FSW was founded in 1962 as Edison Junior College, named after Thomas Edison, and was subsequently renamed Edison Community College in 1972, Edison College in 2004, Edison State College in 2008, and Florida SouthWestern State College in 2014.
History
Florida SouthWestern State College, originally known as Edison Junior College, admitted its first students in the fall of 1962. The college was named after the inventor and industrialist Thomas Edison who frequently wintered in Fort Myers. The Lee Campus (now known as the Thomas Edison Campus) opened in 1965 on an 80-acre site with three buildings. The school's nursing program began on campus with a $50,000 donation in 1968.
The college's name changed to Edison Community College in 1972, shortly after the first nursing class graduated. Ten years later, in 1982, a branch campus of the University of South Florida was dedicated. The college's primary arts center, the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, opened in 1986 and serves as the premier Performing Arts venue in Lee County.
Construction on the Collier County Campus at Lely lasted from 1991 to 1992, on a 50-acre (20 ha) site in Naples, Florida. Soon after that, the Charlotte County Campus opened in 1997, on a 204-acre (83 ha) plot of land in Punta Gorda, Florida. This is the largest campus to date. The college revised its mission by publishing a new strategic plan, The Decade of Promise, in 2002. The college again changed its name in 2004, to simply Edison College.
Lee Campus sign in 2019
The college continued to expand through the 2000s with increased funding for the nursing program and the new Richard H. Rush Library on the Lee Campus.[3] In 2008, the college saw its fourth name change to Edison State College, and a new torch logo with blue and yellow colors to reflect the college's new status as a baccalaureate-granting state college. Multiple new baccalaureate programs opened over the next decade, including Middle Grades Mathematics, Sciences, and Language Arts Education; Applied Science in Public Safety Management; Elementary Education; and Secondary Education Biology and Mathematics.[4]
In 2011, the college's faculty senate approved a vote of no confidence in the college president and senior vice president, amid allegations of employment discrimination, inappropriately high salaries for key administrators, and problems with the accreditation of the nursing program.[5] A few weeks later, President Kenneth Walker, who had led the college for over twenty years, announced plans to resign.[6] The college's governing District Board of Trustees ultimately fired Walker in January 2012.[7] The college's accrediting agency placed the college on probation in June 2012. The agency cited multiple factors, including the institution's inability to demonstrate integrity; lack of full-time faculty; nursing students being misled about their program's accreditation; and substitution of electives for core classes, which allowed students to graduate without completing degree requirements.[8] The college saw its accreditation reaffirmed and its probation lifted in June 2013.[9]
The name, logo, and colors were changed for the fifth and most recent time in 2014. This name broke ties to Thomas Edison, who was the college's former namesake. The new name, Florida SouthWestern State College, was created in response to reflect the wide geographic region the college serves. Another reason for the change was to avoid confusion with Thomas Edison State College of New Jersey due to new online courses with a nationwide reach.[10][11]
Academics
Courtyard next to the Rush Library on the Lee Campus
Florida SouthWestern State College resumed its athletics program in 2015 after having been discontinued in 1997. The teams continued to be known once again as the Buccaneers. For the inaugural season, the school fielded teams in softball, baseball, men's and women's basketball, and women's volleyball.[17] The teams participate in the Suncoast Conference of the Florida State College Activities Association within the National Junior College Athletic Association.
On November 29, 2016, the new on-campus Suncoast Credit Union Arena opened. With a seating capacity of 3,500, it is home to the basketball and volleyball teams, as well as the new home of the City of Palms Classic high school basketball tournament. The arena has also held other basketball events, including Fort Myers Tip Off and concerts.
The baseball and softball team play at the City Of Palms Park, which was home of the Boston Red Sox spring training games from 1993 to 2011.[18]
Library
Library garden welcome sign on the Lee campus.
Florida SouthWestern State College houses an academic library at each of its four campuses. Its main campus library, the Richard H. Rush Library (residing on the Lee campus), was remodeled and reopened in 2008 following an $8 million donation from Richard Rush and his wife. The Rush's generous donation resulted in the growth of a flourishing outside garden and the establishment of a dedicated gallery space on the first floor, which houses famous Renaissance and Impressionist paintings as well as Eastern porcelain antiques.[19][20][21]
The Richard H. Rush Library, as well as the satellite campus libraries, supports the mission of Florida SouthWestern State College by providing quality resources and research instruction, ensuring that students, employees, and community members become effective researchers, critical thinkers, and lifelong learners. Librarians and library staff provide customer service and instruction both to in person and virtual students.[22][23]
The library collection houses thousands of physical and electronic books and videos, as well as hundreds of scholarly databases to assist faculty and students with their courses and research. Beginning in 2021, the Richard H. Rush Library launched an eReserves Controlled digital lending initiative, allowing hundreds of course textbooks to be digitized and uploaded to an online repository for 24/7 student access. Florida SouthWestern State College Libraries house Anatomy Labs that include anatomy models and various other anatomy and physiology teaching aids for students. In 2023, Florida SouthWestern State College Libraries merged with the College's Tutoring Department to house Math, Writing/Speech, and Peer Tutoring Centers to provide academic support to students.[23]
Campuses
Technology Center on the Lee Campus
The Lee campus is the primary campus, located on 140 acres (0.57 km2) between College Parkway and Cypress Lake Drive in South Lee county.[24] The campus consists of 24 permanent buildings, including one- and two-story classroom buildings, a library, a bookstore, a cafeteria, a student center, and laboratories for science, computer science, nursing, health technologies, and college preparatory classes.[25] Florida SouthWestern Collegiate High School - Lee is located on this campus. The collegiate high school is a dual-enrollment based program allowing students to earn an associate degree at the same time as a high school diploma.[26]
The Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, opened in 1986, is located on the Lee Campus and hosts plays, shows, and concerts. The Edison Pops Concert Series is held there annually.[27]
Medical Museum on the Lee Campus
Also located on the Fort Myers, Florida Lee campus, the Gallery of Fine Art was renamed the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery, on June 4, 2004, celebrating a long time association with artist Robert Rauschenberg.[47] The gallery has been host to many of the artist's exhibitions since 1980.[48]
The Collier County campus is a 80-acre (320,000 m2) site off State Road 951 in east Naples. The Collier campus opened in 1992.
The Charlotte County campus is located on a wooded site on Airport Road in Punta Gorda. The Charlotte campus opened in 1997. It also has a collegiate high school, which was the first collegiate high school in Florida to accept ninth graders.[28]
The Hendry/Glades Center outreach program campus is located on Cowboy Way in LaBelle.[29]
