LAKELAND, Fla. (Sept. 13, 2007) — Florida Southern College’s Center for Florida History will host journalist and author Martin Dyckman as the center begins its 2007-2008 Florida Lecture Series on Sept. 27. Dyckman will discuss “Leroy Collins: Floridian of His Century.” The lecture will start at 7 p.m. in the William M. Hollis Seminar Room of the Thad Buckner Building on the FSC campus. The event is free and open to the public.

“We are delighted to have Martin Dyckman with us as our opening speaker for this year’s Florida Lecture Series.  Dyckman’s brilliant biography of Florida’s most distinguished statesman of the twentieth century is a major achievement.  Dyckman brings 1950s and 1960s Florida alive,” said James Denham, professor of history and director of FSC’s Center for Florida History.

Long considered the dean of Florida political journalists, Dyckman reported on Florida government and politics for the St. Petersburg Times for more than forty years. Joining the Times staff soon after graduating from Florida State University, he served as the newspaper’s Tallahassee news bureau chief from 1969-76. Admired for his investigative journalism and hard-hitting commentaries, Dyckman’s reporting uncovered numerous scandals and ethical lapses in state government. In the early 1970s Dyckman’s investigative journalism exposed a corruption and ethics scandal on the Florida Supreme Court. After a brief stint in the Times’s Washington bureau, he returned to Florida in 1979 to join the paper’s editorial board. Dyckman has won numerous awards for his work, including the distinguished service award of the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, the Silver Gavel of the American Bar Association, the Associated Press Managing Editors Association public service award, and the Medal of Honor Award of the Florida Bar Foundation. Since retirement Dyckman has put his journalism skills to work in writing history and biography. His first effort is the award-winning “Floridian of His Century: The Courage of Governor LeRoy Collins.” Currently he is at work on a biography of former Florida governor Reubin Askew. His forthcoming work, “A Most Disorderly Court: Scandal and Reform in the Florida Judiciary,” will be released in 2008.

About the Florida Lecture Series 
The Florida Lecture Series is produced by the Center for Florida History under the direction of Dr. James M. Denham. The program brings speakers to the Lakeland campus who approach the issue of “Florida Life and Culture” from a wide range of disciplines, including history, public affairs, law, sociology, criminology, anthropology, literature, music and art. Its overall objective is to create an opportunity for members of the community, faculty, and student body to listen to, interact with and learn from leading scholars and specialists of the state’s history and culture.

About Florida Southern College
Founded in 1883, Florida Southern College is a private, comprehensive United Methodist-affiliated college with a liberal arts core. The College maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 46 undergraduate majors and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, and nursing. Florida Southern has a 14:1 student/faculty ratio; is a national leader in engaged learning; and boasts 26 NCAA Division II national championships. It is ranked in the Top 5 “Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the South” by U.S. News & World Report and is included in The Princeton Review’s “366 Best Colleges” guide. The College is committed to the development of the whole student through vibrant student life programs that prepare graduates to make a positive, consequential impact on society. Located on scenic Lake Hollingsworth, Florida Southern is home to the world’s largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture.