Trailblazing entomologist's gift creates a home for students, future scientists – and a legacy of belonging
The University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) celebrated a milestone moment on Nov. 1 at 4:30 p.m., when the doors open to the Pauline O. Lawrence Student Residence at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center (TREC).
The new dormitory, built to provide graduate students with a home away from home in the heart of South Florida's agricultural landscape, is a residence that comes full circle for the alumna whose donation with her late husband will serve as a legacy and special place to future students, no matter where they come from.
Located at 18905 SW 280 St. in Homestead, the new dormitory consists of eight bedrooms and four bathrooms, a spacious eat-in kitchen with an extended counter, a roomy living area and a generous screened-in patio overseeing the tropical fruits, vegetables and plants that faculty cultivate and study at TREC.
"Graduate students are the heartbeat of our work at TREC," said Edward "Gilly" Evans, TREC's center director. "They bring new ideas, new energy, innovation and new perspectives to every project. The Pauline O. Lawrence Student Residence will give them more than a roof over their heads — it gives them a sense of home, of safety and of shared purpose as they prepare to make their own mark on the world."
The peaceful and breathtaking views offered from the new student residence that sits at the center of the campus in the agricultural heart of Miami-Dade County will house eight graduate students conducting tropical and subtropical research. It carries profound meaning for its namesake, Pauline O. Lawrence, a pioneering scientist, alumna and philanthropist whose journey to this moment embodies both courage and compassion.
"This is your home away from home," Lawrence said of the new dormitory. "I want students to feel safe, to develop community and to look out for one another — regardless of where they're from. Forget about politics, race or religion. In this house, you take care of each other."
The ceremonial opening at the residence carries deep personal and historical significance. The celebration takes place on the afternoon of the One Night in the Tropics, TREC's signature fundraising event is now in its 11th year — making this moment a fitting prelude to an evening that honors the center's mission and community and a trailblazer.
The new residence honors Lawrence, a pioneering entomologist and trailblazer whose name now graces the first building in the university's history named after a Black person.
"Decades after her own student experience at TREC, Lawrence's generosity demonstrates her recognition of the continuing need to support today's students and a desire to make continuing impact," said Scott Angle, UF's senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources and leader of UF/IFAS. "The graduate student dormitory will be her legacy that fosters development of future scientists and the many discoveries they will generate."
When she arrived as a graduate student in the late 1960s, Lawrence became both a pioneer and a symbol of resilience: the first Black female graduate student in entomology at UF, and the first woman ever to live and study on the TREC campus.
She recalls that her road to Homestead began with her passion for fruit fly research — and a pivotal invitation from Richard Baranowski, who was director of TREC at the time.
Upon completion of her master's, she was awarded a research assistantship to pursue a Ph.D. by Baranowski, professor emeritus and an international expert on tephritid fruit flies at TREC. She conducted her field research under his guidance and completed the remainder of her degree work in Gainesville on the UF main campus and at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Laboratory.
"When I arrived in Homestead, I was welcomed by Dr. Baranowski, his wife and daughters. To this day, his eldest daughter and I communicate regularly," said Lawrence. "His mentorship and their generosity had a lasting impact."
While pursuing her graduate studies at TREC, Lawrence lived mostly alone in a large house tucked behind the main buildings — a reflection of both her isolation and the rarity of graduate students at the center at the time. As a young Black woman and foreigner from Jamaica, she was housed on university property for safety, thanks to the thoughtful decision of Baranowski. Though she briefly shared the house with another student's family and later welcomed her mother, Iris Lawrence — a visit made possible through Baranowski's advocacy — Lawrence often felt deeply alone on the remote, 160-acre campus.
Her solitude made it difficult to focus on her studies, yet she persevered, earning her doctorate and becoming a trailblazing professor and mentor. Reflecting on her experience, Lawrence and her late husband, Carlton Davis, a distinguished professor of the UF/IFAS food and resource economics department, expressed strong support for the idea of a dorm at TREC, not just as a safe place to live, but as a vital space for building community and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration among students.
For Lawrence, returning to TREC is like coming home — because that's exactly what it once was and what she intended it to be when she and her husband made a significant donation to the 2019 TREC Student Housing Campaign making the residence a reality.
For Lawrence, TREC has always been a place of transformation — what she fondly calls "a magical place." As a graduate student in the 1970s, Baranowski welcomed her not only into his home and family but into the research community. That spirit of warmth and belonging deeply shaped her vision for the residence that now bears her name.
Lawrence's gift was also inspired by Evans' vision, whose commitment to making TREC a world-class research center as outlined in his strategic plan also included enhancing graduate student life. This rekindled her memories of isolation as the only student living on campus decades ago.
Together with her husband, Lawrence decided to help ensure that future students would never feel that same loneliness — but instead experience the peace, community and diversity that she and Davis value deeply.
"I want to see the residents reflect what the tropics are all about — diversity," Lawrence said. "Students come from all over the world to study here. Everyone brings something different to the picture. I hope they embrace open-mindedness, a willingness to share and care, and to take advantage of the peace that the environment brings."
Set amid tropical fruit groves and surrounded by natural beauty, the Pauline O. Lawrence Student Residence symbolizes both continuity and change — honoring the past while welcoming a new generation of scientists.
"The Pauline O. Lawrence Student Residence is more than a dormitory — it's a living legacy, one built on empathy, memory and hope. Its opening marks a milestone not just for TREC, but for UF's ongoing journey toward innovation and excellence," said Evans.
ABOUT UF/IFAS
The mission of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is to develop knowledge relevant to agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge available to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. With more than a dozen research facilities, 67 county Extension offices, and award-winning students and faculty in the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UF/IFAS brings science-based solutions to the state's agricultural and natural resources industries, and all Florida residents.
More information:
blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/news/2025/1 … legacy-of-belonging/
Provided by University of Florida
