Type | Private, liberal arts |
---|---|
Established | 1968 |
Endowment | $69.0 million (2020) [1] |
Chancellor | William L. Proctor |
President | John A. Delaney |
Students | 2,574 [2] |
Location | , U.S. |
Campus | Suburban, 19 acres (7.7 ha) |
Colors | Crimson & Gold |
Nickname | Saints |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division II – Peach Belt |
Website | flagler |
Flagler College is a private liberal arts college in St. Augustine, Florida. It was founded in 1968 and offers 37 undergraduate majors and two master's programs. [3] It also had a campus in Tallahassee from 2000-2024. [4]
Founded in 1968, the campus comprises 19 acres (77,000 m2), the centerpiece of which is the Ponce de León Hotel, built in 1888 as a luxury hotel. The architects were John Carrere and Thomas Hastings, working for Henry Morrison Flagler, the industrialist, oil magnate and railroad pioneer. It is now listed as a National Historic Landmark.
Lawrence Lewis Jr., was the driving force behind Flagler's development. It was his vision to create a small, private liberal arts college on the old hotel grounds. Lewis was Chairman of Flagler's board of trustees for more than 20 years, guiding the college through a reorganization in 1971. He directed millions of dollars through foundations, family and personal funds into new construction, restoration projects, endowment and various other programs to ensure Flager's continued success. Lewis was related to Henry Flagler through his mother, Louise Wise Lewis Francis, who was the niece of Mary Lily Kenan Flagler, who married Henry Flagler in 1901 making him Lewis' great uncle. [5]
In February 2014, the college's vice president of enrollment management[ who? ] resigned after it was determined that he had been altering student test scores, GPAs, and student rankings to enhance the college's image, standing, and reputation. [6] The college hired a Jacksonville law firm to investigate. [7] The report indicated that the college had been reporting false information since 2004 to various organizations, including the U.S. Department of Education and various ranking organizations. [8]
Flagler College has received many top state and national rankings over the years. In 2022, Veranda named the campus "One of the Most Beautiful College Campuses Around the World," and mentioned its palatial, renovated ballroom with walls of original Tiffany stained glass windows. The ballroom now serves as the dining hall for students. The same year, Architectural Digest mentioned its buildings in "One of the 8 Most Unexpected Places to See World-Class Architecture in the U.S." In 2024, U.S. News and World Report named it #2 in Most Innovative Schools, #3 Best Regional Colleges in the South, #5 in Best Undergraduate Teaching, and #14 in Best Value Schools.
The college has continued to enlarge and enhance its campus, adding the Brown Innovation Center (BIC), the Learning Resource Center, and the Deagan Archeology Lab.
The Proctor Library, located at 44 Sevilla Street in the northwest corner of campus, is Flagler's sole library facility. It is named after William L. Proctor, Flagler's chancellor, who was president of the college from 1971 until 2001. Like many of the historic buildings on campus, the Proctor Library's architectural design reflects the Gilded Age style popular during the time of Henry Flagler's construction of the Ponce de León Hotel in 1888. The Proctor Library was built in 1994-95, replacing the demolished home of artist Felix de Crano, which had been the last classic Shingle Style house in St. Augustine. [9]
The library's collection contains approximately 102,047 printed volumes, 212,689 electronic books, 4,180 audiovisual items, 630 periodicals, and 5 newspapers, as well as almost 44,000 full-text electronic periodicals and 50 online databases. [10] Proctor Library also contains three collections: Digital Collections, Flagler College Archives, and Special Collections. [11] Access to, and the use of, the Proctor Library is limited to Flagler College students, faculty, and staff, and is not open to the general public without a written request. [12] Proctor Library Digital Collections, however, is accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. [11] St. Augustine Fiction is a collecting focus of the library in collaboration with the St. Augustine Historical Society. [13]
Flagler offers membership in fraternity, sororities, honor societies and almost 50 clubs and student organizations. [14]
The Gargoyle is the college's student-run newspaper. In 2010, it went online-only. [15] At the 2012 Society of Professional Journalists' Mark of Excellence Region 3 awards, The Gargoyle took first place for best independent online publication and first places for editor Michael Newberger in online opinion writing and sports editor Mari Pothier in online sports reporting. [16]
Since becoming online-only, The Gargoyle has won nine Regional Mark of Excellence awards and published three more from Flagler Communication Department classes. Before 2010, the publication had only won two SPJ awards in its history. [16] In 2007, the publication was a finalist in the Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker Awards. [17]
In 2006 and 2007, there were several allegations of censorship or alteration of articles in the Gargoyle by the college administration. In 2006, one issue of the newspaper was removed from circulation due to an alleged error in its headlines about rising tuition. [18] [19] [20] In April 2007, the college administration again exercised editorial control over the paper due to alleged factual errors. [21] Students rallied and organized a protest against any type of censorship of the newspaper, calling for a free and independent student press. [22]
After September 2007, working on The Gargoyle was no longer required of communication majors. An advisory board and operating guidelines were set up for The Gargoyle. [23]
The Flagler athletic teams are called the Saints. The college is a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) since the 2009–10 academic year. [24] The Saints previously competed as an NCAA D-II Independent from 2006–07 to 2008–09; and in the Florida Sun Conference (FSC; currently known as the Sun Conference since the 2008–09 school year) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1990–91 to 2005–06.
Flagler competes in 19 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis and track & field (indoor); while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field (indoor) and volleyball. There are also two spirit squad teams: cheerleading and pep band.
