REDESIGN
New Statues
Here are the new Florida State affiliated scholars we have added to the monument.
Betty Mae Tiger
”Betty Mae Tiger was a nurse and was the first elected chairwoman of the Seminole Tribe of Florida in 1967. As an elected official, her primary focuses were on the value of childhood educational opportunities, as well as ensuring access to healthcare to Seminole Youth. After her term in office had ended, Tiger became the editor of the Seminole Tribune, as well as the director of the Seminole Communications Department. In 1994, Tiger received an honorary doctorate of human letters from Florida State University.”
Sylvia A Earle
”Sylvia A. Earle is a highly accomplished marine biologist, lecturer and author. She graduated from Florida State University in 1955 at the age of 19. In 1979, Earle set the record in diving at a depth of 381 meters. In 1990 Earle accepted appointment as Chief Scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-the first woman to hold this position. In 1998, she was titled National Geographic Explorer in Residence, inciting the nickname “Her Deepness.”
Dr. Mildred Usher
”Dr. Mildred Usher was an educator who graduated with her PhD from Florida State University in 1980. She was a champion for the athletics department and was instrumental in shaping women’s athletics at the university. In 1975, Dr. Usher served as the first coach for the women’s basketball team at FSU.”
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Dr. Andre Thomas
”Dr. Andre J Thomas is an esteemed conductor and composer. In 1984, Dr. Thomas joined the faculty at Florida State University School of Music where he taught for 35 years as a Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities. In 1998, Dr. Thomas founded the Tallahassee Community Chorus, acting as its Chief Director until his retirement in 2019, shaping the music culture in Tallahassee. In addition to his teaching accolades, Dr Thomas has also received the Robert Shaw Award from the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO). He was inducted into the Florida Music Educators Hall of Fame in 2019."
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Benjamin Crump
”Benjamin Crump is a civil rights lawyer who graduated from Florida State University with his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 1992, followed by his Juris Doctor in 1995. Starting in 2012 his name became known through his work with the Black Lives Matter movement as he has taken on notable cases such as Treyvon Martin and George Floyd. Crump served as the first African American Chair of the FSU College of Law Board of Directors, and in 2015, he was sworn in as the president of the National Bar association."
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Barry Jenkins
”Barry Jenkins is an awarded screenwriter and film director. He graduated from Florida State University in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in Creative Writing. His work in film has focused on telling original stories which have been historically brushed to the side. In 2016 his film, Moonlight, won Best Picture at the Academy Awards where he was also nominated for Best Director."
Toni-Ann Singh
”Toni-Ann Singh is a beauty pageant winner who was crowned Miss World in 2019. Singh graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor's degree in Psychology and Women’s Studies. She is the longest reigning Miss World to date and the fourth winner to come from Jamaica."
Rationale
The Nobel Prize is a great honor to receive, but it is not a prize awarded to many fields of study. First awarded in 1901, the categories for the Nobel prize are Physics, Chemistry, Physiology, Medicine, Literature, and Peace. There is not a place on the FSU campus dedicated to honoring alumni who have been accomplished and honored within their fields, aside from this walk. Additionally, the history of the Nobel Prize is accompanied with a historical bias which is rooted in accessibility and opportunity in fields of work.
Because of these limitations, we decided to make additions to the Laureate walk to be more diverse in every way. With only six Nobel Laureates hailing from Florida State University, the large space set aside to honor them felt empty and underutilized. We have decided to double the number of honores in the Laureate walk, filling the allotted space, with a dedication and focus on diversity in both subject matter and personal identity. While we kept most of the original fixtures to the walk, we made the decision to replace Paul Dirac with a new addition. While we recognize the monumental influence Dirac has had on the field of mathematics, his accomplishments have been reflected in many other places across campus. We decided to replace his bust in the Laureate walk with another FSU alumni who does not have a place of recognition.
In addition to filling the space with more honorees, we felt the decor for the space was bare and unkempt. Adding more vegetation to the trellises will make the space feel more ceremonial. We are adding arches to the start and end of the path to include a more traditional memorial cornerstone to the space. The viewer will feel as though they are sharing a space with the laureates as they walk along. We also decided to add a reflection pool which the viewer can walk alongside as they read about the honorees. Within the pool will be inscribed a quote by Betty Mae Tiger which we felt encompassed the value education has in the lives of alumni and their trajectory after their higher education concluded.
Finally, we noted that the space was not ADA accessible and the stairs leading up to the memorial isolate a portion of the FSU population. We decided to redesign one of the staircases to be a ramp up to the side of the memorial instead. This will not only make the space more accessible, but emphasize the importance that diversity and accommodation has in FSU spaces.