Rollins College facts for kids
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| Motto | Fiat Lux (Latin) |
|---|---|
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Motto in English
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"Let there be light" |
| Type | Private liberal arts college |
| Established | November 4, 1885 |
| Accreditation | SACS |
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Academic affiliations
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| Endowment | $467 million (2024) |
| President | Brooke Barnett |
| Provost | Donald Davison |
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Academic staff
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231 |
| Students | 3,029 (2024) |
| Undergraduates | 2,567 (2024) |
| Postgraduates | 556 (2018) |
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Other students
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537 (2018) |
| Location |
,
,
United States
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| Campus | Large suburb, 80 acres (32 ha) |
| Radio station | WPRK |
| Newspaper | The Sandspur |
| Colors | Blue and gold |
| Nickname | Tars |
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Sporting affiliations
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NCAA Division II – Sunshine State |
| Mascot | Tommy Tar |
Rollins College is a private liberal arts college located in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885. Rollins offers about 30 different study programs for undergraduate students and several master's programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest college, with around 3,000 students. This includes about 2,500 undergraduate students and 500 postgraduate students.
Contents
- College History
- Exploring the Campus
- Academics and Learning
- College Sports
- Campus Life
- Notable Alumni
- See also
College History
Rollins College is the fourth oldest college in Florida. It has always been independent, open to all faiths, and welcomed both male and female students. Lucy Cross, who started the Daytona Institute for Young Women in 1880, first suggested creating a college in Florida in 1884. In 1885, she joined the committee that chose the college's location. Lucy Cross is known as the "Mother of Rollins College."
Rollins College was officially formed and named in Sanford, Florida, on April 28, 1885. Classes began in Winter Park on November 4 of that year. It was started by people from New England who wanted to bring their style of liberal arts education to Florida. A special plaque honoring the founders was placed in Downtown Sanford in 1954.
Early supporters of Rollins College included Alonzo Rollins from Chicago, Illinois. The college is named after him because he gave a lot of money to help start it. He was also a trustee and the first treasurer. Another important early supporter was Franklin Fairbanks from St. Johnsbury, Vermont. He was the president of Fairbanks Scales, helped found Winter Park, and was a trustee and donor to Rollins College.
Several U.S. presidents have visited the campus. In March 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt received an honorary degree at the Knowles Chapel. Other presidents who visited include Calvin Coolidge (1930), Harry Truman (1949), Ronald Reagan (1976), and Barack Obama (2012).
The Okinawa Statue
In October 1994, the college was in the news when the government of Japan asked for a statue to be returned. The statue was of Ninomiya Sontoku, a famous Japanese leader from the 1800s. It was taken during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945 by a Rollins alumnus. The alumnus had given the statue to then-President Hamilton Holt, who promised to keep it in a main building.
At first, the college said no to the request. Okinawan officials offered to give Rollins a copy of the statue if the original was returned. After talking with the U.S. State Department and the college's board, President Rita Bornstein agreed. The statue was returned to Okinawa in 1995 to mark 50 years since the end of World War II. Rollins College and the government of Okinawa also agreed to work together on future projects.
Campus Safety Measures
In 2011, Rollins College started discussing new safety measures. This was to make sure students and staff were safe on campus. Some changes included limiting access to certain entrances and adding new security cameras. In January 2014, the college held a practice drill with police officers. This was to make sure the campus was ready for any emergency.
Exploring the Campus
The Rollins campus is about 70 acres. It has many great facilities, like a theater for performing arts, the Cornell Campus Center, and the Alfond Sports Center. The college is in a beautiful spot in Winter Park, right across from Park Avenue.
Campus Architecture
Rollins College is famous for its beautiful Spanish and Mediterranean Revival style buildings. According to college historian Jack C. Lane, this style fit well with Florida's natural environment. Rollins' eighth president, Hamilton Holt, believed that the college's unified teaching style should be seen in its buildings. The campus architecture has stayed consistent since it opened. This shows that leaders understood how important building style is for learning.
Student Residence Halls
- Pugsley Hall and Mayflower Hall: These two women's dormitories were built in 1931. Mayflower Hall was named after the famous Pilgrim ship. A piece of wood from the original Mayflower ship is placed above the fireplace in Mayflower Hall.
- Chase Hall: Built in 1908, Chase Hall was first a men's dormitory. Today, it houses the Lucy Cross Center for Women and Their Allies. This center is named after Lucy Cross, the "Mother of Rollins College."
- Cross Hall: This hall is also named after Lucy Cross, honoring her important role in founding the college.
