FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001
FSU EXPERIENCING TREMENDOUS GROWTH
The changes at Florida State in the
last three years are having a tremendous impact - more than in
1947, when the university exploded with growth, according to
FSU Provost Larry Abele.
And Abele says the growth is more than economic, although the
money figures are astonishing.
Florida State is spending $400 million
this year, including $100 million of federal money supporting
research.
That doesn't include what students and their parents spend.
And it doesn't include the 500 new members of the faculty who
will be hired in the next five years to take care of a bigger,
better qualified student body.
The 500 will earn an average of $60,000 a year and will require 500 new homes in Tallahasse.
Then there's the new medical school, the top-ranked football team, growth in the rest of the athletic programs and the increase every year in substantial gifts to the university.
"The economic impact is going to be staggering,"
Abele said.
He notes that the effect is "generational," meaning
that a college education changes the prospects of the children
and grandchildren of the graduate.
"College is the only social institution that the benefit crosses generations," Abele said. The children of graduates are much more likely to go to college than children of non-graduates.
And studies show that the college educated not only earn more money than those who don't graduate. They also vote more, are more active in their communities, are more comfortable with technology, are healthier, smoke less and live longer.
"The quality of life is better," Abele said. "There's a huge quality-of-life difference." He also sees a huge quality-of-education difference at Florida State.
"Florida State is entering a new era of excellence," Abele said, hesitating to use the now-trite word, but settling on it as the best word for what FSU is accomplishing.
"We've added a medical school," he said. "We have the largest and best class ever. The campus looks better than it ever has. We're adding 300 faculty in sciences and 200 in the other (fields). We have a stability of leadership on campus.
"Most people think about the gain in income as the result of a college education. Even more important is a longer, healthier life." - Margaret Leonard
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