OCTOBER 2000

COMPRESSION

Westcott Award
Florida State expressed its thanks in August to John Thrasher, the alumnus and speaker of the Florida House who is credited with pushing through FSU's new medical school.

FSU President Sandy D'Alemberte gave Thrasher the Westcott Award, named after James D. Westcott Jr., one of FSU's original benefactors, and reserved for "friends whose loyalty can be called 'extraordinary'?"

D'Alemberte said FSU is in a historic era and "no event in this era has been more important than the medical school, and no one has been more important than John Thrasher."

D'Alemberte also thanked state Sens. Jim King and John McKay, both alumni, for their work in the Senate. The bill creating the medical school passed both houses in the 2000 legislative session and was signed by the governor.

Campus cleanup
To keep the campus beautiful, FSU has adopted a new policy that regulates the posting of promotional fliers.

New landscaping, lighting and the installation of attractive benches are some of the other recent improvements.

The new policy limits the posting of fliers to designated open bulletin boards or kiosks. Most of the designated posting areas are now near the Student Union and university bookstore, but Rod Lipscomb, an assistant to the president who is heading the "Take Pride: Keep Our Campus Beautiful" campaign, said more areas will be added this fall.

While any student group or area business, including local bars, may post fliers under the new policy, reference to the use, sale, consumption or distribution of alcohol is prohibited.

Miss Florida
Candace Rodatz, an FSU graduate with a master's degree in communication, is Miss Florida and will compete in the Miss America pageant, which will begin at 8 p.m. Oct. 14.

But the timing is bad. An hour before, at 7 p.m., FSU's Home-coming game against Duke starts in Doak Campbell Stadium. So Seminole fans will have to choose which contest to watch, or switch back and forth.

Rodatz, formerly a reporter-producer for a television station in Tallahassee, competed three times for the Miss Florida title and won this year as Miss First Coast.

For her talent performance in the state pageant, Rodatz did a baton-twirling routine. In junior high school, she was the marching band's featured twirler.

She eventually became the featured twirler for the Marching Chiefs at FSU.

"Most people decide their college on what career they want to pursue," she said. "I chose by where I wanted to twirl."

When she was a senior in high school, Rodatz coached majorettes at different schools around Clay County and inspired hundreds to become baton twirlers.

Rodatz likes to work with children and has recently been active in the governor's statewide school mentoring program.

Ringling director
To run the nation's largest university art museum, FSU Provost Lawrence G. Abele has tapped Arland Christ-Janer, whose experience is in art and administration.

Christ-Janer, 78, is former president of Boston University, Stephens College, New College, Cornell College and the Ringling School of Art and Design.
He has agreed to take the job of interim director of the FSU Ringling Center for the Cultural Arts in Sarasota, with a joint appointment as interim director of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.

Christ-Janer assumed the posts July 1.

She doesn't call it work
Dion Peronneau, who studied biology at Florida State in the 1970s, has started an agency in Los Angeles that grosses the high six figures annually by matching hair, makeup and wardrobe stylists with entertainers.

Since 1990, she has built the image-development firm, the Dion Peronneau Agency.

Before that, she was an emergency room technician at a hospital in Los Angeles. But her mother, who was a nurse and then an attorney (her father is an aerospace engineer), entered the same hospital with cancer and died six weeks later. Peronneau left the medical field for another interest.

"Art was always an outlet for me," she said. She began by hand painting her own designs onto cruise wear. She went on to a company that rents period pieces to film and music productions.

The job gave her exposure to film and music industry professionals and a clear idea of how the business operated. In 1990, she was prepared to strike out on her own and represent hair, makeup and wardrobe artists.

"My father once said that if you find a job that you love, you will never work again," she said. "He was so right. I love what I do!"

New police station
Florida State's new police department building was named after William "Bill" Tanner, the campus police chief for 35 years, who retired in 1994.

Tanner came to FSU first as a student in 1946 and again as its police chief in 1959. He renovated the police force, turning it from a group of routine night watchmen into a unit of trained, well-educated officers. In addition, Tanner built a good relationship with students and local law enforcement during one of this century's most turbulent eras of campus life.

Hospitality in a museum
Students seeking master's degrees in hospitality will soon be able to learn in a mansion in south Manatee County.

The Manatee County Com-mission approved the use of the Crosley Museum, which the county has restored over recent years. In the 1920s, it was the home of radio and auto magnate Powel Crosley, not far from the home of John Ringling. Ten years ago, environmentalists and historic preservationists persuaded the county to save the abandoned mansion from falling to development.

FSU's master's program will focus on entrepreneurship and small-business development.

Computer security
The recent emphasis of Florida State University's computer science department on educating and training students to be computer security specialists has paid off in the form of recognition from the top security agency in the country.

The National Security Agency (NSA) has designated FSU a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Educa-tion ­ one of just seven institutions to receive the designation this year.

"This will be a great place for students to get an education because computer security is a booming area for jobs," said Arts and Sciences Dean Donald Foss. "And, because this is of national significance, we believe there will be opportunities for grants and important research here at FSU."

FSU shares the Center of Excellence distinction with Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Tulsa, National Defense University and Naval Postgraduate School.

Black Alumni Reunion
Florida State's Black Alumni Association is holding its biennial reunion Oct. 19-22 in Tallahassee. The plans include social, recreational, professional and thought-provoking events. Awards will be made, football watched (FSU vs. Va.), golf played, dances celebrated and old friends reunited, including some who have become nationally known for their accomplishments.

For details, see the Web site at <www.fsu.edu/~FSUAlum/baa>

Corrections:
In the August 2000 Florida State Times, the names of the new owners of a Tallahassee restaurant, Cypress, were misspelled. The correct names of the owners are Elizabeth and David Gwynn and Lee Harris.

The September issue of the Florida State Times reported incorrectly that FSU administrators were requesting a fly-over of FSU-grad pilots at Doak Campbell Stadium during the UF Game. The fly-over has actually been requested for the Homecoming game Oct.14.

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