The president of Florida State University is the executive officer of the Florida State University Board of Trustees, and essentially, the leader of the university. Florida State's campus is in Tallahassee, Florida, the state capitol. Although the institution was officially founded on January 24, 1851, it became the state's first Liberal Arts College in 1897. [1]
The school's name did not reach the present form until 1945, going through a number of different names between 1851 and 1945. From 1857 to 1887, the school's leader was given the title of "Principal". [2]
Term | President | Background and accomplishments |
---|---|---|
First 1887–92 | ![]() | George Edgar [3] |
Second 1892–97 | ![]() | Alvin Lewis |
Third 1897–09 | ![]() | Albert A. Murphree [3] |
Fourth 1909–41 | ![]() | Edward Conradi [3] |
Fifth 1941–57 | ![]() | Doak S. Campbell [3] |
Interim 1957 | Albert B. Martin | |
Sixth 1957–60 | ![]() | Robert M. Strozier [3] |
Interim 1960 | Milton W. Carothers | |
Seventh 1960–65 | ![]() | Gordon W. Blackwell [3] |
Eighth 1965–69 | ![]() | John E. Champion [3] |
Ninth 1969–76 | ![]() | J. Stanley Marshall [3] |
Tenth 1976–91 | ![]() | Bernard F. Slige [3] |
Eleventh 1991–94 | ![]() | Dale W. Lick |
Twelfth 1994–03 | ![]() | Talbot D'Alemberte [3] |
Thirteenth 2003–10 | ![]() | T. K. Wetherell [3] |
Fourteenth 2010–14 | ![]() | Eric J. Barron [3] He resigned from FSU on April 2, 2014 to accept the position of President at Pennsylvania State University. |
Interim 2014 | When Eric Barron resigned as president on April 2, 2014, Provost Garnett S. Stokes served as acting president until November 10, 2014, when John Thrasher became president. | |
Fifteenth 2014–2021 | ![]() | John E. Thrasher [3] |
Sixteenth 2021–Present | Richard D. McCullough, a graduate of the University of Texas and Johns Hopkins University, is the university's 16th president. He assumed office Aug. 16, 2021, succeeding President ·John E. Thrasher. |
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Florida State University is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the state. Chartered in 1851, it is located on Florida's oldest continuous site of higher education.
Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. In the fall of 2024, the university enrolled 6,101 students from 45 states, 1 U.S. territory, and 16 countries.
The State University System of Florida is a system of twelve public universities in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2018, over 341,000 students were enrolled in Florida's state universities. Together with the Florida College System, which includes Florida's 28 community colleges and state colleges, it is part of Florida's system of public higher education. The system, headquartered in Tallahassee, is overseen by a chancellor and governed by the Florida Board of Governors.
The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level, primarily competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for all sports since the 1991–92 season; within the Atlantic Division in any sports split into a divisional format since the 2005–06 season.
Doak S. Campbell Stadium, popularly known as "Doak", is a football stadium on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the Florida State Seminoles football team of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Framingham State University(Framingham State or FSU) is a public university in Framingham, Massachusetts. The university, then known as the Normal School in Lexington was founded in 1839 as the first state-supported normal school in the United States before becoming a full-fledged university. It offers undergraduate programs as well as graduate programs, including MBA, MEd, and MS.
Thomas Kent Wetherell was an American politician and educator. He served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1980 to 1992, and was president of Florida State University from 2003 through 2009.
James Bernard Machen is an American university professor and administrator. Machen is a native of Mississippi, and earned several academic degrees before becoming a university administrator and president. Machen had been the president of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah and the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. He also sits on the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute's Board of Trustees. On June 8, 2012, Machen announced he would be stepping down as president in 2013. However, Machen was asked by state and university leaders to stay on, as the school had not yet found a suitable replacement. He was finally succeeded by W. Kent Fuchs on January 1, 2015.
Albert Alexander Murphree was an American college professor and university president. Murphree was a native of Alabama, and became a mathematics instructor after earning his bachelor's degree. He later served as the third president of Florida State College from 1897 to 1909, and the second president of the University of Florida from 1909 to 1927. Murphree is the only person to have been the president of both of Florida's original state universities, the University of Florida and Florida State University, and he played an important role in the organization, growth and ultimate success of both institutions.
Francis Wayles Eppes was an American citizen from Virginia who became a cotton planter in the Territory of Florida and later served as a civic leader in Tallahassee and surrounding Leon County, Florida. After reaching legal age and marrying, Eppes operated the Poplar Forest plantation which his grandfather President Thomas Jefferson had established in Bedford County, Virginia, which he inherited. However, in 1829 he moved with his family to Tallahassee, Florida. Long interested in education, in 1856 Eppes donated land and money to designate a school in Tallahassee as one of the first two state-supported seminaries, now known as Florida State University. He served as president of its board of trustees for eight years.
The history of Florida State University dates to the 19th century and is deeply intertwined with the history of education in the state of Florida and in the city of Tallahassee. Florida State University, known colloquially as Florida State and FSU, is one of the oldest and largest of the institutions in the State University System of Florida. It traces its origins to the West Florida Seminary, one of two state-funded seminaries the Florida Legislature voted to establish in 1851.
Florida State University Panama City is located 100 miles (160 km) from the Florida State University Tallahassee campus in Panama City, Florida. Established in 1982, the campus serves more than 4,000 students supported by 20 bachelor's and nine graduate degree programs on campus and online.
Doak Sheridan Campbell was from 1941 to 1957 president of Florida State College for Women and its successor coeducational school, Florida State University. He oversaw the creation of this new university. His opposition to the admission of African-American students has caused controversy about the naming of Doak S. Campbell Stadium in his honor.
Eric James Barron is an American academic administrator who was the 18th president of Pennsylvania State University from 2014 until 2022. He previously was the 14th president of Florida State University and director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.
John E. Thrasher is a former state legislator, businessman, lawyer and lobbyist who served as the 15th president of Florida State University. He was approved by the Florida Board of Governors on November 6, 2014 and took office on November 10, 2014. On September 11, 2020, Thrasher and the university board of trustees announced his retirement in a joint statement. In May 2021, Richard McCullough was chosen by Florida State University’s board of trustees to succeed Thrasher.
J. Stanley Marshall was an American physicist, science educator, administrator and college president.
Bernard Francis Sliger was an American educator and economist. He served as president of Florida State University for 15 years, from 1976 to 1991. Nearly all sources referred to him as an extremely "popular" president.
Edward E. Burr is the founder, president and chief executive officer of GreenPointe Holdings, LLC, a diversified holding company that brings together the necessary disciplines to create residential and multi-use communities throughout the Southeastern United States.