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Florida Southern College’s Lawton Chiles Center for Florida History welcomes University of Florida’s Charlie Fanning to the Florida Lecture Series. On November 14, Fanning will discuss “Building an Empire of the Everglades: How Industrial Agriculture Transformed South Florida’s ‘River of Grass.’” The lecture will start at 7 p.m. in Branscomb Auditorium 202 on the FSC campus. The event is free and open to the public. In “Building an Empire of the Everglades,” Charlie Fanning will discuss the decades following World War II and how industrial growers transformed South Florida’s environment, workforce, and communities to build a regional agricultural hub that led the United States in sugarcane and winter vegetable production. As Florida’s agricultural sector grew to claim the nation’s highest concentration of corporate farms by the 1960s, exiled Cuban sugar barons rebuilt their fortunes in the Everglades. Diversified farming operations flourished in the region at the expense of the environment and impoverished farmworkers. South Florida’s agribusiness growth and profits relied on reengineering the Everglades, controlling farm labor, and shaping U.S. foreign policy to secure concessions and protections. “We are delighted to host Florida Southern alum Charlie Fanning for our November program of the Florida Lecture Series, produced by the Lawton Chiles Center for Florida History. Charlie’s presentation on the transformation of the Everglades from the ‘River of Grass” to a regional agricultural hub during the 1960s is a story that will be of interest to students, faculty, and the general public,” noted James M. Denham, Professor of History and Director of the Lawton Chiles Center for Florida History. As a graduate of Florida Southern College and Georgetown University, Fanning earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2023. About the Florida Lecture Series The Florida Lecture Series is produced by the Center for Florida History under the direction of Dr. James M. Denham. The program brings speakers to the Lakeland campus who approach the issue of “Florida Life and Culture” from a wide range of disciplines, including history, public affairs, law, sociology, criminology, anthropology, literature, music and art. Its overall objective is to create an opportunity for members of the community, faculty, and student body to listen to, interact with and learn from leading scholars and specialists of the state’s history and culture. About Florida Southern College Founded in 1883, Florida Southern College is the oldest private college in the state. The College maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 70+ undergraduate programs and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, nursing, and physical therapy. Florida Southern has a 14:1 student/faculty ratio, is an award-winning national leader in engaged learning, and boasts 30 NCAA Division II National Championships. Florida Southern is ranked at #8 among the “Best Regional Universities in the South” by U.S. News & World Report in its 2022 “Best Colleges” guide and is included in The Princeton Review’s 2025 Best Colleges guide and the “Fiske Guide to Colleges 2023.” The 2022-2023 Colleges of Distinction guidebook praises Florida Southern’s AACSB accredited Barney Barnett School of Business and Free Enterprise alongside the College’s School of Education and its Ann Blanton Edwards School of Nursing and Health Sciences. Poets & Quants, U.S News & World Report, Fortune, and The Princeton Review further laud the Barney Barnett School of Business and Free Enterprise and the Ann Blanton Edwards School of Nursing and Health Sciences as foremost programs in the nation for business and nursing education. Home to the world’s largest single sit collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, FSC has appeared on The Princeton Review’s top 20 “Most Beautiful Campus” national listing for 13 consecutive years.
Florida Southern College’s Lawton Chiles Center for Florida History welcomes University of Florida’s Charlie Fanning to the Florida Lecture Series. On November 14, Fanning will discuss “Building an Empire of the Everglades: How Industrial Agriculture Transformed South Florida’s ‘River of Grass.’” The lecture will start at 7 p.m. in Branscomb Auditorium 202 on the FSC campus. The event is free and open to the public.
In “Building an Empire of the Everglades,” Charlie Fanning will discuss the decades following World War II and how industrial growers transformed South Florida’s environment, workforce, and communities to build a regional agricultural hub that led the United States in sugarcane and winter vegetable production. As Florida’s agricultural sector grew to claim the nation’s highest concentration of corporate farms by the 1960s, exiled Cuban sugar barons rebuilt their fortunes in the Everglades. Diversified farming operations flourished in the region at the expense of the environment and impoverished farmworkers. South Florida’s agribusiness growth and profits relied on reengineering the Everglades, controlling farm labor, and shaping U.S. foreign policy to secure concessions and protections.
“We are delighted to host Florida Southern alum Charlie Fanning for our November program of the Florida Lecture Series, produced by the Lawton Chiles Center for Florida History. Charlie’s presentation on the transformation of the Everglades from the ‘River of Grass” to a regional agricultural hub during the 1960s is a story that will be of interest to students, faculty, and the general public,” noted James M. Denham, Professor of History and Director of the Lawton Chiles Center for Florida History.
As a graduate of Florida Southern College and Georgetown University, Fanning earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2023.
About the Florida Lecture Series
The Florida Lecture Series is produced by the Center for Florida History under the direction of Dr. James M. Denham. The program brings speakers to the Lakeland campus who approach the issue of “Florida Life and Culture” from a wide range of disciplines, including history, public affairs, law, sociology, criminology, anthropology, literature, music and art. Its overall objective is to create an opportunity for members of the community, faculty, and student body to listen to, interact with and learn from leading scholars and specialists of the state’s history and culture.
About Florida Southern College
Founded in 1883, Florida Southern College is the oldest private college in the state. The College maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 70+ undergraduate programs and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, nursing, and physical therapy. Florida Southern has a 14:1 student/faculty ratio, is an award-winning national leader in engaged learning, and boasts 30 NCAA Division II National Championships. Florida Southern is ranked at #8 among the “Best Regional Universities in the South” by U.S. News & World Report in its 2022 “Best Colleges” guide and is included in The Princeton Review’s 2025 Best Colleges guide and the “Fiske Guide to Colleges 2023.” The 2022-2023 Colleges of Distinction guidebook praises Florida Southern’s AACSB accredited Barney Barnett School of Business and Free Enterprise alongside the College’s School of Education and its Ann Blanton Edwards School of Nursing and Health Sciences. Poets & Quants, U.S News & World Report, Fortune, and The Princeton Review further laud the Barney Barnett School of Business and Free Enterprise and the Ann Blanton Edwards School of Nursing and Health Sciences as foremost programs in the nation for business and nursing education. Home to the world’s largest single sit collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, FSC has appeared on The Princeton Review’s top 20 “Most Beautiful Campus” national listing for 13 consecutive years.