Florida State University’s Department of Political Science will present a talk by James L. Gibson, titled “Legitimacy: The Theory of the Century” on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

Drawing on decades of research, Gibson will explain the theory of sociological legitimacy and its application across the social sciences. He will present evidence on how institutions can lose legitimacy, particularly during periods of democratic backsliding.

The lecture is free and open to the public and takes place:

TUESDAY, OCT. 13, 2026

3:30 P.M. TALK

4:30 P.M. RECEPTION

BETH MOOR LOUNGE (LONGMIRE BUILDING)

125 CONVOCATION WAY

TALLAHASSEE, FL

The concept of legitimacy has long been central to the social sciences. Broadly, legitimacy describes the willingness of people to recognize the rightful authority of political, legal, economic and social institutions.

Gibson joined Florida State University this fall as Provost’s Research Professor of Political Science. For more than four decades, his research has examined democratic legitimacy, political tolerance and public support for political and legal institutions. He is the author or co-author of more than 100 scholarly articles and several books, including Democracy’s Destruction? (2024) and Black and Blue (2018). In 2026, he received the Warren E. Miller Award from the American Political Science Association (APSA) for his contributions to the study of elections, public opinion and voting behavior.

The Department of Political Science is housed within Florida State University’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy (COSSPP). With roughly 1,300 majors, the department is home to one-third of COSSPP’s undergraduate students and is consistently recognized for the research productivity and influence of its faculty. Its Ph.D. program attracts doctoral students from around the world, and its Applied Politics & Policy Learning Experience (APPLE) program — the only one of its kind in the country — gives undergraduates hands-on political experience in the Florida Legislature and in Washington, D.C.

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Florida State University welcomed entrepreneurship educators and leaders from around the world to Tallahassee last month for the 26th Experiential Classroom, an intensive professional development program designed to strengthen entrepreneurship education.

Hosted by FSU’s Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship, this year’s program took place Sept. 17-19 and brought together participants from six countries, 21 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, representing 58 institutions and organizations. International participants came to Tallahassee from Canada, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Armenia and India. 

The Experiential Classroom is housed at FSU and offered in partnership with the University of Notre Dame, the University of Tampa and the University of Florida. It was founded in 1999 by Michael Morris, a faculty member of the McKenna Center for Human Development and Global Business in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame.  

The program has become a leading professional development experience for faculty, doctoral students, program directors and others seeking to strengthen how they teach entrepreneurship. 

“The reach of this year’s Experiential Classroom speaks to the global leadership role Florida State’s Jim Moran College plays in entrepreneurship education,” said Michael Brady, interim dean of the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship. “We want FSU to be a destination not only for students who want to study entrepreneurship, but also for educators from around the world who want to become better at teaching it.” 

While most participants came from colleges and universities, the cohort also included representatives from a high school and school district, as well as and community organizations such as the Chicago Urban League, mHUB and the Chicago Community Trust.  

Unlike a traditional academic conference, the Experiential Classroom operates as an immersive teaching clinic. Participants learn alongside experienced entrepreneurship educators through classroom demonstrations, interactive sessions and hands-on exercises they can adapt to their own classrooms and entrepreneurship programs. 

“The Experiential Classroom is about learning how to teach entrepreneurship by experiencing great entrepreneurship education,” said Susana Santos, Jim Moran Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and co-director of the program. “Bringing together educators with different disciplinary, institutional and cultural perspectives creates an incredible learning environment. Participants leave with practical approaches they can immediately put to work and a global network of colleagues to rely on long after the clinic ends.” 

The Experiential Classroom is part of FSU’s broader work to strengthen entrepreneurship education in the United States and abroad.  

In 2025, Santos and Eric Liguori, Jim Moran Professor and associate dean for research and external relations in the college, traveled to Armenia with Vilma Fuentes, a visiting associate in research at FSU’s Learning Systems Institute, to train more than 30 faculty and administrators at the Armenian State University of Economics (ASUE) on contemporary approaches to entrepreneurship education.  

The training was part of a U.S. Department of State-funded partnership designed to strengthen STEM and social entrepreneurship education and educational ties between the United States and Armenia. Liguori also regularly leads entrepreneurship educator development programs at universities across the United States, extending FSU’s expertise in experiential entrepreneurship education to faculty and institutions beyond the university’s campuses. 

FSU’s work to advance entrepreneurship education internationally is also expanding through a strategic partnership with Universal AI University in Mumbai, India. Through the partnership, FSU faculty are working with their counterparts in India to help integrate entrepreneurship education into the university’s curriculum, bringing together FSU’s expertise in entrepreneurship education with Universal AI University’s focus on artificial intelligence and emerging technology. 

