Thursday, March 1, 2018

FSU Major Gift History (updated)

Some older info put together but updated with new donation. 

See Ghazvini Family update below.  They donated $5.8 Million to FSU Boosters.




$100 Million
Jim and Jan Moran


"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. "
"Moran first gave nearly $2 million to FSU in 1995 toward what is now The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship.
Jan Moran (and deceased husband Jim) gave multiple six and seven figure gifts




$25 Million
DeVoe Moore

$25 Million (but heard varying amounts on this) mixed donation on academics and athletics



"For perspective, consider that DeVoe Moore, an entrepreneur, gave a $25 million gift[​IMG] that will support academics and athletics."


"14. DeVOE MOORE--$5 million to the FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY from this Tallahassee businessman and alumnus to create the DeVoe Moore Center for the Study of Critical Issues in Government. The gift will pay for two professorships, an endowed chair, and student scholarships. Moore said, "It is my wish that this endowment be used to educate students in the area of government regulations and how these regulations affect private enterprise. It is very difficult for young people to start their own businesses as I have done because of the intrusion of government, particularly at the local level."" 

"DeVoe gave what was announced as $25 million to fund scholarships (primarily athletic) in 2005, plus at least one other major gift of $5 million to endow the DeVoe Moore Center in Social Sciences."



$20 Million
Al Dunlap

$5 Million for practice facility and Student Success Center


"The Dunlaps, who gave FSU a $10 million gift in 2007 to build a student success center and $5 million in 2012 as the lead donors for the football team’s Indoor Practice Facility, were recently considering a proposal to make another $5 million donation to Seminole Boosters, Inc.


"The approval of the Albert J. and Judith A. Dunlap Champions Club follows the couple’s $5 million pledge toward the project to Seminole Boosters last November. It will be paid out in five years.
That gift means the Dunlaps have been credited with contributing $20 million to the FSU since 2007."

"In 2008, FSU named its new Student Success Center in honor of the Dunlaps, who contributed $5 million toward the project. That money was matched by the state, so FSU credits the couple with a $10 million donation.
The indoor athletic facility on campus was named the Albert J. Dunlap Athletic Training Facility, following another $5 million donation. His name also is on the Al Dunlap Football Practice Fields."

DONATION RETURNED BY FSU (UNDER TK WETHERELL)
$11 Million
Robert Holton

Robert Holton donated $11 million to FSU Chemistry.


TALLAHASSEE - Florida State University plans to return gifts totaling $11 million, plus interest, to a professor acclaimed for developing a lifesaving synthetic cancer drug in a bid to end a dispute over a new chemistry building, school officials said Wednesday.
Robert Holton’s MDS Research Foundation donated the money with conditions that the building focus heavily on his specialty: synthetic organic chemistry.
The foundation sued the university last year after Florida State President T.K. Wetherell decided instead to construct a general chemistry building costing in excess of $55 million. University officials say Holton’s vision was too expensive, costing about twice that amount including endowed faculty chairs and research expenses.
“No professor has the right to create a shrine to his own research area with public funds,” Wetherell said in the university’s statement.
The offer to return MDS donations of $6 million given in 1999 and $5 million in 2002 will not be excepted nor will it end the lawsuit that seeks to enforce requirements attached to the gifts, said foundation president Mike Devine.
“Returning half a loaf is not good enough,” Holton said in a statement. “Our goal was to do something world class, and it turned into something mediocre.”
MDS and Holton contend if Florida State is allowed to ignore the donor agreements it also must return $18.5 million earmarked for the building to a laboratory fund established from $210 million in royalties the school has received from the cancer drug Holton developed, synthetic Taxol.
“That’s university money,” said Brooks Keel, Florida State’s associate vice president for research. “It’s under the control of the president.”
Holton personally earned $140 million from his innovation and used part of that sum to set up the research foundation.
A judge last month sent the lawsuit into mediation that is scheduled for Jan. 26-27. Wetherell said in his statement, however, that efforts to reach a compromise have failed because Holton’s “demands remain onerous.”
Until Wednesday’s announcement, Florida State officials had argued that Holton was entitled at best to return of the $5 million 2002 contribution because the 1999 agreement accompanying the $6 million donation lacks specific requirements.
Kirby Kemper, Florida State’s vice president for research, said synthetic organic chemistry had been dominant in the battle against cancer 10 years ago but no longer.
“Science changes at the speed of light, and today other fields of chemistry now offer a much broader range of approaches to fighting cancer and other diseases,” he said in the university’s statement.
Devine responded that the nation’s top chemistry departments are strong in synthetic organic chemistry while Florida State remains weak in the field with only four faculty members including Holton. Florida State, however, cannot attract top-notch synthetic organic chemists because it lacks proper facilities, he said.


