Sam Banks, Jr. Memorial Endowments

This fund was established in 2008 by S. Andrew Banks, in memory of his father, Sam Bank, Jr., to support of teaching, research and academic programs at the University of Florida.

A native Floridian, Sam Bank, Jr. was born in Frostproof and graduated from Lakeland High School. He received a bachelor’s degree in english literature from Duke University, a master’s degree in theology from Emory University and a doctorate in psychology from the University of Chicago.

Banks was a former professor of human development and the director of foundation relations at Eckerd College. He was a former faculty member of the UF College of Medicine. At UF in the 1960s, he carried the dual titles of professor psychiatry in the College of Medicine and professor of religion in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He was a practicing clinical psychologist and an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church.

He and his wife, Joanne, had three children. Sam passed away in September of 2000 and Joanne passed away on June 21, 2002.