Polk State College

Over 24,000 degrees have been awarded by Polk State College and an even larger number of people have taken college courses for transfer or to obtain job entry skills. That's thousands and thousands of success stories that PSC has made happen, since 1964- the College's first year.

For the first four years, the College operated out of temporary quarters at the Bartow Municipal Air Base. The first academic year started with 1,107 students and 34 faculty members. Today, under the leadership of Dr. Eileen Holden, nearly 100 full-time faculty members serve the higher educational needs of some 9,000 credit and 11,000 non-credit students on two campuses.

In 1968, PSC opened its Winter Haven campus on a 100-acre site on the shores of Lake Elbert. The original campus consisted of four permanent buildings: Learning Resources (WLR), Science (WSC) Multi-Services (WMS), a shower/locker room and six portables. In 1969, a snack bar was opened. It eventually was expanded into the Student Center (WST). Over the years, a Health Center/Gym (WHC), Administration (WAD) and Fine Arts (WFA) buildings have been added. In 1999, the eighth building on the Winter Haven campus opened. It is a 6,000 square foot Rehabilitative Health building, which houses the Physical Therapist Assistant and Occupational Therapy Assistant programs.

In 2001, the Student Center was renovated and expanded. The facility nearly doubled in size to 22,000 square feet. The $2.4 million remodeled building houses several meeting/banquet rooms, expanded food service and a new Bookstore. In 2002, a $2 million renovation of the auditoriums in WLR was completed outfitting

the first floor of the building with the latest in technology. In 2004, a $3.4-million renovation of the WAD building began. As part of the project, the building’s infrastructure (i.e. network wiring and bathrooms) will be updated and the center open area will be enclosed and air conditioned to create a “One-Stop Center” for students.

In 1978, the College acquired a 130-acre citrus grove, adjacent to Traviss Technical Center, as the site of a campus that would serve the growing population in the Lakeland and Bartow area. Ten years later, PSC, in conjunction with the University of South Florida, opened the first of eight buildings (LAC) at the Lakeland campus. In August 1991, a second academic building (LLC) was completed on the Lakeland campus, relocating 25 full-time faculty and equipping the new library, classrooms and learning labs with over 125 PCs and associated hardware and software.

Approximately 90% of the credit and non-credit students taking classes on the PSC/USF campus are PSC students. More than half (54%) of PSC’s credit students attend classes in Lakeland and 84% of the non-credit courses are conducted on the the Lakeland campus.

Responding to this growth, the state legislature in 2001and 2002 funded the planning and construction of a third academic building. A 125,000-square-foot $28-million technology building will be the largest structure on either of PSC’s campuses almost three times larger than the WAD building, which is 44,000 square feet. When completed in 2006, the new Lakeland building will contain classrooms, labs – outfitted with the latest in technology – along with administrative offices. In 2004 ground was broken on the Lakeland campus' for the third academic building.

For more Lakeland History .

In 2004, the Florida State Board of Education unanimously approved PSC’s proposal to establish a center in Northeastern Polk County. This gives PSC the authority to develop a campus, tentatively called the North Ridge Center, in the rapidly growing Four Corners section of PolkCounty. Establishing a campus in Polk near Lake, Osceola and Orange counties has been among PSC’s goals. The State Board action “is a major step toward one of our dreams becoming a reality,” said then PSC President J. Larry Durrence. “We can now go to major landowners in the area [along US 27 around I-4] and seek the donation of 100-acres as a site for PSC’s third academic campus.”

In 2006, Eileen Holden, Ed.D., became PSC's fourth president. She brings to PSC and Polk County 23 years of community college experience as an instructor and administrator.

The college received $1.2 million in SUCCEED Florida grants. PSC applied for six grants and were funded for all six. The monies will be used to continue various programs and to start a new diagnostic medical sonography program and a new cardio vascular technology program.

The Collegiate High School expanded to the Winter Haven campus when some 65 junior and senior high school students attended both high school and college classes in 2006.

Thanks to State Senator J.D. Alexander's efforts $3.6 million in Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) funds were approved by the legislature targeted for the renovation of the Old Lake Wales City Hall. The Lake Wales City Commission approved an inter-local agreement in November turning over the old Lake Wales City Hall to PSC. The college plans to convert it into a modern academic center. It will take 18 months to renovate the building, which was severely damaged by the 2004 hurricanes. When completed the historic structure will be outfitted with five 30-seat general classrooms, two 45-seat computer classrooms and a 30-seat classroom/ community room, which could be used as a meeting room for local civic groups.

Students on PSC's campuses have access to modern equipment and labs, such as:

* libraries with more than 90,000 volumes;
* Teaching, Learning, Computing Centers complete with numerous personal computers, tutors and study aids;
* multi-media computer classrooms;
* auditoriums equipped to show slides, films and videos;
* distance education TV classrooms on both campuses; and
* a state-of-the-art foreign language lab on the Winter Haven campus.

Polk State College's Associate in Arts (AA) programs are parallel and equal to those offered in the state university system. Approximately 65% of PSC’s graduates earn AA degrees and are guaranteed admission as juniors to Florida’s universities and private colleges. The College also has Associate in Science (AS) degrees and Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degrees leading directly to employment. In addition, several certificate programs and continuing education classes are offered by PSC.