FSU’s role as a hub for entrepreneurship education will be on display again Oct. 15-17, when the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship hosts the 2026 Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers Annual Conference, bringing hundreds of university entrepreneurship leaders, educators and ecosystem builders from around the world to Tallahassee.  

For more information about conference registration and sponsorship opportunities, visit the conference’s webpage. To learn more about the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship, visit jimmorancollege.fsu.edu.  

To learn more about FSU’s global footprint, visit global.fsu.edu. 

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For the fourth consecutive year, Florida State University College of Law will welcome 14 law school teams from across the country to Tallahassee for the 2026 Claude Pepper Elder Law Moot Court Competition. Taking place Oct. 9–10, the event is the nation’s only moot court competition devoted exclusively to elder law, with this year’s topic focusing on consumer protection issues in nursing facilities.

Hosted by FSU Law’s Claude Pepper Elder Law Clinic with support from the AARP Foundation, the competition gives law students an opportunity to strengthen their appellate advocacy skills while exploring legal issues affecting older adults.

“Each year, this competition brings law students from across the country to FSU Law to develop their appellate advocacy skills while engaging with complex legal issues affecting older adults,” said Erin O’Hara O’Connor, dean of the FSU College of Law. “It reflects both the strength of our elder law program and our commitment to preparing students to advocate effectively for the people and communities they will serve.”

“Each year, this competition brings law students from across the country to FSU Law to develop their appellate advocacy skills while engaging with complex legal issues affecting older adults.”

– Erin O’Hara O’Connor, dean of the FSU College of Law

The competition builds on year-round work at FSU Law’s Claude Pepper Elder Law Clinic. Directed by Rima Nathan, it is the state’s sole law school clinic dedicated to senior advocacy, giving students hands-on experience representing low-income clients, conducting community education and advancing policy initiatives. Participants handle cases involving elder abuse, financial exploitation, consumer protection, advance directives, healthcare decision making, public benefits, housing and related legal challenges.

“Though the problem students will argue is fictional, it reflects a real and growing issue in elder law practice,” said Nathan. “The competition gives students an opportunity to grapple with those complexities while developing persuasive legal arguments and advocating their positions before experienced attorneys and judges.”

The competition is again made possible with support from the AARP Foundation. The philanthropic affiliate of AARP works to reduce poverty for and with older adults and advocates for the legal rights and interests of people age 50 and older, particularly those living on low incomes.

“Nursing facility cases reflect the issues AARP Foundation attorneys take on every day to protect residents and their families,” said Louis Lopez, senior vice president of AARP Foundation Litigation. “We’re proud to help cultivate a new generation of lawyers who will carry that work forward and stand up for older adults.”

For more information or to watch the livestream, visit the Elder Law Competition website.

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Florida State University College of Law graduates earned the highest first-time bar passage rate among Florida law schools on the July 2026 Florida Bar Exam, with 91.8% of first-time test takers passing, according to results released Friday by the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.

Of FSU Law’s 110 first-time test-takers, 101 passed the exam. This placement ranks FSU Law No. 1 among all accredited Florida law schools and positions the law school 11.4 percentage points above the Florida law school average of 80.4%.

“We are tremendously proud of our graduates for achieving the highest first-time bar passage rate in Florida,” said Erin O’Hara O’Connor, dean of the FSU College of Law. “This extraordinary result reflects the talent, discipline and determination of our students, as well as the commitment of our faculty and staff to their success. Our graduates worked incredibly hard to reach this milestone, and we are excited to see all that they will accomplish as they begin their legal careers.”

“We are tremendously proud of our graduates for achieving the highest first-time bar passage rate in Florida. This extraordinary result reflects the talent, discipline and determination of our students, as well as the commitment of our faculty and staff to their success. Our graduates worked incredibly hard to reach this milestone, and we are excited to see all that they will accomplish as they begin their legal careers.” 

– Erin O’Hara O’Connor, dean of the FSU College of Law

FSU Law supports graduates throughout the bar preparation process through its Bar Success Program, led by Jami Ferrell, director of Bar Success; Nancy Benavides, associate dean for academic programs and student advancement; Laura Dennis, assistant dean for academic success; and Cecelia Smith, writing specialist and professor of advanced legal writing.

