Campus Update

General News

FSU’s new Chemical Sciences Laboratory has opened, heralding the dawn of a new era for the university’s science community
FSU has granted an honorary degree to Dr. Ernest C. Cook, Jr., a family-practice physician and health-care executive who in 1967 became the first African-American to sign a scholarship to play football at FSU—an opportunity he relinquished in the face of racist threats
FSU has been ranked #1 in the nation among top research universities in graduation rates for African-Americans. A recent report says no other large public universities have been able to match FSU’s success
FSU and the Mayo Clinic have signed a historic agreement to work as research partners in the question to improve health care for Floridians and all Americans
Enhancing FSU’s environment and beauty, new statues of Presidents Doak Campbell and Bernie Sliger have been unveiled, as has the “Three Sisters” sculpture, a gift from the Chi Omega sorority
FSU’s environmental law, speech-language pathology and five academic programs in the College of Education are among the best in the nation, according to new rankings by U.S. News and World Report
FSU has been ranked #58 of the top 4000 universities worldwide in the 2008 Webometrics Ranking of World Universities
The Pathways of Excellence initiative--the University’s plan to become one of the nation’s top research and graduate education universities--is well under way. Under its innovative interdisciplinary faculty cluster approach, as of winter 2008, a total of 17 new faculty members have arrived on campus and additional hiring is ongoing
FSU’s colleges of law and medicine are among the best in the nation for Hispanics, according to Hispanic Business magazine, another indication that FSU is becoming known as a national beacon for Hispanic students. Not only is the population of Hispanic students climbing, but FSU is also developing innovative ways to educate all students about the emerging Spanish culture

Students

Offering a four-point energy plan, political science major Amanda Woods is one of three winners of a national essay contest sponsored by the Presidential Forum on Renewable Energy
FSU student Rebecca Stone has bee selected for the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, the nation’s premier award for math, science and engineering majors. Her sister, FSU student Amanda Stone, is attending Oxford University in 2008 as the recipient of a $23,000 Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship
Doctoral student Kimberly Van Orden, who studies suicide risk assessment and management, has received a P.E.O Scholar Award from the International Chapter of the P.E.O. Sisterhood
FSU is generating unprecedented numbers of applicants for prestigious awards, thanks to the Office of National Fellowships

Faculty

Geochemical oceanographer Laura Lapham has won a 2008 L’Oreal USA Fellowship for Women in Science
Francis Eppes Professor Max Gunzburger is the recipient of the W.T. and Idalia Reid Prize in Mathematics in recognition of his work in computational mathematics and developing mathematical models of science and engineering problems
FSU Professor of English Stanley E. Gontarski, an acclaimed scholar and critic, editor, dramatist and teacher has been named the 2008-09 Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor, the highest honor bestowed by the FSU faculty on one of its own
Business Professor William Christiansen has received FSU’s Distinguished Teacher Award
Chemistry Professor Alan G. Marshall is the winner of the prestigious 2008 Ralph and Helen Oesper Award from the Cincinnati Division of the American Chemical Society
Veteran Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Jack Saltiel has been elected a Fellow of the Inter-American Photochemical Society
Penny Gilmer, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has been named a Fellow of the Association of Women in Science
FSU doctoral faculty in five academic areas have been ranked among the tops in the nation according to the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index: social work--#4 in the nation; Spanish--#4 in the nation; marketing--#5; oceanography—8; atmospheric sciences--10

Colleges and Schools

College of Arts & Sciences

The Atlantic magazine has listed FSU’s graduate-level Creative Writing program among the nation’s top 10 and the Ph.D. program in the nation’s top 5
FSU’s department of physics has won distinction through its selection as the host site for the National Nuclear Physics Summer School in 2007
U.S. News & World Report ranks FSU’s graduate program in nuclear physics as 13th in the nation and the graduate program in analytical chemistry as 14th in the nation

College of Business

The undergraduate program has gained 12 points, ranking #30 in the nation in the latest BusinessWeek rankings
The Bank of America has provided a $2 million grant to establish the Gene Taylor/Bank of America Center for Banking and Financial Studies
The undergraduate program has secured U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of 25th best program in the nation among public institutions
The 2007 U.S. News ranking also placed the risk management/insurance program seventh best and its real estate program 10th best among public institutions
The College of Business undergraduate accounting program is ranked 20th among public schools by Public Accounting Report

