Public college in Lake City, Florida, U.S.
Florida Gateway College
|
Former name
| Columbia Forestry School
Lake City Junior College
Forest Ranger School
Lake City Community College
|
---|
Motto
| Go Further, Together
|
---|
Type
| Public college
|
---|
Established
| 1947
; 77 years ago
(
1947
)
|
---|
Parent institution
| Florida College System
|
---|
Endowment
| $18.9 million (2020)
[1]
|
---|
President
| Lawrence Barrett
|
---|
Administrative staff
| 212
|
---|
Students
| 4,958 of which 1,203 were Dual Enrollment students (2018)
[2]
|
---|
Location
| ,
,
U.S.
|
---|
Campus
| Rural, 132 acres (53 ha)
|
---|
Colors
|
Green & yellow
|
---|
Nickname
| Timberwolves
|
---|
Website
| www
.fgc
.edu
|
---|
Florida Gateway College
(
FGC
), formerly
Lake City Community College
, is a
public college
in
Lake City, Florida
. It is part of the
Florida College System
and one of the institutions in the system designated a "state college", allowing it to offer four-year
bachelor's degrees
.
The institution was established in 1947 as the
Columbia Forestry School
and became a
junior college
in 1961. It adopted its current name in 2008. The school serves 7,000 students each year from its five-county district, which includes Baker, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist and Union counties.
[3]
History
[
edit
]
At the conclusion of World War II, the
Lake City Naval Air Station
was decommissioned and the
Columbia Forestry School
(CFS) was established in 1947, utilizing military structures that remained. At the time, Lake City claimed to be the "Forestry Capitol of the World". The first few years had extremely low enrollment and meager funding, causing the school's president to request help from the
Florida Legislature
. Instead of providing additional funding, the politicians directed the
University of Florida
to take over management of the school. Columbia Forestry School became the
University of Florida Forest Ranger School
in 1950.
[4]
Throughout the turbulent 1960s, the school had fewer than 400 students.
[3]
In 1961, the school was invited to become one of 28 two-year educational facilities in the state's master plan for education as
Lake City Junior College
. Increased funding allowed wooden buildings to be replaced with brick structures after a fire burned several in 1963. However, a few of the WWII era buildings remained, though mostly unused, until the middle 1970s, when the last one was finally demolished.
[4]
The "Junior" was dropped and the word, "Community" was placed in the college's name in 1970 to emphasize that the school offered occupational and cultural enrichment education for area residents.
[3]
[4]
Beginning in 2008, the Florida legislature began granting name changes to any of the 28 public community colleges that requested it. By removing
community
from their name, or substituting
state
, the college would be eligible to add bachelor's degree programs on a limited basis. On November 10, 2009, the LCCC Board of Trustees voted 8?1 to change the name of Lake City Community College to Florida Gateway College, effective July 1, 2010. This was the fifth name change in the college's history.
[5]
Campus
[
edit
]
FGC occupies 132 acres (53 ha) of natural pinelands, with over twenty-five buildings landscaped with native azalea bushes and crepe myrtle trees.
[6]
Florida Leader Magazine designated LCCC as the most beautiful college campus in Florida.
[7]
FGC operates 3 satellite locations (
Macclenny
,
Cross City
&
Bell
) in the surrounding counties included in the college's service area. At these "storefront centers", local residents can attend live classes, take distance learning courses or talk to advisors via the internet and pick up brochures, catalogs, schedules, and forms.
After a ten-year hibernation, Granger Hall re-opened its doors in the fall of 2018 as the 84-student residence hall at Florida Gateway College.
[8]
It was one of only two community colleges to offer on-campus housing in Florida but was used predominately for students on athletic scholarship.
Organization and administration
[
edit
]
FGC is part of the
Florida College System
and its current president is Dr. Lawrence Barrett.
Academic profile
[
edit
]
A record 947 students graduated from Florida Gateway College in the 2017?2018 school year and enrollment to the college has shown steady growth, with the 2017-2018 year seeing a Headcount Enrollment of 4,958 of which 1,203 are Dual Enrollment students.
[9]
The school has an open admissions policy for all programs except nursing, golf course operations and allied health programs.
