Oral History Videos
Oral History Interview with Bill Potter, 2025
Abstract
This summary outlines the key insights and historical accounts provided by Bill Potter, who served as a Florida Tech (FIT) trustee from 1981, providing continuous institutional memory through several presidential eras, including Jerry Keuper (1966-1986), Lynn Weaver (1986-2002), Tony Catanese (2002-2016), and Dwayne McCay (2016-2022).
Bill Potter characterizes Founding President Jerry Keuper as a necessary "creative risk-taker" whose willingness to gamble, despite major setbacks like the closing of the Jensen Beach campus, was crucial for the university's early survival. Potter was heavily involved in addressing the most costly failure of this era: the poorly vetted takeover of Hawthorne College in New Hampshire, which cost the university approximately $3 million annually and resulted in frustrating litigation. Keuper’s tenure ended in 1986 when the Executive Committee, believing the university was floundering, convinced him to retire. The subsequent presidential search was immediately plagued by crisis. First, Vice President Tom Adams and Board Chair Jim Lyons interfered with the search, resulting in the top candidate, Sam Hulbert, declining the offer. This was followed by the "Lyons Scandal," where it was revealed that Lyons had fabricated his military service, claiming to be a decorated "Flying Tiger" pilot when he was an Army Air Corps Airman Second Class. Potter, as Vice Chair, confronted Lyons, leading to his resignation and the crucial restoration of relations with Harris Corp.