The Florida State University Board of Trustees have voted to name their College of Business and new business school building after billionaire Herbert Wertheim following his pledge to gift $65 million to the university.
The school will be named the Herbert Wertheim College of Business, and the new building will be called the Herbert Wertheim Center for Business Excellence. Of the gift, $50 million will go to the university’s endowment, and $15 million will go to help cover the construction costs of the new building.
FSU President Richard McCullough said during the meeting that it is the largest endowment gift the university has received.
“We ranked 53 in terms of public universities and their endowments. So, this would likely take us up in two three spots and getting close to the top 50 in the future,” he said.
There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new building on January 6th.
McCullough also commented on the ongoing talks about the sale of Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare’s property and assets to the university. The City of Tallahassee and FSU announced a tentative price agreement last week that is still subject to City Commission approval.
“We look forward to a vote in January that will memorialize that and then the definitive agreements, hopefully will be done by March. So really, the major launching of FSU Health, I think it's a major milestone and hopefully a transformational step in what we're trying to accomplish at the university,” he said.
That vote will likely take place during the first city commission meeting of the new year.