“This achievement is a testament to the extraordinary dedication of our grads and the exceptional faculty who prepared them throughout their legal education,” said Ferrell. “Bar success doesn’t begin when graduates open their bar review materials. It starts in our classrooms, where our faculty challenge students to think critically, develop the skills necessary to practice law and build the foundation for success on the bar exam. I’m incredibly proud of our graduates and grateful to every faculty and staff member who made this accomplishment possible.”

Through the College of Law’s Spear the Bar initiative, graduates receive structured support during the summer leading up to the exam, including supplemental lectures, individualized tutoring, progress tracking and dedicated study resources. The program also helps address practical challenges graduates may face during the intensive weeks of bar preparation.

The 91.8% figure represents FSU Law graduates who sat for the Florida Bar Exam for the first time in July 2026. FSU Law also celebrates graduates who sat for bar examinations in other jurisdictions this summer.

For more information, visit law.fsu.edu.

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Four years after Florida State University’s Department of Political Science launched the Applied Politics and Policy Learning Experience (APPLE), the program is welcoming its fifth cohort with a growing record of student achievement, community impact and partnerships stretching from Tallahassee to Washington, D.C.

The milestone follows another summer in the nation’s capital, the final stage of APPLE’s three-semester journey through local, state and national government. Students gained firsthand experience in national policymaking through internships in Congress, government relations and advocacy organizations while connecting with FSU alumni working in Washington, D.C.

At the capstone celebration on Capitol Hill in July, students from across the university also met with Congressman Jimmy Patronis (B.S. ’96, Political Science) and other distinguished alumni to discuss public service, leadership and professional success on Capitol Hill. Patronis, Florida’s former chief financial officer and a 2022 Distinguished Alumnus of the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, offered three practical lessons: arrive early, listen carefully and treat every interaction as an opportunity to make a strong first impression.

These encounters draw students into FSU’s extensive Washington, D.C. network of alumni working in government, politics, law, advocacy and public affairs. Mentors provide undergraduates with professional guidance and a clearer view of the career paths an FSU political science degree can open.

APPLE takes a select cohort of Political Science undergraduates through three consecutive semesters of experiential learning. Students begin by examining a community problem in Tallahassee and Leon County, spend the spring working in government during Florida’s legislative session and conclude with full-time summer internships in Washington, D.C.

“The program is premised on the idea that students learn government differently when they have the opportunity to experience it from the inside,” said co-founding director and Political Science Professor Amanda Driscoll. “By the end of the program, they have not simply studied local, state and national government. They have worked alongside the people who make those institutions function and see themselves as capable of contributing to them.”

For the 2025-26 cohort, that journey began with a question: How does a community prepare for an emergency? Students met with elected officials, local administrators, emergency-management professionals and other stakeholders to examine local government’s role in preparedness and essential services. Leon County Commissioners Brian Welch and Christian Caban and county officials Kevin Peters, Mathieu Cavell and Pamela Monroe spoke candidly about the coordination required among governments, agencies, nonprofit organizations and residents during emergencies.

“By the end of the program, they have not simply studied local, state and national government. They have worked alongside the people who make those institutions function and see themselves as capable of contributing to them.”

– APPLE co-founding director and Political Science Professor Amanda Driscoll

Students translated those lessons into Civic Action Plans, proposing practical responses to local challenges. One team recommended expanding Leon County Public Library’s Library of Things to give residents access to emergency-preparedness resources. Leon County subsequently incorporated the idea into its 2026 strategic plan — one of the clearest examples yet of APPLE students turning classroom learning into tangible community impact.

“This is exactly what we hope students take away from the local semester,” said APPLE co-founding director Bradley Kile. “They learn that local government is accessible and that thoughtful research, strong relationships and a good idea can make a meaningful contribution to their community.”

In the spring, students shifted their focus to the state Capitol. Through FSU’s Governmental Relations Internship Program, they received professional training and served in internships across Florida government, including the Legislature and the Office of the Governor. FSU Governmental Relations, as well as the continuing expertise of Director of Federal Relations Josh Duncan, have been fundamental to APPLE’s success in Washington. Substantial financial support from the FSU Institute for Governance and Civics has also made the summer experience accessible to students regardless of their financial circumstances.

Support from the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, the Department of Political Science, The Washington Center, university benefactors, alumni and local-government partners has transformed APPLE from an ambitious new program into an increasingly established part of FSU’s experiential education.

Students say the effects extend well beyond their résumés. One Cohort 4 student described APPLE as “nothing short of transformative,” crediting the program with building confidence, strengthening an appreciation for the legislative process and making a return to Washington attainable and affordable.

