Florida State University Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Jim Clark visited the FSU London Study Centre earlier this semester to see the facilities and meet with students, faculty and staff.
Engagement with FSU’s study centers abroad is a priority to Clark, who also delivered the commencement address at FSU’s branch campus in the Republic of Panama last fall.
“FSU’s study centers in London, Florence and Valencia, as well as the branch campus in the Republic of Panama, provide students with amazing opportunities to live and study in bustling and culturally rich cities,” Clark said. “They also give faculty the chance to teach abroad and immerse themselves in foreign cultures. It was great to see the FSU London Study Centre firsthand after hearing about so many life-changing experiences there.”
FSU’s first study abroad program in London took place in 1971, but students didn’t stay at the London Study Centre until after it was purchased in 1992. Located in the heart of the historic Bloomsbury district, the FSU London Study Centre is within walking distance of many historic and cultural sites, such as the National Gallery and Buckingham Palace. Programs are offered year-round including the unique First Year Abroad program and the Theatre Academy London program.
Clark visited several of the iconic locations near the FSU London Study Centre, including the British Museum, Covent Garden, a shopping and entertainment hub with an elegant piazza, and the Freud Museum.
“Studying at the FSU London Study Centre really allows students to use the city as their textbook,” he said. “It’s a remarkable location with such rich resources to complement the classroom experience.”
Clark also met with London-based instructors and observed some of the most popular courses offered at the Study Centre, including Sexual Health in the Modern World with Instructor Agata Pacho; Peoples of the Roman World with Louise Schofield, an archaeologist and former curator at the British Museum; and Introduction to International Affairs with Associate Lecturer Gergana Dimova.
The visit concluded with an evening reception at the FSU London Study Centre with students, faculty and staff, and FSU alumni currently living in London. Provost Clark recognizes the importance of interacting with faculty, staff and students at FSU’s study centers and branch campuses, as well as alumni who live abroad.
Jim Pitts, the longtime director of International Programs who’s retiring this summer, was honored during the reception with a framed print and a replica blue plaque of the London Study Centre. A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker.
It was an emotional moment for all attending, as Pitts has served as director of International Programs for almost thirty years. Early in his career, he was instrumental in purchasing and renovating the current Study Centre building complex, which has allowed the London program to evolve to meet the needs of generations of FSU students.
“Seeing you all here, hearing you share your testimonies, seeing this room and knowing how it’s been used over the last thirty years, gives me great pleasure in knowing this is the greatest return on investment I’ve ever made,” said lifelong economist Jim Pitts. “It’s been an amazing journey and I’m really looking forward to Provost Clark’s vision in building on the foundation that the London staff has built here.”
Provost Jim Clark was then presented with a framed print of the ceiling painting in the Study Centre’s main building, titled “Bacchus & Ariadne.” It was painted in approximately 1700 by a French Huguenot, Louis Chéron, and is one of the only of its kind surviving in a London townhouse today.
Having this piece of artwork gives the FSU London Study Centre Grade II listed status by English Heritage, a level of recognition reserved for particularly important buildings. The painting depicts the love story of the two mythical figures but is a political nod to the change in monarchy from King James II to King William and Queen Mary in 1689. It symbolizes new beginnings, which seems fitting for the mission of International Programs and the Provost’s vision for the future.
“This is an extraordinary place, you’re all amazing people, you’re risk takers, you push the limits, build new things and imagine your way into wonderful lives, and that’s what FSU is about,” Clark said. “I join everyone in thanking Jim for his vision, we are so lucky to have him as a leader and administrator. At his heart he’s about ROIs in lives, and just look around at what he’s produced for us all and the university.”
To learn more about the FSU London Study Centre, visit international.fsu.edu.
