| St. Petersburg College | |
|---|---|
| Motto | You can achieve in life to become successful. |
| Established | 1927 |
| Type | State college |
| President | Dr. William D. Law |
| Academic staff | 2,304 (Fall 2009) |
| Admin. staff | 1,707 (Fall 2009) |
| Students | 65,000 |
| Location | St. Petersburg, Florida, United States |
| Campus | Urban |
| Website | Official website |
St. Petersburg College (commonly referred to as SPC, formerly known as St. Petersburg Junior College or SPJC) is a fully accredited post-secondary educational institution located in St. Petersburg, Florida, serving some 65,000 students annually.[1] The institution currently manages nine separate campuses located throughout Pinellas County; four campuses within the city of St. Petersburg, and five additional campuses located in Seminole, Pinellas Park, Largo, Clearwater, and Tarpon Springs.
The college was founded in 1927 as a private community college and was Florida's first two-year institution of higher learning. Today it is a public institution. It still provides community college programs to students, but in 2001 the college also expanded its curriculum to provide students (beginning in 2002) with four-year bachelor degree programs in select areas such as education, nursing, technology management, dental hygiene, international business, Orthotics and Prosthetics, paralegal studies, public safety administration, and veterinary technology.
St. Petersburg College has no resident-students. This is mostly because no single campus is large enough to warrant a need for student on-campus housing. Many of the SPC campuses do not offer a large curriculum of available courses, but instead specialize in one or two specific fields. For example, the Caruth Health Education Center in Pinellas Park specializes in courses centering around health care, while the Seminole campus is a highly technology-oriented campus. The Seminole campus also serves to house SPC's University Partnership Center, a campus that offers select degree programs from 16 fully accredited institutions, including Barry University, Case Western Reserve University's Francis Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Cleveland State University, Eckerd College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida Institute of Technology, Florida International University, Florida State University, Indiana University, Saint Leo University, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, and University of South Florida.[2] In total, SPC's University Partnership program offers 60 bachelor's degrees and 39 graduate degrees.[3]
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St. Petersburg College was founded in 1927 by Captain George M. Lynch, Pinellas County's city superintendent of schools for the city of St. Petersburg, as a private, non-profit institution.[4] It was created in part because of the economic downturn preceding the Great Depression as a way for local students to receive a postsecondary education without having to relocate or pay high tuition.[5] On opening day, the college consisted of 102 students and 14 faculty members, operating from an unused wing of St. Petersburg High School. After one semester, SPC moved its operations to a former high school facility overlooking Mirror Lake, where it remained until January 1942. At this point, the facility was moved into a single building on the corner of 5th Ave. N. and 66th St. N.—a building still in active use today as the James E. Hendry Administration Building, part of the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus.
Beginning in 1953, Clearwater High School began providing several higher-education classes in the evenings. After a 1959 study clearly illustrated the demand for a higher-education facility in northern Pinellas county, SPC began planning the development of a second campus located in Clearwater, Florida. In 1962, the college acquired 72.8 acres (295,000 m2) of land in the vicinity of Drew Street and County Road 32 (Old Coachman Road), land which previously contained an orange grove and a waste disposal site. Construction began on February 25, 1964, ground was broken on the new site, and construction began. In May of the following year, students attending the evening classes at Clearwater High School were transferred to the new campus, which then consisted of only five buildings. The new campus was officially dedicated on November 21, 1965.[6]
The mission of the Honors College is to provide an exemplary education and build an intellectual community that encourages creativity, intellectual understanding, leadership qualities and critical thinking skills for our most talented and motivated students. Since 2003, the Honors College has offered intellectual students with the opportunity to expand their minds in their own learning community focusing on group discussion, an array of honors courses, honors programs, interdisciplinary honors courses, seminars, independent study, graduation recognition events, and many other challenging activities.[7]
As of 2007, of the 65,000 students enrolled in the institution, 36,133 were enrolled in degree seeking programs; while 25,797 were non-degree seeking students. 16,051 of those students were female and 9,417 were male. The average ages of student enrollment proved to be in the range 20-24, which provided education to over 7,698 students.[4]
For four years in a row, St. Petersburg College was designated Florida’s leader in distance learning among the state's 28 other community colleges. It ranked first in the number of courses offered (2,309) and the number of students (16,656). SPC has once again placed near the top of Community College Week’s Top 100 Associate’s Degree Producers List. In the primary category, All Disciplines, SPC was ranked 10th.[1][8]
Notable aulumni include Gus Bilirakis, the current U.S. representative from Florida's 9th District; Henry Lyons, the former president of the National Baptist Convention; Jim King, the former president of the Florida Senate; Frank Wren, the current general manager of the Atlanta Braves; Carl M. Kuttler, Jr., the former president of St. Petersburg College; and Nicole P. Stott, NASA astronaut. Jim Morrison of the Doors attended SPC shortly.
