Palm Beach Community College
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| Palm Beach Community College | |
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| Motto: | Expect More |
| Established: | 1933 |
| Type: | Public |
| President: | Dennis P. Gallon |
| Staff: | 900 |
| Students: | 47,000 |
| Location: | Lake Worth, Florida, USA |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Athletics: | 4 major sports teams |
| Nickname: | Panthers |
| Website: | www.pbcc.edu |
Located in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach Community College (PBCC) enrolls over 47,000 students in more than 100 programs of study including associate of arts and associate of science degree programs and short-term certificates.
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[edit] Locations
Palm Beach Community College's main campus is located in Lake Worth, Florida. In addition to the Lake Worth campus, the largest (114-acre/51 building complex) and longest established campus (1956), PBCC also serves students at full-service locations in Belle Glade (1978), Palm Beach Gardens (1982) and Boca Raton (1983).
[edit] History
[edit] Founding
Palm Beach Community College was founded in 1933 as Palm Beach Junior College and was the first public junior college in the state of Florida. The college's first classes were held at Palm Beach High School in West Palm Beach. County school superintendent Joe Youngblood and Howell Watkins, principal of Palm Beach High School, who became the college's first dean, were instrumental in opening the college. The college's initialality was to provide additional training to local high school graduates who were unable to find jobs during the Great Depression.
[edit] "The Little Orphan College" finds a home in Lake Worth
In 1948, Palm Beach Junior College moved to Morrison Field, a deactivated Army Air Force base, which is now Palm Beach International Airport. In 1951, the college relocated to the Lake Park Town Hall. Due to the limited availability of space at the town hall, the college had to lay off faculty and staff and cut enrollment to 200 students. During this period, Palm Beach Junior College was known as "the little orphan college." In 1955, the Palm Beach County Commission gave the college 114 acres in Lake Worth, and the state legislature passed a bill providing over $1,000,000 for construction at this site. The college moved to this location, which remains its main campus, in the fall of 1956.
[edit] A Period of Growth and Change
In 1965, Palm Beach Junior College merged with Roosevelt Junior College, which was established in 1958 under President Britton Sayles to serve African American students. In 1968, control over the college passed from the Palm Beach County school district to a board of trustees. In 1978, the college opened its Belle Glade campus. The Palm Beach Gardens campus opened in 1982. In 1983, the college opened a campus adjacent to Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. In 1988, the college's board of trustees changed the college's name to Palm Beach Community College.
[edit] Notable alumni
| Alumni | Notability |
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| Wilson G. Bradshaw | Current President of Florida Gulf Coast University |
| William Calley | Convicted war criminal (did not graduate) |
| Watson B. Duncan III | Award Winning theater professor |
| Mark Foley | Former U.S. Representative |
| Ken Green | Professional golfer |
| Yolanda Griffith | Olympic Gold Medalist and Professional Basketball Player |
| Deidre Hall | Television actress |
| Monte Markham | Television and movie actor |
| Jesper Parnevik | Professional golfer |
| Judge Reinhold | Television and movie actor |
| Burt Reynolds | Television and movie actor |
| Lucia St. Clair Robson | Hisorical novelist |
| Charles Willeford | American writer |
| Gareth Williams | Television and movie actor |
| James L. Wattenbarger | Architect of the Florida Community College system |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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