Those experiences now extend across cohorts. APPLE alumni have entered law and graduate school and begun careers in politics and policy; many return to mentor the students who follow them. Together, they form a growing community grounded in professional excellence, civic engagement and public service.

The fifth cohort arrives in Fall 2026 with a new local policy challenge: how Tallahassee and Leon County provide nonhazardous residential solid-waste services, including garbage collection and recycling. Students will again learn from public officials and community stakeholders before developing Civic Action Plans of their own.

After four completed cohorts, the subject will change, but the model will not. Students will begin locally, carry those lessons into the Florida Capitol and Washington, D.C. and build the knowledge, relationships and confidence to imagine their own place in public service.

For more information about the APPLE program and College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, visit the college’s website.

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He displays his love for teaching and his students on his office door and walls, reaffirms his dedication to life-changing research in his steady stream of awards and wears his commitment to his job and university literally on his sleeve. 

Riley Krotz leaves no doubt that he cherishes his work at Florida State University’s Herbert Wertheim College of Business. 

“I love this college and university,” he says. “The students, staff and faculty I interact with every day give me joy and make my heart full.” 

Krotz, an assistant professor and a Dr. Persis E. Rockwood Emerging Scholar in the Wertheim College’s Dr. Persis E. Rockwood School of Marketing, stands among the most recognized and decorated junior faculty members at FSU.  

Start with his custom-made FSU suit, which he proudly sports in his Wertheim College profile photo. His LinkedIn photo shows him in the same suit holding Grandpa, a small, frail and toothless dog he adopted and nursed for nine years until his pet’s passing early this year.  

For the background on his suit, which he now considers vintage after FSU’s new branding two years ago, Krotz recalls 2023 when he became an assistant professor at the Rockwood School. Michael Brady, the school’s director at the time and now an FSU assistant provost, impressed upon Krotz and other faculty members the importance of visibility in upholding the FSU brand.  

Krotz promptly visited a tailor and ordered a suit that flaunted, from shoulders to ankles, “FSU” and the Seminole athletics logo. A couple of weeks later, he showed up at a departmental meeting, oozing garnet, gold and gaudiness. 

Brady looked at him, his mouth agape. 

“You told me to be visible,” Krotz said to Brady with a smile. “I’m visible.” 

You bet he is. Less than five years after receiving his doctorate, Krotz made history early this year when he received the American Marketing Association’s Marketing and Society Special Interest Group Emerging Scholar Award. He thereby became the first scholar to receive AMA emerging or young-scholar awards in four different special-interest groups. He previously received AMA awards for retail and pricing, doctoral students and organizational frontlines. 

“Riley’s achievements in scholarship, teaching and service exemplify the high standard of excellence we strive for in our faculty,” said Michael D. Hartline, dean of the Wertheim College. “We applaud his dedication, enthusiasm, intellectual energy and commitment to our college, especially our students.” 

Hartline added with a smile: “And we love his FSU suit.” 

Krotz primarily studies complex challenges at the intersection of healthcare, frontline employee management and public policy, with an emphasis on getting people to donate blood and save lives. Recent studies include “Saving Lives in the Social Media Era: Increasing Blood Donations,” the title of his keynote presentation during a conference of the Association for Blood Donor Professionals. 

Krotz’s focus aligns with his conviction that the role of marketing extends beyond helping businesses thrive. 

“There’s a movement in the marketing discipline: better marketing for a better world,” Krotz says. “And I feel my research aligns with that.” 

“There’s a movement in the marketing discipline: better marketing for a better world. And I feel my research aligns with that.” 

– Riley Krotz, assistant professor and a Dr. Persis E. Rockwood Emerging Scholar

His work also aligns with, as Hartline emphasizes, the Wertheim College’s ever-growing partnership with FSU Health, an integrated health system that now includes Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and brings together hospitals, physicians, clinics, research, education and innovation to improve the health of the communities the university serves, including rural and other underserved areas. Krotz’s efforts to increase blood donations earned him a commendation from the U.S. Senate in 2023 and the Advancement in Healthcare Access Award from a major blood center in the Southeastern U.S. in 2024. 

“I don’t know how I got so lucky to land at a place where my research interests are so fundamentally aligned with the mission of the college,” he says. “This college and university are such a perfect fit for me.” 

Colleagues salute him for his lively personality, his passion for his work, his devotion to his students and his students’ esteem for him. 

That sentiment started a decade ago when he taught sixth-grade science and middle-school robotics in his hometown of Jacksonville. He’d do anything to make learning fun and interesting. He’d tell a corny joke. He’d express his love for Starbucks. He’d jump on a table and sing. To emphasize the musculoskeletal system, he once even conducted an arm-wrestling competition in class. 

