September 17, 1998

CLAUDE R. KIRK, Jr.
(Governor of Florida, 1967-1971)

"The Kirk Era: Florida Must Confront the
'Environments' of the 21st Century"

Ever colorful, controversial, confrontational, and provocative, Claude Kirk served as Florida's first Republican governor in the twentieth century. One of the youngest Marine officers at the time he was commissioned, Kirk served in both World War II and the Korean War. In the 1950s Kirk moved to Florida from his native Alabama and at age 30 founded the American Heritage Life Insurance Company in Jacksonville, becoming its first president. In the Election of 1960 Kirk led the "Floridians for Nixon" campaign as a Democrat. Joining the Republican Party soon thereafter, he was elected governor in 1966. Kirk's four years as Governor were (for some) tumultuous. For Kirk, they were years of a genesis for addressing Florida's most pressing needs. As an example, Kirk's leadership resulted in the creation of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Bureau of Law Enforcement. He also challenged Florida's K-12 educators at every turn. Known as a problem solver, Kirk is famous for identifying problems, providing solutions, and promoting open debate on Florida's still unanswered issues of growth and taxes. But since leaving office, Kirk's main passion has been the environment. He has continued to attack "without portfolio" those he calls the "sugar boys" or the "sugar barons" and their subsidized pollution of the Everglades. Gov. Kirk's program will engage his listeners with a provocative discussion of what he and his audience think are the most pressing problems confronting YOU and YOUR Florida in the upcoming century.

October 15, 1998

WALTER W. MANLEY II
(Professor of Business Administration, Florida State University)

    
CANTER BROWN, Jr.
(Historian in Residence, Tampa Bay History Center)

"The Florida Supreme Court, 1821-1917"

Walter W. Manley II is a native of Lakeland and a graduate of Florida Southern College (BA., 1969), Duke University (JD., 1972), and Harvard University (M.B.A., 1975). Currently Manley teaches at FSU, and from 1995-1997 he was president of its high technology incubator. Manley has also held visiting professorships at England's Oxford and Cambridge universities where he established an ethics center. He is the author of four books including, Critical Issues in Business Conduct: Legal, Ethical and Social Challenges for the 1990s; The Executive's Handbook of Model Business Conduct Codes; the Handbook of Good Business Practice, and most recently, he is the editor and co-author, with Canter Brown, Jr., and Eric Rise of The Supreme Court of Florida and Its Predecessor Courts, 1821-1917 (nominated for the 1998 Littleton-Griswold Prize in American Law & Society). Formerly a partner with MacFarlane Ferguson, Manley has served as president or chairman of over 20 philanthropic organizations, including the Lakeland Bar Association and the Polk County Legal Aid Society.

Canter Brown, Jr. is an award winning author and leading authority on the history of nineteenth century Florida. He is the author of Florida's Peace River Frontier (Gainesville, 1991); Ossian Bingley Hart: Florida's Loyalist Reconstruction Governor (Baton Rouge, 1997); Florida's Black Public Officials, 1867-1924 (Tuscaloosa, 1998), and two other books.

November 5, 1998

JOE AKERMAN
(History Professor, North Florida Community College)

"Early Cracker Ranching in Florida"

A native of Orlando, Joe Akerman holds degrees from Rollins College and the University of Florida. He also earned a post-graduate certificate in Southern and Negro History from Johns Hopkins University. Akerman has had a distinguished and varied career as a writer, public speaker, and teacher. A Fullbright Scholar in British Columbia (1967-1968), Akerman is a leading authority on the history of cattle ranching in the United States. He is the author of The Florida Cowman: A History of the Cattle Industry in Florida (Kissimmee, 1997), currently in its eighth printing, and American Brahman: A History of the American Brahman (Houston, 1982). His articles have appeared in many journals, including the Florida Historical Quarterly, Orlando Sentinel, Tallahassee Democrat, Jacksonville Times-Union, and Vancouver Sun.

January 28, 1999

STEVEN B. ROGERS
(Senior Historian, U. S. Justice Department)

"The United States' Search for Nazi Gold
and Other Stolen Assets"

Steven B. Rogers holds degrees in German, German Literature and German Studies from Florida Southern College (B.A.), the University of Arizona (M.A.), and the University of Maryland (Ph.D.). Rogers has worked for the United States Department of Justice since 1978. In 1990 he was appointed Senior Historian/Investigative Research for the U. S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Office of Special Investigations. Most recently, Rogers has been involved in efforts to uncover looted assets in Swiss bank accounts. He has lectured widely on the Holocaust and many other topics, including Thomas Wolfe and Frank Lloyd Wright at many different colleges, universities, and public forums. Recently he was a speaker at the Holocaust Studies Institute at the University of Vermont. Rogers is currently at work on a book on the Frank Lloyd Wright Campus at Florida Southern College.

February 25, 1999

ROBERT W. SAUNDERS
(Retired Civil Rights Leader)

"A Conversation with Robert W. Saunders"

A native of Tampa, Robert W. Saunders attended Bethune-Cookman College, the Detroit Institute of Technology, and the University of Detroit Law School. After a brief career in journalism and the auto industry, Mr. Saunders became NAACP Field Secretary for Florida in 1952, following the murder of Harry T. Moore. In 1966 he became chief of the office of civil rights for the Office of Economic Opportunity in Atlanta. Finally, in 1976 he returned to his native Tampa to establish and head Hillsborough County's Office of Economic Opportunity. Throughout his long career in public service Mr. Saunders worked with many of America's most prominent civil rights leaders, including Walter White, Roy Wilkins, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Medger Evers, Gloster B. Current, Vernon Jordan, Jackie Robinson, Sargent Shriver, and a number of others. He is also the author of a forthcoming memoir entitled, Bridging the Gap: Continuing the Florida NAACP Legacy of Harry T. Moore, 1952-1966.

March 25, 1999

DORIS WEATHERFORD
(Women's Studies Professor, University of South Florida)

"The Women's Suffrage Movement in Florida"

Doris Weatherford did graduate work in American History at Brandeis University. She is a recognized expert and acclaimed author in the field of women's history. She is a member of the Florida Commission on the Status of Women and is chair of the Florida Women's Hall of Fame. She has been the recipient of many awards, including the National Order of Women Legislators Hall of Fame Award. She is the author of several books, including American Women's History (New York, 1994), Foreign and Female: Immigrant Women in America, 1840-1920 (New York, 1995), and Milestones: a Chronology of American Women's History (New York, 1997). Her latest book, The History of the American Suffrage Movement (New York, 1998), and several others, will be available at the program.