College of Communication

U.S. News & World Report’s 2009 listing of “America’s Best Graduate Schools” ranks the master’s program in speech-language pathology as 18th in the nation

College of Education

The College of Education’s higher-education program is ranked 18th among all higher-education administration programs nationally in U.S. News & World Report’s 2009 listing of “America’s Best Graduate Schools”
In the same publication, education policy was 19th; student counseling and personnel services was 19th; education administration and supervision was 19th; and education psychology was 24th
The Program in Higher Education has been rated exemplary in a survey of faculty in the field at more than 100 universities
College of Information
The college ranks in the nation’s top 10 graduate programs, according to U.S. News & World Report

College of Law

The College of Law continues to rise in U.S. News & World Report rankings. The environmental law program in ranked 10th in the nation in the 2009 rankings. For the first time ever, in the 2008 U.S. News rankings, the tax law program has been specially ranked, at 21st. FSU’s academic reputation is in the top tier of American law schools, and the overall law school ranking has risen 14 slots in the past three years
FSU College of Law graduates have once again earned the state’s top passing rate on the Florida Bar Exam
The College of Law has again been named one of the Top 10 law schools in the nation for Hispanics

College of Medicine

Dr. John P. Fogarty, senior associate dean for operations and associate dean for primary care at the University of Vermont, has been named dean of the College of Medicine
The College of Medicine has been recognized as one of the top medical schools in the nation for the percentage of its graduating doctors who choose to specialize in family medicine, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians
Of the 57 students in the Class of 2008, 33 (58%) will remain in Florida for their graduate medical education. This represents the largest percentage of any graduating class in the college to secure residency positions in the state
The first groups of College of Medicine students have arrived at newly established Regional Medical School campuses in Fort Pierce and Daytona Beach. The students will work with local physicians in community hospitals and physicians’ offices
With the gift of the Isabel Collier Read Building and adjacent land to FSU, students from the medical school’s six regional campuses will have the opportunity to fulfill rotations in Immokalee, home to many poor farm and migrant workers

College of Motion Picture, Television and Recording Arts

A 30-second video by Film School student Paul Seetachitt has won first place in a competition sponsored by the Center for International Disaster Information
Film School students Sou Yun Sim and Michael Lloyd Green have won first prize for their film, “The Wall,” in the 29th annual College Television Awards. Atiya Wheelings and Iman Zawahry took third place for “Tough Crowd.” These prizes bring the total number of Film School wins to 24 in 17 years
Film School alumnus Z. Eric Yang and undergraduate Catherine Rehwinkel have won Directors’ Guild awards for top minority and women filmmakers
Patrick Alexander’s film, “Rundown,” won a Student Academy Award, the fourth time in three years that the award has gone to a film written and directed by an FSU film school graduate student

College of Music

A recent study from the Journal of Research in Music Education calls FSU’s College of Music the single most influential institution since 1990

College of Social Sciences

The master’s program in public affairs has been ranked 27th in the nation in the 2008 U.S. News & World Report rankings
The political science department has been ranked 22nd among all U.S. universities and eighth among public universities based on the success of its Ph.D. graduates in the academic job market according to a study published in PS, an official journal of the American Political Science Association

Environment

The FSU Rec Sportsplex is open. The new facility represents a four-fold increase in outdoor recreational space on campus and, at 108 acres, is one of the country’s largest outdoor collegiate recreational facilities
A new facility could vault the university to the top of the list of American universities specializing in research into new materials. The $17 million building, scheduled to be ready by fall 2008, will be a two-story, 44,000-square-foot facility that houses 13 laboratories for the design, process and characterization of advanced materials and systems. It will house FSU’s Center of Excellence in Advanced Materials
The university is currently developing, designing, breaking ground or has under construction about $500 million worth of facilities

Athletics

Based on their community service, FSU’s student-athletes are at the top of the Outreach Honor Roll from the National Consortium for Academics & Sports

Funding

Philanthropist and circus enthusiast Howard Tibbals has donated $4 million to expand the Tibbals Learning Center at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota

Seminole Tribe of Florida

The university and the Seminole Tribe of Florida continue to work in partnership to strengthen our ties and to recognize and help preserve the tribe’s heritage and unconquered spirit.

