Florida State College at Jacksonville
Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) is a state college in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S., and part of the Florida College System. It is one of several institutions in the Florida College System designated a "state college", as it offers a greater number of four-year bachelor's degrees than traditional two-year community colleges.
The school was founded in 1965 as Florida Junior College. It was known as Florida Community College at Jacksonville from 1986–2009, at which point it took its current name to reflect its changed focus. The college has four major physical campuses and several additional centers located around the First Coast region, and currently enrolls 81,370 students, making it the second largest institution of higher education in Florida.
History
The institution was founded in 1965 as Florida Junior College. With the growth of the community college movement it was renamed Florida Community College at Jacksonville (FCCJ) in 1986. In the early 21st century, in recognition of a shortage of four-year colleges in the state the Florida Legislature passed legislation enabling some community colleges to become "state colleges", meaning they can offer more bachelor's degrees than traditional community colleges, but no graduate degree programs. FCCJ was one of the first community colleges to make the change, and in 2009 announced a name change to "Florida State College at Jacksonville".[3]
Locations
Campuses
- North Campus, located off Dunn Avenue on the Northside, was built in 1970, and has the facilities for many of FSCJ's health, cosmetology, and culinary programs. The Criminal Justice Center, on the west end of the campus, was built collaboratively with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, and regularly hosts training events that draw law enforcement personnel from around the state. The main complex of North Campus is notable for its three-story, semi-closed courtyard design, and unique two-story cylindrical tower (actually an elevator shaft) at one end. Some say that this gives the campus the appearance of a castle.
- Kent Campus, originally known as Cumberland Campus, opened in 1966 using over 100 World War II-era housing units as classrooms. Cumberland was later renamed after Fred H. Kent, a prominent Jacksonville attorney, and the first Chairman of the FSCJ District Board of Trustees. In 1979, the buildings that were still structurally sound went into service as residential housing in the community. Kent Campus was rebuilt in an all-brick, closed courtyard design, gaining it a reputation over the years as an aesthetically pleasing area in an urban environment.
- South Campus has been extensively developed over the years from its core building, a three-story, flat-topped, concrete cube, into a sprawling complex with a nearly circular drive around the perimeter. It is home to the Nathan H. Wilson Center for the Arts, which consists of a large auditorium complex along with several outlying buildings for faculty offices, classrooms, labs, and practice rooms. This has made South Campus into FSCJ's center for theater and artistic programs. The STARS teams for men's and women's basketball, and women's volleyball and tennis are based out of the 2,000-seat sports center. President Bush's January 2005 visit to Jacksonville included a speaking stop in this facility. South Campus is also the site of the Palm and Cycad Arboretum. Recently, a parcel of land to the east of South Campus has become home to FSCJ's new Fire Academy.
- Downtown Campus represents FSCJ's academic presence in the heart of Jacksonville's urban core. Many of the programs offered at Downtown Campus are vocational in nature, such as building construction and automotive repair. Other programs focus on GED, high school completion, adult literacy, and English as a Second Language (ESL). FSCJ's Downtown Campus is the northern terminal of the JTA Skyway.
- Open Campus is located in downtown Jacksonville and houses the College's Welcome center, Military Education Institute, and the Virtual College. The Virtual College enrollments have grown exponentially over the past five years. More and more students are taking advantage of the ability to take courses online for completion of their degree. This option allows the student flexibility and convenience while still receiving a quality education. Distance Learning employs over 300 adjunct faculty teaching from as far away as the Orient. [1]
Centers
- Deerwood Center is a small but powerful outpost known for its sleek architecture, dedicated faculty, high levels of student satisfaction and estimable library. (Librarians were voted "best dressed".) Deerwood is currently housed in a former mall, and is the center of FSCJ's Information Technology department, which maintains the entire college's network and serves distance learners.
- The Martin Center, a single, multi-story brick complex, is home to the central administrative functions of the college. No classes are held at the Martin Center, as it mostly consists of conference rooms. It is the site of Cancer Survivors Park, which includes walkways designed to look like replicas of Jacksonville's famous bridges.
- Aviation Center of Excellence, located at Cecil Field, a former Naval Air Station on the Westside of Jacksonville, hosts a number of aviation training programs taught by FSCJ professors.
- Cecil Center, located near the ACE, provides college credit classes to students located on the Westside of Jacksonville.
- Advanced Technology Center is a specialized facility used for teaching technical topics such as network technology, automotive repair, natural science labs, etc. The ATC is located along State Street west of Downtown Campus and behind the Martin Center.
- Nassau Center, located in Yulee in Nassau County is an outlying FSCJ campus that provides college credit and other classes for Nassau County residents. It is also the home of the Outdoor Education Program, which hosts team-building exercises for local businesses and holds summer workshops for troubled teens.
Notable alumni and Attendees
Further reading
References
External links