In 2009 the Flagler College Lady Saints volleyball team made it to the national championship, and finished in the top four of Division II volleyball teams in the nation. In 2010, the Lady Saints made it to the regional finals, finishing top 16 in the nation.
St. Augustine is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County located 40 miles south of downtown Jacksonville. The city is on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish colonists, it is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in what is now the contiguous United States.
The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México.
Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Located in the city's Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonville Junior College until September 5, 1956, when it shifted focus to building four-year university degree programs and later graduated its first four-year degree candidates as Jacksonville University in June 1959. It is a member of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). JU's student body currently represents more than 40 U.S. states and approximately 45 countries around the world. As a Division I institution, it fields 18 varsity athletics teams, known as the JU Dolphins, as well as intramural sports and clubs. Among the top majors declared by JU students are aviation management, biology, nursing, business, and marine science.
The Lightner Museum is a museum of antiques, mostly American Gilded Age pieces, housed within the historic Hotel Alcazar building in downtown St. Augustine. This 1887 Spanish Renaissance Revival style building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Whitehall is a 75-room, 100,000 square foot Gilded Age palace type mansion open to the public in Palm Beach, Florida in the United States. Completed in 1902, it is a major example of neoclassical Beaux Arts architecture designed by Carrère and Hastings for Henry Flagler, a leading captain of industry in the late 19th century, and a leading developer of Florida as a tourist destination. The building is listed a National Historic Landmark. It now houses the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum, named after its builder.
The Casa Monica Hotel is a historic hotel located in St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States. It was originally named Casa Monica, then Cordova Hotel, then Alcazar Annex, and now has its original name again. The Casa Monica Hotel is one of the oldest hotels in the United States and is a member of the Historic Hotels of America in the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The Hotel Ponce de Leon, also known as The Ponce, was a luxury hotel in St. Augustine, Florida, built by millionaire developer and Standard Oil co-founder Henry M. Flagler. Built between 1885–1887, the winter resort opened in January 1888. The hotel was designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style as the first major project of the New York architecture firm Carrère & Hastings, which gained world renown for more than 600 projects, including the House and Senate Office Buildings flanking the US Capitol. Their final project was the New York Public Library.
The Jacksonville Metropolitan Area, also called the First Coast, Metro Jacksonville, or Northeast Florida, is the metropolitan area centered on the principal city of Jacksonville, Florida and including the First Coast of North Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, the total population was 1,605,848. The Jacksonville–Kingsland–Palatka, FL–GA Combined Statistical Area (CSA) had a population of 1,733,937 in 2020 and was the 34th largest CSA in the United States. The Jacksonville metropolitan area is the 40th largest in the country and the fourth largest in the State of Florida, behind the Miami, Tampa, and Orlando metropolitan areas.
Flagler College Tallahassee was a branch campus of Flagler College, a private liberal arts college in St. Augustine, Florida. It was hosted through Tallahassee State College and was founded in 2000 as the product of a legislative mandate to expand opportunities for four year degree-seeking students. The campus offered bachelor's degree programs in six majors and four minors. The Flagler College Tallahassee Campus closed in May of 2024.
Bishop Kenny High School is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational Catholic high school in Jacksonville, Florida. It is located in and administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine. The founder Archbishop Joseph Patrick Hurley established the school in 1952, following the merger of three previous Catholic high schools in the Jacksonville area. Bishop Kenny High School was renamed in honor of William John Kenny, the third bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine.
Grace United Methodist Church is a historic church donated to the people of St. Augustine, Florida, by American industrialist Henry Morrison Flagler. It is located at 8 Carrera Street. Built within a one-year span, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on November 29, 1979, for its architectural significance and as an example of community planning.
The St. Augustine movement was a part of the wider Civil Rights Movement, taking place in St. Augustine, Florida from 1963 to 1964. It was a major event in the city's long history and had a role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
North Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regions. It includes Jacksonville and nearby localities in Northeast Florida, an interior region known as North Central Florida, and the Florida Panhandle. North Florida is considered to be part of the Southern United States, namely the Deep South, and contains the state capital of Tallahassee.
Education in Jacksonville, Florida is available through both public and private sources.
UF Health St. Johns is a medical system of the University of Florida established in 1889. Primarily located in unincorporated St. Johns County, Florida, the organization offers "Centers of Excellence" in bariatrics, heart, cancer, maternity, orthopedics and sinus. On September 13, 2023, University of Florida Health announced that it had closed on the acquisition of the Flagler Health+ system and Flagler Hospital would be renamed UF Health Flagler Hospital.
The Flagler Saints are the athletic teams that represent Flagler College, located in St. Augustine, Florida, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Peach Belt Conference since the 2009–10 academic year.
Felix F. de Crano was an impressionist artist in New England, St. Augustine, Florida, and Europe. He is listed as a Great Floridian.
St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European origin in the continental United States, was founded in 1565 by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. The Spanish Crown issued an asiento to Menéndez, signed by King Philip II on March 20, 1565, granting him various titles, including that of adelantado of Florida, and expansive privileges to exploit the lands in the vast territory of Spanish Florida, called La Florida by the Spaniards. This contract directed Menéndez to explore the region's Atlantic coast and report on its features, with the object of finding a suitable location to establish a permanent colony from which the Spanish treasure fleet could be defended and Spain's claimed territories in North America protected against incursions by other European powers.
Lawrence Lewis Jr. (1918-1995) was an American businessman, hotelier, philanthropist, and benefactor remembered for his role in founding Flagler College.
Richard Aloysius Twine was a professional photographer in the Lincolnville section of St. Augustine, Florida in the 1920s.