Stetson University is home to another fountain. One look behind the Carlton Student Union Building and students, faculty, and visitors will be pleasantly surprised. The new Templeton Fountain was donated to the university by Troy Templeton and his wife Sissy, with Mr. Templeton being an alumnus of the university who graduated with his B.B.A degree in 1982 and M.B.A degree in 1983.

According to Stetson Today, Mr. Templeton is “A managing partner in a private equity and venture capital firm in Coral Gables, FL,” and both him and his wife “are well known supporters of the university.” The Templetons endowed the Templeton Business Ethics Case Competition and Mr. Templeton served on the Stetson Board of Trustees, “from 2014 until last spring.” It was their hope to give back to Stetson by donating the Templeton Fountain and adding to the campus’s beauty.

The Templeton Fountain is decked out with 41 water jets that light up with brilliant colors and reach a height of 15 feet, along with speakers for sound, and a painted 22-foot wide Stetson University seal. The fountain features a modern design in comparison to the long standing Holler Fountain, located in Palm Court, as modernity is exactly what Mr. Templeton envisioned, wanting to stray from the standard idea of a fountain. 

Not only is it beautiful, it is also environmentally friendly. By using “a sloping surface to gently drain and collect water from the jets,” no water goes to waste as it is recycled by pumps and filters, and “evaporation is the only source of [the fountain’s] water loss,” according to Stetson Today.

Stetson University students were asked about their opinion of the Templeton Fountain. Hailey Shaw ‘23 said that she has seen it and “thinks it’s really cool,” while Laura Jones ‘22 likes it as well and thinks that it is, “visually appealing and a fun idea.”

In response to how the money was used, Arianna Reyes ‘23 thinks that “it could have been used in a more practical way, maybe for things like the bathrooms or living areas. It could have been put to a lot more use like something that could benefit us directly.” Jones “would rather it had been used for something else, but if the donor wanted to do the fountain, I thought it was going to be more of a sitting area rather than just landscape.” 

On the other hand, Casey Williams ‘23 was satisfied with how the money was used and is “happy with it.” While donations have designated uses specified by the donors, limiting what it may be used for, the staff that deals with donation is always open to listening to student concerns. In general, while students feel as though an additional fountain was not the most practical use, they believe that the Templeton Fountain is a nice addition to campus. 

Because of Mr. Templeton’s generous donation, Stetson University has a wonderful new addition in the form of a beautiful new fountain. He told Stetson Today that, “The fountain represents the future of Stetson, showing off our creativity, contemporary design, advanced technology, and some fun.” Here’s to kicking off the new year with a new fountain.