Dr. Jim Murdaugh was named the sixth president of Tallahassee Community College on October 18, 2010.
His personal vision is to make TCC the college of choice for students, the employer of choice for faculty and
staff, and the partner of choice for the community.
He is quite active locally, serving as a board member on the Big Bend Minority Chamber of Commerce,
member of the Tallahassee Rotary Club, and honorary board member of the Stubbs Educational Foundation.
He is also a former chair of the Leon County Economic Development Council.
At the state level, Jim is a sustaining member and director of the Economic Club of Florida, a member of the
Advisory Board of the Florida Technology Council, a trustee on the board of the Florida Chamber of Commerce
Foundation, a member of the Florida Chamber Board of Governors, and he serves on the Leadership Florida
Northwest Regional Council. He chaired the Florida College System Council of Presidents in 2019-20, advising
and advocating to the State’s Executive and Legislative branches the value of the colleges to the social and
economic development of Florida. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association for
Community College Entrepreneurship.
He has been recognized for his leadership by a number of organizations. He was inducted into the Florida
State University College of Criminology and Criminal Justice Hall of Fame in 2011 and was honored as the
2012 Leader of the Year by Leadership Tallahassee. Also in 2012, Florida Trend listed Jim among Florida’s
Newsmakers of the Year. In 2013, he received the Pillar of Excellence Award, and in 2015 he received the
Humanitarian Award, both from the MLK Foundation of Florida. In 2014, Jim was one of four finalists for the
American Association of Community Colleges’ national Award of Excellence in Emerging Leadership,
recognizing his efforts to encourage and develop new and emerging leaders at TCC. He was selected in 2017
by the Association of College Unions International as International President of the Year in recognition of his
efforts in building a strong and active campus community. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the
Heroes in Public Safety Program in 2020, and was most recently honored by the National Association for
Community College Entrepreneurship as their 2022 Entrepreneurial President of the Year.
Jim Murdaugh holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminology and a doctorate in public administration
from Florida State University. He is also a graduate of Leadership Florida Executive Class VII and the
prestigious Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at Harvard University’s John F.
Kennedy School of Government.
