Wake Up Every Day and Celebrate!

Julia Pallentino (BS ’80, JD ’83, MSN ’01) and her late husband, Patrick “Pat” Pallentino, have long been supporters of Florida State University.

A three-time FSU graduate, Julia excelled throughout her career as a nurse practitioner in the Tallahassee area. She also modeled service, teaching and leadership as a dedicated supporter of the healthcare community, an instructor at the FSU College of Nursing and a volunteer with the College of Nursing Advisory Board.

Pat Pallentino, a Charles A. Rovetta Faculty Hall of Fame honoree, was the founder, director and senior lecturer of the FSU College of Business Sales Institute and a beloved professor who taught and mentored students until he died in 2022.

He was coined the “Godfather of Sales” and the “visionary architect” behind the College of Business’ professional sales major and played a key role in the marketing program’s rise into the Top 20 among public schools.

The Pallentinos’ philanthropy to Florida State began with the purchase of an FSU license tag and eventually grew into support in many areas, including nursing, business, fine arts and hospitality.

A few years ago, at Julia’s suggestion, the Pallentinos’ made a gift to the College of Nursing to name a lab room. Later, when Pat passed away, Julia felt compelled to not only pay tribute to her invaluable education at FSU, but to continue the legacy started in Pat’s honor.

“Pat was so in love with FSU,” she expressed fondly. “He didn’t go to school [there], but it was his last profession and the one that made him the happiest.” She further reminisced that “he couldn’t wait to get up every day and go to work. Mostly, he loved the students.”

Julia desired to make a substantial and strategic impact at Florida State. She recalls learning about the ability to establish a charitable gift annuity (CGA) and wanted to include the colleges of Nursing and Business in her financial plans. She was happy to discover that this is a common philanthropic giving vehicle.

Charitable gift annuities are a strategic way to make a contribution to the charities you care so much about, while creating an income stream for the remainder of your life. You can designate a college, program or area of interest or allow the remainder as unrestricted for the university’s greatest needs.

Julia worked with the FSU Foundation and notes the efficiency and ease of the process. She used a CGA to establish the Julia C. Pallentino Faculty Support Endowed Fund to support faculty within the College of Nursing. She also endowed the Pat Pallentino Sales Program Endowment for Excellence originally established by a former student, which awards scholarships to top sales students each semester, provides stipends for the sales competition team and supports the sales director’s position.

“Julia continues to exemplify the spirit of giving that strengthens programs, changes lives and fuels preeminence at Florida State University,” said Michael Hartline, dean of the College of Business. “Their work and generosity over the years makes the Pallentino name synonymous with service, commitment and devotion to this great university.”

Julia says she feels good about having her legacy in place at FSU, and that Pat would be pleased. Philanthropy has always been a core value of the Pallentinos. Julia even recalls how Pat regularly encouraged his students to make small contributions to FSU. He was thoughtful of FSU’s future and promoted philanthropy as a way of giving back. Since creating her CGA, Julia has shared her experience and continues to advocate for support of Florida State.

It’s been said that Pat’s motto was to “wake up every day and celebrate.” Today, we wake up and celebrate Julia and Pat and their unwavering support of Florida State University.

“We are so grateful for Julia’s contributions of the three ‘Ts’ to the College of Nursing—time, talent and treasure, by establishing an endowment to support our talented faculty, Julia will have a major impact on future generations of Nole Nurses.”
—Jing Wang, Dean of the College of Nursing

The Office of Gift & Estate Planning is committed to serving as a resource to help strategically align your philanthropic mission with your interests at Florida State University. To learn more about gift and estate planning, contact The Office of Gift and Estate Planning at (850) 644-0753 or giftplanning@foundation.fsu.edu.