Floyd-Gehan Scholarship
Estate: support scholarships to deserving HS graduates who are residents of Alachua Co, FL; donor hoped that recipients would repay scholarships to UF for future students, not required.
In 1933, Clara Floyd-Gehan was the first woman to graduate from the UF law school after having entered it as a first-year student. She received her bachelor’s degree from Brenau College in Gainesville, GA, in 1929.
Following her graduation from law school, Gehan practiced law in Jacksonville and returned to Gainesville, FL, in 1935. Former Gov. Reuben Askew appointed Gehan to two terms as member of the Judicial Nominations Committee for the 8th Judicial Circuit Courts. She later served this committee as chair.
Gehan also served as chair of the Legal Aid for Indigents Committee for more than five years and was active in establishing the UF College of Law Legal Aid and Defender Clinic and the Storefront Legal Aid Service. She was a member of Gainesville’s original bi-racial Committee, serving as chair for an 18-month period.
Gehan was featured in a Gainesville Sun special supplement distributed in December 2000 as one of “50 People Who Made A Difference in North Central Florida” during the 20th century. She was noted for her efforts in desegregation in North Central Florida.
She was very generous to her alma mater during her lifetime, and upon her death in 1992, her estate founded this scholarship to assist students within her community to achieve their academic and career goal
