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College of Central Florida

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Coordinates: 29°09′56″N 82°10′30″W / 29.1654329°N 82.1750359°W / 29.1654329; -82.1750359
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with University of Central Florida.
College of Central Florida - CF
Former names
Central Florida Community College
Central Florida Junior College
Hampton Junior College
TypePublic college
Established1957; 68 years ago (1957)[1]
Parent institution
Florida College System
Endowment$70.2 million (2020)[2]
PresidentJames Henningsen
Administrative staff
402 (as of 2017)[3]
Students10,854 (2017-2018)[3]
Location
Ocala
,
Florida
,
U.S.
NicknamePatriots
Sporting affiliations
NJCAA Region 8
Mid-Florida Conference
Websitewww.cf.edu

The College of Central Florida (CF) is a public college with campuses in Marion, Citrus, and Levy counties in the U.S. state of Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and was founded in 1957 as Central Florida Junior College.[4] CF has grown to span three counties and include the Appleton Museum of Art and Vintage Farm.[5]

The college is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate, Associate in Arts, and Associate in Science degrees as well as certificates.[6] The college started offering bachelor degree programs in 2010.

History

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Central Florida Junior College was established in 1957 to serve Citrus, Levy and Marion counties in Florida. In 1958 classes began, with 320 students using temporary facilities at the Marion County Vocational School.

Howard Junior College originally opened in 1958 as one of the first black, two-year colleges in the state. Within a couple of years, it was renamed Hampton Junior College in honor of Lee Royal Hampton, a physician from Ocala who was a champion of education. HJC and CFCJ merged in 1966.

The school changed names again in 1971 to Central Florida Community College to reflect the goal of educating the community.

On May 25, 2010, CFCC officially changed its name to College of Central Florida.

The Ocala campus was originally established on 60 acres (24 ha) of land donated by Atlantic Realty and Investment Company and the city of Ocala.[4] It has since grown to 140 acres (57 ha).

Citrus County

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In 1996, a free-standing campus opened on 88 acres (36 ha) in Lecanto. Over time, an additional 10 acres (4.0 ha) were added to the Wilton Simpson Citrus Campus, and the Citrus Learning and Conference Center opened in fall 2009.[4]

Levy County

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The Jack Wilkinson Levy Campus opened in fall 2017 on Hwy 19 North,[4] replacing the Levy Center located in Chiefland.

Hampton Center

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CF's Hampton Center, which offers health occupation courses and community outreach programs, opened in 1996 on the site of the former Florida State Fire College in West Ocala. In 2004, the facility was completely rebuilt.[4]

Appleton museum

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The college maintained a partnership interest in the Appleton Museum of Art for more than a decade before accepting full responsibility for operations in 2004.[4]

Vintage farm

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The farm was donated in late 2016 and is a few miles from the Ocala campus. The 103 acres includes a large barn and farmhouse and was valued at almost $3 million. The farm is utilized for agricultural education with practical training in Agribusiness and Equine Studies.[7]

Locations

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Image of Ocala Appleton Museum of Art
Appleton Museum of Art

The College of Central Florida operates three campuses and three sites in Marion, Citrus, and Levy counties.

Campuses

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  • Ocala Campus located at 3001 S.W. College Road, Ocala, FL 34474
  • Citrus Campus located at 3800 S. Lecanto Highway, Lecanto, FL 34461
  • Jack Wilkinson Levy Campus located at 15390 N.W. Highway 19, Chiefland, FL 32626

Sites

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  • Appleton Museum of Art located at 4333 E Silver Springs Boulevard, Ocala, Florida 34470
  • Hampton Center located at 1501 W. Silver Springs Boulevard, Ocala FL 34475
  • Vintage Farm Campus located at 4020 SE 3rd Ave, Ocala, FL 34480[7]

Awards and recognition

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  • Ranked among the top 150 colleges in the nation for quality in 2011, 2013 and 2017 in by the Aspen Institute College Excellence program.[8]

Student profile

[edit]
Congressman Cliff Stearns joins students on campus to celebrate Constitution Day

College-wide unduplicated headcount was 10,854 for the 2017–2018 academic year.[9]

Headcount by campus

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  • Ocala Campus: 9,546
  • Citrus Campus: 4,264
  • Levy Campus: 1,872
  • Hampton Center: 151

Enrollment by program

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  • Associate in Arts: 63%
  • Associate in Science, Associate in Applied Science: 20.8%
  • Baccalaureate: 10.1%
  • Adult Vocational Certificate: 2.4%
  • College Credit Certificate: 1.5%
  • Other: 2.2%

Student demographics

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Gender

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  • Female: 62.4%
  • Male: 37.5%
  • Undeclared: 0.1%

Age, credit and noncredit

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  • Under 18: 11.5%
  • 18-24: 49.0%
  • 25-34: 20.8%
  • 35-44: 9.3%
  • 45 and Older: 9.4%