Krotz, a first-generation college student who earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of North Florida, simultaneously yearned to make a difference as a university professor. He earned a Master of Business Administration from UNF and got accepted into the University of Tennessee’s marketing program, both in 2016 while he was still teaching middle school. He told his students of his decision to leave his teaching job so that he could study to become a university marketing professor, prompting dozens of admiring and entertaining hand-written “thank you” and “goodbye” notes and drawings from his young students.  

Today those notes and drawings, one of which portrays Krotz as the siren in the Starbucks logo, cover the door and walls of his office at the Herbert Wertheim Center for Business Excellence. 

Wrote Keily: “You manage to make us learn and have fun at the same time. … You’re gonna kill it as a professor.” 

Keily knew. Krotz, who earned his doctorate in 2021, received the Wertheim College’s Charles Hardwick Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award last year, two years after joining the faculty. 

Like his students, he credits and celebrates his mentors. Those include Stephanie Noble, a University of Tennessee business professor who advised him on his dissertation, and Greg Gundlach, a University of North Florida marketing professor who urged him to get his Ph.D.  

Of course, he still enjoys helping students build confidence, think critically and find new and entertaining ways to stay engaged and solve problems. In one ice-breaking exercise at the beginning of each semester, he asks a student to fetch a student outside the classroom, come back inside and together sing the nursery rhyme “I’m a Little Teapot.”  

“Riley’s name is consistently one of the first names students mention when talking about faculty who have impacted them,” said Luke Hopkins, a senior lecturer and assistant director of the Rockwood School of Marketing. “Students know he cares about them, and his ability to create an environment where students genuinely enjoy learning is rare.” Ruby Lee, the school’s director and Bob Sasser Professor of Marketing, hailed Krotz’s dedication “to everything and everyone in need.” 

In his marketing research classes, Krotz teaches students to use research offensively and defensively — offensively to make smarter business decisions and defensively to become more-informed consumers. 

Peyton Naylor, a senior majoring in marketing and real estate, largely credits Krotz for his goal to pursue a doctorate in marketing. Naylor recalls emailing Krotz on a Friday afternoon about information on the Ph.D. program. Krotz replied shortly thereafter with a comprehensive response and an offer to host a Zoom conversation that evening. They met on the first day of the following week and talked for 45 minutes. 

“His honesty, transparency and willingness to help have made the process a lot easier than I expected,” said Naylor, a former long snapper on FSU’s football team. 

Krotz’s influence extends to students’ families. After Krotz announced the passing of Grandpa, his dog and class mascot of sorts, Naylor asked his mother, art hobbyist Christy Naylor, to draw a portrait of the pet for his teacher. Using graphite pencils, she created a real-life rendering of the dog wearing an elegant bow, licking his glistening nose and looking lovingly at his beholder. Hanging from the dog’s collar is a tag that includes only one tender word: “Grandpa.” 

“I cried,” Krotz said, referring to his reaction to the drawing. “It was so meaningful.” 

About Krotz, Naylor added: “I consider him a ‘must-meet’ individual on FSU’s campus. The university is a better place because of him.” 

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By AnnMarie McDonald, Bank of America

Bank of America has announced a $16,000 grant to the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship at Florida State University to drive small business growth and income creation.

By strategically investing in education, mentorship, financial support, technical assistance, and holistic services, this Bank of America grant will maximize both individual and community-level impact in Leon County.

This investment focuses on small business through instruction in business fundamentals, financial literacy and professional exposure, enabling participants to apply knowledge while reducing financial barriers to business growth. Access to leadership skills training is critical for driving Tallahassee’s economic growth by fostering resilient small businesses and promoting lasting economic mobility.

“Partnering with nonprofit institutions like the Jim Moran Institute is part of our approach to fostering economic mobility,” said David Hulse, president, Bank of America Tallahassee. “These investments demonstrate how we are taking action to provide our Tallahassee community the essential resources and support needed to help people succeed in today’s and tomorrow’s economy.”

Small businesses play a significant role in the Leon County business community, employing 42.3% of the local workforce, according to Florida Scorecard. In addition, 5,138 new business startups were recorded in Leon County in 2024. While the number declined slightly from the previous year, it demonstrates a strong level of entrepreneurial activity in the county.

