Dr. Vandon E. White

Dr. Vandon E White transitioned from this life to his eternal home on Resurrection Sunday, April 1st at the Memorial Hospital Jacksonville in Jacksonville, FL as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident. He was 83 years old.

Dr. Vandon E. White entered into this world in Humphreys County, MS on April 18, 1934, the second of two sons born to Ernest White and Flora Taylor White. Vandon was baptized and accepted Christ at the Church of Christ Holiness in Wolf Lake, Mississippi. He is a graduate of McNair High School in Belzoni, Mississippi. Vandon earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Tougaloo College in Jackson, MS in 1955. His professor and mentor, St. Elmo Brady, was the first African-American to receive a PhD in Chemistry. Considered one of “Brady’s Boys”, Vandon received his Masters and PhD degrees in Biochemistry from Purdue University in 1959. Vandon was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated in Gamma Upsilon Chapter at Tougaloo College. He was a Life Member of Alpha Phi Alpha and active in graduate chapters in Baton Rouge, LA and Miami, FL.

Upon graduation, Dr. White was appointed head of Chemistry at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, AL. In 1961, he accepted a position as Dean of Chemistry at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, LA. He immediately provided leadership in developing a nationally competitive Chemistry Department. He championed for external funding for research, faculty development and pre-college science institutes for students.

Committed to improving the pipeline of African Americans pursuing graduate studies in chemistry, he had assisted more than 10 African American graduates to enroll in top PhD programs across the nation by 1965. By 1968, he had hired a minimum of two PhD faculty members in each of the five major branches of Chemistry. Under Dr. White’s leadership, the Chemistry department consisted of the largest number of African American PhDs of any faculty in the nation.

In the 1970s, Dr. White spent two years at the University of Buffalo and then joined the faculty at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, FL. and branched into public health. As a Founding Professor of the College of Health and Urban Affairs, he spent 32 years at FIU and served as Dean of Public Health and Social Services and Dean of Allied Health in the Robert J. Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work. He was the first African American Dean at FIU. Vandon became an advocate for public health policy and program development to resolve health disparities in minority communities and improve the health outcomes of minorities and the elderly. In recognition of his service in the field of sciences, education and public health, FIU conferred the status of Professor Emeritus upon Dr. White upon his retirement.

Vandon loved teaching Chemistry and focusing on the needs of his students. In post-retirement, he moved to Jacksonville and continued to teach Chemistry classes at St. Johns River Community College and Florida State College at Jacksonville. Under his leadership and mentoring, a generation of students received academic preparation that led them to graduate professional schools as well as distinguished careers in the field of Science.

He was an active member of St. Paul’s By-the-Sea Protestant Episcopal Church and was served diligently on many of its ministries. Vandon was very active in the Social and Restorative Justice Ministry through the Interfaith Coalition for Acton Empowerment (ICARE) which sought to powerfully address neighborhood and city-wide issues and take direct action with community decision-makers. Over the years he was an active community leader serving as a Board Member, Advisor and Consultant for local and state organizations in social justice, health and education.

Dr. White received numerous awards over the years including the “Rotarian of the Year” award from the Opa-Locka Rotary Club. In 2013, the Southern University Chemistry department established the Vandon E. White Award. The plaque and monetary award is bestowed upon an outstanding Senior in the Chemistry Department. In 2016, he was honored by Southern University at its annual Wilbur E. Clarke Chemistry Symposium for his distinguished leadership as the “Architect of the Chemistry Department” and integrating teaching standards that propelled the success of the department and its students. He also received numerous “Teacher of the Year” awards while at Florida International University.

Vandon is preceded in death by his father Ernest White; mother Flora Taylor White; uncle Jeremiah Taylor, brother Dr. Ernest White, Jr. MD and son Adrian Jerome White.

Vandon leaves to cherish his memories an aunt Beatrice Roots (Jackson, MS); three daughters Angela Denise White and Ann Rossie White (Chicago, IL) and Tasha White Thibodeaux (Oakland, CA); niece Sharon White (Orlando, FL); nephew Greg White and wife Joniese (Stone Mountain, GA); grandnephew and grandnieces Noah, Jordyn and Jewel; cousins Pamela and Paula White (Los Angeles, CA), Byron White (Chicago, IL), Marion Roots and wife Eunice (Baton Rouge, LA), Imogene Harris and husband Edward (Sacramento, CA), Lois Blalock and husband John (Upper Marlboro, MD), Janice White, Iris White Pettigrew, Ginger White McGowan, Brian White and wife Rhonda (Indianapolis, IN) and a step-granddaughter Nia Moore. He also leaves a host of educational colleagues and former students whose careers were positively impacted and influenced by his passion for chemistry and educational excellence. The family extends special thanks to the Emergency Room and Intensive Care Unit Doctors and Staff at Memorial Hospital Jacksonville and Dr. Clyde Yancy, MD of Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago, IL.

Services will be held on Monday, April 9, 2018 at St. Paul’s By-The-Sea Protestant Episcopal Church Jacksonville Beach FL. Visitation at 11 am, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated Omega Services at 12 noon with religious services to follow at 12:30pm. Burial will be at Hardage-Giddens Chapel Hills 850 St. John’s Bluff Road N, Jacksonville, FL.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Vandon E White Award, a plaque and monetary award bestowed upon an outstanding Senior in the Southern University Chemistry Department. Donations may be mailed to: Southern University ATTN: Vandon E. White Award PO Box 9562 Baton Rouge, LA 70813.

HARDAGE-GIDDENS CHAPEL HILLS, 850 Saint Johns Bluff Road North, Jacksonville, FL 32225, is serving the family.

Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”