Portraits

The first president of the Urban League of Broward County, civic activist Margaret Blake Roach was also the first African American named to the BCC District Board of Trustees. After her appointment to the board of trustees by Gov. Reubin Askew, the State Board of Education appointed her to the Community College Council.

Gene Whiddon, who was also president of Causeway Lumber Co., served as chairman of the BCC Foundation through his death in 1989. He was named the first recipient of the college's Distinguished Service Award in 1973 and the Seahawk Award in 1978. Whiddon Hall is home to Central Campus business programs.

Robert E. Ferris, a Broward County attorney and judge, served on the Board of Public Instruction and was named to the JCBC Advisory Committee in 1959. He also served as a member of the BCC District Board of Trustees from 1968 to 1971.

George E. Mayer, owner of a Broward real estate company, served as a trustee from 1969 to 1981.

Dr. Elzie Lauderdale, a Mississippian, was BCC's first dean of instruction and helped establish the emphasis on academic excellence. When he called Mildred Bailey Mullikin in May 1960 to recruit her to head the drama department at the college, Mullikin's mother took the call. "Who is Dr. Lauderdale in Fort Lauderdale?" she asked her daughter. Dr. Lauderdale encouraged Mullikin and her mother to visit Fort Lauderdale. "Needless to say," Mullikin wrote years later, "I fell head over heels in love with Fort Lauderdale."

Lloyd Cassels served as a member of the Advisory Committee and as a trustee from 1961 to 1967. Cassels was active in North Broward civic affairs and was president of the Pompano Beach insurance firm of Bateman, Cassels, and Gordon.

John Payne served as a member of the Advisory Board and also as a member of the BCC District Board of Trustees from 1968 to 1987. An attorney, he is also one of two South Floridians who serves as a trustee to the Emil Buehler Trust, which has provided more than $1 million in support to the college.

Judson A. Samuels, for whom the South Campus is named, served as a member of the BCC Advisory Committee in 1959 and as a member of the District Board of Trustees from 1971 until his death on April 29, 1974. A graduate of the University of Miami College of Law, he worked many years as an attorney in Hollywood and was a distinguished community activist in southern Broward County.

Educator Florence Tustison provided important perspective for the advisory committee and board of trustees. Named a "Woman of Achievement of 1953," she was a teacher with a degree from the University of Toledo and did graduate study at the University of Guadalajara, Mexico.

Dr. Joe B. Rushing served as the first president of the Junior College of Broward County.