History
Beliefs
Mission
Accreditation
Memberships
Foundation
Locations

History
Establishing Florida’s first public two-year college in the depths of the Great Depression may have seemed like folly in 1933. Large government expenditures were out of the question. Still, civic organizations and local citizens lobbied the County Board of Public Instruction to open a two-year public college for the area’s high school graduates who were unable to find employment and couldn’t afford to leave home to attend a university.

County School Superintendent Joe Youngblood and Howell Watkins, principal of Palm Beach High School, consulted with the University of Florida and the Florida State Women’s College (Florida State University) and based the College’s curriculum on that of the two universities. Because of the Depression-era budget, teachers at Palm Beach High School volunteered to teach at the college for free.

A total of 41 students began classes on November 14, 1933, at the new college adjacent to the high school in downtown West Palm Beach. Youngblood and Watkins (the first dean of the College) founded and nurtured the fledgling institution until John I. Leonard became PBCC’s first president in 1936. Leonard was affectionately known as “Mr. Junior College” because of his dedication to the students, the College and the two-year college system.

By 1948, the College had outgrown its original building and moved to Morrison Field, a retired Air Force base used in World War II, where the library was housed in a vast airplane hangar and the Officer’s Club became the perfect Student Union Building. Just three years later, though, the Korean Conflict erupted, and Morrison Field was reactivated. The air base later became Palm Beach International Airport.

So in 1951 Palm Beach Junior College moved yet again, to Lake Park Town Hall, where the quarters were so cramped students had to be turned away, and enrollment dropped significantly to less than 200. Chemistry class was held in the jail. The local media dubbed it “the little orphan college,” but the Lake Park location is remembered fondly by its alumni for the camaraderie that existed there. Master English and Speech Professor Watson B. Duncan taught classes in the nearby church and even in the hallway. Duncan discovered famous actors Burt Reynolds and Monte Markham in Lake Park, as well as Terry Garrity, the author of “The Sensuous Woman.”

Almost five years later the Palm Beach County Commission donated 114 acres in Lake Worth to the College, and the state gave PBJC $1 million for buildings. The College finally had a permanent home.  Harold C. Manor, Ph.D., became president in 1958 directing extraordinary growth in enrollment, services and offerings, including many technical and vocational programs.

In 1965, the height of the Civil Rights Movement, the state legislature ordered that black and white two-year colleges be merged, and the mostly white Palm Beach Junior College and the all-black Roosevelt Junior College became one. Six professors and staff members from Roosevelt were transferred to PBJC, and other faculty members were transferred to the school district.  A period of adjustment ensued, and such key figures as Professors Samuel Bottosto and Ed Pugh and Paul Glynn, dean and later vice president of student affairs, intervened on behalf of the new students to make them feel welcome.

In the 1970s and 80s the College established satellite centers, then permanent locations in Belle Glade, Palm Beach Gardens and Boca Raton. Edward M. Eissey, Ph.D., president from 1978 to 1996, was the driving force behind the building boom and the name change to Palm Beach Community College in 1988.

Current president Dennis P. Gallon, Ph.D., has expanded the College’s comprehensive mission with more workforce programs and partnerships with business, industry, other educational institutions and various agencies. As a result, PBCC is truly a community college that responds to community needs and plays a critical role in the economic vitality of the area.

Beliefs
We believe:

• Students are our first priority.
  
  
• Appropriate resources for faculty/staff training and development must be provided to enhance learning.
  
  
• The College must be responsive to the needs of the community.
  
  
• Lifelong learning enhances the quality of life.
  
  
• Strong partnerships enhance the development of the College and the community.
  
  
• Each student should leave with skills necessary to achieve individual goals.
  
  
• Everyone should have access to an affordable, quality education.
  
  
• The College must prepare students for future leadership roles.
  
  
• Participation of all members of the College community will enhance the decision-making process.
  
  
• Students must be prepared for an ever-changing global environment.
  
  
• Providing a quality education is worth the cost and effort.
  
  
• Instruction should meet the varying learning styles of students.
  
  
• We must hold an uncompromising commitment to excellence.
  
  
• Equity and equality of opportunity are essential.
  
  
• A safe, supportive and secure College climate is essential.
  
  
• Diversity should be embraced as a reflection of society and enhances the educational process.
  
  
• The College should prepare students to be responsible and productive members of the community.
  
  
• Knowledge of options is essential.
  
  
• All of our students are capable of experiencing success.
  
  
• Increased student interaction with the College and the community enriches learning.