The John T. Washington collection, 1957-1980, documents UCF professor John T. Washington's life outside of his affiliation with UCF and his legacy. It chiefly consists of church sermons and materials, photographs, programs, minutes, agendas, and awards relating to John T. Washington's community service and role as a pastor as well as the scholarship award and honor society established in his name after his death. The collection provides insight into John T. Washington's life as the founder and pastor of the First Church of Peace and the efforts to maintain his legacy after his death with the John T. Washington Community Service Awards and Scholarship and the John T. Washington Honor Society. John Thomas Washington was born in 1940 in Immokalee, Florida. He was an associate professor of sociology at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and one of UCF's first Black faculty members. Washington worked to promote diversity at UCF, serving as one of the first advisors for the Black Student Union as well as other student organizations. He also aided in developing UCF's Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action and the Office of Multicultural Academic and Support Services. Before his time at UCF, Washington served as an airman in the United States Air Force from 1962-1964. He went on to earn his bachelor's and master's degrees at Rollins College and his Ph.D. at the University of Florida. In addition to his work at UCF, Washington founded the First Church of Peace in Orlando and served as the church's pastor. Washington died in 1983 at the age of 42 from a sudden heart attack. Following his death, the Student Services Building was renamed the John T. Washington Center in 1984. The John T. Washington Community Service Awards & Scholarship were also founded in his honor. In 1996, the John T. Washington Honor Society was established to uphold Washington's values of public service.
The Marilyn Crotty papers, 1972-2018 (bulk 1976-1978), chiefly consist of news clippings, correspondence, reports, organizational records, and publications collected by Marilyn Crotty during her involvement with the Florida Governor's Commission on the Status of Women (COSOW). This collection documents the commission's organizational history and its efforts toward the betterment of women in the Central Florida area. The collection offers a glimpse into second-wave feminist activism in Florida and strategies in the 1970s to promote the feminist movement and gain support. Marilyn Ettinger Crotty is a Florida educator, activist, and civic leader whose career included work in public service, local government, and higher education. She served on the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, the Florida Environmental Efficiency Study Commission, and the Florida Governor's Commission on the Status of Women (COSOW). In 1982, she established Valencia Community College's Center for Community Leadership, a state-funded institute that provided training programs for local government employees and elected officials. In 1990, the University of Central Florida hired her to direct the John Scott Dailey Institute of Government, a position she held until her retirement in 2018.
Mary Monroe was a theatre student at FTU in the 1970s. Her collection of photographs, news clippings, and programs document the theatre performances during that time.