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May 27, 2008 (*New or newly revised items) Click here to download PDF version Campus Update General News FSU’s new Chemical Sciences Laboratory has opened, heralding the dawn of a new era for the university’s science community* FSU has granted an honorary degree to Dr. Ernest C. Cook, Jr., a family-practice physician and health-care executive who in 1967 became the first African-American to sign a scholarship to play football at FSU—an opportunity he relinquished in the face of racist threats FSU has been ranked #1 in the nation among top research universities in graduation rates for African-Americans. A recent report says no other large public universities have been able to match FSU’s success *FSU and the Mayo Clinic have signed a historic agreement to work as research partners in the question to improve health care for Floridians and all Americans* *Enhancing FSU’s environment and beauty, new statues of Presidents Doak Campbell and Bernie Sliger have been unveiled, as has the “Three Sisters” sculpture, a gift from the Chi Omega sorority* FSU’s environmental law, speech-language pathology and five academic programs in the College of Education are among the best in the nation, according to new rankings by U.S. News and World Report FSU has been ranked #58 of the top 4000 universities worldwide in the 2008 Webometrics Ranking of World Universities The Pathways of Excellence initiative--the University’s plan to become one of the nation’s top research and graduate education universities--is well under way. Under its innovative interdisciplinary faculty cluster approach, as of winter 2008, a total of 17 new faculty members have arrived on campus and additional hiring is ongoing FSU’s colleges of law and medicine are among the best in the nation for Hispanics, according to Hispanic Business magazine, another indication that FSU is becoming known as a national beacon for Hispanic students. Not only is the population of Hispanic students climbing, but FSU is also developing innovative ways to educate all students about the emerging Spanish culture Students *Offering a four-point energy plan, political science major Amanda Woods is one of three winners of a national essay contest sponsored by the Presidential Forum on Renewable Energy* FSU student Rebecca Stone has bee selected for the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, the nation’s premier award for math, science and engineering majors. Her sister, FSU student Amanda Stone, is attending Oxford University in 2008 as the recipient of a $23,000 Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship *Doctoral student Kimberly Van Orden, who studies suicide risk assessment and management, has received a P.E.O Scholar Award from the International Chapter of the P.E.O. Sisterhood* FSU is generating unprecedented numbers of applicants for prestigious awards, thanks to the Office of National Fellowships Faculty *Geochemical oceanographer Laura Lapham has won a 2008 L’Oreal USA Fellowship for Women in Science* Francis Eppes Professor Max Gunzburger is the recipient of the W.T. and Idalia Reid Prize in Mathematics in recognition of his work in computational mathematics and developing mathematical models of science and engineering problems FSU Professor of English Stanley E. Gontarski, an acclaimed scholar and critic, editor, dramatist and teacher has been named the 2008-09 Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor, the highest honor bestowed by the FSU faculty on one of its own *Business Professor William Christiansen has received FSU’s Distinguished Teacher Award* Chemistry Professor Alan G. Marshall is the winner of the prestigious 2008 Ralph and Helen Oesper Award from the Cincinnati Division of the American Chemical Society Veteran Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Jack Saltiel has been elected a Fellow of the Inter-American Photochemical Society Penny Gilmer, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has been named a Fellow of the Association of Women in Science FSU doctoral faculty in five academic areas have been ranked among the tops in the nation according to the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index: social work--#4 in the nation; Spanish--#4 in the nation; marketing--#5; oceanography—8; atmospheric sciences--10 Colleges and Schools College of Arts & Sciences The Atlantic magazine has listed FSU’s graduate-level Creative Writing program among the nation’s top 10 and the Ph.D. program in the nation’s top 5 FSU’s department of physics has won distinction through its selection as the host site for the National Nuclear Physics Summer School in 2007 U.S. News & World Report ranks FSU’s graduate program in nuclear physics as 13th in the nation and the graduate program in analytical chemistry as 14th in the nation College of Business The undergraduate program has gained 12 points, ranking #30 in the nation in the latest BusinessWeek rankings The Bank of America has provided a $2 million grant to establish the Gene Taylor/Bank of America Center for Banking and Financial Studies The undergraduate program has secured U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of 25th best program in the nation among public institutions The 2007 U.S. News ranking also placed the risk management/insurance program seventh best and its real estate program 10th best among public institutions The College of Business