Joe A. Akerman, Jr. Scholarship Created at NFC Foundation
Honoring memory of North Florida College professor, author, artist, cowboy and friend
Madison, FL (January 20, 2022) – The North Florida College Foundation is pleased to announce the creation of the Joe A. Akerman, Jr. Scholarship, established by the Akerman Family in memory of their beloved husband, father and grandfather.
For over 40 years, Joe A. Akerman, Jr. was an integral part of the North Florida College faculty, serving as a professor of history and English. His legacy lives on at the campus, and the scholarship given in his honor will assist local students attending NFC who plan to major in history.
In 1965, Joseph Alexander Akerman, Jr. joined the faculty at (then) North Florida Junior College and brought with him an impressive array of interests and honors.
Akerman was a graduate of the University of Florida and Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. During his education, he traveled to Paris, France to study art and received a Fulbright Fellowship to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and an Institute of Southern History Fellowship to Johns Hopkins University for advanced study.
He enjoyed a successful career at the College, impacting thousands of students, until his retirement in 2009. In addition to his teaching duties, Akerman authored three books on the history of the Florida cattle industry: The Florida Cowman (1976), American Brahman (1982) and a collaboration with his son Mark, Jacob Summerlin: King of the Crackers (2003).
His passion for researching, writing, and lecturing on early frontier life and the cattle roundups in Florida earned Akerman honors such as the Dorothy Dodd Lifetime Achievement Award from the Florida Historical Society presented in 2004.
North Florida College’s Marshall W. Hamilton Library houses The Joseph Alexander Akerman, Jr. Florida Collection dedicated on April 21, 2013. The plaque dedicated in his honor describes him as a professor, author, artist, cowboy, and friend.
With the establishment of the scholarship, the Akerman family will honor Joe’s life and dedication to the students at North Florida College for another generation.
“I am among the lucky students who knew Mr. Akerman during his tenure as a history professor at the College,” said NFC Foundation Director, Judy Lundell. “He expected much from his students and was a life-long learner himself. It is fitting that Mr. Akerman’s legacy should continue to encourage students in their educational pursuits just as he did in the classroom for so many years.”
For more information about the Joe A. Akerman, Jr. Scholarship and other scholarships available through the NFC Foundation, call 850-973-9414 or email [email protected].
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