History of the UF Division of Student Affairs | Page 51

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Counseling and
Wellness Center
E a r ly H i s t o r y
The UF Counseling and Wellness Center (CWC) is one of the oldest counseling
centers in the country, established in 1931. According to the recollection of
emeritus professor of psychology Dr. Richard Anderson written on the occasion
of the counseling center’s 50th anniversary, the beginning came about quite
fortuitously:
Dr. Elmer D. Hinckley, the newly appointed 27-year-old head of the
Psychology Department, was invited to give a talk to a fraternity group and
chose to expound on the ways in which the insights of psychology could
benefit university students. By good fortune, a state senator heard the talk,
was impressed by Dr. H inckley’s thesis, and persuaded his colleagues in the
1931 Legislature to enact a bill creating the Bureau of Vocational Guidance
and Mental Hygiene at the University of Florida. The project was launched
with much good will, a bit of shared space in 110 Peabody Hall, and no
funds. In fact, the Bureau started in the fall of 1931 as an overload on the
schedule of two genial members of the Psychology Department, and for
almost 20 years it remained a part-time assignment of selected faculty in
the Department.
In spite of these meager beginnings, the Annual Report for 1931-32
documents a remarkably productive first year…The Bureau offered the
student body of 3,000 assistance with choice of vocation and counseling
for emotional problems… (Anderson, 1982).
The Bureau of Vocational Guidance and Mental Hygiene’s location moved in
conjunction with Psychology Department offices from Peabody Hall to the
Administration Building (now Tigert Hall) and later to Building E (a temporary
post-war military building). To address the high student attrition rate common
at the time, in 1935 UF formed a General College for first and second year
students with an increased emphasis on student counseling to help alleviate the
adjustment problems confronting students. The General College was re-named

Department histor ies : coun seli n g an d welln ess center