A memorial service for Kidd is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 12 in Perry-Paige Auditorium. Family members will begin greeting guests from 9:30 a.m. until service time. Immediately following the service, Kidd will be honored during an unveiling ceremony for the Wall of Distinction in the School of the Environment. The ceremony will be held on the second floor (atrium) in the Frederick S. Humphries Research Building.
Kidd was respected as a scholar and leader among his colleagues and students. During his 19 years of service at FAMU, he co-founded the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, established several scholarship funds, and created the Environmental Sciences Institute through a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. At the time, the grant was the largest award given to a single principal investigator in the university’s history.
Throughout his career, Kidd remained an advocate for educating and training African-American students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. After leaving FAMU, he served as president of York College from 1996-2002, worked at Medgar Evers College and at several other schools in The City of University of New York educational system until 2010. Kidd was serving as dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies at Bethune-Cookman University before he passed on Dec. 12, 2012.
Kidd was born on Aug. 9, 1936 in Washington, D.C. to Charles and Lorraine Kidd. He held a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, a master’s degree in radiological health sciences, a master’s of science in civil engineering, and a doctorate in environmental health sciences. He leaves behind his wife of 53 years, Mary Ann Cornelia Evans Kidd, five children, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made toward a memorial scholarship in honor of Kidd. Send contributions to the FAMU Foundation, P.O. Box 6562, Tallahassee, FL 32314-6562. In the memo section, please indicate Charles C. Kidd, Sr. Memorial Scholarship.