Florida State University has named its College of Education, Health and Human Sciences after one of its alumni and most generous donors – Anne Spencer Daves – to recognize her nearly 30-year legacy of support.

The Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health and Human Sciences makes it the first FSU college to be named after an alumna and the only named education-related college in Florida, according to the university.

“Naming a college is a rare honor,” FSU President Richard McCullough said in a prepared statement. “Only a few will realize what that means and what that means to us.”

FSU’s Board of Trustees voted in the summer on the renaming – which has the nickname of Anne’s College, for short – before the university made the official announcement during a dinner celebration on campus in late November.

The decision came after Daves, a former educator, gave a gift to the university that will go toward assisting future educators in the now-namesake college.

Although the donation is “among the most generous and transformational gifts ever given to an education-related college nationwide,” Daves requested that the exact amount remain confidential, an FSU spokesperson said.

The gift to the college – which is a combination of the College of Education and College of Health and Human Sciences after they merged into one last year – is also intended to make FSU the most affordable Master of Science program in education in the country, according to the university.

“As a former teacher, Anne understands the transformational power of education firsthand,” Anne’s College Dean Damon Andrew said in a university release. “It has been a privilege to become acquainted with her personally over the years, and I can say that she is truly one of the most selfless and remarkable individuals I have ever met.”

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Who is Anne Spencer Daves?

Daves, a Polk County native who spent 30 years as a fourth-grade teacher in Central Florida, graduated from FSU with her bachelor’s degree in elementary education.

In honor of her and her late husband John Daves – a former systems analyst in launch operations who later became a public relations volunteer at NASA – the Anne and John Daves Professor in Education position was created at FSU in October 2001.

The Anne Spencer Daves Fellowships Fund was also established in June 2009 at what was previously the College of Education.

But before that, Daves’s years of gift giving at FSU began with a donation to the university’s Alumni Association in June 1997 followed by the creation of the Curtis Edward Spencer Endowed Scholarship Fund in October 1997, where the fund was named after her father who passed away from lung cancer.

Daves’s passion for education was inspired by Spencer, a veteran who worked tirelessly to support his family of six and never got the chance to complete his education. Through the fund that honors him, over 100 scholarships have been awarded to FSU students in elementary education.

“The Seminole drumbeat and my heartbeat kind of came together,” Daves said in a release. “It pulled me back here, and I knew then what I wanted to do for my father.”

On top of the renaming, Daves was presented with a diploma that bears the college’s new name following the announcement.

“Anne’s unwavering commitment to FSU and her vision for education will undoubtedly inspire others to support our mission,” McCullough said. “Her generosity will have a lasting impact, creating opportunities for generations of students to come.”

Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU gives College of Education, Health and Human Sciences a new name