Our History

1927
St. Petersburg Junior College (SPJC) opens as a private college in an unused wing of the then-new St. Petersburg High School, making it Florida's first two-year institution of higher learning. There are 102 students enrolled, taught by a faculty of 14.

Captain George M. Lynch becomes the College's first president while also serving as Superintendent of Public Instruction for St. Petersburg Public Schools.

1929
Forty-eight students become SPJC's first graduating class. More than half receive state teaching certificates. At the time, the need for certified teachers in Pinellas County was great and growing, and a two-year college diploma was all that was needed for certification.

1931
The College earns full accreditation, a status it still holds in present-day. By then, it had also moved into a new space overlooking Mirror Lake in downtown St. Petersburg.

1935
President Lynch passes away. Robert B. Reed, Dean of the College at the time, steps in to take up the mantle of president. Reed had been with SPJC since it opened and taught history while performing his administrative duties as Dean.

1941
SPJC erects its first permanent campus at 5th Avenue North and 66th Street in St. Petersburg, moving from the downtown area of the city. The College would begin offering classes at the new location in January of 1942.

1944
President Reed passes away. Dr. Roland A. Wakefield takes his place as president after serving as head of the College's Department of Physical Sciences since 1933. During his time in office, Dr. Wakefield also becomes President of the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities.

1948
SPJC converts from private to public school status, the second such institution in the state to make the change.

1950
President Wakefield retires. SPJC's Dean of Men, Dr. Michael M. Bennett, succeeds him. During his tenure, Dr. Bennett would serve on numerous state and national boards including the Southern Association of Junior Colleges and the Commission on Higher Education for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

1957
Gibbs Junior College (GJC) opens on September 3, 1957, as one of Florida’s 12 original Black colleges and is named after Jonathan Gibbs, Florida’s first Black cabinet member.

1962
After considering the current enrollment and projected growth of Pinellas County, it is recommended that the College establish a campus in Clearwater. A tract of land is acquired, and construction begins two years later in 1964.

1965
SPJC joins forces with Gibbs Junior College, merging the two institutions and their respective student bodies. GJC becomes the Gibbs Campus and would later be renamed to the Skyway Campus before being phased out of operation in June 1967.

Construction of the Clearwater Campus on 40 acres of land along Drew Street is completed. Classes began at the new location during the second semester of the 1964–65 academic year.

1970
The College purchases land in Seminole and another tract the following year with the intention of establishing a new campus. Those 103 acres would sit empty until 1998, occupied only by a family of bald eagles and other wildlife.

To help support the growing educational needs of North Pinellas, SPJC starts offering classes in a donated space on the second floor of the Ellis Springs State Bank in Tarpon Springs.

1972
SPJC acquires 55 acres of land along Klosterman Road and begins planning a permanent campus in Tarpon Springs. Seven buildings with more than 21,000 square feet are initially constructed.

1975
The Tarpon Springs Campus officially opens and classes begin that fall.

1978
President Bennett retires. Dr. Carl Kuttler, Jr. takes on the role of president. Dr. Kuttler previously served as assistant to the Vice President for Administration when he started at SPJC in 1966 and later became Dean of Administrative Services.

1979
The College establishes its Foundation, a 501(c)(3) corporation that supports the vision and mission of the institution through philanthropy and community partnerships.

1981
SPJC launches a capital campaign to remodel a Pinellas Park facility that it acquired the previous year; the location would eventually become the Caruth Health Education Center (HEC). The campaign raises $3.5 million between 1981 and 1985, including a significant gift from Mr. and Mrs. W.W. Caruth Jr. Ten of the College’s 11 health care programs move to the new location that summer and classes begin on August 25, 1981.

1988
The Allstate Insurance Company turns over the keys to its former regional office to SPJC. The building was valued at more than $11 million. At the time, it was the largest property gift ever made to a Florida institution of higher education, and the largest ever to a U.S. community college.

1991
After extensive renovations, the Allstate Center opens its doors in south St. Pete and becomes home to the College’s public safety programs, including training academies and grant-funded and in-service training for public safety professionals.

1993
SPJC renames its first permanent campus at 5th Avenue North and 66th Street to the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus to honor the contributions and impact that the former Gibbs Junior College made in furthering education in Florida.

