Broward Community College
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| Broward Community College | |
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| Motto: | We keep you thinking. |
| Established: | 1959 |
| Type: | Public |
| President: | J. David Armstrong, Jr. |
| Staff: | 1,000+ |
| Students: | 55,000+ |
| Location: | Broward County, Florida, USA |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Athletics: | 6 major sports teams |
| Nickname: | Seahawks |
| Website: | www.broward.edu |
Broward Community College was established in 1959 by the Florida Legislature to create a broad public community system. Of Florida’s “Great 28” public community college, 10 community colleges were created before 1959, four during the year, and 14 in the following years.
Access and affordability were the key concepts behind the creation of Florida’s junior colleges. The system was created to provide a quality education for the two years of college affordable and build the colleges so no student would need to drive more than 30 miles to get to attend college.
BCC confers Associate in Arts, Associate in Science and Associate in Applied Science degrees as well as certificates to its graduates. Additionally the college offers a variety of Continuing Education programs and courses, flexible learning alternatives, and dual-enrollment programs for motivated high school students, as well as being home to the College Academy @ BCC, a program for Broward County public high school juniors and seniors that allows them to graduate with an A.A. degree simultaneously with their high school diploma. More than 95 percent of the graduates of the College Academy @ BCC continue their education.
A memorandum from the Chancellor Division of Community Colleges outlines the Letters of Intent from Community College Presidents including the initiative for Broward Community College to have the authority to offer Bachelor's degrees in Education (Middle Grades Math, Middle Grades Science, Secondary Math, Secondary Biology, and Exceptional Student Education) in the Fall semester of 2009. As part of this initiative, on May 28, 2008, Governor Charlie Crist signed a bill changing the college’s name to Broward College after the House of Representatives and Senate approved the change earlier in the 2008 legislative session. The new name reflects the college’s role as a site-specific, baccalaureate degree-granting institution in addition to its work as one of the state’s 28 publicly supported community colleges.
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[edit] History
Originally named the Junior College of Broward County, the college – with a faculty of 28 – opened its doors to its first class of 701 students in the fall of 1960 under the leadership of President Joe B. Rushing and the governance of the Broward County Board of Public Instruction. Until the college’s first permanent buildings were completed in 1963, students attended classes in the former Naval Air Station Junior High buildings on the western edge of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
After helping JCBC through its formative years and onto firm footing, Dr. Rushing in 1965 announced he was returning to his home state of Texas to become founding president of Tarrant County Community College in Fort Worth.
In 1968, Dr. A. Hugh Adams, superintendent of public education in Charlotte County, Florida, was appointed president and served in that role until 1986.
Changes began almost immediately. A month after his arrival, the college changed its name to Broward Junior College. Two months after Dr. Adams’ arrival, the Florida Legislature removed junior colleges from oversight by county school boards, and transformed their advisory boards into district boards of trustees.
Dr. Adams’ interests lay in expanding access to the college for citizens living throughout the county. In his 19 years as president, South and North campuses were created, as was the Downtown Center and the Tigertail Lake Center.
Succeeding Dr. Adams was Dr. Will Holcombe, a protégée of Dr. James L. Wattenbarger, the architect of Florida’s community college system and executive vice-president at Brevard Community College. Dr. Holcombe had served in a variety of administrative capacities at Broward before joining Brevard’s administrative team.
During his 17 years as president, Dr. Holcombe worked to expand infrastructure and to create community partnerships to better serve the needs of the community and its workforce.
Dr. Larry Calderon succeeded Dr. Holcombe upon his retirement in 2004. When Dr. Calderon left the college in 2006, Dr. Holcombe returned to serve as interim president through the appointment of J. David Armstrong, Jr., in July 2007. President Armstrong came to the college from his position as Chancellor of the Florida Community Colleges System.
[edit] Campuses and Education Centers
Broward Community College has three campuses and a variety of educational centers located throughout Broward County.
