[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 146 (Monday, September 15, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   IN RECOGNITION OF THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF PENSACOLA JUNIOR COLLEGE

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                            HON. JEFF MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 15, 2008

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Madam Speaker, it is an honor for me to rise 
today to recognize the 60th anniversary of Pensacola Junior College, 
the oldest public two-year college in Florida. The college has served 
the residents of Northwest Florida with distinction, and it is a 
privilege to recognize its 60 years of devoted service to the 
community.
  Pensacola Junior College opened its doors in an old boarding house on 
the corner of Palafox and Cervantes Streets in downtown Pensacola on 
September 8, 1948. A total of 136 students attended the college that 
year. During the 2007-2008 academic year, PJC served almost 34,000 
students. Today the college has full-service campuses in Pensacola, 
Warrington, and Milton, as well as a Downtown Pensacola Center and a 
Pensacola Naval Air Station Center. The college is in the process of 
opening new locations in North Escambia County and South Santa Rosa 
County. Almost 40 percent of graduating seniors from local high schools 
begin college life at PJC.
  Pensacola Junior College is widely recognized as one of the premier 
two-year colleges in America, offering more than one hundred majors and 
areas of concentration, along with the latest high-tech resources. The 
Mary Ekdahl Smart Center for Patient Simulation Training & Research on 
the Warrington campus is one of the nation's outstanding nursing 
education centers. The Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts and 
the Ashmore Center for the Performing Arts both serve as centers for 
the area's cultural community. The college's Public Broadcasting 
Service station, WSRE, provides area residents with quality 
programming, as well an abundance of other educational services.
  Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges, PJC offers 
associate of arts degrees, associate of science degrees, and associate 
of applied science degrees, as well as a multitude of certificate 
programs. In addition, PJC offers excellent opportunities through its 
distance learning programs, adult basic education and continuing 
education departments, dual enrollment program, and adult high school.
  PJC is led by an outstanding, local board of trustees, chaired by Mr. 
Vincent Andry, with Mr. John O'Connor as vice chairman. The college 
welcomed recently its sixth president, Dr. Ed Meadows. Almost 100,000 
students have graduated from PJC over the past 60 years, and more than 
one million students have attended PJC during its 6 decades of service. 
It is a privilege to have this outstanding college as an integral part 
of the Northwest Florida community.
  Madam Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I am proud to 
recognize the 60th anniversary of Pensacola Junior College.

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