Florida State University. Office of the President.

Florida State University is located in Tallahassee, Florida. The institution was chartered in 1851 and has been state-assisted since 1857. It operated under several different names until 1909, when it became Florida State College for Women. In 1947, the name was changed to Florida State University and the institution was made coeducational. It is part of the State University System which is part of the Division of Universities in the Dept. of Education. The university president is appointed by the Board of Regents.

Gordon W. Blackwell was President of Florida State University from September, 1960 to January, 1965. He was born on April 27, 1911 at Timmonsville, South Carolina. He received his B.A. from Furman University in 1932, his M.A. from the University of North Carolina in 1933, and his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1940. Prior to coming to Florida State University, he served as Chancellor of the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina. He was appointed as President in 1960. One of Blackwell's most significant achievements was the peaceful racial integration of the student body in 1962. In 1965, Dr. Blackwell left Florida State University to become President of Furman University.