BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Sherry Houston, the vice president of Santa Fe College’s Office for Advancement as well as the executive director of Santa Fe Foundation Inc., spoke about how the school is meeting students’ needs in a variety of ways and at a variety of places at the Kiwanis Club of Starke’s Jan. 20 meeting.
Houston began her presentation by listing all of the college’s centers: the main Northwest Campus in Gainesville, the Blount and Kirkpatrick centers in Gainesville, the Andrews Center in Starke, the Watson Center in Keystone Heights, the Perry Center in Alachua and the Davis Center in Archer.
However, there is also an eighth “center” if you consider Santa Fe’s online presence, Houston said.
“We have a lot of online classes, so we’re meeting our students at a variety of spaces, a variety of places,” she said.
A celebration of Santa Fe’s 60th year will take place at this year’s President’s Gala, Houston said. That event will be held May 30 at 5 p.m. in the gymnasium on the Northwest Campus. Tickets will go on sale in February. Contact Santa Fe Foundation at [email protected] or 352-395-5206 for more information.
Houston also shared that Santa Fe experienced an increase of more than 44 percent this past year in enrollment of Bradford High School graduates.
“That is remarkable,” Houston said, crediting the dual-enrollment program for the increase.
Scholarships
Houston asked the Kiwanis members to become disciples of the college by spreading the word about scholarships. Students can apply for scholarships from the college itself as well as from Santa Fe Foundation. Not everyone is aware they can apply for scholarships from each.
“Santa Fe College Foundation is a direct service organization to the college,” Houston said. “We’re a separate entity, so make sure your students and your loved ones and your community understand — just because they apply for a scholarship at the college, they’re still eligible to apply for a scholarship at the Foundation.”
Opportunities
Houston said Santa Fe, working in tandem with the Alachua County Public Works Department, opened its new Heavy Diesel Mechanic Training Program this past summer.
“This is a two-year (certificate) program,” Houston said. “We have 11 students currently enrolled. We have another 20 students who are waiting to get into that program.
“These students have a job before they’re leaving our program. They’re earning between $80,000 and $120,000 in the diesel program.”
August 2025 saw the opening of the Ralph W. Cellon Jr. Institute for Skilled Trades and Advanced Manufacturing on the Northwest Campus. Houston said the institute will include the HVAC and welding programs, which were moved out of the adjacent Charles R. Perry Construction Institute.
Houston extended an invitation to Kiwanis members to attend a Jan. 29 celebration of a nursing partnership between Santa Fe and the Bradford County School District. The partnership will bring a registered-nurse program to Starke at North Florida Technical College.
“This is something that we have talked about, I know, for a very, very long time,” Houston said. “We were finally able to pull together the pieces and the partners. We’re working with Parrish McCall Constructors to do some minor renovations, so to speak.
“We will take our first full course of nurses here in Bradford County this coming fall. It’s really going to transform nursing. We’ll keep our students here, so they don’t have to drive all the way to Gainesville.
“We’ve got 100 nurses in our program in Gainesville each semester. I would say probably 40 additional students who are on a wait list who aren’t able to participate in the program.
“We’re really hoping that having this program here in Bradford County is going to change the way students are able to be served because the need for nurses, as you know, is incredibly great.”
The college has had a building on Call Street in Starke donated to it by Telegraph-Times-Monitor Owner/Publisher John Miller, Houston said. She doesn’t know what Santa Fe’s goal for the building is, but said that “it’ll definitely be student-focused.”
Houston said the Blount Center/Blount Hall in downtown Gainesville will be transformed into a walkable campus as the college has purchased the nearby strip mall and surrounding buildings, which will also allow for additional classrooms and parking.
“When Blount Hall was built five or six years ago, it was anticipated that between 300 and 500 students would be going in and out of the doors each day,” Houston said. “We have more than 3,000 students in and out of that building every single day.”
An Automotive Technology Training Center will also be constructed at the Blount Center.
“We’re going to break ground on that with Domenic Scorpio, a contractor in Gainesville, in the end of March,” Houston said. “We anticipate starting that program in the fall of 2027.”
Pillars of Service
Houston said one of the college’s fundraisers is its Pillars of Service Awards Program, which honors individuals, organizations and Santa Fe students who’ve impacted the college and the broader community. Pillars of Service debuted last year after
“I’m really excited to share with you that Mr. John Miller is the honoree on behalf of Bradford County,” Houston said, adding, “The impact that Mr. Miller has had on Santa Fe College has been more than profound.
The event will be held March 4 at 11:30 a.m. at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center in Gainesville.
For more information, visit www.sfcollege.edu/foundation/events/pillars.
Honors
Houston talked about some of the recognition Sants Fe College has received, such as being recognized as the number-one community college in the U.S. with the 2015 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. Houston also shared that the college has earned the designation as the top college for veterans and is in the top 20 nationally as a military friendly college.
In April 2025, Santa Fe received the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education’s “Opportunity College” designation, recognizing its accessibility and high-earning potential for graduates.
“Santa Fe grads earn more than 30 percent more than the regional average once they have their degree or certificate,” Houston said.
The college also received the 2025 Impact and Success Award for the Southern Region from the Association of Community College Trustees, while its police department was presented with the 2025 Rocky Pomerance Award for law-enforcement excellence.
“It’s the second time our law-enforcement officers at Santa Fe College have won that award,” Houston said.
Santa Fe was voted as the “Best Place to Work in Gainesville’s 2025 Community Choice Awards.
“It truly is the best place to work,” Houston said.
To learn more about Santa Fe College, please visit www.sfcollege.edu.
