HomeMy WebLinkAbout20-139 RESOLUTION NO. 20-139
A RESOLUTION HONORING DR. EDWIN MASSEY WHO WILL RETIRE IN AUGUST 2020 AFTER 47 YEARS
OF OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO ST. LUCIE COUNTY, INCLUDING 32 YEARS AS PRESIDENT OF INDIAN
RIVER STATE COLLEGE AND ALSO FOR HIS OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP THROUGH HIS MAJOR
CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION IN ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County, Florida, has made the
following determinations:
1. For over 47 years, Dr. Edwin Massey has worked tirelessly to better the lives of St. Lucie County
residents through his career at Indian River State College.
2. Dr. Massey came to Fort Pierce in July of 1973,from Laurel, Mississippi,with his wife,Jo,and their
two small daughters for a teaching position at the college which was then called Indian River
Community College. Dr. Massey and his family eventually moved to Vero Beach and along the
way had a third child and six grandchildren.
3. By 1978, Dr. Massey had moved from the classroom to the first of a series of administrative
positions, and in 1988, at the age of 41, he became the college's third president. During his
tenure, the institution formerly known as Indian River Junior College and then Indian River
Community College, began awarding four-year bachelor's degrees and built 71%of the nearly 1.6
million square feet of classroom, lab, and operational building space on five campuses in four
counties. He has also created programs at high schools in all three Treasure Coast counties and
Okeechobee County to ensure that students are ready for post-secondary work, whether for an
academic degree or a certificate toward a new career.
4. Dr. Massey has won many awards for the college including the 2019 Aspen Prize for excellence
among community colleges, signifying it as the best among the 1,100 community colleges in the
country. He gained unanimous approval by the Florida State Board of Education to implement 20
Bachelor's Degree programs, and received SACS accreditation for IRSC to become a Level II
Baccalaureate-granting institution.
5. Even before he became president, Dr. Massey was lobbying legislators in Tallahassee for state
funds. He has been to every legislative session in the state capital since the mid-1980s, meeting
with Senate presidents and House leaders. The IRSC Foundation has seen its assets grow more
than 1,700 percent to $116.3 million during his tenure. He meets regularly with various work
groups and departments across the college and is always planning for the future.
NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County, Florida,
does hereby honor Dr. Edwin Massey for his many years of faithful and dedicated service to St. Lucie
County, Florida and for exemplifying outstanding citizenship through his major contributions to our
educational services in St. Lucie County, Florida.
PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED this 4th day of August 2020.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
•TTEST: ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA
I ' .� 0 BY:� l �i , cLJ 1 410 •
—.- ' • /.�
Chair
APPROVED S FORM AN CORRECTNESS
BY,
ounty Attor