A $10 million gift will establish FSU's Dr. Persis E. Rockwood School of Marketing
Named after a late trailblazing professor emerita of Florida State University, the Dr. Persis E. Rockwood School of Marketing will be established at FSU with the help of a $10 million gift to the College of Business.
Rockwood, who passed away in May 2021 at the age of 97, has had a history of making generous donations to the university along with her husband, Professor Emeritus of economics Charles Rockwood. He announced the gift to university officials at an April event.
The university’s board of trustees officially approved the naming during its meeting on June 22.
The FSU Foundation exceeded $91 million in fundraising this fiscal year. The gift was one of the largest single donations to the foundation, along with a $10 million estate gift from an anonymous donor, according to College of Business Dean Michael Hartline.
Hartline is also the interim vice president for University Advancement and interim president of the FSU Foundation. He spoke of Persis Rockwood's achievements during the board meeting.
“Given her list of firsts, it should be no surprise to anyone that this will be the first school of marketing in the country named for a woman,” said Hartline.
According to Hartline, academic leaders throughout the industry could only find one other named marketing department in the nation, which is the Allen G. Aaronson Department of Marketing and International Business at Baruch College in New York.
Besides FSU's school of marketing being named after Rockwood, some of her other commemorated firsts include being the first woman to earn a doctoral degree in marketing from Stanford University in 1960 and the first woman at FSU to hold the status of full professor of marketing in 1973.
Rockwood was also one of the first seven faculty members, and the first woman, to be inducted into the FSU College of Business’ Charles A. Rovetta Faculty Hall of Fame in 2018.
Hartline described the $10 million gift as a fitting tribute to the Rockwoods.
“They would fondly talk about their time at FSU and the impact they had on students’ lives and careers,” Hartline told the Tallahassee. “Though very accomplished, they never boasted. They were — and Charlie still is — very philanthropic, supporting a variety of causes at FSU, within the Tallahassee community and around the nation. They are, put simply, a very rare and special kind of people.”
One of the Rockwoods’ many donations has been $2.2 million for a custom-made pipe organ to be installed in the FSU College of Music's Opperman Music Hall, which the university plans to have in 2025.
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The Rockwoods met at FSU in 1960 and were married for 54 years. The late Persis Rockwood taught marketing and management at the university before retiring in 1989, with some of her research areas being location theory and retail leasing. She was also a supporter of diversity and equity and chaired a university committee that created policies on gender equity in faculty salaries.
“She loved FSU,” Charles Rockwood said in a prepared statement. “She was very modest. She did not tell students her background, I don’t think ever. She would ask them things like, ‘What is your goal outside of your work ethic? What have you got for a goal in life?’”
Before retiring in 1995, Charles Rockwood taught economics at FSU and wrote many articles on topics including macroeconomics, tax policy and social economics. On top of his academic accomplishments, Rockwood has also been a Rotarian for 52 years and is a major donor to The Rotary Foundation.
“This momentous gift will forever stand as a testament to the work, impact and memory of the late Persis Rockwood,” FSU President Richard McCullough said in a statement. "She and Charlie will always have a special place in the Florida State family, and their generosity will help blaze new trails and opportunities in marketing research and education."
The gift for FSU’s new school of marketing is a commitment from the Rockwoods that will be disbursed over time. Here is what the donation will go towards:
$3.5 million: funding for faculty support (includes funding for the Dr. Persis E. and Dr. Charles E. Rockwood Eminent Scholar Chair in Marketing, professorships, emerging scholars and research)
$3 million: funding for student support (includes funding for student professional development and scholarships for graduate and undergraduate students)
$2.5 million: discretionary funding for the Rockwood School’s most pressing needs
$1 million: funding for Legacy Hall (specifically for the Dr. Persis Rockwood Academic Programs Suite and the Dr. Persis Rockwood Academic and Behavioral Research Lab)
Legacy Hall is the College of Business's future home planned to be built near the Tucker Center. The FSU Foundation's Investment Committee approved a loan of up to $20 million to move the $120 million project forward, according to Vice President for Finance and Administration Kyle Clark.
Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on twitter @tarahjean_.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State school of marketing supported by a $10 million gift
