Alumni

The Department is always interested in news of alumni, and invites them to send us news of their careers, accomplishments, and honors. The easiest way to do that is to send an e-mail to econ@coss.fsu.edu, or to Dr. Carol Bullock (cbullock@fsu.edu). An added advantage of e-mailing is that it helps to build up our list of alumni e-mail addresses; we hope soon to start sending occasional e-mail newsletters with news of alumni and the Department. So, even if you have no news you wish to share, please do send an e-mail so we get your address!

Support Opportunities

The activities of the Department are supported by the University, which depends on appropriations from the State of Florida and student tuition and fees, by external funding for specific research projects, and by private support. State appropriations are always limited, and can only be used for staff and faculty salaries, approved operational expenses, and approved equipment purchases. There are many activities which enhance the quality of the Department, the opportunities it offers students, and the service it can provide to the people of Florida, that are only possible because of the generous private support we receive from alumni, friends, and private business.

The Department has been fortunate to receive very generous support from many sources, particularly alumni. These have resulted in three endowed Eminent Scholar Chairs, a named professorship, and multiple endowed funds for graduate student awards and support for undergraduate scholarships. The Department also benefits from the endowments of the DeVoe Moore Center and Stavros Center. The current holder of the DeVoe Moore Eminent Scholar Chair is a member of the Department and many faculty in the Department are involved in the Center’s activities. The endowments of the other Eminent Scholar Chairs, like the DeVoe Moore endowment, support graduate students, research by the chairholders, and academic visitors. The FSU Foundation holds all private gifts for support of the Department in accordance with State law and University regulations. The Department’s endowment funds are:

Endowed Faculty Chairs

The Rod and Hope Brim Eminent Scholar Chair in Economics

The John and Hallie Quinn Eminent Scholar Chair for Renewal of American Heritage and American Free Enterprise

The Gus A. Stavros Center for the Advancement of Free Enterprise and Economic Education houses the Gus A. Stavros Eminent Scholar Chair, currently held by Jim Gwartney who is a long-time member of the Department.

In addition, thanks to the generosity of former faculty members Charles and Joan Haworth, the Department has an endowed fund to support a named professorship, the Charles and Joan Haworth Professorship in Labor Economics, which was established in 2004.

Undergraduate Scholarships

The Reva Daniels Metzinger Endowed Scholarship. The late Reva Daniels Metzinger was a 1931 graduate of Florida State College for Women, and she and her estate have endowed this scholarship for the benefit of undergraduate students majoring in Economics. In recent years, two awards a year have been made on the basis of academic excellence.

The Peterson Distinguished Economics Major Scholarship. The late Florida State football coach endowed this fund to award a scholarship to a student who graduated from high school with academic honors and is majoring in Economics. Preference is given to those with an interest in teaching. In recent years, two awards a year have been made on the basis of academic excellence.

The Stavros Student Scholarship in Economic Education is administered through the Stavros Center and provides supplemental funds in support of student activities related to economic education.

The Evelyn and John Baugh Student Scholarship in Economics is an endowed fund, the earnings from which are used to support scholarships for outstanding men and women, undergraduate or graduate students, in economics. This was a new gift in 2003-2004.

Graduate Student Awards

The Manuel and Mary Johnson Endowed Graduate Fellowship. The bulk of the endowment for this Fund has been provided by the family foundation of Dr. Manuel Johnson, Florida State PhD and former vice-chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, with additional contributions from many of the Department’s graduate alumni and current and past faculty. The income is used to supplement assistantships and/or fellowships from University sources in order to make offers for our very best graduate applicants competitive with those from other schools. The Department is particularly eager to enlarge this endowment.

The Alumni Graduate Student Scholarship provides fellowships for graduate students in economics. This endowed fund was launched by Dean David Rasmussen in 2003-2004, and the Department suggests it is a particularly suitable destination for gifts from MS and PhD alumni.

The Mary Dunn Baker Student Scholarship for women in economics was established by PhD alumna Mary Dunn Baker to provide scholarship support for women pursuing degrees in economics at Florida State University.

The Charles E. Rockwood Endowed Economics Fund. Professor Emeritus Charlie Rockwood was a long-time Director of Graduate Studies in the Department. The income from this Fund is used to support an annual award to the graduate student teaching assistant judged the best instructor each year.

The Irvin and Peggy Sobel Endowed Award. The late Professor Irvin Sobel was Chair of the Department during an important period in the development of the graduate program. This Fund, primarily endowed by his children with additional gifts from faculty and former graduate students, provides income for an annual award for the graduate student entering candidacy for the PhD who has the best overall academic record at FSU.

The James H. Gapinski Award. The late Jim Gapinski, who died while still on the faculty and for whom this award is named, was a former Director of Graduate Studies, and for many years both served on the Graduate Committee and taught the first course in the graduate macro sequence. Instituted in 2001, the award is made to the first-year graduate student with the best academic performance. There is as yet no endowment for this award. It is presently supported from our General Development fund.

The Department’s General Development Fund is the only fund that can be spent on an unrestricted and current basis. In addition to the Gapinski Award, it is used for such purposes as entertainment expenses related to recruitment of faculty, graduate students, and academic visitors; student and staff welfare; research-related expenses of students and faculty not covered by other sources; and urgent equipment or software purchases. The General Development Fund represents the most flexible resource available to the Department, and is the last resort for financing activities that other resources [including the faculty’s own pockets] cannot cover. To some extent, it is our “rainy day fund.”

Additional Support Opportunities

The Department is always pleased to accept support, whether monetary or in other forms. Particularly useful are gifts for general development, but we also wish to build our endowments and are always ready to discuss possible major gifts for particular purposes. For more information, please contact the chair of the department Bruce Benson, 850-644-7091, or bbenson@fsu.edu, or the College’s Development Officer, Joshua McCoy, 850-644-1920 or jdmccoy@admin.fsu.edu. Individuals wishing to make gifts are invited to use the online FSU Foundation form.

Please designate gift for 'other' and enter under 'other specifications' one of the following:

Use my/our gift for the:

• Greatest need within the Department of Economics
• Economics General Development Fund
• Alumni Graduate Student Scholarship
• Mary Dunn Baker Student Scholarship
• Scholarship for Women in Economics
• For the Rockwood Endowed Fund
• Sobel Endowed Fund
• Peterson Undergraduate Scholarship Endowed Fund
• Johnson Endowed Graduate Fellowship Fund
• Gapinski Award Fund
• Reva Daniels Metzinger Endowed Fund