Douglas Lee "Tim" Jamerson, Jr. (October 16, 1947 – April 21, 2001) was a

Florida Commissioner of Education The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) is the state education agency of Florida. It governs public education and manages funding and testing for local educational agencies (school boards). It is headquartered in the Turlington Building (nam ...

. He was appointed to the position in 1993 after

Betty Castor Elizabeth Castor (née Bowe; born May 11, 1941) is an American educator and former politician. Castor was elected to the Florida Senate and as Florida Education Commissioner, and she subsequently served as the President of the University of So ...

resigned to become President of the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...

. He was defeated in his bid for a full term in 1994 by

Frank Brogan Frank T. Brogan (born September 6, 1953) is the former Assistant Secretary of Education (Elementary and Secondary Education). He succeeded Deborah S. Delisle. He is the former Chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, fo ...

. Jamerson grew up in the poor neighborhoods in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

. He planned to attend Gibbs High School, but his grandmother encouraged him to go to Bishop Barry High School (now St. Petersburg Catholic High School) instead, where he was the school's first black student. Jamerson graduated from

St. Petersburg Junior College St. Petersburg College (SPC) is a public college in Pinellas County, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and one of the institutions in the system designated a "state college," as it offers a greater number of bachelor's degrees th ...

and received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

from the

. He also was a graduate of St. Petersburg Police Academy. Jamerson was elected to the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopte ...

in 1982 from District 55 and served five and a half terms in that capacity.

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Lawton Chiles Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 41st governor of Florida from 1991 until his death in 1998. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United States ...

appointed him state education commissioner in 1993, but he lost the seat to

in the 1994 election, in which Republicans made substantial gains. After his loss, Chiles appointed him as secretary of the state Department of Labor. Jamerson died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

at the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital in 2001, at the age of 53.sptimes.com
retrieved 6 June 2010

References

Florida Commissioners of Education 2001 deaths African-American state legislators in Florida University of South Florida alumni 1947 births 20th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives 20th-century African-American politicians {{Florida-bio-stub