The inaugural director of Florida State University’s Civil Rights Institute has recently stepped down, but the departure doesn’t mark the end of the road for the initiative.
As New Orleans, Louisiana native Ted Ellis – a renowned artist and former chemist who took on the full-time director role in 2023 – returns to his hometown, FSU will launch a national search for the next director.
Ellis navigated a tumultuous time as Florida Republican leaders worked to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs from public colleges and universities. That’s caused many government-funded organizations revolving around Black heritage and history to function in uncertainty.
“We’ve done everything we could to sustain (the institute) and to make sure the voices of the students are heard,” Ellis told the Tallahassee Democrat. “We continued to create programs that are engaging around the conversation of justice and equality and being honest when improving the human work of everybody in that space.”
“Hats off to FSU for being committed,” he added. “Many institutions folded — particularly around DEI — and dismissed a lot of their programs. But this is still a state-funded institute. It’s still standing and still existing, and that’s a wonderful thing.”
Ellis’s last day at FSU was June 30, and he now serves as chief registrar and curator of the art collection at Tulane University’s Amistad Research Center – the largest and oldest independent archival institution in the country related to African American papers.
“Florida State has done a great job in the midst of some of the ongoing challenges that we have in this space,” Ellis said. “I’m thankful I had an opportunity to be a part of it.”
The FSU Civil Rights Institute, housed within the university’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, was founded in 2018 by siblings Doby and Fred Flowers – FSU alumni and civil-rights advocates – but didn’t gain its first full-time director until nearly three years ago.
The Flowers siblings were not immediately available for comment.
The institute was created to curate museum exhibits, hold speaker events and build library collections that focus on civil rights and social change. It brings together students, faculty and staff from across academic disciplines, including sociology, public health, urban and regional planning, criminology, social work, medicine, nursing and education, according to the university.
The institute’s annual operating budget was $250,000 from the 2022-23 fiscal year to 2025-26, with additional targeted funds coming from grants, fundraisers and financial distributions through donors. But annual funding this year is unclear as it will vary based on the new director’s salary and programming needs, according to an FSU spokesperson.
Ellis earned an annual salary of $126,380. Although the institute – which is mainly funded by the university – did not receive any grants under his leadership, he says thousands of dollars were raised from donors and sponsors of the institute’s events.
Some accomplishments of the institute over the years include having nearly 20 student ambassadors, hosting a Unity 5K Walk/Run – in commemoration of the day Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated – with 400 participants and taking students on a trip to the Selma Interpretive Center in Alabama.
In addition, the institute launched the C.K. Steele Speaker Series (named after the late Tallahassee civil rights leader, the Rev. Charles Kenzie Steele) under Ellis’s leadership to honor Steele’s legacy through lectures, workshops and discussions that explore civil rights issues.
“Ellis has made a lasting impact on the Civil Rights Institute and on Florida State University,” FSU College of Social Sciences and Public Policy Dean Tim Chapin said in a prepared statement. “His passion, vision and commitment to expand the work of the CRI have helped the institute grow in meaningful ways, both on campus and in the broader Tallahassee community.”
Ellis said one of the main reasons behind his decision to resign was the challenge of traveling back and forth to his hometown to be with his family. But despite stepping down from what he described as his “passion job,” he hopes to work closely with FSU in the future through a possible partnership between the institute and the New Orleans-based center.
He also said he would have loved to expand a relationship with FAMU’s Meek-Eaton Black Archives Research Center and Museum while serving as the institute’s director but hopes the next leader will “carry the torch forward.”
As a national search for the institute’s next director is expected to launch soon, additional information and the appointment of an interim director will be announced in the coming weeks, according to the university.
Tarah Jean is the higher education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, a member of the USA TODAY Network – Florida. She can be reached at tjean@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: ‘Still standing’: Ted Ellis leaves FSU Civil Rights Institute
Reporting by Tarah Jean, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tarah Jean, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
