James “Jay” Newman There are many ways to make a lasting impact at Florida State University—cash or appreciated stocks, donor-advised funds, will or trust inclusion, and beneficiary designations, to name a few. James “Jay” Newman BS’64 in mathematics, MBA’70 and Dr. Betty Sue Newman, M.S.’71 in reading education chose to think outside the box to utilize the cash value of existing life insurance policies and IRA required minimum distributions, known as qualified charitable distributions (QCD), in their creative giving plan. Jay expressed that both he and Sue value the education they received at FSU, and they wanted to financially support FSU students and programs—including FSU’s School of Theatre, the College of Business RMI Program, WFSU-FM, and WFSU-TV. Jay recalls their feelings of satisfaction as they created their first endowment through the Southern Scholarship Foundation. The Sue and Jay Newman Endowment provides much-needed residential scholarships to academically qualified and financially needy students. He explained that taxes and the minimum standard deduction changes were a motivating factor for the timing of the gift in 2017. “SSF kids are able to go to college, have residential needs met, and graduate with low or even zero debt,” Jay said as he beamed with pride. It was that same aligned passion that drew them to the FSU Theatre Patrons, where Jay served on the Patrons Board for 15 years. He was thrilled to establish and endow the Jay & Dr. Sue Newman Research Award in Theatre Studies, which supports master’s and doctoral students pursuing academic research in theatre studies. This is the first and only award of its kind in the School of Theatre. “I hope this award will help attract and support serious students interested in graduate research in theatre studies at FSU,” Jay explained. “This type of research will add to the reputation of the FSU School of Theatre and to the larger body of knowledge about the history and development of theatre.” More recently, Jay has used the same strategic methods to establish and endow the Jay Newman Insurance Regulation and Public Policy Research Award, providing crucial research support for RMI faculty in the College of Business. “I wanted to do something that would build on my 37-year insurance career,” Jay explained. “Jay’s unique gift will incentivize faculty to pursue research on issues that are close to Jay’s heart: insurance regulation and public policy. Jay served as the insurance commissioner in Virginia, founded the Journal of Insurance Regulation, and worked with the Florida Catastrophic Risk Management Center here in the College of Business. His gift will help push FSU to the forefront of this ever-important area of academic research in insurance.” —Chuck Nyce, PhD, Department Chair and Dr. William T. Hold Professor of Risk Management & Insurance Throughout it all, Jay has relied on development officers Jessica Comas in the College of Fine Arts and Thomas Guthrie, then in the College of Business, in addition to the Office of Gift and Estate Planning team to go on this fulfilling journey with him, sharing that they were “easy to work with and capable, knowledgeable people.” Jay encourages FSU supporters to “be creative and take advantage of the many ways to donate and make a difference. Look for ways to make an impact now.” Jay encourages anyone looking to include FSU in their philanthropic mission to “do something that will last beyond your life.” He is proud to know that his endowments are “working and providing benefits forever.” If you find the Newmans’ dedication to FSU inspiring, contact The Office of Gift and Estate Planning at giftplanning@advance.fsu.edu to learn about the many ways you can make a difference and help chart successful futures for FSU students. Back © Pentera, Inc. Planned giving content. All rights reserved. Disclaimer