“This grant will allow the Jim Moran Institute to expand the impact of our Small Business Executive Program (SBEP), Nonprofit Executive Program (NPEP) and LEAP initiative, equipping entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders with the knowledge, resources and confidence they need to grow and succeed,” said Marina Lickson, Northwest Florida Director, Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship. “We are especially excited about the opportunity to explore new ways to support our alumni beyond graduation, including the potential for microgrants that can help turn ideas into action. Partnerships like this demonstrate the power of investing in people, strengthening local businesses, and building more resilient communities.”

These grants build on the $3.2 million Bank of America provided to Tallahassee organizations since 2020 and are part of the company’s commitment to delivering responsible growth to improve the financial lives of individuals, families and entire communities. Philanthropic and volunteer investments continue to play a key role in this effort to build thriving communities.

Additional background about Bank of America’s Charitable Foundation giving can be found here.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving nearly 70 million clients with approximately 3,500 retail financial centers, approximately 15,000 ATMs (automated teller machines) and award-winning digital banking with approximately 59 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. As the #1 small business lender in the United States (FDIC), Bank of America offers industry leading support to approximately 4 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Florida State University brought together campus leaders Friday for a wide-ranging discussion on the future of Name, Image, and Likeness at the second annual FSU Future of NIL Summit held at the Herbert Wertheim College of Business.

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Moving quickly to implement a top strategic priority, the Herbert Wertheim College of Business at Florida State University has announced the official launch of its Business of Healthcare Initiative.

In alignment with FSU Health, the initiative applies the college’s world-class strengths in research, teaching and industry engagement to address the Florida healthcare sector’s complex operational challenges arising from an aging population, rising costs and escalating prevalence of long-term chronic conditions, among other factors.

Michael D. Hartline, dean of the college, emphasized the initiative’s three prongs, which he said aim to bolster healthcare knowledge, business partnerships and, importantly, student employment and success:

• Scholarly research, led by Patricia H. Born, Ph.D., the college’s new Herbert Wertheim Chair in Health Systems Operations.
• Industry engagement, led by Patricia Kenney, Doctor of Nursing Practice, the college’s new Herbert Wertheim Chair in Healthcare Workforce Leadership.
• Industry programming, led by Caroline Poole, MPA, the college’s director of business development and strategic partnerships.

“The Herbert Wertheim College of Business is uniquely prepared to address the growing demands of healthcare, and these three individuals are exceptionally equipped to lead this pivotal initiative,” Hartline said. “We embrace this extraordinary opportunity to elevate our scholarly impact, strengthen our regional industry footprint and shape the future of healthcare in Northwest Florida and beyond.”

The Business of Healthcare Initiative continues the Wertheim College’s growing emphasis on including healthcare in its programming and curriculum. That includes the Business of Healthcare Summit, launched in 2024, and a recently launched Online Master of Business Administration with a Major in Healthcare Administration, plus several graduate specializations in healthcare.

The new initiative stems from a commitment by Dr. Herbert Wertheim, whose recent $65 million philanthropic investment named the college and the Herbert Wertheim Center for Business Excellence and, among other things, earmarked endowed funds for the new faculty posts, including those of Born and Kenney. Dr. Wertheim, a billionaire optometrist, inventor, businessman, philanthropist and the founder and president of Brain Power Inc., said he made the extraordinary investment in part to advance innovation in healthcare.

“Dr. Wertheim’s vision is exactly what the healthcare industry and our communities need, and I think training FSU business students to fill the gaps in the healthcare business workforce is essential,” Kenney said.

“Dr. Wertheim’s vision is exactly what the healthcare industry and our communities need, and I think training FSU business students to fill the gaps in the healthcare business workforce is essential.” 

– Patricia Kenney, Herbert Wertheim Chair in Healthcare Workforce Leadership.

Underscoring expertise from across the college, Born added that the initiative “gives us an opportunity to move beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries, tackle some of the most consequential questions facing healthcare and generate research that can improve both the performance of the healthcare system and the lives of the people it serves.”

The project aligns with FSU Health, an integrated system that now includes Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and brings together hospitals, physicians, clinics, research, education and innovation to improve the health of the communities the university serves, including rural and other underserved areas. The university-wide effort comes amid healthcare workforce shortages, a rapidly aging population and proliferation of AI. The university’s initiative includes establishing an academic health system and, in partnership with TMH, constructing new facilities in Tallahassee and Panama City Beach.

Here are details on the three prongs of the initiative:

Scholarly research

This segment, led by Born, focuses on academic collaboration among the Wertheim College, other FSU colleges, and health-focused schools and colleges Dr. Wertheim has named in Florida and California.

Hartline emphasized Born’s background as “a high-impact” scholar whose “profound expertise in health economics and managed-care finance aligns with the chair’s mission to drive continuous improvement within healthcare systems.”

