A $10 million gift will establish FSU's Dr. Persis E. Rockwood School of Marketing

 A $10 million gift will establish FSU's Dr. Persis E. Rockwood School of Marketing

Named after a late trailblazing professor emerita of Florida State University, the Dr. Persis E. Rockwood School of Marketing will be established at FSU with the help of a $10 million gift to the College of Business.

Rockwood, who passed away in May 2021 at the age of 97, has had a history of making generous donations to the university along with her husband, Professor Emeritus of economics Charles Rockwood. He announced the gift to university officials at an April event. 

The university’s board of trustees officially approved the naming during its meeting on June 22.

The FSU Foundation exceeded $91 million in fundraising this fiscal year. The gift was one of the largest single donations to the foundation, along with a $10 million estate gift from an anonymous donor, according to College of Business Dean Michael Hartline.

Hartline described the $10 million gift as a fitting tribute to the Rockwoods.

“They would fondly talk about their time at FSU and the impact they had on students’ lives and careers,” Hartline told the Tallahassee. “Though very accomplished, they never boasted. They were — and Charlie still is — very philanthropic, supporting a variety of causes at FSU, within the Tallahassee community and around the nation. They are, put simply, a very rare and special kind of people.”

One of the Rockwoods’ many donations has been $2.2 million for a custom-made pipe organ to be installed in the FSU College of Music's Opperman Music Hall, which the university plans to have in 2025.

The gift for FSU’s new school of marketing is a commitment from the Rockwoods that will be disbursed over time. Here is what the donation will go towards:

• $3.5 million: funding for faculty support (includes funding for the Dr. Persis E. and Dr. Charles E. Rockwood Eminent Scholar Chair in Marketing, professorships, emerging scholars and research) 
• $3 million: funding for student support (includes funding for student professional development and scholarships for graduate and undergraduate students) 
• $2.5 million: discretionary funding for the Rockwood School’s most pressing needs
• $1 million: funding for Legacy Hall (specifically for the Dr. Persis Rockwood Academic Programs Suite and the Dr. Persis Rockwood Academic and Behavioral Research Lab)

Legacy Hall is the College of Business's future home planned to be built near the Tucker Center.  The FSU Foundation's Investment Committee approved a loan of up to $20 million to move the $120 million project forward, according to Vice President for Finance and Administration Kyle Clark.