2006
Frederic Fagnant Endowed Fund will support students and faculty members in the Art Education program.
The Charles and Lillian Huisking Endowment will support the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training production season for students in their second year of training.
Dr. Ben Grace Endowed Fund will support special projects in musical theatre and dance in the College.
2005
The Janet & Donald Hinkle Endowed Professorship in Theatre will support residencies of visiting artists who are established professionals in the theatre or related fields.
Theatre Professor, George Judy, donated a large collection of theatre-related resources including books, scripts, music, and dvd's. They will be housed in the newly renovated Theatre Library.
The Leora King Charitable Gift Annuity will create an endowment that will support students who are artists and who have an interest in arts education.
2004
$1.5 million gift to FSU School of Visual Arts and Dance Endows National Center for Choreography
The Florida State University College of Visual Arts, Theatre & Dance has received a gift of $1.5 million from FSU alumna Maggie Allesee, to endow a new center in its top-ranked Department of Dance. “The Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography is made possible by this generous gift from a wonderful friend and alumna of Florida State University,” said Dean Sally McRorie of the College of Visual Arts, Theatre & Dance. “The Allesee Center will focus national and international attention on the development, performance, and preservation of choreography by important established and emerging choreographers. Our students and faculty will benefit greatly from interaction with top choreographers, dancers, and scholars as we develop a wide range of programs through the new center. Among the most exciting components will be the new uses of cutting edge technology in teaching, designing, performing, and recording choreography, centered in our new Black Box Experimental Theatre and related media labs. The center will be a national model for the training and support of choreographers, and will enhance our exemplary dance programs, led by Dance Chair Libby Patenaude and a great faculty, including the world renowned Suzanne Farrell.”
Maggie Allesee is a 1949 FSU graduate in English, Journalism, and Education, who now lives in Detroit. She was head cheerleader for the first FSU cheerleading squad, and earned the first varsity letter given out at Florida State. A tireless advocate for many worthy causes, she has served on dozens of boards for such national causes as the American Lung Association, Red Cross, Rotary and the Salvation Army as well as other charitable causes for children, local Michigan schools and colleges, historical preservation, and health related issues, including founding the Maggie Allesee Center for Quality of Life, Hospice of Michigan. Understanding the vital roles of the arts in our lives, Mrs. Allesee has been equally tireless in her support of all the arts, particularly dance. At the FSU in NYC Arts Week reception at ABC Studios in Time Square in May 2004, she was thanked by FSU President T.K. Wetherell for her gift: “A legacy for the future, the Allesee Center will reflect the vision and generosity of its donor to friends of dance throughout the world."