[10]
The most popular fields of study are Criminal Justice, Public Safety & Fire Science, Corrections, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Nursing, Emergency Medical Technology .
Liberal arts and sciences
[
edit
]
The majority of students follow the track to earn an
Associate of Arts degree
for transfer to an upper division school in pursuit of a
Bachelor's degree
. Students are encouraged to select one of 44 majors with elective courses that will be accepted at their next educational institution.
[11]
Cosmetology
[
edit
]
Cosmetology is a one-year program (three semesters) which prepares students to pass the state of Florida examination to become a licensed
cosmetologist
. The program began in the mid-1960s, and enrolled a full class for more than twenty years, before struggling during the 1990s. The program was opened to students working full-time when a night program was started for the Summer term in 2003.
[12]
Forest ranger
[
edit
]
Forest Technology
, which includes training in
timber cruising
& surveying, wood procurement and
logging
operations, was offered at the college for over 60 years. The first participants received a certificate upon completion of the 12-month program, but graduates in 1970 invested two years to receive an
Associate of Science
degree in Forest Technology. At the time, LCCC was one of only two, 2-year forestry programs east of the
Mississippi river.
[13]
Timber Harvesting Technician
changed from a certificate program to an AS degree in
Forest Engineering Technology
in 1974, but was merged into
Forest management
in 1989. Over half of the instruction was provided in the field, where hands-on experience was emphasized.
[4]
Over the years, technology reduced the number of jobs available in forestry, and by the mid-1990s, there were fewer than 30 students, so the program was scaled back and moved to the Golf Landscape Operations department. Ten years later, enrollment had fallen to just over 20, which did not justify two instructors, so one left and the program was changed back to a one-year certificate in Forest Operations. For several years, class size was in the teens, and the program completion rate was under 50%.
Following graduation of the class in May, 2010, the Forestry program was discontinued due to lack of interest.
[13]
Golf course
[
edit
]
The Associate of Science degree in Golf Course Operations and Landscape Technology programs started in 1967 and throughout the 1970s & 1980s it was one of the most popular vocational programs.
[14]
The three-year curriculum is the only accredited program of its kind in the U.S. and includes two paid summer internships between challenging academic semesters. The program is recognized as one of the finest
[7]
and graduates have become
golf course superintendents
at notable facilities throughout the United States.
[15]
Nursing
[
edit
]
The nursing program at FGC began in 1964 and is now part of the Allied Health Department which includes a dozen other health career programs. Nursing comprises four programs:
- Licensed Practical Nurse
(LPN), which runs 11 months
- Registered Nurse
(RN), which is a two-year course of study; some students transfer to an upper division school to complete their bachelor's degree in Nursing.
- LPN to RN bridge, which can be completed in 14 months as a full-time student or 12 months in the fast track evening/weekend program.
- Patient Care Assistant
, which requires 11 months to complete
To meet the shortage of RNs, a bridge program was created for existing LPNs. However, most working LPNs could not afford to take a year off and return to school. In 2005, the
Lake City Medical Center
donated $130,000 to fund a new 12-month fast track bridge program. Classes were held two nights a week with clinical experience on Saturdays.
[16]
In 2003, the nursing program at FGC was limited to 24 students.
[17]
In June, 2008 that number had grown to 60.
[18]
In January 2013 the number of students accepted into the Traditional RN Program was increased to 100.
Law Enforcement, Corrections, and Public Service
[
edit
]
The Roberts School of Public Service, Avery and Twyla, is located on the FGC Olustee Campus. At least four buildings are located on the approximately 40-acre Olustee Campus, which accommodates 900 students a day. A 3,000 square foot CDL training facility, two illuminated 50-yard pistol ranges, a 180-yard rifle range, two training facilities for gun ranges, and two brand-new parking spaces are also located there. The School of Public Service provides CDL training in addition to courses for emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firemen, and correction officers.
Since 2016, they have undergone more than $5 million in upgrades, and they are now known as the Avery and Twyla Roberts School of Public Service.
