Congratulations to KCCI Advisory Board Member Mike Pate on becoming a FSU College of Business 2012 Hall of Fame Inductee!

Tallahassee civic leader, ’68 graduate Mike Pate to be inducted into College of Business 2012 Hall of Fame

Barbara Ash

12/21/2011 10:27

Since retiring from the Tallahassee Democrat,where he served as publisher and president from 1997 to 2005, J. Michael Pate has been an untiring, effective and welcome presence in Florida’s capital city and Florida State University, his alma mater.  

For his professional accomplishments and his successful efforts to enhance his community and the university, Pate, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1968, has been selected as a 2012 College of Business Hall of Fame inductee.  He will join a prestigious group of business leader on March 29 at the Annual Hall of Fame Dinner and Ceremony at the Florida State Turnbull Conference Center.

Since 2003,the college has honored individuals who embody the qualities that make the College of Business an extraordinary place to learn and grow. Like Pate, other Hall of Fame inductees have excelled in their careers and made significant contributions to the college.

In November, Pate, founder and president of the Tallahassee-based J. Michael Pate Consulting Services, also was named an FSU Grad Made Good during homecoming activities. He is a former FSU Foundation trustee and was a member of the Inaugural Steering Committee for the popular Seven Days of Opening Nights. He continues to work with 7 Days as chair of the Community Council. He is a lifetime member of the FSU Alumni Association and in 2003, was inducted into its Circle of Gold. In 2005, he was named a Distinguished Alumni.In addition, he is a member of the Seminole Boosters and is a FSU School of Theatre and University Musical Associates patron. He also is a member of Alpha Delta Sigma, the national advertising honor society; Kappa Kappa Psi, the national honorary band fraternity; and the Marching Chiefs; and is a co-founder of the FSU Band Alumni Association.  He was a commencement speaker at FSU’s spring graduation for the colleges of Business, Education, Music, Nursing and Social Work. Pate had a successful 37-year career in business side of the news paperindustry that, in addition to the Tallahassee Democrat, included stints at the Miami Herald, The Sun Herald in Biloxi, Mississippi; and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach, S.C., where he was publisher and president for over 18 years.

An energetic civic leader, he is on advisory boards for the Knight Creative Communities Institute, the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce’s Our Region Tomorrow and Seven Days of Opening Nights, among others, and is program director for Town & Gown Tallahassee.  He also is a member of the Capital Tiger Bay Club, the area’s premier political forum.

In addition to recognitions he has received from FSU, he has been the recipient of countless community honors and awards, including Leadership Tallahassee’s 2007Leader of the Year Award.

“If community leadership and enhancement are bellwethers of a successful Hall of Fame inductee, one needs look no farther than Mike Pate,” said nominator Michael Hartline, associate dean for Strategic Initiatives and Charles A. Bruning Professor of Business Administration at the College of Business. “Since his graduation in 1968, Mike has maintained a steadfast connection to community and professional achievement…He is a true Seminole, a devoted alumnus, and an obvious recipient for the College of Business Hall of Fame.

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