or, as Spanx founder Sarah Blakely says, “to own her own future.”
“I think the best product ideas have been born from simple needs that are not being met,” said Lang, a 2001 Florida State University graduate who majored in entrepreneurship. “The traditional pajamas worked, but were inconvenient. It wasn’t until I became so frustrated by the snaps that I thought of Zipaboo. It seemed so simple and obvious to me.”
Lang - and a burgeoning number of enterprising Florida State alumna - represents a national trend among women whose innovative ideas have filled unmet needs and been catalysts for launching thriving businesses. “The 2014 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report,” commissioned by American Express OPEN, showed that start-up activity by women is on the rise, with the daily rate of new women-owned businesses up from 602 in 2011-12 to 1,288 in 2014.
Recognizing the value of entrepreneurs to the economy, Florida State in recent years has expanded its efforts to create a culture of entrepreneurship across campus. A $4.25 million gift in 2011 from Jan Moran and The Jim Moran Foundation through The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship in the College of Business allowed the university to set its sights on being recognized nationwide as “The Entrepreneurial University.” The university can call on an impressive roster of successful entrepreneurial alumni to inspire and foster entrepreneurial thinking among students and to help see that success is tangible.
“Learning to think like an entrepreneur will help you in every aspect of your life,” said Sara Blakely, Spanx, Inc. creator and a 1993 communication studies graduate committed to fostering entrepreneurship among women. “And most importantly, you will be ready when your a-ha moment comes. Owning your own business means owning your future and gives you a tremendous opportunity to help others.”
Blakely is a famous example of someone who recognized a need (an unflattering line under her white slacks) and invented a product, one that in her case, sparked a multimillion dollar revolution in women’s undergarments. Started in 1998, the company today is valued at more than a billion dollars, with annual revenues of $250 million, and earned Blakely a spot on Forbes’s list of the World’s Most Powerful Female Entrepreneurs of 2014.
Countless other Florida State alumnae, who majored in everything from marketing and education to studio art and fashion design, also have recognized opportunities and made the most of them. Some entered their fields decades ago, others are in the mid- to nascent-stages of business ownership:
- Lucy & Leo’s Cupcakery co-founder Jean Bates, who earned her MBA in 2008 and competed in Food Network’s Cupcake Wars wedding edition and landed in the final competition.
- Jan Greenwood, who received her Ph.D in counselor education in 1972, is co-owner of Greenwood/Asher & Associates, Inc. and has developed the educational search firm into a well-known global brand.
- Julianne Johnson, a 2013 entrepreneurship and professional sales graduate who is branching out from residential real estate to nurture a growing jewelry-making business.
- Laura Johnson, who earned her degree in studio art in 1984, launched Coton Colors in Tallahassee in 1995 and whose Tapers & Toppers ceramic designs made it onto Oprah’s 2015 Favorite Things list featured in the March issue of “O.”
- Kate Pankoke, a 2010 apparel design and technology major and Project Runway All Star whose Chicago-based luxury bridal line, Elaya Vaughn Bridal, has gained international prestige with gowns featured at red carpet events and in top fashion magazines.
- Sandra Brown, who received her Juris Doctor in 1994, emerged from the corporate law setting and opened a boutique-style firm specializing in entertainment law.
- Donna Abood, a 1981 marketing major recognized throughout Florida and the nation as a powerhouse in commercial real estate in South Florida.
“If we look at the characteristics that make great entrepreneurs in general, most people would list: innovative, hardworking, passionate for the idea, persevering, ability to reshape an idea, understanding customer needs and caring deeply. Many of these characteristics are typical of women, who are often the caregivers - they care for their families, nurture them, protect them and are often selfless in the process. Entrepreneurs are like this with their ideas.”
Seeing their ideas through
The morning after the stress-provoking diaper-changing episode, Lang took a sample onesie to a seamstress and had prototypes made until she had exactly what she wanted: a footed onesie with a zipper accurately placed to make it quick and easy for parents to change the baby without tugging at legs and spending time searching for and struggling to align snaps. She officially launched Zipaboo at the 2013 Golden Globes Boom Boom Room, the gifting suite for expectant celebrity parents, and gained a following among that group after being invited to host the baby shower for Lisa Ling of OWN’S “Our America” series.
What Jean Bates calls her “light bulb moment” came when she and friend Paula Lucas walked into a cupcake shop while vacationing in London.
“The shop was exquisite and very tiny, and we looked at each other and decided we had to open our own cupcakery in Tallahassee,” Bates said. “The country was in a recession, we were in a not so abundant job market, and we thought people needed a sweet, inexpensive treat to celebrate themselves. That’s how Lucy & Leo’s came to life.”
The business made a splash when it opened in 2009, and today, Bates and Lucas own two very popular Tallahassee brick and mortar locations plus a traveling food truck and cater special events. “Our target market are people who value made-from-scratch products, can afford them and who seek out great products from locally owned businesses,” Bates said.
For others, entrepreneurship is the next logical career move. Jan Greenwood, whose expertise is in education, spent many years in a large executive search firm. In a corporate setting, she found it difficult to focus on higher education because the fees aren’t as substantial as those collected from Fortune 500 companies. After planning for several years, Greenwood and her business partner founded Greenwood/Asher & Associates, Inc. in 2004.
“All the pieces of your career and life go into leading you down the entrepreneurial road. Florida State certainly added to that, significantly,” Greenwood said. “Don’t look at challenges as problems. Look at them as opportunities. How you look at things can lead to coming up with creative solutions and entrepreneurship.”
Greenwood’s firm, based out of Miramar Beach, is now one of the leading executive search firms in higher education worldwide, helping fill positions from Washington State University to the City University of Hong Kong.
Julianne Johnson needed a birthday present for Mother’s Day in 2014 when she came across coins her family had gathered on trips to the Bahamas over the years. It struck her that a bracelet made of the coins would make a perfect gift. The gift was a hit with her mom, who posted the bracelet on Facebook, and friends who asked Johnson to make one for them.
Within two weeks, Johnson and her business partner launched Sea la Vie and found themselves in need of additional coins after a local boutique placed its first retail order. These days, eight stores from Deerfield Beach to Stuart and Anna Maria Island sell the one-of-a-kind pieces, and Johnson has begun incorporating coins from around the world, hoping she will be able to get hold of enough of them to fill the growing demand.
Johnson of Jupiter, Fla., recently emailed Entrepreneur-in-Residence Jim Dever in the FSU College of Business to update him on her success and thank him for helping her gain the confidence and know-how to start her own jewelry-making business.
Johnson said Dever influenced her decision to become an entrepreneur.
“We not only learned from his experiences, but he gave us the opportunity to learn from our own, and this taught me so much more than a textbook ever could,” Johnson said. “Through trial and error, failure and success, I became an entrepreneur.”
Before joining the College of Business, Dever owned a string of hugely successful companies in West Florida and gladly passes on his knowledge to enterprising students. The gift to The Jim Moran Institute allowed him to be hired as the first of 18 Entrepreneurs-in-Residence placed in colleges across Florida State’s campus – from the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice to the College of Motion Picture Arts - to provide students deliberate exposure to role models.
By expanding the study of entrepreneurial practices across disciplines, Florida State gives every student, regardless of their field of study, the opportunity to learn fundamental business practices and enhance their career potential. The end goal is a culture change that promotes the transition from invention and creativity to the marketplace and encourages budding entrepreneurs to think big, take risks and enjoy the rewards of business ownership.
The rewards of business ownership
For Kate Pankoke, who started out as a child selling jewelry at her parents’ garage sales and in high school sold accessories to her classmates, becoming an entrepreneur was inevitable.
“I simply can’t help it; it is in my blood,” she said. “It’s a good fit for me because I am a control freak, which would be a very hard fit in corporate America. I have always had a very clear vision of what I wanted, and entrepreneurship allows me the freedom to go after my dreams.”
Entrepreneurs can point to numerous reasons for choosing the path they did. But when it comes down to it, many, like Pankoke, say they love the freedom to do what they love doing the way they want to do it and being in control of their professional destiny.
