DAVID LAWRENCE JR.

David Lawrence Jr. retired in 1999 as publisher of The Miami Herald to work in the area of early childhood development and readiness. He is president of The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation and “University Scholar for Early Childhood Development and Readiness” at the University of Florida. In 2002 he led the campaign for The Children’s Trust, a dedicated source of early intervention and prevention funding for children in Miami-Dade; he now is its chair. Named by Gov. Jeb Bush to the Florida Partnership for School Readiness, he chaired that oversight board for two terms. He is a national board member of the Foundation for Child Development. In 2002-3 he chaired the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Child Protection. In 2002, he was a key figure in passing a statewide constitutional amendment to provide high-quality pre-K availability for all 4 year olds.  He is a board member and former chair of the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade and Monroe. The David Lawrence Jr. K-8 School, a Miami-Dade Public School for ultimately 1,600 students, opened in 2006 across from the north campus of Florida International University. A fully endowed chair in early childhood studies has been established in his name at the University of Florida College of Education.

 Before coming to Miami in 1989, he was publisher and executive editor of the Detroit Free Press. He came to the Free Press in 1978 from the Charlotte Observer where he was editor.  He joined then Knight Newspapers (now Knight Ridder) in 1971. (During his tenure as publisher of The Miami Herald, the paper won five Pulitzer Prizes.)

 He is a graduate of the University of Florida and named "Outstanding Journalism Graduate."  He graduated from the Advanced Management program at the Harvard Business School in 1983. In 1988, he was honored with Knight-Ridder's top award, the John S. Knight Gold Medal.  He has 12 honorary doctorates, including from his alma mater, the University of Florida. His national honors include the Ida B. Wells Award "for exemplary leadership in providing minorities employment opportunities” and the National Association of Minority Media Executives award for "lifetime achievement in diversity." His writing awards include the First Amendment Award from the Scripps Howard Foundation and the Inter American Press Association Commentary Award. He served twice as chair of the national Task Force on Minorities in the Newspaper Business, was the 1991-92 president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the 1995-96 president of the Inter American Press Association.

 His board activity: The Miami Art Museum, United Way and the New World School of the Arts (each formerly as chair), and the University of Florida Foundation. As a member of the Governor's Commission on Education, he chaired the Readiness Committee. He was the local convening co-chair of the 1994 Summit of the Americas. And he co-founded a non-profit vocational-technical school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

 He and Roberta, a master’s graduate in social work from Barry, live in Coral Gables and have 3 daughters and 2 sons. His honors include: “Family of the Year” from Family Counseling Services, “Father of the Year” by the South Florida Father’s Day Council, the Lawton and Rhea Chiles Advocacy Award and the Public Policy Award of the Early Childhood Association of Florida. This year he was honored for “Lifetime Achievement” at the Dr. Martin Luther King Spirit of Excellence Awards benefit. Nationally, he has been honored with the American Public Health Association Award of Excellence, the Lewis Hine Award for Children and Youth and the “Children’s Champion” award from the National Black Child Development Institute.