Palm Beach State College

Original Palm Beach Junior College building, located on campus of Dreyfus School of the Arts Palm Beach State College was founded in 1933 as Palm Beach Junior College and was the first public junior college in the state of Florida . The Old Palm Beach Junior College Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . 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 initial goal was to provide additional training to local high school graduates who were unable to find jobs during the Great Depression . 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 (46 ha) 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. 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. The District Board of Trustees approved a resolution in June 2009 stating that the college's name should change in light of offering baccalaureate degrees. On September 8, 2009, the Board approved changing the name to Palm Beach State College. The new name officially took effect on January 12, 2010.

Palm Beach State College's main campus is located in Palm Beach County, Florida. In addition to the Lake Worth campus, the largest (114 acre/51 building complex) and longest established campus (1956), the college also serves students at full-service locations in Belle Glade (1978), Palm Beach Gardens (1982), Boca Raton (1983) and Loxahatchee Groves (2017). [ 3 ]

Palm Beach State College enrolls nearly 25,000 students in over 100 programs of study including bachelor of applied science, associate in arts and associate in science degree programs, and short-term certificates. Enrollment More information Students, Florida ... Demographics of student body (Fall 2018) [ 4 ] Students Florida U.S. Census African American 26.5% 16.9% 13.4% Asian American 3.5% 2.9% 5.8% White 35.7% 54.1% 60.7% Hispanic American 29.2% 25.6% 18.1% Native American 0.5% 0.5% 1.3% Close The college is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Applied Science, Associate in Arts, Associate in Science and Associate in Applied Science degrees. The Palm Beach State College truck technology program was ranked as the best in the United States in 2015. [ 5 ]