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Pictured from left to right, Bill Duke, Margaret Roach, Rep. Jack Tobin, Elinor Wilkov, Mike Curran, and Will Holcombe break ground for the North Campus mathematics and science building in March 1989.

From left to right, Prof. Peggy Green, trustee Michael Curran, Prof. Carey Witkov, and Prof. Karen Walsh unveil the dedication plaque for the North Campus mathematics and science building on September 27, 1990. The building is dedicated to the memory of Stephen C. Barker, dean of academic affairs on North Campus until his tragic death in a 1989 boating accident.

The things that make BCC faculty and administrators most proud are the accomplishments of the students, and there have been many students to be proud of in the college's 40-plus years. A 1987 edition of CHOICES, a college newsletter, featured 10 students who had gone on to achieve distinction in a variety of fields. From left to right they are (front row) journalist Linda Billeter, Urban League administrative assistant Barbara McDuffie-Edwards, music teacher Janice Wilkes, art director Sheila Trank, Broward General Medical Center administrator Wil Trower, Plantation High principal William Milano, and state representative Debby Sanderson; (back row) attorney Stephen McDonald, child-care worker Sheila Jenkins, and Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Jim Naugle. Naugle has since gone on to become the mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Sanderson now serves in the Florida Senate, Milano is principal at Taravella High, and Trower is the CEO of the North Broward Hospital District.

Central Campus Provost Dr. Patricia Caldwell, Trustees Cheryl Krause and Georgette Sosa Douglass, and Dr. Holcombe cut the ribbon opening a 40-year photographic retrospective at Central Campus for the 40th anniversary of the college.

BCC graduates are local, state, and national leaders. One of the business giants of Broward County, Steve Berrard has served as the president and chief executive officer of a variety of local and national companies, including Blockbuster Entertainment Group and Republic Industries. He currently is one the founders of New River Capital Partners. He was named winner of the Sun-Sentinel's Excalibur Award in 1995 and recipient of the LeRoy Collins Distinguished Alumni Award in 1996.

Author and screenwriter Rita Mae Brown, a member of the Class of 1965 and 1999 recipient of the American Association of Community College's Outstanding Alumni Award, addressed the graduates at the May 2001 commencement exercises as Dr. Steve Obenauf, Central Campus Professor of the Year, listened. Four months before the September 11 tragedy, Brown told the graduates that many of America's problems stemmed from the country's wealth and power. "Sisters and Brothers, pick up an oar and row," she told them. "We are all in the same boat together."

Two-term Maryland governor Parris Glendening was named one the AACC's Outstanding Alumni Award winners for 1997. Glendening was a member of BCC's first graduating class and the youngest student in Florida State history to receive a doctorate in political science. In this picture, he receives his AACC award from Dr. Holcombe in Maryland.

A high school dropout, Gary Farmer came to realize the importance of higher education while serving in the Marines. After his discharge, he worked nights as a desk clerk and auditor at a beach motel to support his family while he attended classes at BCC. Today he serves as one of 12 appellate judges on Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach.

Evelyn Hardy, born in poverty in rural Alabama, used BCC as a stepping stone to higher education. After bearing 10 children and then becoming a widow, she decided her life needed a new direction. She got her General Equivalency Diploma (GED) and went to BCC, where she attained honors. She went on to receive her bachelor's and master's degrees and was named recipient of a LeRoy Collins Distinguished Alumni Award in 1990. Hardy returned to BCC to work as a counselor on North Campus. She is shown meeting former governor Collins at the first Collins Award ceremony. Collins was the guiding force behind community colleges in Florida.

Willis Holcombe became the fourth president of BCC on January 1, 1987. A native of Iron Mountain, Michigan, he earned his undergraduate degree at Baldwin-Wallace College where he was an all-America sprinter. He earned his graduate degrees at the University of Florida.