Dr. Brian Crispell Embodies the Florida College Mission through Passion for History and Teaching
November 21, 2024 | 2-3 min read
Brian Crispell, PhD, is entering his 25th year as faculty at Florida College. As chair of the social and behavioral sciences department and director of FC’s Honors Program, the New York native’s path to Temple Terrace was a winding one.
“I grew up in western New York state over the top of a small store where I worked and joined the Air Force after high school,” he recounted.
After five years of active duty, including three in Germany, he joined his parents at their new home in Florida and pursued his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in secondary education, later earning his doctorate in history, from Florida State University.
Crispell said childhood influences played a key role in his interest in the past.
“There were always books around, and my grandfather loved to study the Civil War and military history,” he remembered. “I also grew up during the Watergate hearings as the Vietnam War was winding down, and that made a huge impression.”
He also credits his parents for encouraging his love of history.
“Sometimes parents discourage history degrees because they think it can’t support a family, but it does work,” he said.
While in Tallahassee, Crispell met his future wife, Jean, through mutual friends, the Whites, who had recently converted them both. The couple would visit the Whites’ children at FC through the years, and Crispell came to teach in 2000 shortly after receiving his doctorate.
“It was the students who sold us,” he said. “We would keep groups as they traveled around the country and couldn’t believe how nice they were. We didn’t think college students could be like that, so we came and looked around.”
Crispell taught public school in South Georgia for nine years before being invited to join FC faculty in 2000. He was appointed Dean of Students in 2009 and Academic Dean in 2014.
Two decades after arriving on campus, he said the difference in FC students remains remarkable.
“Before FC I’d never had students apologize for not doing as well as they could have on an exam,” he noted. “Part of the dynamic here is that kids feel safe enough to be honest in that way, and it creates a very special bond.”
Today, he continues teaching lessons from the past to a new generation of students.
“My favorite topic is the era of Theodore Roosevelt, when the country was changing at the turn of the century,” he said.
He also enjoys the study of Charlemagne, Napoleon and the Civil War.
The father of three (Riley, Conner and Sarah Katherine) also serves as an elder at Temple Terrace church of Christ, while Jean is in her 20th year as cheer coach at FC.
“I love Temple Terrace because it’s a great place to raise kids, and my children had so many positive influences here,” he said. “Serving and making a difference in the lives of that caliber of students is why we’re still here. The students are also making a huge difference in ways they don’t understand as they’re preparing to live Godly lives and do great things in their careers and in the world.”
To learn more about our social and behavioral science department, click here.