[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14950]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM H. PUTNAM

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 30, 2010

  Mr. PUTNAM. Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor Florida Southern 
College for celebrating its 125th anniversary. Florida Southern is 
rapidly rising among the Nation's best private colleges under the 
leadership of its 17th president, Dr. Anne Kerr.
  The Lakeland College enrolls 1832 full-time residential undergraduate 
students from 44 states and 31 countries. To further its focus on 
engaged learning, it guarantees every student an internship and study 
abroad experience. The college also has distinguished graduate programs 
in business, nursing, and education. Ninety-four percent of students 
report landing a job in their respective field or furthering their 
studies at another institution within 3 months of graduation.
  The Princeton Review has given Florida Southern its ``Best 
Southeastern College'' and ``Best Value College'' awards in addition to 
including it on its ``Best 366 Colleges'' list.
  Rounding out its pedigree, the Florida Southern Moccasins have 
brought home 26 NCAA Division II championships, including 11 in men's 
golf, 4 in women's golf, and 9 in baseball. The golf program has been 
successfully turned several players into members of the PGA Tour, 
including Rocco Mediate, Lee Janzen, and Jeff Klauk.
  Florida Southern has overcome many a hardship to keep its educational 
dream alive. Since its inception in 1852 when it was founded by the 
Methodist Conference at the Florida Seminary in Micanopy, Florida 
Southern has moved four more times before settling into its present 
location in Lakeland, Florida.
  Florida Southern won its charter after moving to Leesburg and 
awarding its first college degree. At the time, the university went 
under the name of the Florida Conference College and moved from 
Leesburg to Sutherland to Clearwater and finally to Lakeland due to 
devastating freezes hurricanes, a fire and a flu epidemic.
  The campus itself is an international treasure, having been 
designated as a National Historic District due to having the largest 
collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world. Wright's 
relationship with the college began when Florida Southern's 1938 
president Dr. Ludd Spivey invited the internationally-renowned 
architect to design ``a great education temple in Florida.'' Wright 
designed 18 structures for the campus, 12 coming into fruition.
  In his over 500 completed works, Wright promoted a style he called 
organic architecture--which aimed to harmonize the building with the 
natural world around it. In first tour of the Lakeland area, he 
reportedly envisioned buildings rising ``out of the ground, into the 
light and into the sun.'' These beautiful and unique buildings have 
helped make Florida Southern College a top destination for education.
  On behalf of Florida's 12th Congressional District, I wish to 
congratulate President Kerr and the Board of Trustees for leading 
Florida Southern to such tremendous success. Florida Southern College 
is well on its way to another stellar 125 years.

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