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His guiding voice echoes in history of college

Robert Judson, one of the first hires by PHCC's founder in 1972, is retiring from his decadelong post as the community college's president.

By REBECCA CATALANELLO
Published January 16, 2005

NEW PORT RICHEY - If God had a voice, someone once said, it would sound like Robert Judson's.

Commanding and certain. Intimidating and still somehow soothing.

With that voice, it's hard to imagine Judson could have been anything other than a leader. When he speaks, people can't help but listen.

"He doesn't hold any punches," said John Church, a Pasco-Hernando Community College trustee who counts Judson among the few people who have left a lasting imprint on him. "He lets you know where he stands."

At 63, Judson is retiring from his decadelong post as president of PHCC. On Tuesday, he will pass on his desk and duties to Katherine Johnson, a 53-year-old Jacksonville native who - though she once jokingly offered to adopt Judson's low growl - speaks at a markedly higher pitch.

As one of the first hires college founder and then-president Milton Jones made in 1972, Judson is now the last of the school's original employees to depart.

"That history goes with him," said Ken Burdzinski, vice president of business services. "Nothing can replace that human knowledge."

While Judson's distinctive voice is usually the first thing people say they will miss, his easy style and humor, his commitment to the college's original mission and his ability to be firm without losing credibility follow close behind.

"I'll miss the fact that he always wanted to know what the faculty felt," literature professor Carmine Bell said.

He kept regular lunches with faculty to get input. He called trustees individually before every board meeting to walk them through the agenda. He used his counseling background when building relationships with students, encouraging adults to further their education despite difficult odds.

Much of his approach was a natural part of maintaining the community college philosophy. But Judson knew something about overcoming odds and the power of encouragement.

Judson - with a doctorate, a six-figure income, a wife he's loved since high school and a deity-quality voice - was once directionless.

People who know Judson say his ascent to the college presidency in 1994 was a natural.

As a professor, counselor, provost and later vice president, he was communicative and well-liked. He was driven and a strong manager. He put students at ease.

Even those who publicly tussled with Judson say good things about him. Michael Rom, for instance, was East Campus provost and resigned after a disagreement over his performance. Rom was asked about his former boss.

"My opinion of Dr. Judson prior to that event and afterward has been consistent," said Rom, who now runs a charter school in Dade City. "I saw him as a very capable, sincere, objective individual and president.

Jones, who first recruited Judson in 1973 to be a counselor and teacher, remains a big fan. "I don't think anyone," Jones said, "could have done a better job administering the school than he did."

But there was a time Judson didn't know what he would do.

He started college at his sister Frances' urging just after graduating from Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach.

Judson - future educator - flailed. His heart wasn't in it. By the end of the first year, he was on academic probation. He soon dropped out of college, married his first and only love, Ellen, a girl he'd met in the eighth grade.

At 20, unable to find good work, he joined the U.S. Army. It changed everything.

Over the next three years, the Broward County youngster traveled the world. He spent two years in Germany serving as an Army paratrooper. He saw Italy, France, England, Turkey, the Netherlands.

Jumping from planes strengthened his communication with God: "I jumped 29 times, and I was scared 29 times," Judson said.

But the experience - what he calls the most influential period of his life - gave him more. It instilled discipline, gave him a glimpse of a world he'd never seen and piqued his interest in history.

When he returned to the states in 1965, Judson went to work operating heavy equipment. But with Ellen's urging and the help of the G.I. bill, Judson enrolled at Florida A&M. Ellen believed education was critical to building a good life for their family.

"She knew that at least one of us needed to complete college," Judson said.

It truly was her conviction that landed Judson in a classroom again.

"But once I started going," he said, "they couldn't stop me."

The first time Judy Braak heard about Robert Judson, Milton Jones was doing the speaking.

"I'm still getting my feet wet as a trustee," Braak remembered, "and I remember Dr. Jones telling me how great Bob Judson was."

Before she knew it, she said, Jones was asking Braak if she believed she might be able to vote for him as the college's president one day.

"Dr. Jones said that whenever he left town, he knew that the college was in good hands with Dr. Judson," Braak said.

That was at least five years before Jones would retire. By then, Judson had gotten a bachelor's degree in European history and a master's in guidance and counseling from Florida A&M. He got a doctorate in education administration from the University of Florida.

If it hadn't been for the fact that he had to support a family of three daughters, Judson now jokes, he would have just kept on going to school.

In 1994, the college board of trustees voted 5-4 to make Judson its chief. Even after conducting a controversial national search, Judson rose to the top. Runner-up was William Proctor, then-executive director of the Postsecondary Education Planning Council in Tallahassee.

Judson's appointment was statewide news. He was the first black president of a Florida community college.

Though other black leaders in the state spoke in support of his appointment, Judson talked about his skin color publicly only when it became a source of rumors - that he was either going to get the job because of his race or he was going to be denied the job because of his race.

"I think once people get to know me they realize Bob Judson is a person, and he lives and breathes and bleeds just like everyone else," Judson said at the time. The rumors, he said, angered him.

In predominantly white Pasco and Hernando counties, however, Judson's appointment made him the highest profile minority leader in the community.

His retirement, likewise, leaves somewhat of a hole. Under his leadership, PHCC has become a center for diversity related discussion in the community - from an ongoing lecture series that raises topics involving race and tolerance in a public forum to its employee recruiting techniques.

"I'm just hoping that he'll stay involved in the community," said Blanche Benford, president of the Black Caucus of Pasco County. "He is truly highly respected."

During his tenure, Judson oversaw $60-million in new construction and renovation projects involving almost every original building. He established the school's first campus day care center, opened a Spring Hill site and pushed to offer classes in Wesley Chapel as preparation for opening a future campus there. He helped turn a pattern of enrollment decline into one of growth, making the school one of the fastest growing community colleges in Florida, serving 19,000 year-round.

He's known among faculty as a prudent fiscal manager - someone who stretches dollars without making it look like it hurts. "He's not an extravagant man," said Bell.

"I think we have made this a really good place. Period," Judson said when asked his proudest accomplishment. "PHCC is a good place to visit. It's a good place to work. It's a good place to learn. I think when people come here, they feel good."

But perhaps his greatest legacy has been his commitment.

Like the marriage he's had for close to 45 years, Judson has stuck with PHCC. The man doesn't leave. He's been a deacon in his church for as long as anyone at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Dade City can remember. He's maintained the respect and friendship of enough of his old high school buddies that about 18 of them have chartered a bus to attend his retirement banquet on Tuesday.

Judson plans to sleep a little later than his regular wakeup time of 4 a.m. on Feb. 1, the first official day of his retired life. Until then, he'll be helping Johnson with the transition into her new job. The Judsons have planned trips to New York, Italy and France to celebrate. But by March, Judson said, he plans to start consulting work.

Then, there's the other speculation.

Bell said she and other Judson fans have encouraged him to consider a run for public office. Judson chuckled when asked whether a run at state Legislature is in his future:

"Have you been drinking?" he said. Too stressful for retirement.

And what about radio? He always has that voice.

"I've never really thought about it or wanted to do anything with it," he said. "But I guess if I were going to, now would be a good time to start."

[Last modified January 16, 2005, 00:33:22]