Born said the Wertheim College has identified about two dozen faculty members across all business disciplines who conduct empirical research, publish peer-reviewed studies or maintain advanced educational specializations in health or healthcare-related fields. She said she’s embarking on conversations with those faculty members about their plans for additional health-related research and “how they’d like to participate in this initiative.”

Born said the college’s research examines how business decisions, market forces, technology, regulation and organizational practices shape the cost, access, quality, sustainability and delivery of healthcare “while also addressing the financial and human challenges facing healthcare organizations and their workforces.”

She added: “I am excited to learn from one another, identify new opportunities for collaboration, and build on our collective strengths to realize our full potential.”

Industry engagement

This segment, led by Kenney, who has spent 12 years as executive director at TMH, builds connections with the regional healthcare industry and cultivates partnerships to support faculty research and secure sponsorships, grants and philanthropic investments. Also, it will establish career pathways for Wertheim College students, particularly those in its various graduate healthcare majors and specializations. This includes internships, project collaborations and job placements.

Hartline hailed Kenney, whose academic background includes an MBA in Healthcare Administration and a master’s degree in nursing/family nurse practitioner, for her “extensive blend of executive healthcare experience, academic engagement and specialized leadership training.”

At TMH, she has overseen the Office of Nursing Engagement and the Office of Patient Experience.

Kenney said she embraces her role as a “strategic liaison and regional healthcare representative” who will “help to identify, develop and coordinate any avenues that we can use for collaboration among the Wertheim College, FSU Health and other organizations to support the mission of the Business of Healthcare Initiative.”

Ultimately, she added, “we want to create mutually beneficial connections to serve and provide for the healthcare needs of our communities.”

Industry programming

This component, led by Poole, emphasizes industry conferences, forums and summits to build “a dynamic bridge,” as Hartline calls it, connecting the college to senior executives, policymakers, pioneering researchers and students.

Hartline credited Poole for her work to help elevate the annual Business of Healthcare Summit as “the marquee event to position the college as a premier intellectual hub and a catalyst for industry-wide solutions.”

Poole said she aims to establish additional events that attract physicians and other healthcare providers who increasingly seek to embrace the business side of the industry.

“It’s important for healthcare professionals to understand the operations and the pitfalls, including the organizational challenges, of running a healthcare institution and making everything run smoothly,” she said.

She noted that healthcare innovation stood as a focus of the recent Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce Community Conference at Amelia Island, Florida. FSU Health served as the presenting sponsor.

Poole added, referring to Hartline’s emphasis on the Business of Healthcare Initiative: “I’m excited that the college has jumped in with both feet to lead this effort for the betterment of our faculty, staff, students and communities in North Florida and beyond.”

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Pellumb Reshidi, an assistant economics professor in Florida State University’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, has been named a Senior Fellow of Microsoft’s AI Economy Institute (AIEI), joining an international cohort of researchers studying how artificial intelligence is transforming firms and the future of work.

As part of the fellowship, Reshidi and collaborators Brian Jabarian of Carnegie Mellon University and Luca Henkel of Erasmus University Rotterdam received a Microsoft research grant to investigate the growing use of AI in hiring and recruitment. Their project focuses on agentic hiring, or the use of artificial intelligence to screen, interview and evaluate job candidates.

The research comes as organizations increasingly adopt AI tools in the workplace. While many companies have embraced the technology, questions remain about its effects on workers, employers and labor markets.

“Adoption has moved faster than the evidence, particularly on what happens when an entire industry takes up these systems rather than a single firm, and how the added competition affects firm and worker welfare,” Reshidi said. “Those effects need careful measurement, and we’re approaching them less as a question of AI substituting for people than as one about where the two together outperform either alone.”

Working with a major recruiting firm, the team has conducted a natural field experiment covering roughly 70,000 interviews, producing a dataset that tracks both recruiters and candidates from application through employment and beyond.

The evidence speaks to the interactions between human recruiters and AI systems, to how screening changes when applicants can choose between a human and an AI interviewer, and to how employers compete when they rely on similar AI screeners.

This is AIEI’s third cohort and the first to turn to firms themselves; the previous two examined how education systems prepare people for an AI-enabled economy.

The cohort’s findings will be collected in an edited volume scheduled for publication in January, with Reshidi’s team contributing a chapter and submitting its research to an open-access academic journal.

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The Florida State University College of Law welcomed its most academically accomplished entering class to date. The Class of 2029 arrives as FSU College of Law celebrates its 60th anniversary and sets a new law school record with a median LSAT score of 169. The 116-member class also enters with a median undergraduate GPA of 3.93.

