Charles Jenkins, Sr. Residence Hall
1982
In 1982, the Charles Jenkins, Sr. Jenkins Residence Hall, another Nils Schweizer-designed building, was completed, and on October 29, 1982, the hall was dedicated with College President Robert Davis and the primary donor Charles Jenkins, Sr., Chairman of Publix, present. Three months later, on January 23, 1983, the student lounge in the dormitory was dedicated as the Weems-Macbeth Lounge after Dr. Howard V. and Camilla Weems and Joseph O. and Verna Macbeth. Camilla Weems had been a member of the building committee for the Branscomb Memorial Auditorium, and her son-in-law Joseph Macbeth was a Trustee. Located on the corner of Frank Lloyd Wright Way and Duke Place, Jenkins Hall is the home of several fraternities as well as independent men.
Charles was born in Grenville, Georgia, in 1915. He earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Georgia in 1938, and later served in the U.S. Army Air Corps. In 1946 he entered the grocery business as a Publix stock clerk at a Lake Wales store. He moved up through the ranks, moving into the buying department in 1952, and being elected to the board of directors of Publix in 1953. Throughout his career he served as vice president, president, and chairman. Jenkins was also a trustee of Florida Southern College. He received as honorary Doctorate of Law in 1988, and in 1982 the Charles Jenkins, Sr. Residence Hall was named after him. He passed away in 2005.
Sources:
Weems-Macbeth Lounge Plaque