Jack M. Berry Science Building
1988
Formerly known as Jack M. Berry Citrus Building
The groundbreaking for the Jack M. Berry Citrus Building was held on October 1, 1987 and was dedicated on November 4, 1988. The building was named for citrus businessman Jack M. Berry, Sr., a Trustee and Honorary Chancellor. Located adjacent to Edge Hall, the building accommodates Citrus and Botany studies as well as state-of-the-art laboratories for Florida Southern College's STEM fields. As part of Homecoming celebrations in 2016, upgraded science laboratories were named in honor of Trustee Dr. Keith Berend (Class of 1992). The building was also the original home of the Citrus Archives created by Professor Thomas B. Mack until the archives outgrew the space and moved to Callahan Court in 2002. Since the 2015-2016 academic year, this building has been known as the Jack M. Berry Science Building.
Jack M. Berry, Sr. was a citrus businessman in Florida, and the founder of Jack M. Berry, Inc. After a series of devastating freezes killed thousands of crops, Berry brought citrus to South Florida and converted over 100,000 acres of land for citrus production. After Hurricane Andrew struck the Miami-Homestead area in 1992, Berry and his company provided supplies and water. In 1988, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Law from FSC, was named Honorary Chancellor, and had the Jack M. Berry Citrus Building dedicated to him. He served on the FSC Board of Trustees from 1990 until his death in 1997. He received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Excellence and Leadership Award in 1996. In 2000, Berry was inducted into the Florida Agriculture Hall of Fame.
Sources:
Dr. Keith Berend Laboratories