His extensive network nationwide enables him to combine his considerable skills as a negotiator and broker to maintain and strengthen relationships with a wide range of constituencies on behalf of the University. Dr. Ingram is the first recipient of the President’s Achievement Award for Outstanding and Dedicated Service to the University and recently received an award as the Creator of the new concept for the Florida Memorial University Lion Mascot.
Dr. Ingram’s academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Applied Behavioral Science, from the Union Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio, a Masters degree in Administration and Supervision of Adult Education and a Bachelors of Science degree in Urban Justice, from Florida International University, Miami, Florida.
He brings to the table of academia a stellar array of ‘firsts’. He is the first elected to the Charter Revised position of Mayor of Opa-locka. He holds the distinction of being the first and only mayor to be elected to six consecutive terms. He was elected to two consecutive terms each as Chaplain and again as President of the National Conference of Black Mayors respectively.
A trailblazer from early in his career, Dr. Ingram was the first African-American police officer to be assigned to Miami’s prestigious Motorcycle Unit and the first African American police officer to be assigned to duty in the all-white section of downtown Miami. Surviving several threats to his life, he paved the way for many more African American police officers.
As a law enforcement officer, he was honored by Mayor Maurice Ferre as the only officer of the 800-member police force to earn a doctorate degree. He was also the first African American to be appointed to the imposing Internal Security Unit. Dr. Ingram retired from the Miami Police Department to become Chief of an urban police department (the City of Opa-locka) where he served fearlessly and courageously to expose lawlessness. He received several awards from the United States Justice Department’s Drug Enforcement Administration during his career. Dr. Ingram was also the first African-American City Manager of South Miami, Florida.
Among the over 600 awards and honors bestowed on Dr. Ingram, include his being the 1969 recipient of the William D. Pawley Officer of the Year award, presented by the Miami Fraternal Order of Police. He was also named one of eleven Outstanding Police Officers in the Nation in 1970 by the International Association of Police Chiefs and Parade Magazine; he is the recipient of the 1978 Black Social Workers Distinguished Leadership in Criminal Justice award, the Living Legend Award from W. J. Redmond Christian Academy , the Richard G. Hatcher Outstanding Mayor award from the National Conference of Black Mayors, the Peace and Unity Award from the St. Martin de Pores Association, and named as one of the 100 Most Influential African Americans by Ebony magazine.
A fervent believer in ‘giving back’ to his community, Dr. Ingram’s record of community service includes being founding president of the Florida Chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, President of the Board of Directors for the Center for Family and Child Enrichment, Founding President of Locke Town Mental Health Center and Secretary to the Board of Directors of the Dade County Mental Health Association. He was appointed by the late Governor Lawton Chiles to Florida’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Institute where he serves as Chairman. He is the former Chair of the NAACP’s Miami-Dade Chapter ‘s Religious Emphasis Committee. All his alma maters, Miami-Dade Community College, Florida International University and the Union Institute have awarded him the Outstanding Alumnus Award while the Family Christian Association of America honored him for Outstanding Service in the Struggle for Civil Rights.
Dr. Ingram currently serves as Vice Chair of the Miami-Dade County School Board and is known across the United States. He has been featured in Ebony, Jet, Cosmopolitan, Southern Dawn and the Reader’s Digest magazines.
Cementing his public service career, Dr. Ingram serves as Pastor of the Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church. He is a member of the Alpha Rho Boule, Phi Theta Kappa, Kappa Alpha Psi, and Sigma Phi Psi fraternities. Married to the former Delores Newsome, Dr. Ingram has two daughters, six granddaughters, one grandson and two great grandsons.
His motto is “Keep your mind on the Mission.”
