Legacy of Excellence

Generations of Florida State University students have endured the chaos of campus traffic before 8 a.m. classes, but few of them have been lucky enough to skip it by catching a ride from the university’s president.

José B. Fernández, a three-time FSU graduate with a bachelor’s in Spanish and history, a master’s in Spanish, and a doctorate in Spanish with a minor in history from the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics and Department of History, is one of a kind.

“Where else except FSU would the president, J. Stanley Marshall during my time, be willing to offer a student a ride?” Fernández said. “That’s the embodiment of FSU. Faculty and administrators are very approachable, and there’s always interaction among the community.”

While he didn’t know it at the time, this experience imprinted on Fernández the type of leader he wanted to become: a mentor admired for his enthusiasm, dedication and collegiality.

Fernández went on to a 45-year academic career as a preeminent scholar of Hispanic languages and history, from which he retired in 2018. Starting in 1998, he held four separate administrative roles at the University of Central Florida where he also became the university’s first Hispanic dean and led UCF’s College of Arts and Humanities for a decade. In addition to his administration, teaching, and mentorship, Fernández authored more than 13 books and 40 articles and co-authored 14 textbooks.

He was honored by his alma mater in 2022 as an FSU Alumni Association Grad Made Good — a program that recognizes notable alumni who have made exceptional contributions in their chosen field or community.

“This honor is thanks to everyone I’ve encountered in my personal life and career, especially at FSU,” Fernández said. “FSU helped me develop my social life, career opportunities, and most notably, my confidence. If you had asked me about an award like this when I was a student, I would’ve said no way, José!”

Upon Fernández’s doctoral graduation in 1973, Jerrell Shofner, the late two-time FSU alumnus and eminent scholar of Florida history, encouraged him to join the Florida Historical Society, the state’s oldest cultural organization dedicated to preserving Florida’s past. Fernández served on the organization’s board of directors for 20 years and as vice president for two before becoming the organization’s first Hispanic president in 2006.

While working with FHS, in 1992, Fernández was elected to the board of directors of Recovering the Hispanic Literary Heritage of the U.S., an over $20 million international program aimed at locating, preserving, and disseminating the nation’s Hispanic culture, sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation, among others. There, he concentrated on bringing to light nearly 300 years’ worth of U.S. Latino history and literature.

“This honor is thanks to everyone I’ve encountered in my personal life and career... FSU helped me develop my social life, career opportunities, and most notably, my confidence. If you had asked me about an award like this when I was a student, I would’ve said no way, José!”

— José B. Fernández

“He’s one of the most hard-working and productive scholars and teachers in Spanish studies,” said Nicolás Kanellos, professor of Hispanic studies at the University of Houston, Texas, and founder and director of the Recovering Hispanic Literary Heritage project who recruited Fernández. “His passion for knowledge, especially regarding colonial Hispanic culture in the making of the United States, is incomparable. He's an innovative and critical thinker who’s inspired hundreds of scholars across the country to explore the paths he’s pioneered.”

With a distinguished career in full swing, in 2008, Fernández was appointed by then-President George W. Bush to the 23-member commission for the creation of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino and was reappointed by former President Barack Obama in 2009. Fernández examined Spanish colonial letters and was on the governance committee comparing benefits and drawbacks of various museum model details.

“Like in all my work I, along with my fellow commission members, helped to illuminate the entire U.S. experience, including Hispanic history, to display the all-encompassing American story,” he said. “The commission was a symbol of respect and how you can accomplish much more by cooperating.”

Fernández is also a fan of paying forward the encouragement he received that led him to strive for his goals in life. In 2024, he established the Dr. Dorothy L. Hoffman Endowment for Excellence Scholarship to benefit FSU master's and doctoral students studying Spanish. The scholarship honors the late FSU professor and department chair and carries on her legacy of student support.

“When someone has been good to you, you should give that good right back — three times as much,” Fernández said, reflecting on advice from his grandfather who inspired him to study history. “It’s never about the accolades — it’s about the people who help you realize those accolades are a possibility.”

Bella Bozied is an FSU alumna who earned a bachelor’s degree in information, communication and technology with a dual major in editing, writing and media in 2024. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in integrated marketing management communication with a certification in project management and is set to graduate in May 2026.