Race/ethnicity

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  • White (not of Hispanic origin): 54.7%
  • Black (not of Hispanic origin): 14.1%
  • Hispanic: 15.6%
  • Undeclared: 10.9%
  • Asian: 3.1%
  • American Indian/Pacific Islanders: 1.6%[9]

Student life

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Each of the three CF campuses has its own Student Life organization to promote campus activities and engagement. Collectively, the campuses hold more than 50 student clubs for academic, athletic, social, and service learning opportunities.[10]

Athletics

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College of Central Florida fields intercollegiate athletics teams in men's and women's basketball, baseball, fast-pitch softball and women's volleyball. The Patriots compete in the Mid-Florida Conference of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region VIII and the Florida State College Activities Association.

CF's tennis programs produced three of the program's NJCAA national championships. The men's program won national titles in 1963 and 1981; the women's team won the NJCAA Division II championship in 2001.[11] The men's basketball team won the NJCAA championship in 2013.[12]

The Patriots won five state championships across three sports in the 1990s, including women's basketball titles in 1992 and in 1997,[13] a men's basketball title in 1996,[14] and consecutive baseball championships in 1997 and 1998.[15]

The CF athletics program annually produces NCAA student-athletes and has started the careers of several professional athletes. Its prominent athletic alumni include former Major League Baseball players Brian Buscher, Mike Figga, and Bill Hurst. Clinton Hart, a seven-year veteran of the National Football League, began his collegiate athletic career as an outfielder for the Patriots baseball team.

Since 2006, three CF alumni have celebrated national championships at the NCAA level. Alberta Auguste won consecutive NCAA women's basketball titles at the University of Tennessee in 2006 and 2007;[16] Nick Ebert won a College World Series title at the University of South Carolina in 2010;[17] and Breanna Fort won an NCAA Division II national championship at Clayton State University in 2011.[18]

In the spring of 2010, men's basketball standout Ricardo Ratliffe capped an historic two-year career at CF by winning the 2010 NJCAA Male Student-Athlete of the Year Award.[19] The honor, selected from among all male student-athletes in all sports across the NJCAA's 525 member schools, marked the first national player of the year award won by a CF student-athlete.

In June 2010, the CF District Board of Trustees voted to add women's volleyball to the school's athletics program, with its inaugural season scheduled for the fall of 2011.[20]

The College of Central Florida announced in 2019 that the volleyball and basketball programs would be cancelled following the 2019–2020 seasons.[21]

Notable alumni

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Brian Buscher
Darryl Monroe
[edit]
  • Ewers Century Center Image
    Ewers Century Center at the Ocala Campus
  • Photo of Levy Campus
    Levy Campus
  • Photo of Citrus Campus
    Citrus Campus
  • Photo of the Webber Center at the College of Central Florida
    Webber Center at the College of Central Florida
  • Bell Tower at CF Campus Image
    Bell Tower at the College of Central Florida

References

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  1. ^ CFCC Website, History Archived 2006-09-25 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ As of June 30, 2020. U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2020 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY19 to FY20 (Report). National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. February 19, 2021. Archived from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "CF Website". Archived from the original on 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "History". www.cf.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-03-27. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  5. ^ "Awards & Recognition". www.cf.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-04-24. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  6. ^ "Programs of Study". Archived from the original on 2010-06-11. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
  7. ^ a b "Vintage Farm Campus". cf.edu. College of Central Florida. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  8. ^ "CF AMONG TOP 10 PERCENT OF U.S. COLLEGES, ELIGIBLE FOR ASPEN PRIZE". www.cf.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-04-25. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  9. ^ a b "Statistics". www.cf.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  10. ^ "Why CF?". www.cf.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-04-26. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  11. ^ "NJCAA: College of Central Florida". Archived from the original on 2011-10-11. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  12. ^ "National champs!". Ocala StarBanner. 26 March 2013. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  13. ^ "CF Women's Basketball History". Archived from the original on 2011-03-10. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  14. ^ "CF Men's Basketball History". Archived from the original on 2011-03-12. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  15. ^ "CF Baseball History". Archived from the original on 2011-03-15. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  16. ^ "University of Tennessee: Alberta Auguste". Archived from the original on 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  17. ^ "University of South Carolina: Nick Ebert". Archived from the original on 2010-04-19. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  18. ^ "Clayton State University: Breanna Fort". Archived from the original on 2010-07-12. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  19. ^ "NJCAA David Rowlands Male Student-Athlete of the Year Award". Archived from the original on 2011-10-12. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  20. ^ "CF.edu: Volleyball Added to CF Patriot Athletics". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  21. ^ Callahan, Joe (December 2, 2019). "College of Central Florida in Ocala is ending basketball and volleyball programs". Ocala StarBanner. Ocala, FL. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
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