Mission complete: Faculty and staff move into newly renovated Winter Haven Science Building

Built in 1966, the Polk State College Winter Haven Science Building (WSC) is celebrating 60 years with much-needed upgrades intended to benefit students for decades to come.

As faculty and staff returned to the building on Friday, July 17, it signified the project’s unofficial completion. With the exception of a few “punch list” items remaining, years of advocation and collaboration has come to fruition.

“We’re really excited to have a newly renovated building with all the bells and whistles,” said Dr. Kim Thomas Manning, Dean of Academic Affairs. “The building represents more than just the brick and mortar. The most exciting thing is that students have this place to study, learn, collaborate and our faculty have this facility to mentor, facilitate learning and help students reach their goals.”

The 51,000-square-foot two-story facility received upgrades to both the interior and exterior. The project was made possible by a $16.7 million allocation of Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) funds by the Florida Legislature during the 2022 Legislative Session.

“This project is a testament to what can be accomplished when state leaders invest in higher education,” Polk State President Anastasios Kamoutsas exclaimed. “We sincerely thank Governor Ron DeSantis, the Florida Legislature and the Polk County Legislative Delegation for making this renovation possible through their support. We celebrate not only the completion of a remarkable renovation, but also a renewed commitment to providing our students with the state-of-the-art facilities they deserve.”

“It’s really exciting that the legislators saw the need,” Thomas Manning added. “Our students need state-of-the-art science instruction, so that when they transfer to universities, they stay on par with their university partners. Our legislators being willing to advocate on behalf of Polk State College shows their commitment to not only the College itself but to the students.”

For Polk State, however, the legislative funding was just the beginning. Faculty members laid out the needs for their specific disciplines. The Lunz Group, the Lakeland-based architect for the project, and construction managers Barton Malow and NuJak Companies executed the plan to a tee.

“My colleagues in anatomy and physiology sat down together and drew out a plan for what we thought we needed,” said Dr. Anthony Rizzo, Professor of Anatomy and Physiology. “The architects did exactly what we were asking for. These labs are going to be amazing for us.”

WSC houses all the laboratory spaces for science courses, and as such, serves all students at the Winter Haven Campus pursuing workforce degrees that require a lab science. This includes all transfer students, in addition to those pursuing the Health Sciences degrees, as well as the associate degree programs in Education and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) career fields.

“We know that sometimes it’s hard for students to go beyond our geographic location, but they want more for their lives and we need more as our community grows,” said Laura Glidewell, Director for Human Simulation for Polk State Nursing. “The College taking that step to invest in them is going to pay dividends in our community for many years to come.”

Exterior renovations ranged from window replacement to roof and brick repairs. The interior renovations modernized WSC into a state-of-the-art educational facility. Plumbing and electrical systems were also updated.

“We all know that first impressions are important. When our students step into this new space, it will give them a feeling of, ‘my goodness, look at what the College has done to invest in me and my learning,’” Thomas Manning shared. “We hope our students look at this as an investment in them and their future.”

Science labs, nursing labs, classrooms and offices were all enhanced. Lab spaces addressed specific needs for each of the Science Department disciplines. For example, Nursing will have a full simulation center, including manakins that can give birth.

“This allows the Nursing Program to have a dedicated lab for both obstetrics and a dedicated lab for pediatrics. I cannot express how important that need is, because right here in Polk County with our population growth, we need quality healthcare providers and services,” Glidewell said. “With dedicated high-fidelity simulation here in this building, it really sets us apart.”

The interior portion of the project was done in two phases with the top floor being the first to undergo construction. The first phase was completed in December. The second phase began in January.

“We have been turning out excellent healthcare professionals at Polk State forever,” Rizzo explained. “Now, we will be able to do that even more effectively and efficiently. We have made this an even greater environment for learning and thanks to the legislature, we have brought it into this century.”

Thanks largely to funding from the Florida State Legislature and the support of the Governor and Polk County Legislative Delegation, Polk State has been able to take on a number of critical construction projects. The Winter Haven Fine Arts Building celebrated its completion in January 2025 with a ribbon-cutting.

The Haines City-Davenport Campus, Polk State’s eighth location, held its official groundbreaking ceremony in November 2024 and will open for the start of the Spring 2027 Semester. Renovations to the Lakeland Academic Center are also in progress. The College has completed several smaller deferred maintenance projects such as HVAC upgrades and roof repairs in recent years.

“Polk State College has long been committed to providing an education at an affordable price. Having this new edge in these new spaces is going to take what we already did really well and make it that much better,” Glidewell concluded. “The College, the District Board of Trustees, everyone has really taken a lot of thought into making this the best we have here in Polk County.”