“I like not being subjected to obstructions or restrictions and can take Coton Colors to where I want it to go,” said Laura Johnson, whose retail/wholesale company now employs 50 employees and whose market extends across the country to more than 3,000 retailers and is on Inc. magazine’s 5,000 fastest growing businesses three years in a row. “I like being able to surround myself with creative people I can depend on and want to see the business succeed. The best part is getting to do something I love every day.”
Pankoke takes the same view. “It’s important to make sure your company is focused on something that you are truly passionate about,” she said. “The biggest challenge I first encountered when I started my company, was learning to respect myself as a boss. I needed to learn to fear myself. To wake up and get to work on time for fear of upsetting myself…. it is a strange mentality, but I’m sure that every entrepreneur knows exactly what I mean. It is not easy, and it can be lonely at times, but at the end of the day, it is so gratifying when it is your company.”
Sandra Brown, like Jan Greenwood, discovered that a large firm doesn’t suit a specialized field. Brown decided to take her talent as an entertainment counselor to a smaller firm, yet she was still unable to fully establish her brand identity.
So, despite not having a natural entrepreneurial spirit, Brown gave her 30-day notice. She had six months worth of revenue saved up in order to focus on implementing a business strategy where she could build lasting, intimate relationships with her clients, something that corporate firms can’t afford to do. Based out of Atlanta, The Law Offices of Sandra L. Brown, P.C. launched in 2007. Brown admittedly was fearful to go out on her own, but discovered the benefits associated with being the boss.
“My mom was visiting and said to me, ‘You know you’re the boss, right? Technically you don’t need to go into the office.’ And that’s when a light bulb went off and I realized that I have the flexibility to work from home and in my pajamas,” Brown said.
This flexibility matched with Brown’s discipline and passion has led her to represent client projects ranging from recording artists such as Lionel Richie and Lady Gaga to television programming such as the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and MTV Behind the Music.
Zipaboo’s Erin Lang likes knowing that her rewards will be directly linked to her efforts, and she’s looking forward to the day she can offer employment and opportunities for success to others.
For now, Lang is enjoying the short-term rewards of traveling, learning about new markets and networking with other entrepreneurs. She also is keeping her eye on her primary goal. “The longer-term reward will come when Zipaboo becomes a household brand, and I have a successful team working to build that brand.”
Donna Abood, who built her brand and distinguished herself in real estate, is at the point of her 34-year career to begin enjoying one of the ultimate rewards of entrepreneurship: the sale of her business. From the start, Abood viewed her increasingly valuable company as an asset to draw upon in the future. She has worked hard to ensure it is a solid investment. “As a self-employed individual, no one is putting money aside for me, so this is my retirement fund,” Abood said, who in 2013 was inducted into the FSU College of Business Hall of Fame, the college’s top honor.
Formed in 1989, her Coral Gables-based commercial real estate firm Abood & Associates grew to be the largest privately held, locally based commercial real estate firm in Miami-Dade County before merging in 2002 with another company to become Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group, an affiliate of Colliers International South Florida. In late 2014, having amassed a remarkable portfolio of managed properties, close to 6 million square feet of property for lease and sale, employing more than 70 employees and revenue of $12 million, Abood and her partner sold the company to the expanding Canadian commercial real estate firm Avison Young.
Blessed with enviable financial freedom and energy, Abood can revel in her past successes and set goals for her current position as managing director and principal at Avison Young. At the pinnacle of her career, she is happy to be among those who set the standard for excellence, happy to be standing shoulder to shoulder with those she considers the most talented individuals in her industry, happy to be on her next chapter and happy to still be able to dream big.
Or, as Spanx founder Sarah Blakely says, “to own her own future.”
http://news.fsu.edu/Top-Stories/FSU-receives-100M-to-create-the-Jim-Moran-School-of-Entrepreneurship
"Florida State currently offers an undergraduate major and minor in entrepreneurship, with both housed in the College of Business. The demand for these programs is very strong and growing, Hartline said. Simultaneously, as a part of its Entrepreneurial University Initiative, FSU also has embedded 28 entrepreneurs-in-residence (EIRs) across campus in 12 of its 16 colleges.
