Recent gifts to the Capital Campaign will enrich FSU in varied ways. One lays the foundation for a performing-arts center on campus (see story beginning on page one).
Another will establish an institute to train future entrepreneurs and help people who are already embarked on that exciting but risky way of earning a living.
A third will support water studies and improved public policy in water management.
Finally, a large gift -- more than $1 million -- will help complete the University Center.
The givers are as varied as the gifts. They include a woman whose grandfather bought a little land in Texas for $3 an acre after the Civil War, a Chicago automobile dealer who made the cover of Time in 1961 for innovative business practices, a Sarasota businessman and a Daytona Beach environmentalist who donated $1 million to FSU's capital campaign, even though he never attended FSU.
Their stories are on this page.
BILL GRIFFIN
Bill Griffin, an insurance man with a passion for baseball, and his wife, Carla, have given the Capital Campaign more than $1 million to hasten completion of the University Center.
"The generosity of the Griffins is an example of why the University Center is nearing fruition," FSU President Sandy D'Alemberte said. "They are stepping forward to make a commitment to Florida State's future at a most opportune time."
The University Center, FSU's largest construction project, is expected to be completed by June 1996.
Both Griffins earned undergraduate degrees at FSU. They have endowed a substantial scholarship fund to enable Sarasota County high-school athletes to attend FSU and have contributed to the FSU baseball program's new batting cage, dugout renovations and the Hall of Fame room at Dick Howser Stadium.
Bill Griffin is a founding board member and major contributor to the All American Foundation, which employs college athletes as role models and counselors in juvenile outreach and rehabilitation programs.
The generosity of the Griffin family has allowed major growth in youth baseball and basketball in Tampa and Sarasota, particularly in the Sarasota Babe Ruth League.
Bill Griffin is the founder of RISCORP, an insurance services and managed care corporation. He is also an owner of the newest major-league baseball team, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
REID B. HUGHES
A businessman and environmentalist who never attended FSU has given $1 million to the university because, he says, "Florida State University and I share the same vision -- a vision of enlarging the focus of study of Florida's water resource."
Reid B. Hughes said he became friends with former FSU President Bernie Sliger and FSU Capital Campaign Chairman George Langford when the three were on the board of the Nature Conservancy.
"Bernie Sliger and George Langford and I were of like minds, and they eventually got me wearing the right colors," Hughes said. "I also believe Florida State is a world-class institution...
His gift, which is eligible for a $750,000 matching grant from the state, will endow a chair in water-resource studies and support programs to improve public policy in water management.
Hughes sees his gift as seed money.
"I hope it will encourage others to contribute because this is just a small start," he said. "We need to supplement and implement what the state is doing through the water management districts, and pay more attention to this vital concern.
"Water management is in its infancy. So little is known about water resources and how these systems work."
Hughes is founder and president of Hughes Oil Company in Daytona Beach, and he owns a Daytona Beach radio station. He has been on the board of directors of five of Florida's colleges and universities.
JIM MORAN
An automobile industry legend has given more than $1 million to the College of Business to establish the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship.
"Business has been very good to me," said Moran, who was once known in Chicago as "Jim Moran the Courtesy Man." "This is a great way for me to be able to contribute some of my good fortune back to others.
Moran was on the cover of Time Magazine in 1961, with a story about innovations.
He is founder and chairman of the board of JM Family Enterprises Inc., ranked by Forbes Magazine as the 30th largest privately held company in the United States.
The Jim Moran Institute will support four endowed professorships, academic programs in entrepreneurship and small-business management and an annual conference on global entrepreneurship.
The endowment will also provide scholarships and help build a lecture hall.
"The global entrepreneurship conference will be a wonderful opportunity for small business owners to receive practical business training and ongoing counseling, because tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it," Moran said.
The gift will draw matching money from the state of Florida.