The A. Hugh Adams Central Campus, the college’s first permanent campus, is in Davie. Originally opened with seven buildings on a 152-acre (0.6 km²) site, the Adams campus is now home to more than 30 buildings including the Buehler Planetarium and Observatory, Institute of Public Safety, an aquatic complex, the Mayer Gymnasium, a health sciences complex and the Ralph R. Bailey Concert Hall. The University/College Library there is a joint research facility owned by BCC with partner Florida Atlantic University. Adams Campus also is home to the College Academy @ BCC a collegiate high school opened in partnership with the Broward County Public Schools in 2001.
The Judson A. Samuels South Campus, named for a South Broward community leader and one of the college’s most influential trustees, is on a 103-acre (0.4 km²) tract in Pembroke Pines, just west of the Florida's Turnpike. The campus is home to the college’s Aviation Institute, located adjacent to North Perry Airport, as well as the joint-use Broward Community College/Broward County South Regional Library. Dedicated on Feb. 1, 2007, the library is the first building in Broward County constructed to meet the standards of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s building rating system, set by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The North Campus in Coconut Creek covers approximately 113 acres adjacent to the Florida Turnpike. Dedicated in 1972, North Campus has grown to more than a dozen buildings including the Omni Auditorium, Health Science Center II, the Toski-Battersby Golf Training Center and the Broward Community College/North Regional Broward County Library. It will soon be home to the Junior Achievement Huizenga Enterprise Village, named after Broward County entrepreneur and major donor, Wayne Huizenga.
The Willis Holcombe Center is located in the heart of Downtown Fort Lauderdale. Built in partnership with Florida Atlantic University, the Holcombe Center forms the Higher Education Complex on East Las Olas Boulevard. The Holcombe Center houses BCC’s district administrative offices as well as over 210,000 square feet (20,000 m²) of high-tech classroom space consisting of wired classrooms, science and technology labs and a full array of student services.
The Institute for Economic Development is located within the Willis Holcombe Downtown Center (Fort Lauderdale). The institute offers a variety of continuing education courses, corporate training services, customized workforce development resources as well as support groups and training for women transitioning into the workforce.
The Pines Center serves southwestern Broward County as part of the Pembroke Pines Academic Village, a 77 acre campus built in the Jeffersonian quadrangle style at the University of Virginia. Other entities in the academic village include the Southwest Broward Regional Library, Pembroke Pines Charter High School, an athletic/aquatic complex and a wetlands preserve.
The Weston Center is located within the Weston Branch Library (Weston) and offers a variety of credit and non-credit courses. The site is home to a fast-track Associate in Arts degree in Business Administration.
BCC Maroone Automotive Training Center at Miramar was opened early in 2007 on a 23 acre site on Riviera Boulevard adjacent to the Florida Turnpike near the Broward/Miami-Dade county line in Miramar. The center provides classrooms, work bays and administrative offices for the college’s automotive programs.
The Tigertail Lake Center, located alongside I-95 in Dania Beach, offers conference and picnic facilities and aquatic and water sports classes. The center also is home to the BCC Adventure Learning Center, providing low and high-ropes challenge programs and other team-building exercises.
[edit] Notable People
[edit] Alumni
| Alumni | Notability |
|---|---|
| Dr. Rita Mae Brown | Author, poet, essayist, and screenwriter |
| Mike Donald | Professional golfer |
| Dr. Parris N. Glendening | Former governor of Maryland |
| Drake Hogestyn | Actor |
| Rosemary Homeister, Jr. | Notable American jockey |
| Barrington Irving | Pilot |
| Tory Lane | Pornographic actress and nude model |
| Ramiele Malubay | Singer and American Idol contestant |
| Jim Naugle | Current mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
| Don Newhauser | Former Major League Baseball pitcher |
| Lou Palmisano | Current Major League Baseball catcher |
| Jonathan Putra | Video jockey, model, and musician |
| Johnathan Walton | Emmy award winning reporter |
| Brian Warner | Entertainer better known as Marilyn Manson |