“The academic strength of this incoming class reflects the remarkable momentum we are seeing at FSU Law,” said Erin O’Hara O’Connor, dean of the FSU College of Law. “These students had many options when choosing where to pursue their legal education, and we are thrilled they chose Florida State. We look forward to seeing what they contribute to our classrooms, our community and, ultimately, the legal profession.”

FSU Law received 3,265 applications, a 20% increase from the previous year, with only 13.7% of applicants admitted, making this one of the most selective entering classes in FSU Law history.

The record-setting class arrives as FSU Law continues to earn national recognition for its academic programs, student experience and value. In the 2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings, FSU Law ranked No. 34 overall and No. 14 among public law schools. The Princeton Review also recognized FSU Law as the No. 1 Best Value Law School, No. 4 for Best Student Quality of Life and No. 6 for Best Professors.

“We are incredibly proud of the Class of 2029,” said Jessica Dworkin, dean of admissions at FSU Law. “Their academic credentials are exceptional, but that tells only part of their story. They bring experiences and perspectives from across the country and around the world, along with a genuine enthusiasm for becoming part of the FSU Law community. We are excited to watch them learn from one another and see the many ways they will contribute during their time here.”

“We are incredibly proud of the Class of 2029. Their academic credentials are exceptional, but that tells only part of their story. They bring experiences and perspectives from across the country and around the world, along with a genuine enthusiasm for becoming part of the FSU Law community. We are excited to watch them learn from one another and see the many ways they will contribute during their time here.”

– Jessica Dworkin, dean of admissions at FSU Law

The class represents 28 U.S. states and 11 international countries, with 28% of students from outside Florida. Eighty-eight percent are first-generation law school students. As travelers and global learners, they have collectively studied in or visited 91 countries.

Members of the Class of 2029 attended 37 different undergraduate institutions and pursued 35 different majors, including business administration, economics and legal studies. The cohort spans ages 20 to 39, encompassing recent graduates, mid-career professionals, parents, a veteran, former educators, software engineer, realtor, hairstylist, government employees, and even a professional dancer and choreographer.

Outside the classroom, members of the class bring an equally wide range of interests and experiences. Among their hobbies are jujitsu, skiing, volleyball, yoga, fencing, cheerleading, golf and participating in the FSU Circus, to name a few.

The Class of 2029 began orientation Aug. 17. Classes start Aug. 24.

For more information about FSU College of Law Admissions, visit the FSU Law admissions website.

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Florida State University Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Jim Clark has appointed Mike Brady interim dean of the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship, effective immediately.

Brady, who currently serves as assistant provost, the Bob Sasser Professor of Marketing in the Herbert Wertheim College of Business, and FSU’s faculty athletics representative, succeeds founding Dean Susan Fiorito, who has returned to the faculty.

“Dr. Brady is a proven administrator, an internationally recognized scholar and a committed member of the Florida State community,” Clark said. “His experience in academic leadership, along with his commitment to students and research, positions him well to lead the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship during this transition.”

“Dr. Brady is a proven administrator, an internationally recognized scholar and a committed member of the Florida State community. His experience in academic leadership, along with his commitment to students and research, positions him well to lead the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship during this transition.”

– Jim Clark, Florida State University Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

A two-time FSU alumnus, Brady earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing in 1991 and his Ph.D. in 1997. His research focuses on customer satisfaction, employee interactions and service marketing and has earned more than 38,000 academic citations. He has held leadership roles with the American Marketing Association, including vice president of publications and board chair, and served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Service Research.

Brady has been recognized for teaching and mentorship at FSU, including the University Graduate Student Mentoring Award and the William R. Jones Award for Mentoring Minority Doctoral Students. A former FSU baseball player, he also spent several years playing professionally in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.

Fiorito led the unit from its start as the Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship in 2016 through its designation as the nation’s first stand-alone College of Entrepreneurship in 2019.

During her tenure, Fiorito expanded entrepreneurship education at Florida State, supported interdisciplinary programs and helped build spaces for student creators and business founders.

“We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to founding Dean Susan Fiorito,” Clark said. “Her vision and leadership helped establish the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship and created a strong foundation for the college’s future.”

Brady expressed gratitude for the opportunity to guide the college forward.

“It is an honor to serve as interim dean of the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship,” Brady said. “Dean Fiorito has built a strong college with dedicated faculty, staff and students. I look forward to working with them to continue advancing entrepreneurship at FSU.”

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