[19]
The program for certification of
correctional officers
initially began in the early-1970s as a cooperative effort between the college and the
Florida Department of Corrections
and was offered in both day and evening schedules. The college's five-county district includes over a dozen state incarceration facilities including major prisons, work camps and forestry camps.
[20]
LCCC was the first community college in the state to offer an associate degree that bridged the gap between corrections and law enforcement.
[21]
On February 1, 2008, Dr. Chuck Hall, President of LCCC announced that the correctional officer training program at LCCC would terminate at the end of February, 2008. The Department of Corrections began training staff internally, and the college lost between 450 and 650 students annually. FGC brought back correctional officer training program around 2016.
[22]
Student life
[
edit
]
Collegiate athletics
[
edit
]
Florida Gateway College resumed athletics in 2017. Women's Volleyball began their first season since 1982 as well as Men's Golf. 2018 Men's Basketball and Women's Cross Country restarted their programs as well.
Men's Basketball earned back to back Division II, Region 8 Championship Titles in 2019 and 2020.
There are intramurals in Basketball, Flag Football, Ping Pong, Spades Tournament, Billiards, Volleyball, Soccer and Dodgeball. The college had a competitive intercollegiate athletic history for over 45 years but the program was disbanded in 2008.
The men's basketball program was state runners-up in 1968 and state champions in 1970, the year they placed third in the National Junior College tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas.
Joe B. Fields
was the coach for 22 years, but the sport was discontinued in 1995.
The women's softball team has eight
National Junior College Athletic Association
titles:
- Women's Slow Pitch Softball: 1983, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993
- Women's Division I Fast Pitch Softball: 2001
On March 12, 2008, the college announced that at the end of the 2007?2008 school year, the Lake City Community College intercollegiate athletic program would be disbanded. The proposal was made by college president Charles Hall and endorsed by the college board of trustees. The reasons given were financial, including expected reductions in state funding, lower enrollment, program cutbacks after the Florida Department of Corrections withdrew its training courses, athletic dormitory and food service costs and the prospect of making similar cuts in the next school year.
[23]
The school joined
Edison Community College
in
Fort Myers
,
Valencia Community College
in
Orlando
and
Florida Keys Community College
, near
Key West
as the only four of Florida's 28 community colleges without an intercollegiate sports program.
[24]
Notable people
[
edit
]
- Chuck Brannan
, member of the
Florida Legislature
representing the state's 10th House district.
- Jerry Carl
,
U.S. representative
for
Alabama's 1st congressional district
- Carlos Corporan
, a professional
baseball
catcher
who is currently a free agent. He played in the
Major League Baseball
(MLB) for the
Milwaukee Brewers
,
Houston Astros
, and
Texas Rangers
.
[25]
Corporan attended
Lake City Community College
, where he was converted from a shortstop into a catcher.
[25]
- Don Newman (basketball)
- Former
NBA
assistant coach of
San Antonio Spurs
from 2004 to 2012 and former head coach of
Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball
. He has won two NBA Championships as a coach and currently assistant coach of
Washington Wizards
.
[26]
- Perry Warbington
- Former
NBA
draft pick and player for the
Philadelphia 76ers
,
[27]
- Roberto Perez
- Current
catcher
for the
San Francisco Giants
of
Major League Baseball
. Perez is well remembered for hitting two home runs in game one of the
2016 World Series
. He attended Florida Gateway College for two years, Perez was later drafted by the
Cleveland Indians
in the 33rd round of the
2008 Major League Baseball Draft
.
[28]
- Heath Phillips
- Former
Major League Baseball
pitcher for the
Kansas City Royals
[29]
- Elizabeth W. Porter
- Current member of the
Florida House of Representatives
- Fain Skinner
-
NASCAR
driver
[30]
- Bobby Weed
, Golf course designer and builder specializing in design, renovation and repurposing.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
As of June 30, 2020.
U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2020 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY19 to FY20
(Report). National Association of College and University Business Officers and
TIAA
. February 19, 2021
. Retrieved
February 21,
2021
.