The mission of the St. Petersburg College Office for Sustainability is to incorporate sustainable values and practices into the global culture of St. Petersburg College and that of its stakeholders. By working with students, faculty, administration and staff, we strive to be a model of environmental stewardship in the community by integrating social and environmental responsibility into college wide strategic forecasting; curriculum and educational programs; facilities planning and design; natural resource consumption; student activities; and community outreach.[9]
Both the Student Services building on the St Petersburg/Gibbs Campus and the Natural Science, Mathematics and College of Education Building on the Clearwater Campus were both recently awarded LEED Gold Certification. The two buildings mark the first LEED Gold higher education buildings in Pinellas County.
The College of Technology and Management (CTM) developed the Sustainability Management BAS degree.[1] The program focuses on sustainable business strategies, energy and resource management, legal aspects of sustainability, and sustainability in built and natural environments. Among other major courses, areas of study include Legal Aspects of Sustainability, Environmental Communication, Sustainable Enterprise Planning, Sustainable Business Strategies, Energy and Environmental Techniques, Sustainability in the Natural Environment and Sustainability in the Build Environment.
The Seminole Campus based Environmental Science Technology AS [1] includes three sub-plans: Water Resource management, Environmental Resources/Energy Management and Sustainability and includes newly developed courses in Renewable Energy Resources, Solar Energy, Environmental Regulations, Environmental Compliance, Hydrology, Urban Resources Pollutants and Hazardous Waste/Materials Management.
In addition, St. Petersburg College’s Corporate Training [10] department has partnerships with Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the US Green Building Council to offer online LEED examination training courses and with Solar Source Institute to provide online and face to face solar energy generation, installation and inspection training. SPC/CT offers nearly 50 other sustainability focused certification and continuing education programs.
In 2010, St Petersburg College was named Outstanding Business of the Year by Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the US Green Building Council.[11]
Caruth Health Education Center: Human Services Organization, Physical Therapist Assistant Club, Radiography Club, Student American Dental Hygienists Association, Student Caruth Health Information, Management Association, Student Nurses Association, and Veterinary Technician Society.[8][12]
Clearwater: Badeya (Black Student Union), Chess Club, College Democrats, Computer Club, Club Green, Emerging Green Builders, Ethics Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, High Achievers, International Club U.N.I.T (United Nations Integrating Together) and Latinos Unidos, Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship, Math & Science Club, Phi Theta Kappa- Tau Zeta Chapter, Positive Directions Association, Silent Titans, Student Ambassadors, Student Government Associations, The World Percussion Club, and Wheels in the Wind.[8][12]
Downtown: Anime Club, Band/Jazz Ensemble, Brother to Brother, Campus Crusade for Christ, Campus Green Party, Chorus & Madrigalians, Circle K, College Democrats, Collegiate Music Educators, CoMotion Dance Theatre, Ethics in Action, Forensics, Friends of Internationals, Harmabee (Black Student Union), High Achievers Club (Affiliated with the Student Support Services Program), International Club, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Intramural Sports, Phi Theta Kappa- Eta Nu Chapter, Student Government Association, SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise), and Student Republican Association.[8][12]
St. Petersburg/Gibbs: Academic Team/Brain Bowl, Band/Jazz Ensemble, Brother to Brother, Campus Crusade for Christ, Chorus & Madrigalians, Circle K, Colleges Against Cancer, Collegiate Music Educators, CoMotion Dance Theatre, Ethics in Action, Friends of Florida Environmental Club, Harmabee (Black Student Union), High Achievers Club (Affiliated with the Student Support Services Program), International Club, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Intramural Sports, Latinos United, Medical Club, Peer Academic Advisory Club, Phi Theta Kappa- Eta Nu Chapter, Space Physiology and Medicine, Student Government Association, and Student Republican Association.[8][12]
Seminole: Digital Media Club, Environmental Science Club, Student Government Association, Phi Theta Kappa, Videogame Lab, Seminole Campus for Christ, and Hospitality Club.[8][12]
Tarpon Springs: Art Club, Billiards Club, Chess Club, Coffee House, Cultural club, COE Kappa Delta Pi Drama Club, Fitness Club, Christian Club, Phi Theta Kappa- Alpha Zeta Tau, Photography Club, St. Petersburg College Students Counsel for Exceptional Students, Student Ambassadors Program, Student Government Association, Sustainability Club and View from The Hill Campus Newsletter.[8][12]