History of PJC
 
Pensacola Junior College, the first junior college chartered by the State of
Florida, opened its doors on Sept. 8, 1948 in an old home on the corner of
Palafox and Cervantes streets. That year, 136 students attended under the
direction of James L. McCord.
In
1953, the college moved one block south on Palafox Street to the building
formerly used by Pensacola High School. One year later, Dr. Henry L. Ashmore
became the first president of PJC. In 1956, the Southern Association of Colleges
and Secondary Schools granted accreditation, and in 1957, the college relocated
to its present Ninth Avenue location, on 80 acres of land bequeathed by the City
of Pensacola and the Baars estate. In 1964, PJC added the Center for Adult
Studies, establishing PJC as a comprehensive, community college that provides
education at many levels.
 Dr.
T. Felton Harrison became the second president of the college in 1964. Under
his leadership, the college expanded its facilities, programs and curriculum
to include technical, vocational and adult education.
Booker T. Washington Junior College merged
with PJC in 1966. Dr. Garrett Thurston Wiggins, WJC president and an
outstanding community member, joined the PJC administration and served until
his retirement in 1969.
 WSRE-TV began operations at PJC
in 1967, airing educational programming. The station’s license was transferred
to the college in 1972.
In 1968, the
college’s Advisory Committee, formerly under the Escambia County Board of
Public Instruction, was designated as the District Board of Trustees and
became the college’s governing body.
In 1971,
PJC’s Milton campus opened in the old Canal Street School. By January 1985, the
Milton campus had moved to its present site on Highway 90, where it offers
special programs in agriculture, horticulture, forestry and wildlife ecology. In
1996, the University of Florida began a bachelor’s degree program that allows
students to complete their upper level courses on the Milton campus.
PJC’s third campus emphasizes health programs and opened in
1977 on Highway 98 in Warrington. In 1985, the college began offering full-time
classes and student services at the Naval Air Station Center on board Pensacola
Naval Air Station. In 1989, the college opened the Downtown Center, offering a
variety of programs primarily for working adults and the local business
community.
 In
1980, Dr. Horace E. Hartsell became the third PJC president. Under his
leadership, the Baroco Center for Science and Advanced Technology was
established to provide the latest in microcomputer resources and facilities
for the natural sciences and industrial technologies.
In 1994, the state-of-the-art Kugelman Center for Telecommunications became the
new home for WSRE, PBS for the Gulf Coast, and includes the area’s first digital
television production studio. In 1995, the Johnson L.I.F.E. Center/Sports
Complex opened on the Milton campus.
In 1996, the Margaret Moore Nickelsen Endowed Teaching
Chair for Health Sciences was established as the first of the college’s seven
endowed teaching chairs.
To commemorate the college’s 50th anniversary,
the Menge Bell Tower was dedicated in 1998. As the most prominent landmark on
the Pensacola campus, the 80-foot carillon was named for M.J. Menge, a 1956
graduate and longtime friend of the college.
In 1998, Dr. Charles A. Atwell became the fourth PJC president. Under his
leadership, the college continued to grow with the construction of the Anna
Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts on the Pensacola campus and the Health
Sciences Complex on the Warrington campus.
 Dr. G. Thomas Delaino, the fifth and current PJC president, was inaugurated in
2003. Under Delaino’s stewardship, the college offers more than 100 programs and
areas of concentration that lead to associate’s degrees, certificates and
diplomas. Around 1,300 professional faculty and staff members work together to
serve more than 30,000 students each year.
PJC is proud of its rich heritage of providing education
and service for more than half a century and looks forward to a future with expanded opportunities.
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