Florida Atlantic University

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"FAU" redirects here. For other uses, see FAU (disambiguation).
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University Seal
Motto Where Tomorrow Begins[1]
Established 1961
Type Public
Endowment $180 million[2]
President Frank T. Brogan
Faculty 1,013
Undergraduates 22,554[3]
Postgraduates 3,440[3]
Location Boca Raton, FL, USA
Campus Urban area
850 acres(3.5 km²)
6 other satellite campuses[4]
Colors Blue, red & silver[5]
Nickname Owls
Mascot Burrowing Owl
Affiliations NASULGC, SACS, AACSB
Website www.fau.edu

Florida Atlantic University, also commonly referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a coeducational state university located in Boca Raton, Florida, USA. The university has six additional satellite campuses in Florida; located in the cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and Fort Pierce, at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. FAU's seven campuses span 150 miles of Florida's eastern coastline, and serve a seven-county region which has a populace of more than five million people.[6]

The university admitted its first students in 1964, becoming the fifth public university in Florida. Florida Atlantic was established by the Florida Legislature in order to serve the educational needs of the southeastern section of the state. Initial enrollment was 867 students.[7] By 2006, enrollment has grown to more than 26,000 students representing 140 countries and 49 states.[3] Since its inception, FAU has awarded more than 100,000 degrees to 95,000 alumni worldwide.

While predominately a commuter school, in recent years FAU has undertaken an effort to increase its academic, and research standings while evolving into a more traditional university. Under the direction of former President Anthony J. Catanese, and current President Frank T. Brogan, the university has raised admissions standards, increased research funding, and established notable partnerships with major research institutions.[8][3][9] These efforts have resulted in not only an increase in the university's academic profile, but the elevation of the football team to Division 1 competition, plans for a stadium, and a partnership with Boca Raton Community Hospital and the University of Miami to build a medical school at the main campus in Boca Raton.[10]

Contents

[edit] History

Main article: History of Florida Atlantic University

[edit] Beginnings

On July 15, 1961, the Florida Legislature passed an act authorizing the establishment of a new university in southeastern Florida. A 1940's era Army airbase in Boca Raton, Florida was selected as the site of the new university. In 1962, the Florida Board of Control selected "Florida Atlantic University" as the name of the new institution. Ground was broken on December 8, 1962. FAU opened on September 14, 1964, six days behind schedule because of Hurricane Cleo. The first university in the nation to offer only upper-division and graduate work, FAU had an initial student body of 867. U.S. President Lyndon Johnson dedicated the university on October 25, 1964, and received the first honorary doctorate awarded by Florida Atlantic.

Alumni Plaza
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Alumni Plaza

In 1969, the Board of Regents (successor to the Board of Control) approved an intercollegiate athletics program at FAU. The university teams become known as the Owls. FAU expanded to Broward County, Florida in 1971, with the founding of the Commercial Boulevard campus in Fort Lauderdale. During that same year the university was also named a burrowing owl sanctuary. By 1973, fall semester enrollment was 5,632. By the fall semester of 1983, enrollment would reach 9,388. For the first time in 1984, due to a rapidly growing population, Florida Atlantic opened its doors to freshmen and sophomores. In 1985, the Downtown Fort Lauderdale campus opened on Las Olas Boulevard.

In 1989, the Florida Legislature designated Florida Atlantic as the lead state university serving Broward County. The university also reached $10 million in sponsored research activity for the first time. Fall semester enrollment was 13,148. In 1993, FAU was elected to the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, the nation’s oldest higher education professional association. The university's intercollegiate teams also joined the Atlantic Sun Conference and moved to NCAA Division I. In 1995, Florida Atlantic purchased Barry University’s Port St. Lucie facility to establish a campus on the Treasure Coast, in partnership with Indian River Community College. By 1997, sponsored research funding exceeded $24 million.

In 1999, Howard Schnellenberger, a legendary figure in college football, was named Florida Atlantic’s first head football coach. The Barry and Florence Friedberg Lifelong Learning Center opened on the Boca Raton campus. The Jupiter campus also opened and was formally named for the late John D. MacArthur. Sponsored research funding exceeded $36 million. By 2003, fall semester enrollment was 24,961. FAU also has maintained the most diverse student body in the State University System, with minority enrollment of 34.6 percent.