$10 Million
Ghazvini Family



$7 Million
Nancy and Bob Dedman 

Nancy Dedman (and deceased husband, Bob) gave $7 million to COB



DONATION REVOKED BY TK WETHERELL
$7 Million
TK Wetherell

Donation of his farm valued at $7 Million.  Went to 'scholarships.'
At the time of the 2003 announcement, it was reported that upon receipt, the gift would provide for:
  • the construction of a scholarship house at the Southern Scholarship Foundation to be named The Wetherell Family House and endowed scholarships that will support eligible students for that house by providing their tuition and fees;
  • support for the construction of the Alumni Center;
  • endowment of a new, innovative Westcott Scholars Program;
  • support for FSU graduate fellowships;
  • and endowment of a Wetherell Family Scholarship Fund, which will provide athletic scholarships to be split equally between male and female students.


 $5 Million
William Hold and Anne Hamilton

$5 million to the COB.




$3 Million
Charlotte Maguire,

an FSU Foundation Board of Trustees member, gave $3 million to the FSU College of Medicine




$2 Million
George Langford

He and his wife, Marian, also have donated a million dollars to FSU's classics department, another million to the law school and more money to the school's World War II institute

Aside from donating some of his own money, Langford helped the department get out of debt by raising money for Seminole Boosters Inc., and helped turn the booster club into a modern[​IMG] nonprofit organization.

a Tallahassee businessman, accepted FSU President Stanley Marshall's fund-raising challenge in 1974. He became a founding father of the current Seminole Boosters and one of the university's most prominent benefactors.





Others

Yet there are several deceased (like Godfrey Smith and Pat Smith: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/tallahassee/obituary.aspx?pid=125334575) and anonymous donors (see example: http://coss.fsu.edu/inaprog/content/fsu-center-advancement-human-rights
) who have given generously to Florida State academics that were not mention in this thread. Also, planned gifts (realized upon death) are very popular. You will likely hear less PR about these gifts, but many are huge and will make a major impact.

Lastly, I know off the top of my head of three still living individual academic donors (not to bother mentioning corps), who have given at least $5 million to academic programs at Florida State, who I believe went unmentioned. (At least one has also given a lot through the Boosters). Existing donors are often an institution's best prospects so here's a quick shout of thanks to some not earlier mentioned...

Nancy Dedman (and deceased husband, Bob) gave $7 million to COB

William Hold and Anne Hamilton gave $5 million to the COB.

Jan Moran (and deceased husband Jim) gave multiple six and seven figure gifts

Then you have a large group of still living people who have given a total of somewhere between $1 and $5 million to FSU academics. Many have also given a lot through the Boosters:

Tillie Allen (and deceased spouse, EC) fall into this category

Maggie and Robert Allesee

Lou Bender

Mary Champion (and deceased husband, John)

Carl Desantis

David Ford

John and Terry Frost

Priscilla Greenfield (and deceased husband, Arnold).

Mart Hill (and deceased husband, Louis).

Mark and Nan Hillis.

Wayne and Pat Hogan.

Reid Hughes.

