T. K. Wetherell

Wetherell was born in Daytona Beach, Florida, to a well known Pioneer family of the Daytona Beach area. His father, Thomas James Wetherell, was born in Holly Hill on February 16, 1912, and his mother was Mildred Juanita Kent Wetherell. His paternal great grandparents Thomas Wetherell (1845-1921) and Margaret Wetherell who travelled to the United States by schooner from Durham, England, arrived in the Daytona Beach area in 1876. His grandfather, Thomas Wetherell (1867–1945), was involved in many of the firsts in the area including helping build the Ponce de Leon Lighthouse. Wetherell attended Port Orange Elementary School and Mainland High School. He attended Florida State University (FSU) on a football scholarship and played from 1963 to 1967. While at FSU, Wetherell joined the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He earned two academic degrees in social studies and education, in 1967 and 1968. In 1974, he received a doctorate in education administration from FSU.[5]

Wetherell, a Democrat, was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1980 to 1992, and Speaker of the House in 1991 and 1992.[1] He served as chair of the House's appropriations and education committees.[6]

Wetherell served as president of Tallahassee Community College (TCC) from 1995 to 2001; before that, he was president of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida.[6] During his time as president of TCC, the school saw increased enrollment and a campus expansion. Wetherell also worked at Daytona Beach Community College and Florida Technological University.[6] After he resigned from his post at TCC, Wetherell was a lobbyist for the Southern Strategy Group.[6] The FSU Board of Trustees appointed Wetherell as president on December 18, 2002.[7] His salary was ranked among the top ten for public university presidents in the United States.[8] Later, Lee Hinkle, joined Wetherell's administration as a vice president for university relations.[6] In late 2006, he added his voice to efforts by Bernie Machen, president of the University of Florida to bring a play-off to Division I-A college football.[9]

After a divorce from his first wife, with whom he had a son,[10] Wetherell married Virginia Bass Wetherell, a former Florida state government official and state legislator; he gained two stepdaughters from this marriage. Until early 2018, he maintained the 983-acre Oak Hill Plantation in Jefferson County, Florida, near Tallahassee.[11] He was a fan of hunting birds including turkey, dove and quail on the estate. At one point he had pledged the lodge and grounds to FSU upon his death but in 2012 or 2013 he changed his will to leave it to his family.[11]

Wetherell was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2002.[11] He died from complications due to cancer on December 16, 2018, six days before his 73rd birthday.[6]

• FSU: Office of the President