Florida College - History

History

The campus is located in the heart of the City of Temple Terrace and sits astride the banks of the Hillsborough River (to the east) and is surrounded by the private golf course land of the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club, circa 1922. Two of the oldest buildings in the city are an integral part of the campus fabric and are Sutton Hall, circa 1922, which was originally the clubhouse for the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club, and the Student Center, which was originally the Club Morocco Nightclub and Casino, circa 1926.

Noted Tampa architect M. Leo Elliott was the architect for both buildings which were part of the original Temple Terrace Estates, one of the first Mediterranean Revival golf course planned communities in the United States (1921). According to the 1988 Temple Terrace Historic Resources Survey, both buildings are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. After the Florida economic collapse of 1926, in the late 1930s, the property and its buildings were acquired by the Florida Bible Institute from the City of Temple Terrace before being sold to the founders of today's Florida College.

Billy Graham attended Florida Bible Institute, which owned the property now occupied by Florida College, in the late 1930s. In his autobiography he writes he received his calling "on the 18th green of the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club". A Billy Graham Memorial Park is on the east side of the 18th green on the river.

Known as Florida Christian College, the school's charter was drafted in 1944. The school opened in fall 1946 with 100 students. The college charter stipulates the Board of Directors be active in a local, generally non-institutional, Church of Christ. The first president of the school was L.R. Wilson, who served from 1946 to 1949. He was followed by James R. Cope, who remained in office from 1949 until 1982. During the 1950s, the Churches of Christ debated internally whether congregations should support missions or educational institutions. This resulted in a schism and the development of non-institutional Churches of Christ, which do not offer financing to educational institutions. Florida College was unique during these debates as the only college associated with the Churches of Christ which advocated non-institutionalism. This stance led the Gospel Advocate, a religious magazine for members of the Churches of Christ, to brand the school "a haven for radicals". Florida College refuses to accept donations from churches. The college supports itself through donations from individuals and the tuition paid by students.

Throughout the 1950s, the majority of the students were older men who wished to become preachers; according to David Edwin Harrell, the school "became something of a training ground for a cadre of noninstitutional leaders". In 1954 the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools granted Florida College full accreditation for the Associate of Arts degree.

In the 1960s the school's recruitment policies changed, and students outside churches of Christ were pursued. A vote by the students and staff resulted in dropping the word "Christian" from the school name in 1963. By the 1970s the bulk of the student body were again members of churches of Christ, although the students were younger and more traditional than those of the 1950s. In 1982, Bob F. Owen became president of Florida College, the position he held until 1991, when Charles G. "Colly" Caldwell, III, assumed office.

At the beginning of the 2008 academic year, Caldwell announced his resignation as president of Florida College. He remains at Florida College as a tenured faculty member in the Biblical Studies department. After a nationwide search, Temple Terrace resident Harry E. "Buddy" Payne was named the fifth president of the college, effective May 22, 2009. Payne was the academic dean and vice president of the college prior to being appointed president.

Florida College added its first accredited four-year degree program, the Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies, in 1996. It has since added bachelor degrees in business, communication, elementary education, history, liberal studies and music.