TALLAHASSEE—College of Law alum Jeff Stoops and his wife Aggie Stoops have made a commitment of $700,000 to fund the Jeffrey A. Stoops and Agnes Flaherty Stoops Endowment at Florida State University. Once the commitment is fulfilled, the gift will be eligible for a 70 percent match from the State of Florida, bringing the total endowment to $1,190,000. 

One half of the earnings from the endowment will go toward the Jeffrey A. Stoops Professorship at the College of Law. The professorship is designed to attract or to retain a highly productive professor specializing in the areas of corporate, business or securities law. The other half of the earnings will fund the Agnes Flaherty Stoops Professorship at the School of Social Work and will be awarded to a professor whose focus is in the area of child welfare. Aggie Stoops received her master’s degree in social work from the School of Social Work in 1983. 

Jeff Stoops, who graduated from law school in 1984, said the gift, which will be made over a period of time, is a way to express appreciation for the “wonderful and enriching experiences” he and his wife had at Florida State. “FSU has meant so much to us and it laid the solid foundation for where our family is today,” he said. 

Jeff Stoops is president, chief executive officer and a director of SBA Communications Corporation, based in Boca Raton, Florida. With more than 3,000 wireless communications towers, SBA Communications is a leading independent tower owner and operator, as well as one of the nation’s largest providers of professional network development services to companies in the wireless communications industry. 

As a Florida businessman, Stoops said he is keenly aware of the need for quality business lawyers. “As a former practicing corporate and securities lawyer, I was thrilled with the opportunities but also witnessed at times a large amount of work from Florida corporations going to out-of-state lawyers. By making this gift, we hope to facilitate the further development of the corporate and securities bar within the State of Florida”. 

In announcing the gift, Dean Don Weidner said, “We are all extremely grateful to Jeff and Aggie for their generous gift, which will help us take our corporate and business program to the next level.”