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Lake City, Florida: A Sesquicentennial Tribute (2009) H. Morris Williams, Dr. Kevin M. McCarthy

Chapter Ten: 1900 - 1909

In 1904, President Thomas H. Taliaferro resigned the presi-
dency of the newly named University of Florida (formerly Florida
Agricultural College) after weeks of wrangling with the students, fac-
ulty, and townspeople. Although rumors about why he resigned swirled
around the town, some thought that he was directly responsible for
the perceived low morale among the faculty and the breakdown of
student discipline. It became so bad that some feared, needlessly it
turned out, that students would throw rotten eggs at him during the
commencement ceremonies.

Some accused him
of trying to coerce the fac-
ulty to vote for his uncle,
U.S. Senator James P.
Taliaferro, who was run-
ning for reelection in 1904.
The president had also an-
gered many when he sus-
pended seven faculty mem-
bers for “troublemaking.” At
that point, the board of trust-
ees stepped in and de-

U.S. Senator James P. Taliaferro manded the resignations of
all the faculty, including the
president. They quickly accepted his letter of resignation while at the
same time expressing lip service to the man’s “personal integrity and
honor.” The trustees accepted the resignation of the other faculty mem-
bers, but later rehired two of them.

To replace President Taliaferro in 1904, the board of trustees
hired Professor Andrew Sledd of Southern University in Greens-
boro, Alabama. He would be president of the newly named Univer-
sity of Florida and director of the Florida Experiment Station for $2,250
a year plus a rent-free apartment in the school dormitory. He was
allowed to hire his own faculty and reorganize the curriculum.

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