Ludd Myrl Spivey (December 5, 1886 - December 27, 1962) was president of

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. The college offers 50 undergradu ...

(FSC) from 1925 to 1957. Ludd M. Spivey was born in

Eclectic, Alabama Eclectic is a town in Elmore County, Alabama, United States. It incorporated in 1907. At the 2020 census, the population was 1,193. It is part of the Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Eclectic was founded by Dr. M. L. Fielder, ...

. He was graduated with two degrees, including a Ph.D., from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

. Following his academic career at the University of Chicago, he became the academic dean at Birmingham Southern in the early 1920s. In the summer of 1925 he became president of Florida Southern College (FSC) in Lakeland, where he remained the president of the college for 32 years. In 1931, Ludd Spivey established an art school in

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

as a remote branch of Florida Southern College and he served as its chief director. Through several changes including separation from the college in 1933 as a separate nonprofit, adopting the Ringling name among several name changes, and becoming accredited as a degree-granting institution in 1979 and as an accredited art school in 1984, the art school Spivey founded has evolved into

Ringling College of Art and Design Ringling College of Art and Design (RCAD) is a private art and design school in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded by Ludd M. Spivey as an art school in 1931 as a remote branch of Southern College but separated by 1933. History The origins of ...

. Ludd Spivey met with renowned architect

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

in April 1938 in hopes of transforming the small school of Florida Southern into a national landmark. The two men made an agreement that eventually led to the design and construction of academic buildings on campus. Florida Southern College features the largest collection in the world of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings that were constructed for one client. This would become a major legacy for Spivey. In 2011 and 2012, it was selected as the most beautiful campus in America by ''The Princeton Review''. In 2012 due to the historical significance of its buildings, the campus of Florida Southern College was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

as a historic district, and it also became a part of the

National Historic Landmarks A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

of the United States. Dr. Spivey retired as Florida Southern president on October 15, 1957. Shortly afterward he became ill and died on December 27, 1962."Dr. Ludd Spivey Taken by Death." The Palm Beach Post 28 December 1962 : 1 - 2. Print.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spivey, Ludd M. 1886 births 1962 deaths People from Elmore County, Alabama American academic administrators Florida Southern College Academics from Alabama University of Chicago alumni University of Chicago faculty Birmingham–Southern College faculty 20th-century American academics