FSCJ 60th Anniversary History Feature: 1990-1994 (2026)

Video Description

This video, one of a series of history featurettes created in honor of FSCJ's 60th anniversary, focuses on the college from 1990-1994. Beginning with a class specially designed to help more women become firefighters, the video then moves on to cover the long-running National (later International) Conference on Teaching and Learning, which boasted prominent speakers like novelist Ray Bradbury and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee. It touches on the opening of the Jacksonville Regional Fire Rescue Training and Education Canter at South Campus and the work art Prof. Anne Banas and her students did creating two different murals: “The River,” located on the east side of the Profilers Building on Forsyth Street and “The Family of Humanity,” a 60’ long work in the Downtown Campus lobby that reflected the diversity of the student body there. It touches on the dedication of the H.D. “Bo” Cotton Student Center at North Campus, the rededication of the College Administration Building as the Donald T. Martin Center for College Services, the “groundbreaking” at the Donald D. Zell Urban Resource Center, and the opening of both the Nassau Outdoor Center and the Culinary and Hospitality Department’s Mallard Room at North. It describes how the College (belatedly) celebrated its 25th anniversary, and the release of “Read, Write, and Research,” a 24 segment ENC 1102 telecourse that was shown nationally on PBS. It highlights how the English as Second Language Program students worked together to publish a cookbook , the transition of the cosmetology program from Kent to North Campus, the return of the cheerleading squad, and the College’s acquisition of the Grande Boulevard Mall. It closes by discussing the various productions the College staged around town – including Shakespeare at the Met in conjunction with Theatre Jacksonville – and construction beginning on what would become the Wilson Center of the Arts. This video was released in January 2026. Narrator: Robin Herriff Script: Robin Herriff, Jennifer Grey Video Editing: Mark Hubbard Copyright 2026 Florida State College at Jacksonville