Erwin and Stefanie Jackson

Joy Jinks

Terri Jo Kennedy (and deceased former husband, Dempsey Barron).

Bob and Sharon Kerrigan

Payne Midyette

Russ and Genie Morcom

Jim and Linda Owens

Tom and Elizabeth Petway

Marjorie Rendina (and deceased husband, Bruce).

Jim and Betty Ann Rodgers

Bob and Pam Sasser

Geraldine Schuler (and deceased spouse, John).

Sandra Schultz

Cynthia Jo Schumacher

Gus and Frances Stavros

Jeff and Agnes Stoops



Some of note potential BIG money (say north of $5 Million...truly, in higher ed, 'big' should be more like north of $10-$25...but):

BILLIONAIRES

EXECUTIVES

CEO Bob Sasser
Dollar Tree Inc. President and
Net sales, however, more than doubled to $4.95 billion

John Culver
group president, Starbucks Coffee China and Asia Pacific, Channel Development and Emerging Brands
From 2009 to 2011, he served as president of Starbucks Coffee International (SCI),

Todd Combs
a potential successor of Warren Buffett as the chief investment officer of Berkshire Hathaway.
"and Florida State University even managed to insult him by saying they would only have a picture “if he’d done something important.” You’ve got to laugh at that."
FSU ATHLETES WHO MADE APPROX $50-$100 Million:
*Derrick Brooks (sat on FSU's BOT)
*Charlie Ward
*Deion Sanders
*Sam Cassell
*Jamies Winston (on the way to)
*Buster Posey (on the way to)​
General
27 Number of billionaires residing in Florida
31,000 Size in acres of Avalon plantation near Tallahassee owned by Ted Turner, CNN founder, whose net worth is $1.9-billion.​

UF Large donations

Miami Large donations


RANDOM THOUGHTS

*I am sure I am missing some, let me know, I'll edit

*I note athletes, but if they donate, it seems more often for athletics and not academics and usually not major (as defined above...no insult intended)

*I don't note this to facilitate 'shaming'. I really hate when folks shame those with money on this topic not my intention. I try to just limit to appreciating those who do give.

*"General" is noted above because, while not highly likely, living in a state with so many billionaires, there is a chance you could land one or two as an unconnected champion ala George Langford/Al Dunlap. IMHO, an untapped source FSU hasn't capitalized on.

*I generally believe FSU has failed to land major donors (until recently) to the point it is almost not statistically possible. If you look at other schools....big names and small, just by chance you are likely to land a big fish. It has been a perfect storm of bad luck almost for FSU.

That said, I believe FSU has rarely hired the leadership that can compete at this level. I am hopeful Tom Jennings is about to change that....but FSu leadership has been weak in the past demanding accountability and expect results/production.

*I have long felt FSU has failed to be wise with many of these donors. For example. Sarah Blakely is very generous and spefic to her causes (women's issues). Establish something like a women's entrepreneurship program in her name WITHOUT a donation from her.......her name alone is worth a TON and perhaps some day, she will donate to it. But either way, a win for FSU and it shows here FSU shares some of her values.

I think something similar to Todd Combs would be worth while. His name tied to FSU and it's tie to Warren Buffett has to be worth something.

FSU has not had success with past methods....perhaps more out of the box ones would work? Either way, I think FSU HAS to question it's past methods and leadership in these areas.

*Sadly, it seems FSU is WAY too focused on athletics when it comes to these large donors. I love athletics, but without high quality academic programs, you don't produce donors who can give to athletics. It is a win for everybody if you have academic colleges back by transformational gifts.

*Looking at FSU gifts to say UF/UM......there is a massive difference (until recent $100 million gift). The good news is, FSU does well with a broader, smaller gift, base.

*Perhaps biggest issue is not enough  'transformational gift'....something that sets a college up at an elite level. A single college getting a $10-$100 million gift (honestly, in today's dollar, I think the amount is more like $25-$100) which sets that college up as a player.


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