It is with great sadness that the College received the news of the passing of Dr. Ronald Blazek, School of Information Professor Emeritus, on December 8, 2023.

Dr. Blazek joined the faculty in 1971 and served at Florida State University for 32 years, mentoring countless students and leaving a lasting impact on its programs.

“Kathy [Burnett] and I are deeply saddened to learn of the death of one of our first FSU colleagues, Ron Blazek, who was one of only seven faculty members in our School when we started in 1996,” said iSchool Professor Gary Burnett. “He was a great colleague, fully supportive of the new directions the School was beginning to take at the time, and was universally loved by his students.”

Many of Blazek’s former students can attest to this, including current iSchool Professor Dr. Nancy Everhart.

“I had Ron for my first ever Ph.D. research course and I was quite intimidated,” recalled Everhart. “Ron put me and my classmates at ease immediately and showed tremendous patience as we got our feet wet in research in the field and various methodologies. I loved his class. The rumor was that he never gave an A to first-year students so I was thrilled when I received an A and when he said at my dissertation defense that ‘this is a great little study.’”

During his time at the iSchool, Blazek served as major professor to 36 doctoral recipients and on the doctoral committees of over 70 students. His contributions to the College also include the Ron & Genny Blazek Scholarship Fund, which continues to support graduate students in the School of Information.

“I hope others will remember Ron’s kindness, his dedication to FSU, and his sense of humor,” added Everhart.

If you wish to make a gift in memory of Dr. Blazek, please donate to the Ron & Genny Blazek Endowed Scholarship Fund (search for fund F03926).