HISTORY AND OVERVIEW OF FLORIDA KEYS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Florida Keys Community College serves Monroe County , a 220-mile long region comprised of 1,034 square miles, consisting, in large part, of a string of small islands stretching from the tip of the mainland peninsula to the island city of Key West and beyond. Forty-six islands are connected by a two-lane highway that traverses 43 bridges and numerous narrow stretches of landfill. FKCC is the southernmost college in the continental United States and is located minutes from downtown Key West and 90 miles from Cuba . The main campus in Key West is surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean while the Middle and Upper Keys Centers, located in Marathon and Key Largo, are positioned on 4-5 acre properties in joint-use facilities with the local high schools.

In 1963 the Florida Legislature authorized the establishment of the Junior College District of Monroe County, to be supported primarily by State funds. The first classes of the new College were started in the fall of 1965 under the leadership of Dr. Merrill A. Symonds, the first President. The College name was changed to Florida Keys Junior College in 1968. That fall, the College moved to a newly constructed campus under the direction of Dr. John Sylvester Smith, who served as President from 1967 to 1979.

As of July 1, 1968, by action of the Florida Legislature, the College District was separated from the county School District . This was enabled by the creation of community college districts as independent, separate legal entities to operate the several community/junior colleges throughout the state. The new organizational structure formed the District Board of Trustees from the previous Florida Keys Junior College Advisory Board. The Board works directly with the college President in the establishment of policy and the approval of personnel actions, fiscal matters, and the overall development of the College. Florida Keys Community College became the official name of the College by action of the Board of Trustees in 1970, and it is now one of twenty-eight colleges in Florida 's system of community colleges.

The Board of Trustees appointed Dr. William A. Seeker as the third president of the college on July 1, 1979. He supervised the completion of the FKCC Tennessee Williams Fine Arts Center. On January 24, 1980, Dr. Seeker presided over the gala opening of the Center's theater and the world premiere presentation of local resident Tennessee Williams', "Will Mr. Merriweather Return from Memphis?"

The eighties ushered in new programs, such as Diving Business Management, Small Business Management, a School of Nursing and Emergency Medical Services, also Fire Science Technology. Support programs and services for transfer and vocational students emerged more strongly. The Upper Keys Center at Coral Shores and the Middle Keys Center at Marathon expanded in enrollment and scope of offerings.

In 1990 the College celebrated its twenty-fifth birthday and moved confidently toward the twenty-first-century with a strong enrollment surge and the completion of major campus reconstruction and renovations. During the decade of the 1990s, the Saunders Student Center , with accommodation for the bookstore, cafeteria, club meeting rooms, and two scenic patios, was added to the campus. Also added were the Mario Mitchell Aquatic Center , the Public Safety Building , new tennis courts, and a $20 million complete reconstruction of all classrooms, laboratories, library, and faculty offices. The entire complex was renamed the William A. Seeker Campus in 1998. As the decade ended the College completed the Debbie Horan Amphitheater and the Clark Maxwell Habitat, a marine biology research facility, along with over $200,000 in renovations to the Tennessee Williams Fine Arts Center.

The summer of 2007 marked the end of the "Seeker Era" with Dr. Seeker's retirement after 28 years of service to Florida Keys Community College and 38 years in the state's community college system. His dedication to education has been preserved through his establishment of an endowment created to support first generation in college students. This endowment will eventually amount to one-million dollars in value and offer educational opportunities to those students who are like Dr. Seeker: the first in their family to attend college.

The College Board of Trustees selected Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle, to be FKCC's fourth president, and first female president. Dr. Landesberg-Boyle enthusiastically began her tenure in the fall of 2007 with a new mission and vision that captures the "island living - island learning" philosophy of the Florida Keys . Within a few months into her term, she initiated academic, programmatic, and scholarship advancements that enhanced the College's unique image and improved its enrollment. The College community continues to work together in support of Dr. Landesberg-Boyle's new mission for building upon the achievements of the past while moving proactively into the future.