Flagler College

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Flagler College

Ponce de Leon Hall at Flagler College

Established:	1968
Type:	Private, nonsectarian
Endowment:	$35,137,000[1]
Chancellor:	Dr. William L. Proctor
President:	Dr. William T. Abare, Jr.
Students:	2,046
Location:	St. Augustine, Florida, USA
Campus:	19 acres
Nickname:	Saints
Website:	www.flagler.edu

Flagler College, often abbreviated as Flagler, is a private four-year liberal arts college in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

The college has been named in recent years by US News & World Report as one of the southeast region's best comprehensive liberal arts colleges^[1], and is included on its list of "America's Best Colleges".^[2] Its 2006-2007 tuition of $11,810 (excluding room and board) remains lower than that of similar institutions.^[3] Flagler is also known for its high selectivity, its acceptance rate being an average of 25 to 30 percent of its annual applications.^[4]

The Princeton Review ranks Flagler in the top tier of southeastern colleges^[5], and its campus as one of the most beautiful in the United States.^[6] It is currently included in the Princeton Review's Best 366 Colleges Rankings.^[7]

Flagler College is home to WFCF/88.5Mc. (Channel 203), which is a community-run station. As of the 2006-2007 school year, the college also broadcasts on local public access television as FCTV. It also publishes a campus newspaper, The Gargoyle,^[8] and an annual literary journal, The Flagler Review.^[9]

Flagler participates in the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU)'s University and College Accountability Network (U-CAN).

Flagler student Laura Croft was Miss July 2008 for Playboy magazine. ^[10]

1 History
2 Academics
- 2.1 Majors
- 2.2 Minors
3 Athletics
4 Campus
5 Gargoyle Controversy
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] History

The school is located on 19 acres, the centerpiece of which is the Ponce de Leon Hall, 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 on the National Register of Historic Places.

Since its founding in 1968, the college has spent more than $43 million restoring the historic campus and adding new buildings. The two newest buildings are the Cedar Hall male dorm rooms, and the Ringhaver Student Center. The campus is located in the heart of St. Augustine, just four miles (6 km) from the Atlantic Ocean. Flagler's 19 acre athletic field is two miles (3 km) from campus.

Lawrence Lewis, Jr., was the driving force behind the development of Flagler College. It was his vision to create a small, private liberal arts college on the grounds of the old hotel. Mr. Lewis served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Flagler College for more than 20 years, guiding the College through a re-organization 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 the continued success of Flagler College. ^[11]

[edit] Academics

Lobby inside Flagler College.

The College offers 20 majors, 26 minors and two pre-professional programs in selected studies emphasizing liberal arts, education and business.

The business program has a proven record of success. The college's two business organizations, Students In Free Enterprise and Society for the Advancement of Management, have consistently competed at the highest level and have beaten major universities such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Boston College, University of Florida, and University of Arizona. "The Flagler SAM team has set a record for most national case team championships at 8 National Titles. The 2008 Flagler SAM case team of Mihir Garud, Vivian Helwig, Sam Osborne, and Kaitilin Gardiner won championship number Eight on April 5th 2008 in Arlington,VA. Flagler College also received the best SAM chapter in the nation award and the Best Advisor award to Louis Preysz, in his last year at the college. [2]. SIFE has also placed second internationally in 2004 in Barcelona, Spain as the United States representative (among 800 other US colleges)^[12].

The school is also well known for its Deaf Education program. The college is the home of a branch of the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, headquartered at Gallaudet University^[13], and is strategically located in the same community as the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. The location allows students many opportunities to learn and grow from experienced deaf education professionals.

Flagler offers membership in six honor societies, including Alpha Chi, Alpha Psi Omega, Kappa Delta Pi, Omicron Delta Kappa, Psi Chi, and Sigma Tau Delta. In addition, there are over 25 active student clubs and academic organizations on campus.