undergraduate accounting program is ranked 20th among public schools by Public Accounting Report College of Communication U.S. News & World Report’s 2009 listing of “America’s Best Graduate Schools” ranks the master’s program in speech-language pathology as 18th in the nation College of Education The College of Education’s higher-education program is ranked 18th among all higher-education administration programs nationally in U.S. News & World Report’s 2009 listing of “America’s Best Graduate Schools” In the same publication, education policy was 19th; student counseling and personnel services was 19th; education administration and supervision was 19th; and education psychology was 24th The Program in Higher Education has been rated exemplary in a survey of faculty in the field at more than 100 universities College of Information The college ranks in the nation’s top 10 graduate programs, according to U.S. News & World Report College of Law The College of Law continues to rise in U.S. News & World Report rankings. The environmental law program in ranked 10th in the nation in the 2009 rankings. For the first time ever, in the 2008 U.S. News rankings, the tax law program has been specially ranked, at 21st. FSU’s academic reputation is in the top tier of American law schools, and the overall law school ranking has risen 14 slots in the past three years FSU College of Law graduates have once again earned the state’s top passing rate on the Florida Bar Exam The College of Law has again been named one of the Top 10 law schools in the nation for Hispanics College of Medicine *Dr. John P. Fogarty, senior associate dean for operations and associate dean for primary care at the University of Vermont, has been named dean of the College of Medicine* The College of Medicine has been recognized as one of the top medical schools in the nation for the percentage of its graduating doctors who choose to specialize in family medicine, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians Of the 57 students in the Class of 2008, 33 (58%) will remain in Florida for their graduate medical education. This represents the largest percentage of any graduating class in the college to secure residency positions in the state The first groups of College of Medicine students have arrived at newly established Regional Medical School campuses in Fort Pierce and Daytona Beach. The students will work with local physicians in community hospitals and physicians’ offices With the gift of the Isabel Collier Read Building and adjacent land to FSU, students from the medical school’s six regional campuses will have the opportunity to fulfill rotations in Immokalee, home to many poor farm and migrant workers College of Motion Picture, Television and Recording Arts *A 30-second video by Film School student Paul Seetachitt has won first place in a competition sponsored by the Center for International Disaster Information* Film School students Sou Yun Sim and Michael Lloyd Green have won first prize for their film, “The Wall,” in the 29th annual College Television Awards. Atiya Wheelings and Iman Zawahry took third place for “Tough Crowd.” These prizes bring the total number of Film School wins to 24 in 17 years Film School alumnus Z. Eric Yang and undergraduate Catherine Rehwinkel have won Directors’ Guild awards for top minority and women filmmakers Patrick Alexander’s film, “Rundown,” won a Student Academy Award, the fourth time in three years that the award has gone to a film written and directed by an FSU film school graduate student College of Music A recent study from the Journal of Research in Music Education calls FSU’s College of Music the single most influential institution since 1990 College of Social Sciences The master’s program in public affairs has been ranked 27th in the nation in the 2008 U.S. News & World Report rankings The political science department has been ranked 22nd among all U.S. universities and eighth among public universities based on the success of its Ph.D. graduates in the academic job market according to a study published in PS, an official journal of the American Political Science Association Environment The FSU Rec Sportsplex is open. The new facility represents a four-fold increase in outdoor recreational space on campus and, at 108 acres, is one of the country’s largest outdoor collegiate recreational facilities A new facility could vault the university to the top of the list of American universities specializing in research into new materials. The $17 million building, scheduled to be ready by fall 2008, will be a two-story, 44,000-square-foot facility that houses 13 laboratories for the design, process and characterization of advanced materials and systems. It will house FSU’s Center of Excellence in Advanced Materials The university is currently developing, designing, breaking ground or has under construction about $500 million worth of facilities Athletics Based on their community service, FSU’s student-athletes are at the top of the Outreach Honor Roll from the National Consortium for Academics & Sports Funding Philanthropist and circus enthusiast Howard Tibbals has donated $4 million to expand the Tibbals Learning Center at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota Seminole Tribe of Florida The university and the Seminole Tribe of Florida continue to work in partnership to strengthen our ties and to recognize and help preserve the tribe’s heritage and unconquered spirit.