Increasing STEM Access for South County Sarasota at State College of Florida’s Venice Campus

By Jamie M. Smith | December 2021

SCF Venice is a beautiful 100-acre campus surrounded by nature and is the only college campus within miles for local high school students and older adults looking to continue their education. Nestled in what looks like a forest and state park setting, it’s no wonder most don’t realize the campus is present except for the illuminated SCF sign off US 41 or South Tamiami Trail. However, the recent addition of Wellen Park and CoolToday Park, the Spring Training home of the world champion Atlanta Braves, has certainly raised awareness of this well-kept secret.

Opened in 1985, SCF Venice has since been expanding its programming to meet the needs of the community. SCF has added or expanded its degree, certificate and course offerings for nursing, manufacturing, honors, dual enrollment, and Gator Engineering at SCF. Most recently, a Collegiate School serving grades nine through 12 was added to the campus. Each of these programs includes a science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) component. 

To facilitate the courses and increase access for students to workforce degrees in Sarasota and Charlotte counties, the SCF Foundation is raising funds to support a new 8,913-square-foot Science and Technology Building. This includes an additional 100 student stations in laboratory settings, a lecture auditorium and supporting lab facilities for chemistry, biology, physics and general purposes. 

These additions sound so simple, but the heart of the building is the equipment and technology, such as Bunsen burners, a biosafety cabinet, Sterilmatic sterilizer, Isotemp water bath, and a gravity convection incubator. Don’t worry, we won’t leave you guessing. A gravity convection incubator uses airflow to evenly heat cell cultures and other experiments. Similarly, the Isotemp water bath uses water flow to heat cell cultures. And the biosafety cabinet provides a safe, sterile, and ventilated work area, and when used in the field, is utilized to handle dangerous pathogens. 

These very tools were used by biotechnology students at SCF Bradenton who discovered and documented an antibiotic-producing bacteria that was published in the GenBank database, which is administered by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). It’s also in these labs that various students discover that they are meant to be nurses, lab managers, engineers or chemists. 

Overall, the Science and Technology Building will increase the number of courses available to south county SCF students seeking STEM degrees or needing electives while enhancing their overall academic experience with hands-on training. SCF has also partnered with various employers to provide internships to SCF students furthering their experiential learning opportunities. 

Once built, the building will impact every student who attends SCF Venice and create a local incubator of STEM students who are ready to serve the region’s workforce or transfer to 4-year universities.

To learn more about the Science and Technology Building at SCF Venice and to support SCF students, contact SCF Foundation Executive Director Cassandra Holmes at 941-752-5654 or HolmesC@SCF.edu.