In 2003, the State of Florida awarded FAU $10 million to establish the Center of Excellence in Biomedical and Marine Biotechnology, a research facility that searches the waters off Florida's coastline for drugs from natural sources that could be used to treat cancer, heart disease and other serious illnesses. The Lady Owls softball team won the Atlantic Sun Conference championship for the seventh time and was listed among the all-time greatest teams in college softball history by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. In 2004, FAU admitted its first students to the University of Miami/Florida Atlantic University medical school partnership.


In 2006, FAU enrollment dropped 1.3% which could result in losses of up $2 million in expected student tuition and fees. This pattern mirrors other school districts in the area such as Broward County Public Schools which lost 10,000 students over the past two years and Palm Beach County schools which lost just over 3,000. Officials believe the high housing prices and previous years hurricanes are a factor. [1]

[edit] University Presidents

Florida Atlantic University has had five presidents[2], they are:

President's Residence at Baldwin House
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President's Residence at Baldwin House

[edit] Regional Campuses

In addition to the original campus in Boca Raton, FAU also has six other campuses to service the South Florida region. These campuses are located in the cities of:

The Boca Raton campus remains the main campus with 69% of FAU's students enrolled there.[3] At the present time, four student dormitories are present on this campus: Indian River Towers, Heritage Park Towers, Algonquin Hall, and the Village Apartments. There is additional housing located at the Jupiter campus for the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College.

[edit] Academics

S.E. Wimberly Library
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S.E. Wimberly Library

In 1998, more than one-quarter of Florida Atlantic freshmen did not meet the state of Florida's minimum admission standards.[4] In 2004, FAU's Board of Trustees raised admission standards for incoming Freshmen. [5] The Board stated a goal for a 3.2 GPA and a 500 score on each section of the SAT for admittance in 2007. Students with lower grades and scores would be required to take remedial courses at a community college before entering FAU. As a result of the increased admissions standards, by 2005, the average freshman entering Florida Atlantic had a 3.4 high school GPA, and scored 1058 on the SAT or a 22 on the ACT.[6]

Florida Atlantic University operates the largest continuing education program in the United States. Named the Lifelong Learning Society, the program serves the educational interests of senior citizens by providing classes focusing on subjects of interest, and provides audit options for regular university classes. In order to facilitate the growth of this program, in 1999 the Barry and Florence Friedberg Lifelong Learning Center opened on the Boca Raton campus.

[edit] Colleges

Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing
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Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing

The University offers more than 170 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in within its nine colleges including:

[edit] University Programs

[edit] Research

Florida Atlantic has two Research and Development Parks (R&D). One is located in Deerfield Beach, Florida, and the other is located on the main Boca Raton campus. The R&D Parks provide outside research companies the ability to interact with the university community and take advantage of its facilities, resources, and expertise. Located inside the R&D Park on the Boca Raton campus is a Technology Business Incubator (TBI). The TBI works to foster the start-up and growth of technology based businesses associated with Florida Atlantic University.[7]

The Scripps Research Institute is currently in the process of developing a sister campus at the Jupiter FAU campus. Scripps Florida now operates with approximately 188 scientists, technicians, and administrative staff at a 40,000 square-foot lab facility.[8] Upon completion Scripps will operate out of a 364,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art biomedical research facility focusing on basic biomedical science, drug discovery, and technology development.

Schmidt Biomedical Science Center
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Schmidt Biomedical Science Center

FAU is the home of The Center of Excellence in Biomedical and Marine Biotechnology. Established in 2003, the University's Center of Excellence in Biomedical and Marine Biotechnology was selected by Florida’s Emerging Technology Commission as one of three centers in the state to receive $10 million in initial funding. Since receiving the startup funding, FAU has secured an additional $26 million from other sources, including federal and private research grants. As a result, the center has emerged as an academic and industry partnership combining expertise in ocean engineering, marine biotechnology, functional genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics. Researchers, scientists, and students at the center are designing technologies to explore the sea, working to discover new medicines, and developing new therapeutics to combat agents of bioterrorism.[9]

Florida Atlantic is also the home of The Imaging Technology Center and NASA Imaging Technology Space Center. Located in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Center specializes in digital imaging research and development for use in both government and commercial applications in the areas of medical technology, surveillance, communications, education, inspection, scientific observation, manufacturing, visual recognition and identification, and motion picture and digital video. Within the Imaging Technology Center is one of 12 NASA Research Partnership Centers throughout the nation which develops dual-use research and development with the participation of NASA and other related industries in the U.S. The center occupies two sets of laboratories and administrative offices on Florida Atlantic’s main campus in Boca Raton and at the Fort Lauderdale Tower campus. The Imaging Technology Center is developing a curriculum for digital imaging and processing, and is establishing FAU as the only university in the nation to offer this technical concentration—a highly valuable resource for national defense and the medical and video industries. [10]

[edit] Medical

In 2004, FAU launched a medical school program in conjunction with the University of Miami (UM). Medical students spend the first two years of their education at the Boca Raton campus before transferring to Miami for rotations and receiving their degree from UM. On June 28, 2006, Florida Atlantic and Boca Raton Community Hospital approved an agreement between the two institutions to implement a land lease for the development and operation of a community-university affiliated teaching hospital.