“Now, by establishing the new school, the university takes a bold step in ensuring the longevity of entrepreneurship by unifying all such efforts on campus,” Hartline said."
"The Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship will reside under Provost Sally McRorie and operate much like a college. The school’s director and other staff members will be housed in a building in downtown Tallahassee, very close to the state capitol, local businesses and statewide associations. The Jim Moran Institute also will relocate to the same building. The prime location will ensure that the Jim Moran name is front-and-center with respect to entrepreneurship around the state. The school is expected to become the go-to resource for government leaders, trade associations, entrepreneurs, nonprofits and small businesses on a national level.
A faculty director, appointed by the provost, will lead the Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship. The undergraduate entrepreneurship programs currently housed in the College of Business will be moved to the school, which will award both the Bachelor of Science degree and Bachelor of Arts degree in Entrepreneurship, along with a redesigned, interdisciplinary minor. The School will be organized across five major focal areas that will offer academic majors under the B.S. and B.A. degrees in: Arts and Humanities, STEM, Business, Allied Health, and Applied disciplines such as law, education, criminology, social work and others.
The official launch date of the school is scheduled for Aug. 8, 2018 — which would have been the 100th birthday of Jim Moran. Between now and then, FSU faculty members and the entrepreneurs-in-residence will work to create the interdisciplinary curriculum.
The university anticipates a phased approach to the development of the school leading up to 2018. It is expected that the number of entrepreneurship majors and minors will grow dramatically and that the program will admit several hundred majors by the third year."
http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2015/12/18/fsu-celebrates-100-million-gift/77585524/
"Earlier this month, Florida State University President John Thrasher told members of the Faculty Senate that the university was working on “two, very large, transformational gifts” that it hoped to add to the $100 million that donors have contributed to the university’s $1 billion, “Raise the Torch” campaign this year.
On Friday, Thrasher delivered on that promise in a big way by announcing that FSU had received a $100 million donation from Jan Moran and The Jim Moran Foundation.
The donation is the largest in FSU's history and is believed to be the largest single contribution to Florida's public higher education system. It doubles this year’s $50 million donation to the University of Florida by the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Family Foundation.
It also matches eight other personal $100-million donations to universities around the country this year, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Those institutions include the University of Chicago, Northwestern University and the University of California-Los Angeles.
“This gift is truly transformational,” Thrasher told FSU Board of Trustees members in a teleconference meeting. He was calling in from Ocala, where he was planning to meet with former Sunbeam chairman and philanthropist Al Dunlap, who has donated at least $10 million to FSU in the past.
The $100 million donation is significant in many ways.
It instantly boosts FSU’s efforts to raise its international and national academic reputation and offerings in its quest to become one of the country’s Top 25 universities. The donation comes amid FSU's push to raise $1 billion through its "Raise the Torch" fundraising campaign. Slated to end in June 2018, the campaign has brought in more than $800 million in commitments. It helped spawn other major donations.
It also helps Thrasher in his request to get an additional $10 million toward preeminence funding in the upcoming legislative session. The $10 million is in addition to the extra $25 million that UF and FSU receive in preeminence funding from legislators.
“It clearly shows we are an excellent university, one that would prompt donors to give such an enormous gift,” Provost Sally McRorie said of the donation. “Once you get a major gift, we often see other major gifts start to come in. This marks us as an exceptional university.”
Thrasher said he and his leadership team are working on sealing another major private donation of a building in downtown Tallahassee that will house the new school. He didn’t go into detail but said the building would be in a prime location, near the Capitol, local businesses and offices of statewide associations.
"This is a really big deal," Thrasher said, adding that negotiations began last July. "This is a great day for Florida State and our students."
Trustees on Friday immediately took a unanimous vote in favor of naming the new school the Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship.
“Gifts of this magnitude have an enormous impact on a university and change the landscape for generations to come,” trustees Chairman Ed Burr said. “The Florida State University Board of Trustees is thrilled to approve the naming of this school, and the entire FSU family is deeply grateful to Jan Moran and The Jim Moran Foundation for their support of entrepreneurial education.”
