The History of Seminole Community College

A Tradition of Excellence in the Central Florida Community

On July 1, 1965, the Florida State Legislature signed a charter creating Seminole Junior College. That year, the Seminole County School Board hired Dr. Earl S. Weldon, a former president of St. Johns River  Junior College in Palatka, to be the newly formed College’s president.

One of Dr. Weldon’s first duties was to locate a piece of land to build the school. After reviewing many possible locations, R.T. Milwee, superintendent of Seminole County Public Schools, and Dr. Weldon chose an 80-acre lot that once belonged to Chase Citrus Groves, a location chosen for its proximity to U.S. 17-92 and Interstate 4.

Portable classrooms and offices were put in place, and plans were made for the construction of the College’s permanent structures. One of those early portable classrooms housed the SCC library, which was run by Thomas Reitz, a man who would spend more than 30 years at SCC.  

Seminole Junior College opened in 1966. Seven-hundred students paid $5 per credit hour to further their educations. Initial class offerings included accounting, business, Freshman English I & II, journalism, Spanish, math, science and speech. While many of those courses are still offered, Intro to Shorthand; Secretarial Practice; Beginning and Intermediate Typewriting; Introduction to the Use of Books and Libraries; Augmentation & Debate; and Democracy and Totalitarianism, a comparative survey of social, economic and historical tenets and developments of Capitalism, Socialism, Fascism and Communism, no longer exist.  

Construction began in 1968 on the Campus’ first permanent structures. The F-Building, which houses the faculty offices, was built that year. The Vocational Building, Science Building and a library followed in 1969. The Admissions Building, the Student Center, the E-Building, the Health Building (the gym) and the Automotive Technology Building were built in 1974.

On July 1, 1975, Seminole Junior College became Seminole Community College. By the end of the College’s first decade, enrollment had increased to 14,161.

The G-Building (Fine Arts), the J-Building (Business Tech, Drafting and Design, Digital Media and Healthcare) and the K-Building (used for Automotive Technology, EMT and Fire training) were added in the late 1970s, and this period of growth for the College continued into the 1980s.

As the 1980s came to a close, the Adult Education Building and Science Lab were built.

After 30 years of honorable service, Dr. Weldon and Dr. Reitz retired in 1995.

The next year, Dr. E. Ann McGee, a community college graduate and administrator at Broward Community College, succeeded Dr. Weldon as the College's president. Faced with a 20 percent dip in attendance, Dr. McGee rejuvenated SCC with a period of substantial growth.

Under Dr. McGee’s direction, SCC Foundation assets increased from $1 million to more than $7 million. Dr. McGee was also instrumental in the opening of the Hunt Club Center in 1997 and the construction of the $30 million Oviedo Campus in 2001.

Sparked by a $2.5 million donation from the Central Florida Auto Dealers’ Association, SCC opened its $10.1 million Automotive Training Center in January 2007.

The next chapter of SCC’s growth came when the innovative Center of Economic Development at Heathrow opened in 2007. The Center partners Central Florida’s economic development leaders with the College to train the region’s work force in business/technology-related programs, attract and retain leading technology companies to Central Florida, and sustain the driving force behind the region’s economic engine

The College’s Altamonte Springs Campus opened in January 2008.  The Campus houses SCC’s Healthcare Programs, a diverse offering of A.A. degree courses and Adult Education.

For more than 40 years, SCC’s history has been gilded by the many accomplishments of its students and its loyal and hard-working faculty and staff. Today, the College is growing and adapting to meet the needs of an ever-changing community. SCC is moving forward in its mission to serve the Central Florida community. By offering high-quality educational programs and services, the College continues to provide students and area residents with a multitude of resources. Now and in the years to come, opportunities for personal growth abound at SCC, where you truly can learn to “Be yourself. Only better.“

Adapted from an article by Joe Hendricks in The Scribe, Volume 13, No. 4, April 15, 2005.

Did you know?

SCC is Florida's fastest growing community college.