Kendrick Meek: “Mr. Speaker, Dr. John Lombardi represented and carried through a renaissance in Florida's public education. He chartered…”

“Mr. Speaker, Dr. John Lombardi represented and carried through a renaissance in Florida's public education. He chartered a new course for a university which many times before him was in a sleepy existence. Dr. Lombardi came along; he was a university president who had vision and he had foresight. He was a scholar, respected. He was an academic, yet he was very well-centered in the community, as well as the students. He pulled this university up in research and development. He shaped and defined a new direction for the university. I had quite a few meetings with President Lombardi. I respected him, as I was a member of the Florida Senate Committee on High Education. I must say to the graduates and the students of the University of Florida, John Lombardi will be missed; and to that entire university system, he brought them into the 21st century kicking and screaming. We are hoping that they will be able to replace him. But I say, no, it is hard to replace a man with the genius and heart of a John Lombardi.”