With a desk and a phone in a small room in the Allen Green
Civic Center (AGCC), Palmer’s Florida Campus was born.
Current Student Activities Coordinator Dawn Acquaro Funk
was the first employee hired for the Florida Campus. “It was
definitely a leap of faith,” she says. “I had one window by my
desk in a small room. We shared the Allen Green Civic Center
with a number of other businesses and city offices. With the
support of the City of Port Orange and area businesses, the
local community rallied around us.”
Palmer’s Florida Campus grew gradually, adding more space in
the AGCC before welcoming the first class of 42 students on
October 7, 2002. “A team from Davenport with West Campus
involvement would come down regularly and meet with city
officials,” Ms. Funk adds. “As we moved forward, Palmer would
eventually take over the entire building in the AGCC.”
As additional students enrolled in Florida’s only chiropractic
college, work began on constructing the campus’ first building.
“The city really wanted us here,” says Ms. Funk. “We sold our
students on the city of Port Orange, the climate in the south
and, most of all, the curriculum on Palmer’s Florida Campus,
which was new, innovative and non-traditional. We celebrated
every small accomplishment as a team. Against all odds we were
bound and determined to see Palmer’s Florida Campus flourish.”
Michael Chance, D.C., who is part of a fourth-generation chiropractic
family, says, “Until my son’s graduation from the Florida
Campus in March of this year, the rest of the family had attended
Palmer’s Davenport Campus. I was a little worried that the
Florida Campus would be like ‘Palmer Light’ and lack the intangibles
that made Palmer’s Davenport Campus the premier chiropractic
institution in the world. As it turned out, I had nothing
to worry about. I have been very impressed not only with my
son’s education, but also with his clinical skills and his understanding
of chiropractic philosophy.”
In just 10 years, the Florida Campus has certainly grown from
its inception. Now comprised of three state-of-the-art buildings,
a recently remodeled full-service clinic and an enrollment of
more than 700 students, Palmer’s Florida Campus is poised
for the future.
Shane Carter, D.C., M.B.A. (Florida ’05), currently Director of
Clinics for the Florida Campus and a member of the campus’ first
graduating class says, “Ten years ago, this was a dream of a few pioneering
individuals. As one of the first graduates of Palmer’s Florida,
Campus it has been personally rewarding to see that dream to not
only become reality, but to have exceeded that original vision.”
The 10 year anniversary of Palmer’s Florida Campus will be
celebrated during Homecoming, which will be held on campus
March 1-3, 2013.