Florida Southern College

Florida Southern College is a private college located in Lakeland, Florida. Enrollment is approximately 1,800 students. Florida Southern is associated with the United Methodist Church. It is often included in lists of best values for liberal arts education. Florida Southern College offers master's degrees in business, nursing, and education. Florida Southern is known for its Citrus Management Program.

The college was founded in Orlando in 1883, and moved to Leesburg in 1885 under the sponsorship of the Methodist Episcopal Church South and was open to both male and female students. It moved to Sutherland (now Palm Harbor) in 1901 and changed its name to Southern College. Due to fires in the early 1920s it was temporarily relocated to Clearwater Beach and then moved to Lakeland in 1922. In 1935 it was renamed Florida Southern College by the trustees.

The present campus comprises some 64 buildings on 100 acres (405,000 m²) of land and is the home of the largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world. The campus itself is designated a National Historic Site, due to the historic significance of its buildings.

• Robert McGrady Blackburn (1919-2002) - a Bishop of the United Methodist Church (B.A., 1941)
• Robert Eugene Fannin (B.S. in Business Administration) - a Bishop of the United Methodist Church

Florida Southern's athletic teams are known as the Moccasins, often shortened to Mocs. The college's athletic teams participate in the Sunshine State Conference, a Division II group of institutions. Florida Southern has won 25 NCAA Division II championships in Men's Golf (11), Baseball (9), Women's Golf (3), Men's Basketball (1), and Softball (1). Florida Southern won the 2005 Division II World Series, defeating The University of North Florida in the championship game.

Fraternities

• Kappa Alpha Order - Gamma Pi chapter, 1958
• Sigma Chi - Epsilon Sigma chapter, 1959
• Lambda Chi Alpha - Epsilon Xi chapter
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon - Florida Gamma chapter
• Alpha Gamma Rho 2006
• Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia - Theta Sigma chapter (non IFC fraternity), 1955, refounded 1962
• Kappa Alpha Psi - Omicron Eta chapter

Sororities

• Alpha Omicron Pi 1946
• Alpha Chi Omega 1936
• Alpha Delta Pi 1946
• Kappa Delta 1955
• Zeta Tau Alpha 1957
• Alpha Kappa Alpha

Currently Not Active

• Delta Zeta 1937 (closed since 1979)
• Phi Sigma Sigma 1947 (closed since 1958)
• Phi Mu 1954 (currently closed)
• Sigma Sigma Sigma 1955 (closed since 1975)
• Alpha Gamma Delta 1958 (closed since 1976)
• Pi Kappa Alpha
• Pi Kappa Phi
• Theta Chi
• Sigma Phi Epsilon

Organizations

• ACE (All Campus Entertainment)
• Sigma Rho Epsilon (Religious Community Service Fraternity)
• SteppenDwarf(former second stage comedy troupe)
• Beta Beta Beta (Biology Fraternity)

Residence Halls

• Allan Spivey (Freshmen Women)
• Joseph Reynolds (Freshmen Women. Called 'JR' by students)
• Dell
• Jenkins
• Publix Commons (includes upper class non-sorority women, Sigma Chi, Lambda Chi Alpha, Pike and Kappa Alpha fraternity houses)
• Columbia
• Princeton (no longer present)
• Harvard (no longer present)
• Panhellenic (sorority houses, currently being torn down and rebuilt)

The collection of Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture at Florida Southern College is called Child Of The Sun.

• Annie Pfeiffer Chapel - First completed Frank Lloyd Wright Structure, dedicated 1941
• Buckner Building (Original Roux Library) - Completed 1946
• Ordway Building (Originally called the Industrial Arts Building) - completed 1952
• Danforth Chapel - completed 1955
• Polk County Science Building (Called Polk Science by faculty and students) - completed 1958
• Watson/Fine Building (Administration Building) - completed 1949
• Water Dome - completed 1949
• Seminars (Now the Financial Aid and Business Office) - completed 1941
• The Esplanades - various completion times, currently undergoing restoration around the campus

Theatre

The theatre department at Florida Southern College is smaller than departments at larger universities, but it provides students the opportunity to perform in several shows throughout the school year. They also have the chance to learn set construction, costuming, directing, and other hands-on aspects of the theatre during all four years of their college careers. The theatre students graduate with a better understanding of the talent, discipline, and motivation it takes to be successful in the world of theatre arts.

Generally the FSC Theatre Dept puts on 4 mainstage shows a year in the Buckner Theater, with the 3rd show usually a musical. As of the 2005-2006 school year, the theatre dept consisted of two full-time professors and one adjunct professor.

Music

The exceptional faculty in the Florida Southern College music department emphasizes the importance of individual lessons, ensemble participation, music classes, and performance to their students on a daily basis. The intimate size of the department allows its students to participate in several of the school's large and small ensembles. These groups include the wind ensemble, symphony band, jazz ensemble, Moccasin pep-band, symphony orchestra, and several choral groups. Smaller ensembles include the flute choir, clarinet choir, saxophone choir, horn choir, trumpet choir, trombone choir, tuba choir, percussion ensemble, and opera theatre.

Students have the option of minoring in music, or majoring with the concentration of music, performance, management, education, or sacred music. The music department is a prestigious component of Florida Southern College's degree of excellence.

Festival of Fine Arts

This concert and art series is a cherished aspect of both the college and the Lakeland community. Robert MacDonald, Director of the Festival of Fine Arts, works diligently to present both departmental and world-renowned shows throughout the year. These events are complimentary to the students of FSC, and tickets are offered to the community at attractive prices. Contact the box office for more information regarding tickets and schedules, or visit the website

• Annie Pfieffer Chapel, Esplanades and the Hindu Gardens appeared in an episode of Sea Quest DSV
• Featured in the Adam Sandler movie "Waterboy" (in particular the medulla oblongata scene which was filmed in Edge Hall)

• Florida Southern College website