On his sixth day as Florida Southern College’s new president, Jeremy Martin strode into a conference room in his Frank Lloyd Wright-designed office, just barely clearing Wright’s famously low ceilings.
At 6’5”, Martin cuts a towering figure on campus, and yet still manages to be approachable with a warm and ready smile, along with a sense of humor.
“I find that I nod and lean into conversations a little more when the esplanades get a little lower, but they are wonderful shade,” said Martin, a former college basketball player and one-time athletic director.
He is the 18th president of the Lakeland-based Methodist college and the first new leader in 20 years following Anne Kerr’s retirement. He oversees nearly 2,700 undergraduates and another 600 graduate students.
Do no harm: “The first lesson when you’re coming into a good situation is walk in with two ears and one mouth. Do a whole lot of listening and less speaking,” Martin told LkldNow.
“What I’m doing right now is visiting with everyone I can on campus and in the community and in the community of Lakeland to ask them about Florida Southern and why the place is so exceptional. What is going so well?” Martin said. “Because the first rule of medicine is do no harm, right? There are so many things are going well here. I need to understand the place really deeply before I talk about, hey, what might we want to tweak?”
Background: Martin comes to Florida Southern from a 16-year career at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he rose to vice president for strategy and innovation. He developed several initiatives that improved student retention and academic performance. He also co-chaired the strategic planning process, resulting in the university’s Vision 2026 strategic plan.
“When you’re working with young people, one of the first things you want to do is to get a human contact with someone who’s considering transferring,” Martin said.
Jeremy Martin at a glance:
Age: 44
Education: Bachelor’s degree from Houghton College in communication and business administration, a Master of Science from Georgia State University in sports administration, and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership and an M.B.A. from William & Mary.
Family: Wife Tia, two school-aged children and a chocolate Labrador retriever named Coco.
Home: Currently not residing in the president’s house, but another FSC-owned property on Lake Hollingsworth Road.
Ties to Lakeland and FSC: Martin’s grandparents lived here when he was a boy and he spent summers in Lakeland, learning how to play golf on the Cleveland Heights course with his “Poppy.” He also has family in Bartow and his cousin is an FSC alumni.
“If you watch the video of my announcement, my chest starts vibrating slightly because my phone starts just receiving all these texts from family and friends,” he said. “They were so excited about it.”
His mother recently told him that a high school classmate spent her freshman year at FSC because she was FSC President Ludd Spivey’s niece. He laughed that he is still trying to confirm that.
Frank Lloyd Wright: It was Spivey who brought Frank Lloyd Wright to Lakeland and convinced the eccentric architect to construct a series of buildings on the lakeshore campus. The buildings are notorious for needing constant upkeep to patch crumbling walls and leaky ceilings. When asked if he had any plans to fundraise for the repair and maintenance of the Wright buildings, he said yes.
“We need to fundraise to ensure that we have the most vibrant campus possible in this setting,” Martin said. “The Wright campus and the buildings that Mr. Wright designed are exceptional. They also are a labor of love to maintain, and that’s one of the aspects of the relationship with Lakeland — recognizing the architectural and historical treasure that the Florida Southern campus is. And engaging everyone and making sure that it’s something that’s available, a resource that’s available for generations to come.”
Leadership: Martin said he evaluates opportunities on a four-tier framework: purpose, programs, people and place.
“The purpose here — preparing students for lives of positive and consequential impact through dynamic, engaged learning, in what is truly an iconic setting in American architecture,” Martin said.
He said FSC’s traditional liberal arts studies, along with professional programs like nursing and, soon to come, architecture, create a comprehensive institution for students.
Staff appreciation: He also applauds the staff — all of them — and their dedication, remembering a moment when he was on campus, interviewing for the new job.
“I recall seeing a member of the grounds crew, who was literally picking out individual pieces of a napkin or a sheet of paper that had gone through the mower — he was picking out the individual pieces between the blades of grass,” Martin said. “And so my comment meeting with the staff on day one, particularly the facility staff, is we have the most beautiful campus in America because we have the most dedicated facility staff in America.”
Birthday celebration: Martin said he will be spending his 45th birthday with students as they return to campus. He plans to drive around passing out freeze pops and joining student athletes as they help move new students’ bags and boxes into the dorms.
Move in for new students is August 17. The first day of classes is August 20.
Martin would also like to hear from Lakeland residents, particularly tips on their favorite restaurants. His Poppy taught him to appreciate biscuits with sausage and gravy, sprinkled with a little hot sauce.
“To the community of Lakeland, this has been an incredible place, and if you see me on the street, I’m already discovering some of the restaurants in town, but if you have a place I should go, particularly if it’s a Florida Southern alumni owned a restaurant, I would delight in knowing where they are and what your favorite bites in town are,” he said.
Video: 5 things to know about FSC’s new president
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