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College Honors Longtime Supporters

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By JOYCE McKENZIE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 27, 2008

TEMPLE TERRACE - People who knew him say that when Lee Boswell turned up at Florida College, they could have placed a wager on the garb he would sport and the gifts he would bear.

"He would arrive on campus in khaki pants, a straw hat and usually with a cigar in his mouth," said Bob Owen, Florida College president from 1982 to 1991. "And, he always had two sacks: One was a sack of oranges for the students, and one was a sack of money to make sure the faculty got paid."

Owen, who is married to Boswell's daughter Janelle, was among the speakers at the Aug. 15 dedication of the new 320-student-capacity Boswell Hall for male students, named in honor of the college's longtime supporter, a Lakeland citrus farmer who died in 1994, and his wife, Margaret, the mother of their five daughters.

The ceremony also marked the opening of the Christian college's 90-student-capacity Terrace Hall, the neighboring new women's dormitory.

The buildings are made up of suites, each containing two two-person bedrooms, one bathroom and a common room where students can come together to study or relax. Both halls have in-house laundry facilities and fitness centers, open to students at no extra charge. The cost to design, construct and furnish both halls was $15 million.

"Mama Lee and Papa Lee, as they were often called, lived in a modest home with one bathroom ... but they made major donations" to the college, Owen said. "Not only did he give his own money, he was a consistent voice on the board," on which he served for 45 years.

The couple's contribution of $2.6 million, Owen said, began the Lee and Margaret Boswell Endowment that has a current value of $9.5 million, from which $500,000 is put into the college's annual operating fund.

Florida College President C.G. "Colly" Caldwell, who welcomed an auditorium filled with more than 150 invited guests, called it "a great day for the students and for the city of Temple Terrace."

"They the new residence halls mean so much to our students, and they were built in the Mediterranean Revival style as we try to be good citizens in the community," Caldwell said.

Temple Terrace Mayor Joe Affronti and his wife, Liz, live less than a block from the new dorms.

"We've often said 'Wow' and marveled at the new buildings," he said. "They are wonderfully designed and very imposing."

Dan Burton, a member of the college's board of directors and chairman of the of the project's architectural committee, said his committee worked hard to see Boswell Hall, the campus's tallest building, at 60 feet, come to fruition.

"This was big and very ambitious, but the Lord answered our prayers," he said. "Thank you to the thousand of donors who responded from across the country, some who will never see it."

Paul Tomasino, the founding engineer of the IBI Group in Temple Terrace, contributed his expertise to the project.

"I was honored to be a participant and to see it through," he said. "It's been a long journey, but it was well worth it."

Stephen Rouse, a Florida College junior from Charlottesville, Va., referred to Boswell Hall as a "blessing."

"I'm really excited to have the opportunity to live in the new dorm. It will have a lot more space to fellowship with all the guys," Rouse said.

Emily Jones, a sophomore from Minneapolis, Minn., lived in Hinely Hall her freshman year. She looks forward to using the new fitness center and the spacious laundry room.

"This Terrace Hall is a great improvement for the school and it's certainly really nice," she said.

Female students began moving into Terrace Hall on Aug. 15. Their male counterparts will wait a couple weeks while workers put the finishing touches on Boswell Hall.

Reporter Joyce McKenzie can be reached at (813) 865-4849 or jmckenzie@tampatrib.com.

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