The hospital will serve as the primary teaching hospital for the regional campus of the UM Miller School of Medicine at FAU. Facility construction is expected to begin in 2008 with completion by 2011. Approximately 38 acres of Florida Atlantic land, located on the southeast corner of FAU’s Boca Raton campus, will host the infrastructure for the teaching hospital. This will enable medical students to complete their entire education at Florida Atlantic's Boca Raton campus. The private room, 530-bed hospital will provide FAU facilities and resources to support undergraduate and graduate medical education programs customary to primary teaching hospitals within major academic medical centers. The facilities will include resident/student conference rooms, a conference center with teleconferencing capabilities including an auditorium and small group conference rooms, resident sleeping quarters with lockers, resident dining facilities, a resident lounge, a medical library with state-of-the-art IT systems and increased square footage in other areas of the hospital to accommodate students and residents. [11]

[edit] Housing

Boca Raton Campus Residential Housing Facilities include:

  • Indian River Towers (IRT) (opened 2001)
  • Heritage Park Towers (HPT) (opened 2004)
  • Algonquin Hall (what students commonly refer to as "C-block" or "The Gonks") (Opened 1965)
  • A fourth facility is under construction and is identical to Heritage Park Towers layout. (Prospective opening fall 2007)
  • Village Student Apartments, which are considered part of the on campus housing but are not dormitories.

The following dorms were orignally named to honor Native American tribes, but have since been razed.

  • Modoc (Opened 1965)
  • Mohave (Opened 1966)
  • Naskapi (Opened 1966)
  • Sekoni (Opened 1968)
  • Seminole (Opened 1968)
  • Timucua

[edit] Notable Professors at FAU

[edit] Campus Life

[edit] Greek Life

FAU is home to a number of national fraternities and sororities. The inter-fraternity council at FAU is comprised of Alpha Epsilon Pi, Alpha Tau Omega, Beta Chi Theta, Beta Theta Pi, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Mu, and Sigma Phi Epsilon. The National Panhellenic Conference member sororities on campus are Alpha Xi Delta, Delta Phi Epsilon, Phi Sigma Sigma, and Theta Phi Alpha.

[edit] Recognition

Washington Monthly, which publishes an annual ranking of top universities, placed FAU at number 240 in the nation. [12]

FAU Athletics Logo
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FAU Athletics Logo

The Boca Raton campus was designated a burrowing owl sanctuary in 1971, by the Audubon Society. The owl prefers the campus because there are not many predators other than cats, near the Boca Raton Airport. The feisty bird, traditionally associated with wisdom and determination, serves as the University's mascot.

A 2001 report by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy found that students from the FAU College of Business' School of Accounting ranked seventh among all colleges and universities nationwide based on the percentage of candidates passing all four subjects of the Certified Public Accountant examination. In 1998, Florida Atlantic graduate Mindy Tyson placed first in the United States in the CPA exams and was awarded the Gold Medal. [13]

In the 2006 edition of the U.S. News & World Report rankings of "Best Colleges", FAU was ranked in the fourth tier of national universities. [14]

Florida Atlantic is ranked as one of the top 50 four-year colleges in the nation for conferring bachelor’s degrees to African-Americans according to a survey in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education; a bi-weekly magazine focusing on current trends and issues in the United States' higher education system. For the 2004-05 academic year, FAU conferred a total of 1,407 bachelor’s degrees in all disciplines for all minorities and ranked 37th, up six percent from the previous year. Among traditionally white institutions, the University was ranked 16th overall in conferring bachelor’s degrees to African-American students.[15]

FAU's Athletic Department was recently ranked 79th in the nation by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) . In conjunction with USA Today and the United States Sports Academy, NACDA recognized the University for its Division I athletic programs and accomplishments. This national ranking places Florida Atlantic in the top 24 percent of 326 NCAA Division I universities. FAU was the only school in either the Sun Belt or Atlantic Sun conferences that placed in the top 100 and was the 4th highest ranked program in the state of Florida, finishing behind the University of Florida, Florida State University and the University of Miami. The FAU women’s basketball team was also listed among the nation’s top-10 percent in Academic Performance Rating, while an average of 136 student athletes earned a 3.0 or above GPA each semester.[16]

