Northwest Florida State College

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Northwest Florida State College
NWFSC
MottoEducatio Optima
TypePublic college
Established1963; 58 years ago (1963)
Parent institution
Florida College System
PresidentDevin Stephenson [1]
Academic staff
300[2]
Undergraduates5,497[3]
Location
Niceville
,
Florida
,
United States
Campus264 acres (1.07 km2)
ColorsRed, White and Black      
AthleticsNJCAA Region 8, Panhandle Conference
MascotRaiders
Websitewww.nwfsc.edu

Northwest Florida State College is a public college in Niceville, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate and baccalaureate degrees. Northwest Florida State College has multiple campuses but has operated continuously on its Niceville campus since 1963. The college also operates a charter high school, the Collegiate High School at Northwest Florida State College, which opened in 2000.[4]

History[]

Early History[]

Northwest Florida State College was founded in 1963 as Okaloosa-Walton Junior College, with its campus in Valparaiso, Florida; students started class the next year. A permanent campus in Niceville was dedicated in April 1969.[5]

The school voted to change its name to Okaloosa-Walton Community College in 1988,[6] and gained four-year status in 2003, thus changing its name to Okaloosa-Walton College. In June 2008, Governor Charlie Crist signed a bill that allowed several community colleges, including OWC, to offer four-year degrees and be considered part of Florida's upper education under the newly formed Florida College Pilot Project,[7] making OWC one of the state colleges in Florida. Due to the change, school officials elected to once again change the name, this time to Northwest Florida State College.

2009 Campus Shooting[]

On April 11, 2009, a lone gunman shot a vending machine maintenance worker at the center in DeFuniak Springs. The victim was shot twice in the chest and died from his injuries.[8] The suspect, a former co-worker of the victim, was apprehended and charged and found guilty of first degree murder.[9]

2012 Data Breach[]

Between May 21, 2012 and September 24, 2012, a large-scale security breach occurred at the college. The personal information of nearly 300,000 people, including 200,000 who had no connection to the institution, was stolen. Leaked information included names, Social Security numbers, birthdates, gender, and ethnicity as well as payroll and direct deposit information. No one was ever charged in the attack.[10]

Campus locations[]

As of the 2020-2021 year, Northwest Florida State College operates at six locations.[11]

Collegiate High School at Northwest Florida State College[]

Collegiate High School at Northwest Florida State College
Address
100 College Boulevard

Niceville
,
Florida
32578

United States
Information
Funding typeCharter
Established2000
StatusOpen
CEEB code101608
PrincipalAnthony Boyer
Faculty5[12]
Grades10–12
Number of students275[13]
Team nameRaiders
Websitenwfcollegiatehigh.org

The Collegiate High School at Northwest Florida State College (CHS) is a charter school in Niceville, Florida, established in 2000, that enables 10th-, 11th-, and 12th-grade students to simultaneously earn both a standard high school diploma and a transferable two-year college degree or transferable college credits. The CHS is a public school and is free of charge to students. College-credit classes, college and high school textbooks, provision for transportation, use of a personal laptop computer, tutoring, and more are all provided at no cost. Students are also allowed to participate in college activities including sports, the Raider Rhythms dance team, and the college's Student Government Association.[14] In 2005, Lyndsi Thomas, a CHS senior, was one of thirty students in Florida selected to the First Team All-State of the All Florida Academic Team. Elected as president of the college's Student Government Association in 2004, Lyndsi was also the only SGA president at a Florida college who was a high school student.[15]

The Collegiate High School at Northwest Florida State College has been named a "2006 No Child Left Behind - Blue Ribbon School", among 250 nationwide and 12 from Florida.[16]

CHS was named #1 school in Florida for the 2010–2011 school year[17] and a U.S. Department of Education National Blue Ribbon School in 2013.[18]

Mattie Kelly Arts Center[]

The Mattie Kelly Arts Center is a $25 million performing arts and educational complex that hosts Broadway touring shows, visiting artists, dance and opera companies. The complex encompasses a 1,650-seat mainstage theater which accommodates touring Broadway shows, the 195-seat, flexible Sprint Theater, an art wing with two galleries, a music wing, a visual arts building and the Northwest Florida State College amphitheater.[19]

Athletics[]

The school's athletic teams compete in the Panhandle Conference of the Florida State College Activities Association, a body of the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 8.[20]

Notable alumni[]

Alumni Notability
Chris Duarte Current professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers
Kedrick Brown Former professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers
Robert Coello Former Major League Baseball pitcher
Andres Feliz College basketball player for the University of Illinois
Jason Michaels Former Major League Baseball outfielder
Alan Ritchson Actor, singer-songwriter, model
Ray Sansom Former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
Donell Taylor Former professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards

References[]

  1. ^ "Leadership". Northwest Florida State College.
  2. ^ "IPEDS Data Center". nces.ed.gov.
  3. ^ https://www.usnews.com/education/community-colleges/northwest-florida-state-college-CC16392
  4. ^ "The 2000's". www.nwfsc.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  5. ^ "The 1960's". www.nwfsc.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  6. ^ "The 1980's". www.nwfsc.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  7. ^ "Florida College Pilot Project, June 2008". Archived from the original on 2019-01-01. Retrieved 2019-05-03.
  8. ^ www.sheriff-okaloosa.org https://www.sheriff-okaloosa.org/wp-content/pdfs/newsreleases/2009/NR04122009.htm. Retrieved 2021-03-03. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ McLaughlin, Tom. "Thomas McCoy death sentence upheld". Northwest Florida Daily News. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  10. ^ Bolkan, Joshua; 10/17/12. "Northwest Florida State College Data Breach Compromises 300,000 Students and Employees -". Campus Technology. Retrieved 2021-03-03.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "College Campuses and Centers - Northwest Florida State College - Acalog ACMS™". catalog.nwfsc.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  12. ^ "School Profile". chs.nwfsc.edu.
  13. ^ 2009 CHS Press Release
  14. ^ [1]
  15. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2010-07-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ^ "About". chs.nwfsc.edu.
  17. ^ [2]
  18. ^ [3]
  19. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2010-07-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. ^ "Organization of NJCAA Regions". NJCAA. Retrieved 2021-03-02.

External links[]

Coordinates: 30°32′22″N 86°28′32″W / 30.5394163°N 86.475644°W / 30.5394163; -86.475644

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