Northwest Florida State College - Robert L. F. Sikes Education Center: Welcome!
Architects' Rendering of South Walton Center
The newest location of Northwest Florida State College, the NWFSC South Walton Center located off of highway 331 South, is set to open in early January with a variety of college credit classes that begin January 6 and a series of non-credit personal enrichment offerings that start in February.
The South Walton Center, under construction since fall 2007, will be the college's seventh area location and its second center in Walton County. The college also operates the Chautauqua Center on Highway 90 in DeFuniak Springs. The college's Walton County Board of Trustees members; Rachel Gillis, Teena Wells and Wesley Wilkerson, will be joined by the college's full board and community leaders for an official ribbon cutting event in mid-January.
''We are so pleased to bring this convenient new college location to the citizens of Walton County,'' said Wilkerson, who also serves as board chairman. ''Reaching out and making educational opportunities accessible is a key part of our college mission and a South Walton Center has been a central part of our college's master plan for many years - now, it is about to become reality.''
Enrollment for the 15 college credit classes that will inaugurate the center will be held December 1 to 17 at all of the college's six current locations in Niceville, Fort Walton Beach, Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field, Crestview and DeFuniak Springs. Current students may also enroll now by web. In-person enrollment for new and returning students will be held on-site at the South Walton Center when it opens in January.
''Folks can register now for our South Walton Center college credit classes, they don't need to wait until we officially open our doors,'' said Dr. Jill White, NWFSC senior vice president for instruction.
White noted that the classes scheduled for the first term at the South Walton Center reflect most of the areas students need to complete their general studies requirements. ''The classes are also open to qualified high school students who wish to receive dual enrollment credit,'' said White. As the NWFSC South Walton Center is located adjacent to South Walton High School and the Walton Area Chamber of Commerce, White noted that she expects some dual enrollment students as well as business professionals to take advantage of the offerings at the center.
Courses to be offered in January at the South Walton Center include: Economics, Microcomputer Applications, and Introduction to Business, Business Math, Spanish I, Spanish II, Humanities-Art, Humanities Introduction, College Preparatory Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, College Algebra, General Biology, Environmental Sciences, Psychology, and College Success.
Non-credit personal enrichment courses through the college's Prime Time program will include a Computers I class for those who have little or no experience with the personal computer, art courses in Watercolors and Painting with Acrylics and two workshops: one on gardening with antique and old garden roses and the other a discussion led by popular NWFSC history professor Wendell Griffith on the new national healthcare system proposals.
The NWFSC South Walton Center is developed on 16 acres of a nearly 30 acre site owned by the college that is part of the county's government and education center. South Walton High School, the South Walton Library and the Walton County Government Center are located on adjacent parcels of the more than 110 acres originally acquired by the Walton County Commission from the state of Florida.
The NWFSC facility consists of four buildings all under the same roofing structure with about 11,000 square feet of administrative and classroom space to serve the growing south Emerald Coast region. The last time the college broke ground for an instructional facility in Walton County was September 1970, when then Okaloosa-Walton Junior College opened its Chautauqua Center in DeFuniak Springs.
The South Walton site will be the college's second facility in Walton County, one of five centers in outlying communities that are tied to the college's two main campuses in Niceville and Fort Walton Beach. Site work, architectural work and construction for the facility totaled approximately $4.6 million.
A 3,600 square foot Administrative building provides office space for faculty and staff, a conference room, a staff workroom, restrooms and support spaces. The two classroom buildings totaling 6,000 square feet and consist of five instructional classrooms, each able to accommodate an average class size of 18 to 23 students. Also included is a 1,300 square foot computer laboratory.
The South Walton Center also houses the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance, an environmental organization operated by NWFSC. The CBA is particularly active in South Walton County with several initiatives including its Dune Lakes work to help preserve the rare coastal dune lakes that dot the region. Julie Terrell, the director of CBA, will also provide primary administrative oversight of the new NWFSC South Walton Center.
In addition to the CBA, the Allyn C. Donaldson Entrepreneurial Institute, a part of the college's Leadership Institute effort, will be housed at the center and will offer an Entrepreneurial Training program in April 2010. Donaldson, a retired General Motors executive, is a long-time Santa Rosa Beach resident and former NWFSC Foundation board member who supported the entrepreneurial program and other college instructional endeavors through service on college boards and numerous generous donations to the NWFSC Foundation.
Other features incorporated into the college's seventh location include exterior courtyards surrounded by integral covered walkways and a signature clock tower. The site was designed with sensitivity to the creation of pedestrian friendly walkways and the preservation of the environment. The architecture of the buildings is influenced by existing South Walton County buildings, as well as that of the notable planned communities nearby, such as Seaside and WaterColor that express a distinctive Florida vernacular.
