Long-serving president of Florida Southern College retires

Anne Kerr officially retired from Florida Southern College in Lakeland after serving 20 years as president. 

“It has been an honor and great blessing to serve as president of what I consider to be the finest small college in the nation,” Kerr says in a statement released by the college’s board of trustees that announced her pending retirement in February. 

Kerr was named the college’s 17th president in 2004, leaving her post as the Vice President for Institutional Advancement at the University of Richmond and replacing Thomas Reuschling, who had served as president since 1994. According to the statement by the board, 22 new buildings and 20 building expansions happened during her tenure and she led the “Believe Campaign,” which raised $308 million.

Jeremy Martin began his tenure as the school's 18th president Aug. 1. Martin previously held several roles at the College of William and Mary during his 16 years there. 

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“As Florida Southern’s president, it is my great privilege to serve as the College’s chief success facilitator and its unwavering advocate in the community, state, nation, and world,” says Martin in a statement.

Florida Southern College is a private Christian school with over 3,000 students. It was founded in 1885 in Orlando and moved to several locations around the state before establishing its home in Lakeland in 1922.