History

Creating the College

The Ontario County Board of Supervisors vote to establish a community college was a response to a report by a committee of five supervisors and 10 citizens, that was led by Arthur B. Hawkins, a South Bristol supervisor. The report, which was known as the Hawkins Report, was the foundation for "Resolution 163: Authorizing a Community College."

Hawkins adopted the resolution on August 26, 1965, and discussion followed about the process for creating the College and the economic benefits it would bring to the community. Just weeks later on September 16, the debate resumed and the board voted 17 to 2 (with two absent) in favor of creating the College.

The Early Years

CCFL's first classes took place in whatever spaces were available in the city of Canandaigua, mostly in downtown storefronts. The College's first freshman class consisted of seven full-time faculty members, along with 85 full-time and 125 part-time students. These students, along with faculty members and a few administrators, would later become known as the College's storefront pioneers, and this early phase in the College's history is now referred to as "The Storefront Days".

It wasn't until 1975 that CCFL would move its classes to a main campus location. Leaving the storefront classrooms behind, the College established a 250-acre main campus location on Lincoln Hill in Canandaigua.

CCFL Changes its Name

CCFL revised its name in 1992 and would no longer be known as Community College of the Finger Lakes. That year, CCFL changed its name to Finger Lakes Community College.

Celebrating 50 Years

FLCC celebrated the 50th anniversary of the vote that created the College on September 16, 2015. On that day, a group of college officials, supervisors, and Edward Guinan (the only surviving supervisor who cast the vote in 1965 that created FLCC) re-dedicated the original cornerstone plaque that was installed when the main campus opened in 1975.