President John Thrasher is a Florida State University alumnus and is currently the President of our university. On Monday, I had the opportunity to speak with him about his life as a ‘Nole and being the President.
Her Campus (HC): What is it like being the president of FSU?
President John Thrasher (PT): It is an amazing job; I tell everyone it is the best job I have ever had. It is something I never thought would happen and I thoroughly enjoy it. The experience of being with our students, our faculty and all the good things that are going on around Florida State really motivates me and excites me every day. I get up every morning looking forward to what we can do to make FSU even better. I have two degrees from FSU myself and two daughters who graduated from here, and I’m soon going to have two grandchildren that will go here. I love FSU and to be a part of it at this level is just really a thrill.
HC: So you mentioned that you went to FSU. What has changed on campus since you have been here?
PT: When I started here it was a much smaller campus; it basically stopped at Woodward Street. The campus has expanded enormously. We have so many new buildings, new research like the MagLab and the quality of students we have now has changed. All of these things have made FSU a real positive place to be for graduate students as well as undergraduate students. It has changed immensely and not just in numbers. When I went here we had around 8,000 students and now we have 42,000. Again, the quality of our students is just fantastic. I couldn’t be prouder of the students who are coming to FSU.
HC: What is a typical day as the President of FSU?
PT: I have everyone in the Westcott Building and all of my senior advisors here. My door is always open, and they know that they can always come in and talk about issues on this campus. On Mondays, for instance, we have a big staff meeting. Everyone in my senior staff gets together (we call it our cabinet meeting), and we just go through different issues that affect the university. On an average day like today, I’ve had meetings with various staff personnel, and I have a major speech to give at the Alumni Center tonight. It is called “A Return On Investment” that the alumni association put together. They are sponsored by the College of Law and the College of Business; I graduated from both of those. I am going to talk about leadership tonight at an event they are having with local graduates of FSU. Around this time of year, a big part of the day is the legislature. The legislature is in session and what they do down there, particularly in funding, impacts us greatly, so we make sure to look at that very closely.
Courtesy: Florida State University
HC: Speaking of the law school, I saw that last week you pushed for the panel to focus more on B.K. Roberts and Francis Eppes in their review. What made you push for those two?
PT: Well, those two seem to garner the most concern from the people that raise it to me personally. We have 162 buildings here at FSU and a lot of them are named after people. If we are going to go analyze every single one and get into the backgrounds, it is going to take a lot of time. These are the two that seem to be the most pressing right now. I simply asked the committee to really focus on them and then we can broaden the scope a little bit later.
HC: What lead to you becoming FSU’s president?
PT: What motivated me was the fact I love FSU. Obviously, I have a law degree and an undergraduate degree from FSU, and I can guarantee you that because of those two things I wouldn’t be sitting here with you having this interview. It has opened so many doors for me in my life, even before I got this job. So to me, it is kind of the icing on the cake, in life and in my career.
HC: What is the biggest perk of being FSU’s president?
PT: The biggest perk is being around the students, there is no question about that. I love the interaction I have with them, I love to see them when they succeed. Our graduations are amazing now, we graduate over 8,000 students a year. The families come and the kids go out and get jobs, or they go get more education. Seeing that happening was the biggest thing.
HC: What is your favorite place on campus?
PT: I love going to Suwannee Room to eat because I get a chance to see a lot of the students. I also love when a faculty member asks me to come and be a part of their course. I am a big sports fan, so I love going to the various sports events. My wife and I went out and saw the women’s tennis team on Saturday, and we are also big baseball fans, so we will be going to some games. With our new football coach, next year is going to be an exciting time for FSU football. It will kind of be a whole new beginning for our team.Â
HC: Who is your ideal FSU ‘Nole?
PT: Former President Sandy D’Alemberte has been a long time friend of mine before I even ever thought about this job. I actually became the first chairman of the board of trustees when they were created by the legislature. He was president at the time so working with him was a lot of fun. When I applied for the job as FSU’s President, he supported me. He is clearly one of my all-time favorite ‘Noles, and friend, I might add.
Courtesy: Florida State University
HC: What is your favorite FSU tradition?
PT: I love anything to do with athletics, particularly football games when I see Renegade and Osceola come out and everyone starts cheering. I guess the other part of that is our great Marching Chiefs band. They inspire a lot of loyalty and enthusiasm for our events, and not just for our sporting events. I love the tradition of the Marching Chiefs.
HC: What is a club you think FSU students should get involved in and why?
PT: We have over 700 organizations, in addition to sororities and fraternities, so it is honestly up to your choice. My theory is this: you ought to get involved in something when you come here. Our footprint on the campus is relatively small, so we have an intimacy to the campus. But we also have over 42,000 students, so if you get involved in an organization that you really have a passion for, it can help you shrink the campus down. It gives you the opportunity to meet new friends and do different things. Whatever your passion is, get involved in it and give back. That’s the main thing—you don’t want to sit here for four years and not have been involved in something. It gets you a lot of good experiences and a lot of exposure. It gives you a chance to meet a cross-section of students that you perhaps wouldn’t have had the opportunity to.
HC: What do you think one of the biggest problems is on our campus and what do you think might be the solution?
PT: Well the one I hear the most about is parking. Let me just say this: parking is always going to be a problem. One of the things we deal with is growth. We are now looking for a way to expand our campus at Innovation Park, or the Gateway District, which is where the College of Engineering, the MagLab, and the golf course are. It is a lot of land that we control that is the future of FSU, so we have to plan that very effectively, and I think again, 15 years from now, that area will be a major part of our campus.
HC: Where do you see FSU in the future?
PT: I hope in a few years we will be in the top 25 public universities in the country—that’s my goal. We have moved up considerably over the last two years, and I think over the next two years we will reach that goal for sure. I am excited about that. It is not just about a number—being in the top 25 public universities enhances your degree when you get out. You would have the opportunity to say, “I am from one of the top universities in the country.” And the fact that we just had over 50,000 young people apply to be in our next freshman class is an indication that FSU is a destination. Young people want to come here because they know that we have great programs, great faculty and a great environment to enjoy a college experience.