Thrasher said the donation comes without any influence by the donors in hiring or in curriculum.
The course curriculum will be developed by the faculty and Provost McRorie, he said.
“Nothing in this agreement suggests they want to dictate (any kind of involvement in courses)," Thrasher added. "Sally McRorie will make sure of that.”
Friday’s announcement is a continuation of FSU’s relationship with the late automotive distributor that goes back to 1995. At that time, Moran and JM Family Enterprises, Inc., donated $1 million to establish the Jim Moran Institute of Global Entrepreneurship in FSU’s College of Business.
That money, matched by $750,000 from the state, went toward a progressive program offering research, classes and training in all aspects of entrepreneurship. That was followed by an additional endowment of $2 million three years later from Jim and Jan Moran and JM Family Enterprises, Inc. In 2008, the entities contributed $1.8 million to further expand the program and for marketing the program at FSU. That was followed by $4.25 million in 2011 to expand its offerings.
“In 1995, when my husband, Jim Moran, and Dr. Melvin Stith (then dean of the FSU College of Business) established the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship, the term ‘entrepreneurship’ was not commonly used,” Jan Moran said in a release.
“Jim believed ‘The future belongs to those who prepare for it. With this gift, we forever secure the legacy of Jim Moran and his passion for supporting entrepreneurism so that current and future generations will have the knowledge and skills they need to be successful. I’m excited about the positive impact that the Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship will have on the student entrepreneurs as they embark on their lifelong entrepreneurial journey, creating and growing successful businesses and creating jobs throughout Florida and beyond.
How the entrepreneurial program works
Michael Hartline, interim dean of the College of Business, said FSU offers a bachelor’s of business administration degree with a major in entrepreneurship and it offers a minor in entrepreneurship. There are 40 to 41 majors, out of the 200 who applied. A major factor in the selection process was classroom space and faculty.
In addition, FSU has 28 entrepreneurs-in-residence on campus in 12 of 16 colleges. Entrepreneurs affiliated with FSU also provide workshops, training sessions and other resources to businesses around the state, free of charge.
It will offer stand-alone degrees in entrepreneurship and further FSU’s goals in creating an interdisciplinary focus on entrepreneurship across five academic housings, including arts and humanities, STEM, business, allied health and applied sciences.
“We can serve more students and we can serve more small business owners,” Hartline said. “We are a very large research focused university expanding its focus on the student experience.”
Contact Democrat senior writer Byron Dobson at bdobson@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @byrondobson. Democrat staff writer Karl Etters contributed to this report.
Giving at a glance
The following is a look at top 2015 donations to colleges and universities in Florida prior to Friday’s $100 million announcement by Florida State University, as provided by The Chronicle of Philanthropy:University of Miami, Miller Family, $55 million.
University of Florida, Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Family Foundation, $50 million.
University of Miami Health System, Soffer Family Foundation, $25 million
Florida International University Foundation, Green Family Foundation, $20 million
Lynn University, Boca Raton; Christine Lynn, $15 million
Here’s a look at other $100 million universities around the country, as provided by The Chronicle of Philanthropy:
Northwestern University (2)
New York University
University of Chicago
California Institute of Technology
Rockefeller University, New York
University of California-Los Angeles
University of California-San Diego, Rady School of Management
Jim Moran bio:
Born in 1918, Jim Moran was a serial entrepreneur. His first business venture was a Sinclair gas station in Chicago before he went off to serve in World War II. After military service, he sold his first car: a 1936 Forde Coupe for $275.Moran went on to own a Hudson car dealership in the Chicago suburbs and later a Ford dealership in downtown Chicago. A pioneer in the car sales business, he gained local celebrity by appearing in TV ads and sponsored several weekly television variety shows. He became known as Jim Moran, the Courtesy Man from his TV commercials.
A cancer diagnosis prompted his move to Florida when he was 46. After he recovered, Moran went on to own successful Pontiac and Toyota dealerships in Florida. The Jim Moran Foundation was created in 2000. He died in 2007.
Source: The Jim Moran Foundation website.
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