- ^
[2017-2018 Preliminary estimated unduplicated headcount completed by Florida Gateway College faculty]
- ^
a
b
c
[1]
Archived
2009-12-02 at the
Wayback Machine
Lake City Community College, History
- ^
a
b
c
d
Education Resources Information Center: Forest Technology Program, Lake City Community College: The Founding of a School, the Evolution of a College
- ^
Piersol, John:
"LCCC becomes Florida Gateway College"
Archived
2011-07-19 at the
Wayback Machine
GLO Newsletter, Fall 2010
- ^
Petersons.com College Overviews: Lake City Community College
- ^
a
b
College Board Network: College & University search-Lake City Community College
- ^
Kirby, Tim:
[2]
Archived
2013-01-27 at
archive.today
Lake City Reporter, December 31, 2008, "’Wolves out at home"
- ^
[Florida Gateway College 2018 preliminary estimated unduplicated headcount]
- ^
Info Please website: Lake City Community College
- ^
"AA Degree Requirements"
Archived
2011-07-19 at the
Wayback Machine
Florida Gateway College website
- ^
"Lake City Reporter: May 7, 2003-Community Datelines"
. Archived from
the original
on January 27, 2013
. Retrieved
February 11,
2009
.
- ^
a
b
Piersol, John:
"LCCC Forestry Program to close after 63 years"
Archived
2011-07-19 at the
Wayback Machine
GLO Newsletter, Fall 2010
- ^
International Golf Course Equipment Managers Association website: Education-Lake City Community College
- ^
[3]
Archived
2009-12-02 at the
Wayback Machine
Lake City Community College, Golf Course Operations
- ^
"Lake City Reporter: October 25, 2005-LCCC, LCMC fund scholarships, salary to assist students by Linda Young"
. Archived from
the original
on September 6, 2012
. Retrieved
July 16,
2008
.
- ^
"Lake City Reporter: May 10, 2003-Nursing shortage hitting state hard by Gerald Huntley"
. Archived from
the original
on May 24, 2003
. Retrieved
July 16,
2008
.
- ^
"Lake City Reporter: June 22, 2008-Health from the heart by Michael Mitseff"
. Archived from
the original
on January 27, 2013
. Retrieved
July 16,
2008
.
- ^
Britt, Tony.
"Name recognition: FGC dedicates public safety school to Avery and Twyla Roberts"
. Retrieved
February 24,
2024
.
- ^
[4]
Florida Department of Corrections, Map of Region II Correctional Facilities
- ^
"Lake City Reporter: January 14, 2003-Enrollment up at Lake City Community College by Tony Britt"
. Archived from
the original
on January 27, 2013
. Retrieved
July 16,
2008
.
- ^
"Lake City Reporter: February 2, 2008-Officer training program snuffed by Troy Roberts"
. Archived from
the original
on January 27, 2013
. Retrieved
July 16,
2008
.
- ^
"Lake City Reporter: April 6, 2008-Rallying point by Chris White"
. Archived from
the original
on September 3, 2012
. Retrieved
July 15,
2008
.
- ^
"Lake City Reporter: March 1, 2003-March sadness: Lake City Community College basketball remains a memory by Matthew Osborne"
. Archived from
the original
on January 28, 2013
. Retrieved
October 21,
2008
.
- ^
a
b
Campbell, Steve.
"Castro's injury opens door for Astros backup Corporan"
.
Houston Chronicle
. Retrieved
April 1,
2014
.
- ^
Yamaguchi, Andy (February 6, 1980).
"He left his blue bayou behind"
.
Spokesman-Review
. (Spokane, Washington). p. C2.
- ^
"Perry Warbington NBA stats"
.
basketball-reference.com
. Sports Reference LLC
. Retrieved
September 18,
2014
.
- ^
Bastian, Jordan (April 27, 2014).
"Prospect Perez played through Bell's palsy"
. MLB.com
. Retrieved
May 9,
2015
.
- ^
"Heath Michael Phillips"
. Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
April 2,
2013
.
- ^
"Fain Skinner: The Live Oak native who happens to race cars"
.
Suwannee Democrat
. Live Oak, FL. November 18, 2011. Archived from
the original
on 2019-12-11
. Retrieved
2012-05-29
.
External links
[
edit
]
30°10′30″N
82°34′07″W
/
30.1749015°N 82.5686247°W
/
30.1749015; -82.5686247