Distinguished Alumni
2009 UF Distinguished Alumnus Award
George H. Starke Jr.
Entered with the Class of 1961
Soft-spoken, modest and of generous nature, one might never know George H. Starke Jr. is a man who made history at the University of Florida in a way that has impacted the lives of thousands of UF students.
After serving in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, Starke attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., earning his Bachelor of Business Administration. He then applied for and was admitted to the University of Florida College of Law. His first day of class at the college in September of 1958 marked the first time a black student had ever been allowed to enroll at the University of Florida. His matriculation into Florida's university system was the beginning of desegregation for institutions of higher education in the state, opening the door for the tens of thousands of students who followed in his footsteps.
Despite his hard work and desire to succeed in law school, the unwanted attention of being the first man to challenge the university's 105-year history of segregation was a burden for Starke. He developed stress-related health problems, and decided to withdraw from law school after three semesters with the intention of re-enrolling at a later date.
Starke left law school, but never re-enrolled because, as he now says with a smile, "life intervened." Instead, Starke began a successful Wall Street career in New York City, employed as the first black investment advisory aide ever hired at the prestigious firm of Moody's Investors Service, and later at Oppenheimer and Company. Starke went on to become the associate director of government affairs for The Greyhound Corporation in Washington, D.C., representing 22 of the company's subsidiaries to the government.
Subsequent to his position at Greyhound, Starke worked for Legg, Mason & Co., a member of the New York Stock Exchange, and established insurance operations for the company's Washington-area offices. Having been involved in government contracting, he became an entrepreneur in the late ‘70s and, over a period of years, sold coal and oil as a broker — primarily to government agencies and a few large commercial accounts. Starke then established and sold a boutique investment banking firm, Wall Street Investment Corporation, which became a member of the NASD, SIPC and MSRB.
In 2000, he became associated with a subsidiary of the Potomac Electric Power Company as a consultant, and shortly afterward he was selected by the firm to be project manager for proposal development related to the privatization of electric, gas, water and wastewater utility systems at large military installations. Starke coordinated the work effort between in-house engineering and construction departments, and managed associated third-party engineering relationships. During this period, he also sold energy engineering services, natural gas and electricity.
Today, Starke is an energy consultant through his company, General Power Corporation, and is the managing member of GPC Green Energy, LLC, which is currently developing a 20 MW power plant on-site for a Fortune 500 company in Virginia.
Throughout his long career, Starke has remained close to the University of Florida. He served for three years as a member of the board of directors of the UF National Alumni Association, and he is a lifetime member of UFNAA, as well as the UF Association of Black Alumni and the Washington Gator Club. He was inducted as an honorary member of Florida Blue Key in 1993.