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- Dr. Phil Pfost
College of Education Faculty Oral Histories
Dr. Phil Pfost
PP: It’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years.
LB: Yes. It is going back to the origination in ‘56.
PP: First students in ‘60.
LB: Dean Kennedy now says that by next November, we’ll have 50,000 graduates in 50 years.
PP: The College itself?
LB: Yes.
PP: The University is up around 200,000 graduates, isn’t it?
LB: Right. And the University is also over 40,000 or more in enrollment now.
PP: Do you know off-hand what is roughly the undergraduate enrollment in the College these days. Do you have any idea?
LB: I have a fact sheet that lists that. I don’t remember exactly. I do know that graduate enrollment has surpassed undergraduate enrollment for the first time in the College of Education this year.
PP: You know every year in Tallahassee they talk about the number of teachers produced in the state of Florida. All the colleges of education in the state of Florida produce less than 20% of teachers that are needed and that’s always been true. We’ve imported teachers. If we didn’t import teachers into this state, we’d be in terrible trouble. I don’t think that’s ever going to change. I just don’t anticipate the state making the decision to fund education to the point that they’d produce that many. Not sure that we have the facilities and the faculty to do it, even if they had more funds.
LB: Thank you. I appreciate your participation in the 50-Year History Project and the contributions that you have made to the College.
PP: Same to you.
End of Interview