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Who We Are
A Brief History Of Valencia
Valencia Community College is proof that great things can come
from small beginnings. In fall of 1967 we began as Valencia Junior
College in a few portable buildings on West Oakridge Road in Orlando.
Although the facilities weren't lofty, our goals were: we wanted
to help our students become as successful as possible in their classes,
their careers and their lives. Armed with a passion for teaching
and a concern for the students, our small group of educators began
to teach the increasing number of students coming to the campus.
In 1971, we changed our name to Valencia Community College and moved
to our first permanent location, the 180-acre West
Campus located on South Kirkman Road.
From those humble beginnings, Valencia has become an innovative
leader in higher  education
with a national reputation for teaching excellence. With four campuses
and two centers in the Orlando area, Valencia is now the third largest
of Florida's 28 community colleges, teaching more than 50,000 students
a year. To better meet the needs of our students, Valencia opened
the East
Campus in 1975, the Osceola
Campus in 1997 and the Winter
Park Campus in 1998. Yet we never lost sight of our original
goals. Armed with practical knowledge, Valencia's faculty and staff
put their energies into a "learning-centered" philosophy that emphasizes
individual student success.
In an ongoing effort to be responsive to the business community,
Valencia builds relationships with high schools, universities and corporate partners
to strengthen academic scholarship and economic development. Valencia
has hundreds of corporate education/training partnerships, including
those with Florida Hospital, Lockheed Martin, NationsBank, Sea World,
SmithKline/Beecham, and Universal Studios. The National Alliance
of Business named Valencia "National Community College of the Year"
in 1998 for its "effective and innovative leadership" in meeting
the workforce needs of business and industry. The recognition is
considered one of the country's most prestigious higher education
awards.
Our selection in 2000 as a Vanguard Learning College is just further affirmation of the effectiveness of our student-first
philosophy. It's a philosophy we've had for more than 30 years,
and it continues to guide us into what we hope is an even bigger
and brighter future.
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