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St. Petersburg College

Coordinates: 27°46′43″N 82°43′58″W / 27.77861°N 82.73278°W / 27.77861; -82.73278
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St. Petersburg College
Former names
St. Petersburg Junior College (1927–2001)[1]
MottoLux et veritas (Latin)
Motto in English
"Light and truth"
TypePublic college
Established1927; 97 years ago (1927)
Parent institution
Florida College System
AccreditationSACS
Endowment$32.1 million (2024)[2]
Budget$168.6 million (2024)[3]
PresidentTonjua Williams
Academic staff
322 (full-time)[4]
900 (part-time)[4]
Undergraduates23,501 (fall 2022)[4]
Location
St. Petersburg
,
Florida
,
United States

27°46′43″N 82°43′58″W / 27.77861°N 82.73278°W / 27.77861; -82.73278
CampusLarge city[4]
ColorsBlue, gold, and white
     
NicknameTitans
Sporting affiliations
NJCAA Region 8 – Suncoast Conference
MascotTitus the Titan
Websitewww.spcollege.edu

St. Petersburg College (SPC) is a public college in St. Petersburg, Florida. Part of the Florida College System, SPC offers several associate and baccalaureate degree programs. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

History

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SPC was established in 1927 as St. Petersburg Junior College by Captain George M. Lynch, the city superintendent of schools for St. Petersburg. It was founded as a private, non-profit institution to provide affordable, local access to higher education during the economic downturn preceding the Great Depression.[5] The college began with 102 students and 14 faculty members in a wing of St. Petersburg High School. After one semester, it moved to a former high school near Mirror Lake and later, in 1942, to its current location at the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus. The institution became public in 1948.[6]

In 1962, a second campus was established in Clearwater, following a study indicating a need for expanded educational facilities in northern Pinellas County. Over time, SPC expanded to eleven campuses and centers across Pinellas County.[7]

In 1957, Gibbs Junior College, a segregated institution for Black students, was established and later incorporated into SPC in 1965, becoming the "Gibbs Campus."[8]

Campuses

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SPC operates eleven campuses and centers across Pinellas County, including four in St. Petersburg and others in Seminole, Pinellas Park, Largo, Clearwater, and Tarpon Springs. The college does not offer on-campus housing due to the decentralized nature of its campuses. Many campuses specialize in specific fields; for example, the Caruth Health Education Center in Pinellas Park focuses on health care programs, while the Seminole Campus is known for its technology programs.

The Seminole Campus also houses the University Partnership Center, which offers select degree programs through partnerships with 16 accredited institutions. These include universities such as Florida State University, the University of Florida, and the University of Central Florida.[9] SPC offers 60 bachelor's degrees and 39 graduate degrees through these partnerships.[10]

Reconstruction of the Gibbs and Clearwater campuses included LEED Gold Certified buildings, marking the first such certification for higher education facilities in Pinellas County.

Libraries

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SPC has eight campus libraries, including joint-use libraries that serve both the college and the public. These libraries provide access to print and electronic resources, including books, academic journals, streaming media, and research databases. Students can also access digital reference services through AskALibrarian.[11]

Athletics

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The SPC athletic teams, known as the Titans, compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association and are members of the Suncoast Conference. The college offers men's teams in basketball and baseball, and women's teams in basketball, volleyball, tennis, and softball. The Titans softball team participated in the first Women's College World Series in 1969.[12]

Notable alumni

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Nicole P. Stott
Main article: List of St. Petersburg College Alumni

Notable SPC alumni include U.S. Representative Gus Bilirakis; Henry Lyons, former president of the National Baptist Convention; Jim King, former president of the Florida Senate; Frank Wren, former general manager of the Atlanta Braves; Bob Carroll Jr., creator of I Love Lucy; astronaut Nicole P. Stott; and musician Jim Morrison, who attended SPC briefly.[13]

Partnerships

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SPC collaborates with the Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training and the Florida Army National Guard to provide tuition-free training for criminal justice professionals. Additionally, SPC is partnered with the Combating Transnational Organized Crime Center of Excellence, offering training to support U.S. Department of Defense strategies.

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Photos of St. Petersburg College
  • SPC Clearwater Campus sign
    SPC Clearwater Campus sign
  • St. Petersburg College Downtown Center
    St. Petersburg College Downtown Center
  • SPC Clearwater Campus ES (Ethics and Social Sciences) building
    SPC Clearwater Campus ES (Ethics and Social Sciences) building
  • SPC Clearwater Campus Library East Branch
    SPC Clearwater Campus Library East Branch

References

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  1. ^ Page, Rodney (September 9, 2001). "St. Petersburg College has Junior and Trojans removed from its name". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  2. ^ Marra, Andrew (February 12, 2024). "Two Florida universities have more than $1 billion in endowments to invest on campus". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  3. ^ "Annual Budget Summary - Fiscal Year 2024-25 (St. Petersburg College)". Florida Department of Education. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d St. Petersburg College. National Center for Education Statistics (College Navigator). Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  5. ^ "History of St. Petersburg College" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
  6. ^ History of St. Petersburg College, p. 4.
  7. ^ An Informal History of the Clearwater Campus
  8. ^ Walter L. Smith, The Magnificent Twelve: Florida's Black Junior Colleges, Winter Park, Florida, FOUR-G Publishers, 1994, ISBN 1885066015, pp. 47-48.
  9. ^ University Partnership Center: Partnering Institutions Archived 2008-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ University Partnership Center: Degrees Archived 2008-10-10 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ St. Petersburg College Libraries and Services
  12. ^ Plummer, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. ISBN 978-0-9893007-0-4.
  13. ^ "SPC History". St. Petersburg College. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
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