page_title: Albert A. Murphree
section_title: Professor and university president
hierarchical_section_title: Albert A. Murphree / Professor and university president
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of Albert A. Murphree
context_page_description: Albert Alexander Murphree was an American college professor and university president. Murphree was a native of Alabama, and became a mathematics instructor after earning his bachelor's degree. He later served as the third president of Florida State College from 1897 to 1909, and the second president of the University of Florida from 1909 to 1927. Murphree is the only person to have been the president of both of Florida's original state universities, the University of Florida and Florida State University, and he played an important role in the organization, growth and ultimate success of both institutions.
context_section_description: As President of West Florida Seminary, Murphree worked to create Florida's first liberal arts college by 1897, and in 1901 it was reorganized into the Florida State College with four departments: the College, the College Academy, the School for Teachers and the School of Music.  Under his leadership, the Florida State College produced the state's first Rhodes Scholar in 1905, Frederic "Fritz" Buchholz (1885-65).
  In 1905, several prominent political backers advanced Murphree's name to be the first president of the new University of the State of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida, which was the newly consolidated men's university and land-grant college created by the Florida Legislature's passage of the Buckman Act, which segregated Florida's schools of higher learning by race and gender.  Instead, the Florida Board of Control selected Andrew Sledd, then the president of the University of Florida in Lake City, to be the first president of the new men's university.  Murphree continued to serve as the president of Florida State College, which became the all-female Florida Female College under the Buckman Act.  From 1905 to 1909, Murphree emphasized greater academic expectations for his female students, while upgrading and expanding the college's curriculum to meet modern university standards.  In 1909, Murphree convinced the legislature to change the name of the college to the Florida State College for Women.
  When the first president of the University of Florida, Andrew Sledd, was not re-appointed for the 1909–10 school year because of a conflict over what the new governor and members of the Florida Board of Education believed were Sledd's inflexible admissions standards that were impeding the growth of the university, Murphree's name was once again advanced as a replacement.  This time, the Board of Control voted unanimously to approve his appointment.  Murphree assumed his new duties during the summer of 1909, and worked diligently with his predecessor to ensure a smooth transition that capitalized on previous successes.  In a surprise to some of his previous political supporters, Murphree endorsed Sledd's admissions standards, and thereafter actually tightened the requirements for entry again in 1912.
  Beginning in 1910, Murphree reorganized the university's administration into four academic colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Law, the College of Agriculture, and the College of Engineering, as well as the Graduate School.  Murphree took particular interest in the "School of Graduate Studies," and the university awarded its first master's degree in 1910.  He later oversaw the addition of the College of Education in 1912, the School of Pharmacy in 1924, the School of Architecture in 1925, and the College of Commerce and Journalism in 1927.  During Murphree's term, he oversaw the construction of ten new major buildings, including such historical landmarks as Flint Hall (Science Department), Floyd Hall (College of Agriculture), Peabody Hall (College of Education), the University Auditorium, and the new University Library (now known as Smathers Library East).  The University of Florida's enrollment grew from 186 students in 1909 to over 2,000 in 1927.
  Murphree is reported to have taken pride in knowing every Florida student by name.  Under Murphree, student leaders formed the Florida Blue Key leadership society in 1923, the university celebrated its first homecoming parade in 1924, and students organized the first Gator Growl pep rally and variety show in 1925.
  While president of Florida, Murphree became a friend of William Jennings Bryan, the former U.S. Representative from Nebraska and the Democratic Party nominee for President in 1896, 1900 and 1908.  Bryan established a winter residence in Miami, Florida in 1912, and became a full-time Florida resident in 1921.  Bryan was a frequent speaker throughout Florida, and first met Murphree at a speech at the university in 1916.  As a result of his friendship with Murphree, Bryan volunteered to be the fund-raising drive chairman for the construction of t
caption: Murphree from 1911 Seminole yearbook
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