February 26, 2024
Tallahassee Community College is pleased to share that Trustee Eugene Lamb, Jr. and President Jim Murdaugh have been named finalists in the American Association of Community Colleges’ (AACC) annual Awards of Excellence. The winners will be announced at the Awards of Excellence Gala on April 8 during the AACC annual convention in Louisville, Kentucky.
Lamb is a finalist for Trustee of the Year. Governor Charlie Crist first appointed Lamb to the TCC District Board of Trustees in 2007. He was subsequently re-appointed by Governors Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis, and has served as Chair of the Board for four non-consecutive terms. Born and raised in Gadsden County, Lamb graduated from Northside High School in 1966. The following summer, while on break from college, he got a job as a brick mason apprentice and jogged from his home in Midway to Tallahassee each day to help lay the bricks on the first buildings on TCC’s campus. Today, between his service on the TCC board, his 33-year career as an educator and coach, and his leadership as a Gadsden County Commissioner and member of the Midway Council, Lamb’s impact in the community is incalculable. In August, he was awarded the 2023 Southern Region Trustee Leadership award by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) and will be inducted into the Dillard University Athletics Hall of Fame later this year.
Murdaugh is a finalist for CEO of the Year. Named the sixth president of TCC in 2010, Murdaugh is one of the longest-serving sitting presidents in Florida and has earned a reputation for innovation and excellence. In his fourteen years at the helm, he has developed a model for recruitment and retention of top talent and initiated countless new programs and projects with far-reaching impacts that have elevated TCC as one of the most celebrated two-year colleges in the nation. He has been recognized for his leadership by a number of organizations, including the Association of College Unions International, the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship, and the Association of Florida Colleges. In 2023, he was named to Florida Trend's Florida 500 as one of the most influential leaders in the state.