MDC Homestead Renames Building to Honor first Campus President

On Friday, February 25, Building A on Miami Dade College’s Homestead Campus was renamed the Dr. Roy G. Phillips Center.

The ceremony, hosted by Homestead Campus President Dr. Oscar Loynaz and MDC Executive Vice President and Provost Dr. Malou C. Harrison, was well attended by family, current and former MDC Staff who had worked with Dr. Phillips, and in acknowledgement of his impact on the overall community.

Local elected officials were in attendance representing the local communities MDC Homestead serves: Homestead Mayor Steve Losner, Florida City Mayor Otis Wallace, and Miami Dade Commissioner Kionne McGhee.

Dr. Phillips joined Miami Dade College in 1980, first as North Campus Vice President and later as Vice president of Public Affairs. In that job he was instrumental in developing College expansion plans which resulted in the approval of a Homestead Campus.

In 1990, he was tapped to be the Founding President of the Homestead Campus.

He held that position for 11 years, retiring in 2001. Both Phillips and his wife of 63 years, Vera passed away in December of 2020.

Carmen Morris, who had worked with Dr. Phillips as Director of Communications at the Homestead Campus, began the process of honoring both his lasting contributions and his outstanding character with a phone call to Dr. Harrison. Learning that naming a building for an individual required a number of approvals, Morris reached out to former colleagues and friends who would be involved in the approval process, as well as starting an online petition to show community support. She found universal support, and the final step of agreement of the Board of Trustees was unanimous.

In her remarks she remembered Dr. Phillips’s care for students saying, “If there was a student who needed help, financial or other, he would always find a way to provide that help. There are so many who would not be where they are today without Dr. Phillips. She concluded her remarks, “Dr. Roy G. Phillips was not only the Founding President of the Homestead Campus, but the Founding Father of the Homestead Campus.

After the conclusion of the ceremony Commissioner McGhee summed up many of the tributes to Dr. Phillips, telling the News Leader, “Growing up in an underserved community I benefited from Dr. Phillips’s work. I walked the halls of the Homestead Campus with him and came to know that not only was he a great leader, but a compassionate and caring leader. This is truly a great day.”