| Judy Blucker |
Full Name: Judith Ann Blucker
Born: Little Rock, Ark.
Died: July 16, 2019, Citrus Hills, Fla.
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Editor's Note: While Judy Blucker was working on her Ph.D. in Physical
Education at Florida State, she served as the head coach for the FSU
Softball Team in 1969 and 1970, the FSU Women's Track Team in 1970 and the
FSU Volleyball Team in 1969. Obituary for Judith Blucker Published by The Villages Daily Sun on Aug 13, 2019 Judith had an outstanding career in higher education and spent 35 years at Florida International University. She was one of the founding faculty and served in multiple leadership roles including Professor of the College of Education, Vice President of Student Affairs, Vice Provost of Broward Programs, Executive Vice Provost of Academic Affairs, Dean of the College of Health and Dean of Education. After retirement Judith moved to The Villages and enjoyed playing golf, cards and the entire Villages lifestyle experience. She believed in live-long learning as she enriched not only her life but also those of others through many travel adventures. Judith will be greatly missed by her long-time companion and wife, Annette; nieces Jennifer Maxwell, Brooke Maxwell, LouAnn Seaman, and Tara Lou Dunklin; nephews Richard Maxwell and Seth Maxwell in addition to a multitude of long-time friends and colleagues. A Celebration of Life will be held in October in The
Villages to honor her exemplary life. Memorandum from Kenneth G. Furton, Provost and Executive Vice President of Florida International University July 25, 2019 It is with profound sadness that we have learned of the passing of our colleague, friend, and founding faculty, Dr. Judith A. Blucker, former Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Professor of Education, on Tuesday, July 16, at the age of 76. She is survived by her wife, Annette Gathright, former Adjunct Professor in the College of Education, as well as extended family and friends. Dr. Blucker joined the College of Education (as it was named at the time) at Florida International University right when it opened doors in 1972 as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. At the time, she came directly from Florida State University where she had just earned her Ph.D. in Physical Education. Her dissertation which she defended in August of 1972 was entitled "A Comparison of Selected Physiological Parameters between Exercising and Nonexercising Young and Older Women." Judy received her Bachelor of Science degree (cum laude) from Memphis State University in Memphis, Tennessee in August 1963 after which she taught at Madison Junior High School in Miami for one year. Subsequently, she earned her Master of Science degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in June 1965 followed by another year of teaching at Miami Senior High School. Between September 1966 and June 1972, Dr. Blucker was an Instructor in the Health, P.E. and Recreation Department of Broward Community College and completed her Ph.D. with FSU while employed there. Her career at FIU has been described as legendary. While FIU initially opened doors with exclusively men's varsity sports teams, she was the impetus to create women's teams as well and actually coached the volleyball and softball teams herself during the mid- and late 1970s. It was also Judy who was the creative mind behind the idea for the Sunblazer mascot which FIU used from 1973 to 1987. While she was an excellent educator in practice, she quickly assumed roles in the administration, too. Dr. Blucker became Associate Professor in the College of Education in 1978 and was recommended for the Chairperson position as the only woman in her department at the time which she held from 1979 to 1981. In 1981, she was promoted to Full Professor. During her 35-year career at FIU, Judy held many more additional administrative positions, including Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Education, Acting Vice President for Student Affairs under President Wolfe, Vice Provost and later Executive Vice Provost under President Maidique, where she was instrumental in establishing and developing FIU's undergraduate and graduate programs in Broward County, and served as Chief Negotiator for Collective Bargaining on behalf of the university administration, as well as Acting Dean for the College of Education and the College of Health. Judy also received the FIU Medallion for her merits. In 2007, Dr. Blucker retired for the second time after having returned to be Chief Negotiator as well as Acting Dean for the College of Education after her first retirement. Not only did Dr. Blucker's leadership and engagement change FIU for the better during her time as a professor and administrator but even after retirement she remained in close contact with the university and was committed to ensuring student success through giving back in cooperation with the FIU Foundation. She established the Cindy Russo Women's Basketball Scholarship Endowment in honor of FIU's head basketball coach benefitting female basketball student-athletes, and, more recently, endowed a $1 million Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs scholarship in honor of her late brother, former senior U.S. diplomat and Iran hostage Robert Olof Blucker to benefit graduate students in Global Affairs interested in a foreign service career. Together with her wife, Annette, she has planned a further generous bequest via the FIU Foundation which is set to endow future scholarships for female athletes. Our thoughts and prayers are with her wife, Annette, the Blucker family, her former colleagues, as well as her students and friends during this difficulttime. There will be a Celebration of Life in October that will take place in The Villages.
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| FSU Statistics |
Dr. Judith Ann
Blucker passed away July 16, 2019 after a long hard-fought battle with
cancer. Judy was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1942 and was preceded in
death by her parents, Olaf and Hazel Blucker; brothers, Robert and James
and sister, Linda Hallman.