Florida State University
Florida State University (FSU or, more commonly, Florida State) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Chartered in 1851, it is located on Florida's oldest continuous site of higher education.[2][3][11]
"Florida State" redirects here. For the U.S. state, see Florida.
Former names
Florida Institute (1854–1857)
Tallahassee Female Academy (1843–1858)
West Florida Seminary (1857–1860; 1865–1901)
The Florida Military and Collegiate Institute (1860–1865)
The Literary College of the University of Florida (1883–1885)
University of Florida (1885-1902)
Florida State College (1901–1905)
Florida Female College (1905)
Florida State College for Women (1905–1947)
Vires, Artes, Mores (Latin)
"Strength, Skill, Character"
January 24, 1851[note 1]
$897.6 million (2021)[4]
$2.17 billion (2021)
James J. Clark
5,966[5]
8,133[6]
45,493 (fall 2021)[7]
33,486 (fall 2021)[7]
12,007 (fall 2021)[7]
- The Capital Collegian
- FSView & Florida Flambeau
Garnet and gold[10]
- Seminoles
- Noles
- Osceola and Renegade
- Cimarron
Florida State University comprises 16 separate colleges and more than 110 centers, facilities, labs, and institutes that offer more than 360 programs of study, including professional school programs.[12] In 2021, the university enrolled 45,493 students from all 50 states and 130 countries.[7] Florida State is home to Florida's only national laboratory, the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, and is the birthplace of the commercially viable anti-cancer drug Taxol. Florida State University also operates the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the State Art Museum of Florida and one of the nation's largest museum/university complexes.[13] The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
Florida State University is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".[14] In 2020, the university had research and development (R&D) expenditures of $350.4 million, ranking it 75th in the nation.[15] The university has an annual budget of over $2.17 billion and an annual economic impact of $14 billion.[16][17]
FSU's intercollegiate sports teams, commonly known by their "Florida State Seminoles" nickname, compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). In their 113-year history, Florida State's varsity sports teams have won 20 national athletic championships, and Seminole athletes have won 78 individual NCAA national championships.[18]
Academic rankings
67
55
73
173
201–300
448
251–300
190
Florida State University has over 400,000 alumni as of August 2023.[254] Florida State alumni can be found in all 50 states and many countries all over the world. FSU has almost thirty college and university presidents who are alumni. This institution has produced over fifteen members of the United States Congress, Florida Legislature, numerous U.S. ambassadors, four governors, and over twenty generals and admirals for the United States Armed Forces.
Florida State University has been home to five Rhodes Scholarship recipients.[255] These include the state of Florida's first-ever Rhodes Scholar in 1905[256][257] and the state's first female Rhodes Scholar in 1977.[258] Garrett Johnson, a Florida State student athlete, and Joe O'Shea, Florida State Student Body President, were recipients of Rhodes scholarships in 2005 and 2007, respectively.[259][260] Florida State football player Myron Rolle earned the award in 2008. Only thirty-two students in the United States earn the award each year.[261]
At least 15 FSU graduates have served in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, including senators Thomas Gallen, Mel Martinez and Kay Hagan in addition to representatives Jason Altmire, Kathy Castor, Matt Gaetz and Allen Boyd. FSU has 4 alumni that have been governors including Governors of Florida Charlie Crist and Reubin Askew and Governors of Maryland Parris Glendening and Larry Hogan. Over 12 alumni have been mayors, including Teresa Jacobs, Art Agnos and John Marks. Several have been congressional chiefs of staff, including Benjamin McKay and Dan Berger.[262][263] Foreign FSU politicians include Mokgweetsi Masisi, the current President of Botswana, Briton Mo Mowlam, and Vietnamese dissident Doan Viet Hoat. Among the many notable lawyers and jurists that have attended FSU are judges Susan H. Black and Ricky Polston, along with civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, and lawyer Bruce Jacob. Notable military alumni include generals Frank Hagenbeck and Kenneth Minihan and U.S. Army officer Col. William Wood, the highest ranking United States military casualty in Iraq combat as well as administrator and former POW Orson Swindle.
Among notable alumni who are figures in arts and entertainment is video game designer Neil Druckmann.[264] Others include: musicians John Driskell Hopkins, Ellen Taaffe Zwillich, Marcus Roberts, Rita Coolidge, Sarah Hutchings, Jim Morrison, Scott Stapp, Luis Fonsi, and Mark Tremonti; directors Barry Jenkins, Colleen Clinkenbeard and Greg Marcks; television director Chip Chalmers; television writer/producer Steven L. Sears; playwright and television writer/producer Alan Ball; actors Burt Reynolds, Paul Gleason, Cheryl Hines, Traylor Howard, Faye Dunaway and Robert Urich. WWE superstars Michelle McCool and Ron Simmons attended the university. Alumni also include cartoonists Bud Grace and Doug Marlette.
Other notables include: astronauts Norman Thagard and Winston Scott; scientists Sylvia Earle, Anne Rudloe and Eric J. Barron; inventor Robert Holton; ecologist Thomas Ray; Toni-Ann Singh, crowned Miss World and Miss Jamaica World in 2019; fitness guru Richard Simmons; and model Jenn Sterger. In 1996, Carla Gopher, daughter of FSU's Westcott award winner Louise Gopher, became the first Seminole tribe member to graduate as a Seminole. Writers and journalists have included authors Charles Ghigna, Sharon Lechter and Dorothy Allison, author and historian Royce Shingleton, reporters Stephanie Abrams and Jamie Dukes, sportscaster Lee Corso, novelist Gwyn Hyman Rubio,[265] and historian Tameka Bradley Hobbs.
As a major competitor in college athletics, Florida State University has many notable alumni in related fields. Many notable members are listed in FSU's Hall of Fame and represent all major collegiate sports.[266] A number of FSU alumni have found success in professional sports, with 123 active alumni competing in sports including basketball, football, baseball and golf.[267] In addition, FSU has produced three Heisman Trophy winners in Chris Weinke, Charlie Ward, and Jameis Winston. Notable Seminoles in professional golf include Brooks Koepka, back to back U.S. Open champion (2017, 2018), Jeff Sluman, and Hubert Green, and Paul Azinger, PGA Championship(1993) and Ryder Cup Captain(2008).