1996
The Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art (LRMA) opens at the Tarpon Springs Campus after the College is gifted a collection of work by artist, author and educator Allen Leepa.

1997
The College finally breaks ground and begins building the Seminole Campus along 113th Street North.

1998
Now entering its seventh decade, SPJC continues to grow. In 1998, classes start at the Seminole Campus, and the College also opens the Downtown Center in the heart of St. Petersburg across from Williams Park.

2001
SPJC reaches a defining milestone when the Florida Legislature passes a bill that allows it to become the first two-year college in the state to offer bachelor’s degrees. The College simultaneously updates its name, dropping the “Junior” to be known as St. Petersburg College, and also adopts a Titan for the new school mascot.

2003
SPC opens the Dr. Cecil Keene Learning Center on 22nd Street South in midtown St. Petersburg as part of the St. Petersburg Housing Authority’s HOPE VI project. The College would later commission a new building to be erected down the street as demand for classes and community involvement in the area grew.

2004
St. Petersburg Collegiate High School (SPCHS) opens at the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus to offer students in grades 10–12 a unique educational opportunity. The program melds secondary and post-secondary curriculum, allowing students to simultaneously earn a high school diploma and an associate in arts degree from SPC. The EpiCenter partially opens in Largo in September. The $32 million building includes a facility for the Bay Area’s business community that will provide advanced resources for professional development, strategic planning and job training, plus specialized seminars and conferences. Within the next year, SPC would purchase three additional properties at the Epi location. The College establishes Collaborative Labs at the EpiCenter, a dynamic innovation space that specializes in accelerated strategic visioning for businesses and organizations in a range of industries.

2007
The College acquires the Palladium, a historic theater and event space in downtown St. Petersburg.

2009
President Kuttler retires after 31 years in office, making him the longest-serving president in SPC’s history. Dr. Thomas Furlong, former Senior Vice President for SPC’s Baccalaureate Programs and the University Partnership Center, is appointed by the Board of Trustees to serve as interim president while the College conducts a nationwide search for Dr. Kuttler’s successor.

2010
Dr. William D. Law, Jr. is chosen to be SPC’s sixth president. Under his leadership, SPC's Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions (ISPS) opens at the Seminole Campus, and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) is formed to help enhance learning opportunities for students and faculty on all campuses.

2015
The College opens the Douglas L. Jamerson, Jr. Midtown Center, a 49,000-square-foot, state-of-the art building, in the heart of the St. Petersburg Midtown corridor affectionately known as “The Deuces.” SPC celebrates the milestone of its 150,000th graduate.

2017
SPC opens the Bay Pines STEM Center, a hands-on learning complex adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway in Pinellas County. Shortly after, President Law retires. Dr. Tonjua Williams is chosen to lead the College, making her SPC’s first female and first Black president. A native of St. Petersburg, Williams began her journey at SPC in 1986 and served in nearly every area of the College before becoming president.

2018
SPC holds a social media contest to give its Titan mascot a name. Out of more than 4,000 votes with 1,100 different submissions, there was one clear winner: Titus.

2019
A second SPCHS location opens at the Tarpon Springs Campus. Like its sister location at the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus, it caters to students in grades 10–12.

2020
The College cuts the ribbon on the Joseph H. Lang, Sr. Student Success Center at the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus. It’s SPC’s first-ever student hub and named in memory of Joseph “Joe” Lang, a longtime supporter of the College.

2022
SPCHS unveils a third location at the Downtown Center that focuses on STEM education and industry certifications for students in grades 9–12.

2023
The Aspen Institute names SPC one of 10 community colleges selected for Unlocking Opportunity: The Post-Graduation Success and Equity Network, an initiative focused on improving students’ post-completion outcomes.

2024
The Chris Sprowls Workforce Innovation Hub opens its doors at the Tarpon Springs Campus. It’s a state-of-the-art facility primed to become a key location for manufacturing, creativity and collaboration in Pinellas County. The College announces plans to build a new manufacturing lab at the Midtown Center to enhance and expand short-term training programs in semiconductors, mechatronics, automation and robotics.