{"id":96292,"date":"2025-12-26T14:50:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T14:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/96292\/"},"modified":"2025-12-26T14:50:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T14:50:10","slug":"fsu-college-of-business-receives-65-million-philanthropic-investment-tallahassee-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/96292\/","title":{"rendered":"FSU College of Business Receives $65 million Philanthropic Investment \u2013 Tallahassee Reports"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Amy Farnum-Patronis, FSU News<\/p>\n

Florida State University\u2019s College of Business will take a monumental step in advancing its\u00a0reputation as one of the\u00a0top public business schools in the nation thanks to a $65 million\u00a0philanthropic investment from Dr. Herbert\u00a0Wertheim.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wertheim is a billionaire optometrist, inventor,\u00a0businessman, philanthropist and the founder and\u00a0president of Brain\u00a0Power Incorporated (BPI), the world\u2019s largest manufacturer of optical tints.\u00a0He is renowned for his extensive\u00a0philanthropic and leadership efforts, particularly in public\u00a0education, health, and the arts, as\u00a0chairman\u00a0of his\u00a0Family\u2019s Foundation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wertheim\u2019s commitment includes financial support to endow and name the\u00a0college\u00a0the\u00a0Herbert Wertheim College\u00a0of Business and rename Legacy Hall, the college\u2019s world-class new building, the Herbert Wertheim Center for\u00a0Business Excellence.\u00a0His investment is the largest philanthropic endowment gift in FSU\u2019s\u00a0history\u00a0and\u00a0the second-largest philanthropic gift FSU has ever received.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy belief in the transformative power of education and healthcare inspires me every day, and I\u00a0am truly excited\u00a0to partner with Florida State University to help lift the College of Business to\u00a0new heights,\u201d Wertheim said.\u00a0\u201cTogether, we will empower students and future leaders to drive\u00a0meaningful progress, advance innovation in\u00a0healthcare and business, and create lasting\u00a0opportunities that benefit our communities and the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Significantly, Wertheim\u2019s remarkable investment comes as the college moves into its new\u00a0facility,\u00a0located\u00a0just south\u00a0of the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, and celebrates its 75th\u00a0anniversary as a separate academic unit. Also, college\u00a0officials expect a\u00a0record\u00a010,000 students\u00a0for the spring semester.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are extremely grateful and humbled by the incredible generosity of Dr. Wertheim,\u201d said FSU President Richard\u00a0McCullough. \u201cThis transformational philanthropic investment will propel the college forward and empower\u00a0generations of future leaders in the global marketplace.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to naming the college, the philanthropic investment creates several endowed funds to support various\u00a0initiatives within the college, including faculty development, Horatio Alger scholarships and other scholarships for\u00a0undergraduate and graduate students, student professional development opportunities, funding to support\u00a0preeminence and emerging trends, and a new Wertheim Business of Healthcare Initiative.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Wertheim Business of Healthcare Initiative will train business students to fill critical gaps in the healthcare\u00a0business workforce and work with leaders in the healthcare\u00a0industry to solve its most vexing problems.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Dr.Dr. Herbert Wertheim (middle) with Dean Michael Hartline and Marsha Hartline.<\/p>\n

Wertheim\u2019s investment\u00a0establishes\u00a0two endowed chairs: the\u00a0Herbert Wertheim Chair in Health Systems Operations\u00a0and the Herbert Wertheim Chair in Healthcare Workforce Leadership.\u00a0These chairs will support faculty members whose\u00a0scholarship and\u00a0teaching\u00a0are\u00a0dedicated to the\u00a0continuous\u00a0improvement of healthcare operations and systems, as well as\u00a0workforce modernization in\u00a0healthcare settings. These efforts\u00a0align\u00a0with the university\u2019s bold new FSU Health initiative and its\u00a0emphasis on healthcare in academic programs, research,\u00a0and investment, including\u00a0the Wertheim College\u2019s\u00a0new MBA\u00a0major\u00a0in\u00a0healthcare\u00a0administration\u00a0and its annual Business of Healthcare Summit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis initiative will train business students to fill critical gaps in the healthcare business workforce and work with\u00a0leaders in the healthcare industry and government to tackle pressing healthcare issues now representing more than\u00a017% and\u00a0$4.5 trillion\u00a0dollars of the U.S.\u00a0economy,\u201d Dr. Wertheim said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Part of the total philanthropic investment will name the college\u2019s new facility, which stands as the largest academic\u00a0building in FSU\u2019s history. The Herbert Wertheim Center for Business Excellence will host its first classes in\u00a0January, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony set for January\u00a06.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGenerations from\u00a0now,\u00a0we will point to this monumental investment as profoundly pivotal in both the trajectory\u00a0and impact of the college,\u201d said Michael Hartline, dean of the Herbert Wertheim College of Business. \u201cWe will\u00a0continue to generate innovative research and equip graduates to lead in the global marketplace, knowing this\u00a0infusion of new financial support will allow us to strengthen our best work while also launching important new\u00a0initiatives.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr. Wertheim\u2019s $65 million catalytic philanthropic investment is part of $431 million in investments made by the\u00a0state, private donors,\u00a0corporations\u00a0and foundations that will allow the Wertheim College,\u00a0university\u00a0and the FSU\u00a0Health initiative to pursue excellence at the highest level and inspire future philanthropic investments from other\u00a0donors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Herbert Wertheim College of Business and the Herbert Wertheim Center for Business Excellence will serve as\u00a0lasting tributes to the stature and business prominence of Dr. Wertheim.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wertheim\u2019s transformative contributions have led to the establishment of seven additional named academic\u00a0institutions in Florida and California: the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, the Wertheim College of Nursing\u00a0& Health Sciences and Wertheim School of Music & Performing Arts at Florida International University; the\u00a0Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and\u00a0the Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical\u00a0Innovation & Technology at the\u00a0University of Florida; the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human\u00a0Longevity Science at the University of California San Diego; and the Herbert Wertheim School of\u00a0Optometry and\u00a0Vision Science at the University of California Berkeley.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A self-made Horatio Alger recipient and Forbes 400 billionaire, Dr. Wertheim holds the\u00a0conviction that education\u00a0serves as a means of dismantling societal obstacles, thereby enhancing the overall well-being of the community and\u00a0humanity. His gifts and\u00a0benefactions create formal and informal opportunities for the local and global community that help address some\u00a0of the most pressing healthcare challenges facing society today.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Born into a working-class family, Dr. Wertheim overcame early academic challenges and pursued an education in\u00a0optometry and optical engineering, driven by a passion for science and an innate curiosity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1971, Dr. Wertheim founded Brain Power Incorporated (BPI), a pioneering company in optical color tints,\u00a0chemicals and scientific instruments and materials, which has played a critical role in the advancement of eye health\u00a0for more than 50 years. He is the first doctor to\u00a0indicate\u00a0and promote the danger of UV light to the eye and to\u00a0prescribe his breakthrough invention of UV light absorbers for lenses that has prevented millions from potential\u00a0diseases and blindness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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