Samuel A. Floyd, Jr.

American educator, musician, editor, writer, scholar and champion of black music (2/1/1937 – 7/11/2016). He began his music career as a high school band director in Florida before returning to Florida A & M to serve as Instructor and Assistant Band Director under band director William “Pat” Foster. In 1978, he began a faculty position as Professor of Music at Fisk University, where he founded and served as Director of the Institute for Research in Black American Music. In 1983 he moved to Columbia College Chicago to found the Center for Black Music Research (CBMR). At Columbia College, Dr. Floyd also served as Academic Dean from 1990 to 1993 and as Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost during 1999–2001. He retired as Director Emeritus of the CBMR in 2002. He also founded the Black Music Research Journal and founded and edited a grant-funded journal, Lenox Avenue: A Journal of Interartistic Inquiry. https://blogs.colum.edu/cbmr/2016/07/25/safloyd/