The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University (USSM at FAU) is one of 10 United States' medical schools, including Vanderbilt and UCLA, to receive an Association of American Medical Colleges grant, supported by the Josiah Macy Foundation, to enhance medical students’ and medical residents’ ability to care for patients with chronic diseases.[17]

[edit] Notable alumni and faculty

Main article: List of Florida Atlantic University people

[edit] Miscellaneous

  • FAU has a wide variety of student organizations on the Boca campus, including but not limited to: Konbit Kreyol, the Pre-Dental Society, FAU Film Productions, Geology Club, FAU Linguistics Society, National Society of Black Engineers, Philosophy Club, Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity, Baha'i Club, Caribbean Students Association, Peer Mentoring Program, Fantasy Literature Club, Japanese Animation and Multimedia Society (JAMS), Latin Swing Club, Robotics Club, Fencing Club, Sailing Club.[18]. Additionally, students may get involved with the student newspaper (the University Press[19]), practice politics and management as a senator for Student Government, plan/volunteer for social events like concerts and dinners with the FAU SG Program Board, be a DJ for the student radio station (Owl Radio), or shoot TV/film for Owl TV.
  • FAU offers 18 NCAA Division I sports including baseball, basketball, football, and softball. FAU has attracted top coaches for all teams including Howard Schnellenberger (football) and Rex Walters (men's basketball).[citation needed]
  • FAU plays in the annual Shula Bowl against in-state rival Florida International University (FIU).
  • Sponsored research at FAU reaches more than $60 million per year.[citation needed]
  • FAU has awarded more than 100,000 degrees to more than 95,000 alumni worldwide since opening its doors in 1964.[citation needed]
  • A joke among some individuals is that FAU stands for "find another university".

[20] [21] [22] This false university nickname is considered negative by university supporters.

  • FAU's $168 million endowment is roughly double that of some larger state schools in Florida, including the University of Central Florida and Florida International University. FAU holds the fourth largest in the state. [11]
  • FAU's business school is among the 10% of US business schools that are Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business accredited.[citation needed] [23]
  • The FAU police department has had four sex-related investigations and six police chiefs and upper-command staff resign in the past three years. In March 2006 a captain resigned following the discovery of sexually explicit materials on his office computers and cell phone. In 2005 a lieutenant resigned in part because he allegedly groped an officer on her first day on the job. In 2003 a sergeant was reprimanded for having consensual sex on duty with a woman on the FAU softball team.[24]
  • As 2006, FAU ranks as one of the most expensive state colleges in Florida, with tuition fees of $3,327 in-state, $16,390 out-of-state, and Room/board of $8,280.[citation needed]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ In Celebration of Excellence: The Inaugural Address of Frank T. Brogan. Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved on 2006-08-22.
  2. ^ Business Wire (2006-09-29). Fitch Rates Florida Atlantic University 2006B Dormitory Rev Rfdg Bnds A. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  3. ^ a b c d 2005-2006 Quick Facts. Florida Atlantic University: Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Analysis. Retrieved on 2006-08-26.
  4. ^ Explore FAU Campuses. Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved on 2006-08-22.
  5. ^ Florida Atlantic University: Visual Standards Manual Version 1.0 (7/2005) (PDF). Florida Atlantic University: Communications Office. Retrieved on 2006-08-22.
  6. ^ Florida Atlantic University: Office of Communications (2005-09-22). Early Detection of Developmental Disorders in Babies to be a Focus of New Infant Development Laboratory. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-08-22.
  7. ^ Explore FAU History: Milestones in FAU History (1955-1969). Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved on 2006-08-22.
  8. ^ Restrepo, Dan. "New admissions standards: good for FAU, bad for Florida", The University Press Online, 2004-02-05. Retrieved on 2006-08-23.
  9. ^ Travis, Scott. "FAU to boost scientific reputation with biomedical science college", South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 2006-08-17. Retrieved on 2006-08-24.
  10. ^ King, Dale. "Brogan’s ‘State of University’ address notes alliances, progress", Boca Raton News, 2006-09-20. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  11. ^ "Giving to FAU Fourth in State". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved on 2006-10-17.

[edit] External links

[edit] Research Program links

[edit] Medical Program links


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