City College was first established as Draughon’s College of Business, a branch of Draughon’s Junior College of Business founded in 1896 in Paducah, Kentucky.
The College launched its first branch campus in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Since that time, the institution has grown to five campuses serving thousands of students throughout the State of Florida, with its headquarters located in Fort Lauderdale.
City College’s dramatic growth did not happen overnight, but was shaped and guided by the leadership, vision, and dreams of one family.
C.M. Fike II and his wife, Esther, recognized the need to provide students from diverse backgrounds with practical, hands-on career education to help them achieve their personal and professional goals.
Before taking the helm of City College in 1987, President Fike held a variety of leadership positions in the private career education industry. He believed passionately in the power of education to change lives, communities, and the world. For the next two decades, he would guide the evolution of the budding college into a full-fledged, accredited academic institution.
In 2021, City College was acquired by Center Education Group (CEG), with the mission to enhance both the lives of their students as well as the communities that benefit from the education and passion that our graduates take with them into the workforce.