LAKELAND, Fla. (June 8, 2007) — The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings on the Florida Southern College campus have been included on the World Monument Fund’s list of 100 most endangered sites in the world. The College has the world’s largest single-site collection of Wright’s buildings and is the only college campus designed by the master architect.

“We are honored to have been included on the 2008 Watch List,” said Florida Southern College president Dr. Anne Kerr. “Selection to this distinguished body of architecturally significant sites will draw worldwide attention to the outstanding Frank Lloyd Wright legacy at Florida Southern, and it will provide a powerful endorsement of our efforts to secure funding to restore this unique world treasure.”

The World Monuments Fund chooses sites based on historical or cultural significance, urgency of the threat, and viability of a sustainable solution. All 12 Wright structures are in need of restoration, and their inclusion on the Watch List designates the structures as worthy of preservation. Other sites on the 2008 list include Peru’s Machu Picchu; Shanghai’s modern architecture from the 1920s to the 1940s; areas of New Orleans already devastated by Hurricane Katrina and threatened by rising seas; and sites along U.S. Route 66, once the main thoroughfare to the West. The World Monuments Fund has included other world renowned sites such as the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, Ellis Island, and the Panama Canal on past Watch Lists.

Launched in 1995, the World Monuments Watch is the flagship advocacy program of the World Monuments Fund. The World Watch List, issued every two years, acts as a potent call to action on behalf of structures in urgent need of immediate attention and assistance. So far, more than 75 percent of Watch sites have been saved or are now out of danger. (For more information on the World Monuments Fund, please see the website at www.wmf.org.)

About Florida Southern College
Founded in 1885, Florida Southern College is a private, comprehensive, United Methodist college with a liberal arts core. The college maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 39 undergraduate majors and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, and nursing. Florida Southern has a 13:1 student/faculty ratio, provides strong student/faculty mentorship programs, boasts 26 NCAA Division II national championships, and is ranked by U. S. News and World Report as one of the top ten Southern Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelor’s institutions and by the Princeton Review as a “Best Southeastern College.” Located on scenic Lake Hollingsworth, Florida Southern is the home of the world’s largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture.