Florida College

Florida College is a small, accredited, coeducational Christian college located in the City of Temple Terrace, Florida, eight miles northeast of the City of Tampa, Florida. Degree programs include the Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies, the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies, the Bachelor of Arts in Music, the Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, as well as an Associate of Arts degree.

Since its founding as a junior college in 1946, Florida College has drawn its staff, faculty, and the majority of its students from non-institutional Churches of Christ (Restoration Movement); it is also recognized among these churches as an important training center for ministers. The college maintains no official connection with any religious body, however, for doctrinal reasons. This gives it some unusual characteristics as religious colleges go – Florida College accepts no direct contributions from any organized religious body, and the members of its board serve as individuals rather than as official representatives of any religious body.

The high emphasis Florida College places on its Christian heritage is expressed in its tradition of daily chapel services. All members of the board of directors and all faculty members are required to be active members in a Church of Christ. All students are required to receive daily instruction in Biblical topics. Course materials in the natural sciences generally endorse Young Earth creationism.

History

The campus is located in the heart of the historic City of Temple Terrace and sits on the banks of the beautiful Hillsborough River (to the east) and is bordered on the other three sides 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. The Club Morocco was the hottest nightclub on the west coast of Florida in the 1920s. 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 (now Trinity College) before being sold to the founders of today's Florida College.

Florida College is a small, accredited, coeducational Christian college located in the City of Temple Terrace, Florida, eight miles northeast of the City of Tampa, Florida. Degree programs include the Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies, the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies, the Bachelor of Arts in Music, the Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, as well as an Associate of Arts degree.