[edit] Majors

Accounting
Business administration
Communication
- Broadcast
- Journalism
- Public Relations
Economics (beginning Fall 2008)
Education
- Art
- Deaf
- Elementary
- Exceptional student
- Secondary
  - Drama
  - English
  - Social science
English
Fine arts
Graphic design
History
Latin American studies/Spanish
Liberal arts
Philosophy/religion
Political science
Psychology
Sociology
Spanish
Sport management
Theatre arts

[edit] Minors

Accounting
Advertising
Anthropology
Art history
Business administration
Communication
Creative writing
Criminology (beginning Fall 2008)
Economics
Environmental Science (Coming Soon)
English
Fine arts
Graphic design
History
Illustration
International studies
Journalism
Latin American studies/Spanish
Latin American studies
Philosophy
Political science
Pre-Law
Psychology
Religion
Sociology
Spanish
Theatre arts
Youth ministry

[edit] Athletics

Flagler athletics logo

Flagler competes in 12 varsity sports (basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, and tennis for men and women, baseball for men only, and volleyball for women only) that compete in the NCAA. Its teams are nicknamed the Saints.

A statue of Henry Flagler, who constructed the Ponce de Leon Hotel, stands guard at the King Street entry to Flagler College.

[edit] Campus

The Flagler College campus comprises fifteen buildings, some of which are located several blocks from the center of the campus. Ponce de Leon Hall is the focal point of the campus, where the female dormitories, as well as the dining hall, are located. The individual rooms consist of the former hotel rooms along with the former hotel employees' rooms. The male dormitories are located at Lewis House, which opened in 1987, and Cedar House, which was constructed in 2004. Most classes are taught in Kenan Hall, which is adjacent to Ponce de Leon Hall. Classes not taught here can be located in the Ringhaven Student Center,Proctor Library, in the Communications Building at 31 Cordova Street, in the Art Building directly behind Kenan Hall, or in the Flagler College Auditorium at 14 Granada Street. The campus is located in historical downtown St. Augustine. The school recently purchased the Florida East Coast Railway buildings which will be converted into dorms opening for the Fall Semester, 2008.

[edit] Gargoyle Controversy

Since September 2006, the college has gained a reputation for the perceived censorship or alteration of articles within the college newspaper, The Gargoyle. During the first incident, which was covered by many major print and broadcast media outlets in St. Augustine and Jacksonville, issues of The Gargoyle were pulled from stands due to a fact error in the headline, according to college president William T. Abare, Jr.^[14] The headline read "Campus growth forces tuition hike," which Abare said was factually incorrect. The subhead, which indicated that the college had entered debt for the first time, was also said to be incorrect. Students and newspaper staff argued that the issue would not have been pulled if Parents Weekend had not followed the publication date.^[15] The editors also argued that it was their responsibility to make the corrections themselves, and that they should have been allowed to make the changes without pulling the issues. ^[16] However, in the March 2007 issue of The Gargoyle, President Abare provided information that tuition will increase by 25 percent, the largest increase in Flagler College's history.^[17]

In April 2007, the college administration again exercised editorial control over the paper due to alleged fact errors.^[18] Students rallied and organized a protest against any type of censorship of the newspaper, calling for a free and independent student press. ^[19] The editors of The Gargoyle sought clarification on the purpose of The Gargoyle, but were told that the newspaper is primarily to enhance the college's image, which prompted the resignation of the co-editors. The editors and students all agreed that as a private institution, Flagler had the right to edit content. They argued, however, that a free paper was crucial to their educations, and that Abare's goal for The Gargoyle as enhancing the college's image conflicted with the core values of journalism. ^[20]

As of September 2007, working on The Gargoyle is no longer required of communication majors due to the April controvsery. An advisory board and operating guidelines have been set up to handle any future situations which may arise, and also to help outline the function of The Gargoyle. President Abare, Gargoyle adviser Brian Thompson, and communication faculty members expressed hope that the new advisory board and guidelines will be helpful and beneficial, though some communication majors expressed doubts in the changes. ^[21] Most of the previous year's staff did not return to work on The Gargoyle, and the size of the paper will be cut in half for the 2007-2008 academic year. Tracy Halcomb, the head of the communication department, says that the communication faculty is still looking into starting an independent paper. ^[22]