CONTACT: Doug Carlson, FSU College of Medicine
(850) 645-1255; (850) 694-3735; doug.carlson@med.fsu.edu

Oct. 2, 2015

FSU COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AUDITORIUM BEING NAMED FOR PEADEN

The Florida State University College of Medicine is naming its auditorium for the late Florida Sen. Durell Peaden, a Crestview physician who sponsored the legislation creating the medical school in 2000.

FSU President John Thrasher, who was Florida’s House speaker at the time, will be present, as will numerous other current and former legislators. The College of Medicine’s main administration building is named for Thrasher.

Also being named for Peaden is the college’s Rural Medical Education Program.

Peaden had been concerned for years that not enough new physicians were available to replace the aging doctors in the rural towns of Florida’s Panhandle. In the late 1990s, he began conversations with FSU administrators that ultimately led to the College of Medicine’s establishment. Previously, in FSU’s Program in Medical Sciences (PIMS), students completed their first year of medical school and then transferred to the University of Florida to complete their studies.

Like PIMS, the College of Medicine targets a diverse array of students, including those from traditionally underserved communities, and stresses primary care, patient-centered medicine and hands-on learning directly from community physicians.

The College of Medicine’s first class graduated in 2005. Nearly 270 current and former students have come to the medical school from Panhandle towns, and more than 50 alumni are now practicing in the Panhandle.

The naming ceremony will take place:

MONDAY, OCT. 5

4:30 P.M.

FSU COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AUDITORIUM

1115 W. CALL ST.

TALLAHASSEE, FLA.

Directions: From downtown, travel west on Tennessee Street and turn left on Stadium Drive. Parking is available in the parking garage at Stadium Drive and Spirit Way.

###