 |
| Former state Sen. Durell Peaden with FAMU officials in Crestview
in 2012 |
Durell Peaden succumbed to a heart attack in Erie, Pa.,
where he worked as a dean for Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. He
previously served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1995
to 2000 and the Florida Senate from 2001 until his term limit in 2010.
“He was probably proudest of being able to bring the FAMU
pharmacy school to Crestview,” said Sen. Greg Evers, who was elected to succeed
Peaden in 2010.
Peaden steered a total of $11M in nonrecurring funds into FAMU’s budget during the 2009 and 2010 legislative sessions in order to cover start-up costs for the university to launch an interdisciplinary satellite campus in downtown Crestview, Fla. That money went toward renovating the former Alatex Textile Company building on 153 Woodruff Avenue for FAMU’s use. Peaden also secured a $1.5M recurring appropriation designated for faculty and staff for its programs.
The Rural Diversity Healthcare Center became the first degree-granting
satellite location of the FAMU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Peaden’s survivors are his wife, Nancy, and three children.