Professors in the School of Information, Paul Marty and Michelle Kazmer, have recently donated a generous gift of $25,000 to the College of Communication and Information. The married couple got their start at FSU in 2002 when they doubled their faculty interview trips as their honeymoon. “A paid trip to Florida in the middle of an Illinois winter? Yes!” Michelle says. They immediately fell in love with the campus, the faculty, the top-notch students and have been here ever since.
Over the past 18 years, that love has grown and the couple explains that they have built not only their careers here but also their family. “FSU in general, and CCI in particular, have been supportive of us in every possible way, through great times and tough times equally,” the pair says. Thus, when the opportunity presented itself to give back to CCI, the couple felt it was only natural.
While some gifts go specifically to research or scholarships, this gift is aimed at community. Both Michelle and Paul believe in the power of sharing food as a key part of community. As such, they want to ensure that CCI’s faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors, administrators, and employers will always have the opportunity to share a meal, snack, or celebratory cake.
“Our motivation for this gift was spurred by a specific event,” Michelle explains. “Many years ago, during a ‘lean’ time budget-wise, we attended a reception for graduating students and discovered that there was NO CAKE. There wasn’t money for cake!” Michelle stayed at the party to make sure nobody left, while Paul drove to the store in graduation-weekend traffic to get a cake. “Our community was able to celebrate with cake that day, and when the time came that we could make a gift to CCI, our personal goal was to make sure, to the extent we can, that no event goes without cake!”
But the gift isn’t limited to just cake! The goal of the gift is to support engagement for CCI and its three Schools with the whole community, “and when that engagement involves food and beverage, all the better!”
CCI extends its deepest gratitude and thanks to Michelle and Paul for their generous gift and their many years of dedication to CCI and its community.