Thomas Farrar Fleming, Jr. (1916-1976) was born in Georgia and educated at the University of Florida and Harvard Business School. He settled in Boca Raton in 1940 with his wife, Myrtle Butts. Fleming was founder and president of First Bank and Trust Company, Boca’s first banking institution.
When the state legislature authorized creation of a public university in southeast Florida, Fleming successfully lobbied to have it located at the former Boca Raton Army Airfield. He raised almost $300,000 to start Florida Atlantic University (FAU). The first donation was Fleming’s pledge of a percentage of First Bank and Trust’s earnings for three years.
To advance higher education throughout Florida, Fleming chaired “Citizens for Florida’s Future,” a committee of the state Chamber of Commerce, and successfully lobbied for a $75 million bond issue on the November 1963 ballot. President John F. Kennedy praised this achievement in his last speech before he was assassinated.
After Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded Kennedy, he had less than a year to prepare for the 1964 presidential election. He hired Thomas Fleming to manage his Florida campaign. When FAU was dedicated on October 25, 1964, President Johnson was the keynote speaker.
Florida Atlantic University honored Fleming by establishing the first Distinguished Service Award in his name as well as a Thomas F. Fleming, Jr. Memorial Scholarship. Fleming Hall, home of the College of Business, was also named for him.
Thomas Fleming was a founding trustee of St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton. He and his wife donated land to the school.