Flagler College

Flagler College
Type Private, nonsectarian
Established 1968
Endowment $60 million[1]
Chancellor William L. Proctor
President William T. Abare, Jr.
Students 2,782[2]
Location St. Augustine, Florida, U.S.
Campus 19 acres (7.7 ha)
Colors Crimson and Gold
         
Nickname Saints
Website www.flagler.edu

Flagler College is a private four-year liberal arts college located in St. Augustine, Florida, United States. It was founded in 1968 and offers 29 majors and 34 minors.[3]

The college has been named by U.S. News & World Report as one of the "Best Regional Colleges in the South" and in The Princeton Review "Best 380 Colleges."[4] Its 2015–16 tuition is $16,830 (excluding room and board[5]) and its acceptance rate is an average of 40 percent of its annual applications.[6]

History

Founded in 1968, the school is located on 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 on the National Register of Historic Places.

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. 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. 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.[7]

Misreporting of student information

In 2014, Flagler College was ranked eighth among Regional Colleges in the South, according to the U.S. News & World Report college survey. However, in February 2014 the college's vice president of enrollment management 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.[8] The college hired a Jacksonville law firm to investigate. [9] 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.[10]

Organization and administration

The college had an endowment of over $60 million as of April 2011.[1]

Student life

Organizations

Flagler offers membership in nine honor societies, including Alpha Chi, Alpha Psi Omega, Kappa Delta Pi, Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Alpha Theta, Psi Chi, Alpha Kappa Delta, Sigma Tau Delta, and Phi Alpha Delta. In addition, there are over 55 active student clubs and academic organizations on campus.

Athletics

Flagler athletics logo

Flagler competes in 14 varsity sports (basketball, cheerleading, cross country, golf, soccer, and tennis for men and women, baseball for men only, and volleyball and softball for women only) in Division II that compete in the NCAA. Its teams are called the Saints. In the 2009–10 season Flagler athletics began to play in the Peach Belt Conference.[11] The Flagler College Saints Volleyball team has made an impact on the Peach Belt since entering the conference. In 2009, the Lady Saints 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.

Newspaper

The Gargoyle is the college's student-run newspaper. In 2010, the Gargoyle went online-only and began publishing from its website.[12] In 2012, The Gargoyle took first place for best independent online publication at the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Region 3 awards. The online-only publication took five awards, including two more first places for editor Michael Newberger in online opinion writing and sports editor Mari Pothier in online sports reporting.[13]

Since becoming online-only in 2010, 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.[13] In 2007, the publication was a finalist Associated Collegiate Press 2007 Pacemaker Awards.[14]

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.[15][16][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]

After September 2007, working on The Gargoyle was no longer required of communication majors. An advisory board and operating guidelines were set up to handle any situations which may arise and to help outline the function of The Gargoyle.[20]

Notable people

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Flagler College Spring 2011 Commencement Program" (PDF). St. Augustine, Florida: Flagler College. 23 April 2011. p. 4. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  2. ↑ "College Navigator". U.S. Department of Education. 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  3. ↑ ADAM AASEN. "Flagler changes, yet remains the same as it approaches 40th anniversary - Jacksonville.com". jacksonville.com.
  4. ↑ Flagler ranks 6th in U.S. News’ Best Regional Colleges in the South
  5. ↑ Tuition and Fees
  6. ↑ Flagler College Cappex listing
  7. ↑ "Remembering Molly Wiley" Flagler College Magazine
  8. ↑ Gardner, Sheldon (2014-02-18). "Flagler College VP resigns after investigation". StAugustine.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  9. ↑ "Flagler College hires Jacksonville law firm to look into doctored student stats | jacksonville.com". Members.jacksonville.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  10. ↑ Bob Morse and Diane Tolis (September 25, 2014). "Update on Flagler College's Data Misreporting". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Montevallo and Flagler to Join Peach Belt Conference" Peach Belt Conference
  12. ↑ "Flagler Gargoyle earns website honors" The St. Augustine Record.
  13. 1 2 "Gargoyle wins best independent web site at SPJ regional conference" The Gargoyle.
  14. ↑ "2007 ACP Online Pacemaker Winners" Associated Collegiate Press
  15. ↑ "Newspapers Pulled from Shelves at Flagler" WJXT Jacksonville.
  16. ↑ "College confiscates newspapers" The St. Augustine Record.
  17. ↑ "College paper pulled from stands for faulty headline" Student Press Law Center.
  18. ↑ "Administration, newspaper staff at odds at Flagler College" Florida Times-Union.
  19. ↑ "Cry of censorship rallied Flagler College students to protest decision" The St. Augustine Record.
  20. ↑ "Gargoyle establishes advisory board" The St. Augustine Record.
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Coordinates: 29°53′33″N 81°18′55″W / 29.89237°N 81.31522°W / 29.89237; -81.31522

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