Fans of Florida history and politics won’t want to miss the next event in The Lawton M. Chiles Center for Florida History Florida Lecture Series.
Boyd Murphree, the project manager at the University of Florida’s George A. Smathers Libraries and former Florida state archivist, will be joined by Robert Taylor, the associate dean and head of the School of Arts and Communication and professor of history at the Florida Institute of Technology, as they will discuss the 200-year history of Florida and its governors.
Two of Florida’s six living former governors are also expected to be in attendance.
The program is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. within the Polk County History Center in Bartow on Nov. 4. This is the final event scheduled for 2021 in The Florida Lecture Series. Social distancing protocols will be in place for the event, but masks are optional.
Murphree and Taylor co-edited The Governors of Florida (2020), which is a collection of essays that provide an in-depth examination of all of Florida’s chief executives. The work ranges from the acquisition of Spanish Florida by the United States, and the appointment of Andrew Jackson as the territory’s first governor in 1821, to the end of Rick Scott’s tenure in 2019.
Expected to join Murphree and Taylor will also be authors of some of the essays.
“We’re very delighted to be hosting this special event commemorating Florida’s chief executives and honoring the editors of this fine project,” said Mike Denham, head of the Lawton M. Chiles Center for Florida History and a professor of history at Florida Southern College. “We also look forward to partnering this event with the Polk County History Center.”
Originating in 1995, the Florida Lecture Series is a forum that aims to connect speakers to Florida Southern College students, staff and faculty who explore Florida lifestyles and culture. The series covers a wide range of disciplines including history, public affairs, law, sociology, criminology, anthropology, literature, and art. The objective of the series is to bring members of the community, faculty and student body together to interact with and learn from leading authorities in their fields.