- Hooker Hall: Named after Edward Payson Hooker, the first president of Rollins College. Today, it is home to the Chi Psi fraternity.
- Pinehurst Cottage: Pinehurst Cottage and Knowles I were the first two buildings when the college started. Pinehurst has been used for many things over the years, including a women's dorm, a men's dorm, and classrooms. In 1985, it was recognized as a historic landmark. Today, Pinehurst is a co-ed residence hall.
Alfond Boathouse
The Alfond Boathouse was built in 1988 for the Rollins College waterski and sailing teams. It is located on Lake Virginia and has offices, a classroom, and a boat bay. The outside of the boathouse was updated in 2016.
Peace Monument
The Peace Monument was put up in 1938 by college president Hamilton Holt. It features a German artillery shell from the First World War on a stand. The monument has a special message about the problems of war. The top part of the monument was stolen during World War II. The plaque from the bottom part is now in the Mills Memorial building. In 2000, the Rollins College Peace Monument was featured in a New York Times article.
Winter Park Institute
The Winter Park Institute brings important scholars, leaders, and artists to the Rollins campus. They come for talks, workshops, and presentations that are free and open to everyone. This tradition started with President Hamilton Holt. Since 2008, guests have included U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Ken Burns, Gloria Steinman, Jane Goodall, Paul Simon, Itzhak Perlman, and Sir Paul McCartney.
Olin Library
Rollins' Olin Library opened in 1985 with a large grant. It is four stories tall and has thousands of books, magazines, and digital resources. It also has special collections and many CDs, DVDs, and videos. In 2013, Olin Library received an award for excellence among academic libraries.
In 2021, Olin Library worked with the Art & Art History Department and the Rollins Museum of Art to create the Rollins Book Arts Collection. This collection helps students learn about different topics like global politics, cultures, and the environment through art.
Olin Electronic Research and Information Center
The Olin Electronic Research and Information Center was created in 1998 with another gift. It has the latest technology, including computers, printers, scanners, and tools for creating multimedia projects. These tools help students with research and presentations.
Library's Beginnings as a Carnegie Library
The Olin Library's collection is one of the oldest in Central Florida. It started as a Carnegie Library in 1909, funded by Andrew Carnegie. The very first collection at Rollins College in 1885 had only one Christian Bible and one dictionary. The original library building, named Carnegie Hall, was dedicated on February 18, 1909. It was the school's first dedicated library building and also served as the post office.
Archibald Granville Bush Science Center
The Bush Science Center at Rollins has modern classrooms, faculty offices, and 38 labs for science, math, and computer science. This is where Donald J. Cram began his chemical studies, which led to him winning the 1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The science center was updated in 2013 and is now the largest building at Rollins. It has three floors, 51 offices, 15 classrooms, 15 teaching labs, 19 research labs, and 18 student lounges.
Rollins Museum of Art
The Cornell Fine Arts Museum is on campus and has art and objects from ancient times to today.
Annie Russell Theatre
The Annie Russell Theatre is a historic theater on the Rollins College campus. It was named after the English actress Annie Russell in 1931, who taught at Rollins. The theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
Knowles Memorial Chapel
The Knowles Memorial Chapel is a historic chapel on the Rollins campus. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in February 1998.
Construction for the chapel began in 1931, and it was dedicated in 1932. Even though Rollins was founded by a church committee, the chapel welcomes all faiths. Protestant services are held on Sunday mornings, and Catholic Mass is held on Sunday evenings. A special circular window in the chapel shows the seven liberal arts.
Walk of Fame
The Rollins Walk of Fame is a path around Mills lawn with stones from places connected to famous people. Former college president Hamilton Holt came up with the idea in the 1920s. He wanted to create a unique path of history.
Holt officially dedicated the Walk of Fame in October 1929. He started with 22 stones, including ones from the homes of famous Americans like George Washington and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Later, stones from places linked to international figures like St. Augustine and William Wordsworth were added. By 1932, there were over 200 stones. After Holt retired in 1949, some stones disappeared. In the 1980s, an "Official Lapidarian" was put in charge of caring for the stones. As of 2003, there were about 530 stones.
Academics and Learning
Rollins has three main parts that offer different programs: the College of Arts and Sciences, the Crummer Graduate School of Business, and the Hamilton Holt School.
U.S. News & World Report says that undergraduate students at Rollins can choose from about 30 majors. These range from Latin American studies to computer science, biochemistry, and theater arts. Rollins also offers MBA programs through the Crummer Graduate School of Business. Other graduate degrees include Master of Public Health and Master of Liberal Studies.
