In 1986, the University Club Scholarship Fund was established to award a student with $500 per semester for four years as long as he or she maintained a minimum 3.2 GPA. In 1994, due to the increase in the number of mature students pursuing degrees at FSU, the criteria were changed to award the $500 scholarships to “needy, returning, full-time, undergraduate students over 30 years of age who maintain a 3.2 GPA.” At first, the club was only able to award the scholarships to one or two students per semester. This number gradually rose to three per semester.

Throughout the decades, the treasury has remained quite healthy due to careful management over the years. The club has been fortunate in having the professional advice and interest of members – and for free!

Since 1996, the membership has stabilized at about 300 individuals, No matter what is tried, new members are hard to find. Part of the difficulty is caused by the fact that so many women work outside the home. It does not help that FSU no longer is able to hire as many new faculty each year, which is where many of the new members come from.

The Billy Bowlegs 5K Run & 1 Mile Walk is going strong and earned about $1300 for scholarships in 1997. We fondly remember Sue Dietrich who crafted and donated the mugs as prizes for the first ten or eleven years. Since then, we have purchased the popular mugs from a local potter. The scholarship fund remains the Club’s largest expense.

A new member was added to the Board. This is someone who represents ARF, the Association of Retired Faculty. With a steadily growing number of retirees in our Club, we have a representative on their board as well.

Like everywhere else, expenses were growing. Postage was beginning to be quite a large sum. By stopping the annual membership drive mailing in the Fall, a mailing which went to every current faculty member and administrative & professional staff, the Club was able to lower its expenses.

The Interest Groups are doing well although the number of groups offered varies from 10 to 20. Some new ones, such as “Singles”, did not last long.

There is mention in the Minutes of a conflict of names between our group, which has been The University Club for several years and the new University Center Club in the building at the south end zone of Doak Campbell Stadium. The proposed name was to have been the University Club, but after much discussion and help from the Dean of The Faculties at FSU, the new club was named The University Center Club. However confusion continued with such similar names, and many people erroneously referred to the new club as the University Club. The club at the stadium has a restaurant and other facilities and is a big commercial enterprise. Some people have thought they were joining that club and are surprised when they hear from us. I feel sure the reverse is also true.

Without a permanent home for the Club, the interest groups continue to meet in the homes of members – if the group is small – and beg and borrow space for the larger groups like Globetrotters which eventually combined the Friday and Saturday night groups and has about 100 members. There has been talk in the past of finding space for the Club on a permanent basis but this has not materialized. By way of contrast, many major universities provide gathering space for social activities of their faculty.

A permanent space would also have been perfect for the Wednesday Socials, which were popular from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s when the April Wednesday Social each year was held on the patio behind the President’s house. The various schools and colleges at FSU sponsored the socials following the FSU Senate meetings. They provided the light refreshments with the Club charging a minimal fee to cover the cost of beverages. These socials gave the faculty and friends across campus a place to meet and to exchange ideas while giving them a chance to see the various entities throughout the campus community.

Our Historian takes pictures at the monthly meetings and at some interest group meetings. An album is often compiled for each year and has become a part of our permanent records at Strozier Library.

We have been calling on the expertise of Club members for years regarding our financial management and constitution. Now we are also using their talents to entertain, etc. We have musicians, a juggler and a member who set up our own web page.

In the Fall of 1999, there was a new first. The gavel was turned over to our first male President, Homer Ooten. He is only one of the many men who have been very active in years past. As Vice President for Programs the year before, he had many ideas for meetings such as a day at a football game as well as one at the circus. Of course, there were our regularly scheduled meetings as well. These consist of the Welcoming Reception, Newcomers’ Wine and Cheese, the Holiday Reception in December, the Billy Bowlegs Run in the spring and the Annual Dinner in April or May. There are usually five or six additional meetings, which vary according to the inspiration of the Program Chairman.

The Program Chairman for 2000 invited the past presidents of the Club to the opening fall reception with 35 of those women still living in Tallahassee. Over 200 people attended the event. A member’s son played the piano, which was a nice touch.

More free expert talent was utilized in 2000-01 when a committee, which included a lawyer, updated the Constitution.

2001 was the 75th anniversary of the Club. It was celebrated with a Gala Dinner at the Capital City Country Club. The Capital Chordsmen entertained us. This is a group of 20-25 men who sing barbershop style. At least two of them were Club members.

We also enjoyed looking at the photograph albums made by our Historian. Articles in both State and The Tallahassee Magazine noted that we were celebrating our 75th anniversary.

Our dedicated member Alice Nichols has spent many, many hours finding the people who need the scholarships the most. From 1994 through 2001, the Club gave 44 $500 scholarships. Alice also audited our books for several years.

We had another first in 2002. The new president, Tom Hart, is married to Sherry Hart who was president in 1998. Four men are serving on the Board in 2002. It was a successful year with ten well-attended monthly events.

The names of hundreds of people, who have worked hard for the Club, are not included in this history. Most members enjoy the work and the friendships. They donate their time, money and energy because they know how important it is to get to know people from other fields and to spend some social time with people from their own areas of expertise. Besides all that, it is fun. A challenge remains – how to attract new and younger members. Retirees make up about half the membership.

At the Annual Dinner in Spring 2003, attended by 76 people, there was much discussion about once again changing the Club’s name. After a spirited exchange involving many people, a name was selected: Faculty and Friends of FSU. However, it was later learned that for tax purposes the name had to include the word “club.” So we are now the Faculty and Friends Club of Florida State University.

Revised November 2008

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