In 2022, the most popular undergraduate majors were:
- Business Administration and Management
- Communication
- International Business/Trade/Commerce
- Psychology
- Music
Admissions
Getting into Rollins is "more selective," according to U.S. News & World Report. For students starting in Fall 2018, 3,635 freshmen were accepted out of 5,455 applicants. This means about 66.6% of applicants were accepted. The students who enrolled had an average GPA of 3.31.
College Rankings
| Forbes | 241 |
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Rollins College was ranked No. 1 in U.S. News & World Report's 2021 "Best Regional Universities South Rankings." It was also named No. 13 for "Best Value Universities in the South."
In U.S. News & World Report's 2020 rankings, Rollins was first among 136 regional universities in the southern United States. It was also ranked first for "Best Undergraduate Teaching" and seventh for "Best Value."
Rollins has also been recognized for producing many Fulbright Scholars. Since 1951, 48 Rollins students have received this honor.
College of Arts and Sciences
In 2010, the College of Arts and Sciences had 1,884 students. The student-to-faculty ratio was 10 to 1, meaning there were 10 students for every one teacher.
Crummer Graduate School of Business
The Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business offers a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) through three different programs:
- Early Advantage MBA Program: This is a full-time program for recent college graduates with little work experience. It takes 16 to 21 months to complete.
- Professional MBA Program: This program is for students with different educational and work backgrounds. It takes 24-27 months.
- Executive MBA Program: This program is for professionals who are already in mid-to senior-level jobs. It combines online and Saturday classes and can be finished in 15 months.
The Rollins MBA programs are recognized in national rankings of business schools.
Hamilton Holt School
Adult education courses at Rollins first started for World War II veterans. In 1987, the school's name was changed to The Hamilton Holt School, honoring Rollins' eighth president.
The Hamilton Holt School offers Bachelor of Arts degrees and several graduate degrees. It focuses on students who work and want to advance their careers. Most classes are held in the evenings and on weekends.
Special Learning Programs
- Rollins College Conference (RCC): This course is required for all new students in the College of Arts and Sciences during their first semester. It helps students get used to college life and explores a topic of interest. The professor for this course also acts as the student's academic advisor.
- Honors Degree Program: This program is for top students. They take special interdisciplinary classes that replace some general education requirements. To earn an honors degree, students must also complete a special project or paper in their major during their junior and senior years.
- Accelerated Management Program (AMP): This program allows selected students to earn both a bachelor's degree and an MBA in five years. Students take graduate-level courses in their fourth year, which count for both degrees.
- International Programs: All three schools at Rollins offer international courses. Students can study abroad in places like London, Sydney, and Madrid. Programs can last for a week or an entire semester.
College Sports
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Rollins College sports teams are called the Tars, which is an old word for a sailor. Rollins competes in the NCAA Division II's Sunshine State Conference for most of its sports. The women's lacrosse team competes as an independent program.
The rowing teams compete in the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association. The sailing team competes in the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association. The Rollins water skiing teams compete in NCAA Division I, which is unique for the school.
Rollins has a strong sports history, with 23 National Championships and 67 Sunshine State Conference titles. The college has 23 different varsity teams. Women's Golf is the most successful sport at Rollins, with 13 national championship titles. Many individual golfers from Rollins have also won national championships.
Campus Life
Rollins College is in Winter Park, just a few minutes from downtown Orlando. There are over 150 student clubs and organizations on campus, including a wakeboard club and a ballroom dance club. About 75% of students live on campus in residence halls or apartments. There are also weekly shuttles, called "Rolly Trolly," to take students to a shopping area.
Fox Day
Fox Day is a fun annual tradition at Rollins. Since 1956, every spring, the college president cancels all classes as a surprise day off for undergraduate students. Students can go to local beaches or amusement parks together. Later, they return for a barbecue. It's called Fox Day because a statue of a fox is placed on Mills Lawn, which signals the day off.
The fox statue, along with a cat statue, was a gift to President Hamilton Holt in 1934. The statues were sometimes hidden as jokes. However, the cat statue was mysteriously destroyed in 1949. Since then, the fox statue is hidden and only brought out for Fox Day.
Winter Park Bach Festival
Since 1935, the Winter Park Bach Festival has brought top classical performers to campus. This two-week event is one of the oldest Bach festivals in the United States. The 150-voice Bach Festival Society is known as one of the best singing groups in America.
WPRK 91.5 The Best in Basement Radio
WPRK 91.5 FM is a non-commercial college radio station owned by Rollins College. Its signal can be heard in most of the Orlando area.
Notable Alumni
See also
- Rollins College Interracial Committee
- William Phillips Hall, a one time trustee and director of the college.
