Florida State University College of Arts and Sciences

College of Arts and Sciences
Established 1901
Type Public
Dean Sam Huckaba[1]
Location Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.
Website Official website

The largest of the sixteen colleges at Florida State University, the College of Arts and Sciences contains the majors of nine thousand students and is made up of nineteen departments, ten special programs, and seventeen institutes. Nearly two thousand degrees are issued to graduates each academic year. The college encompasses the fields of social sciences, liberal arts, mathematics, sciences and interdisciplinary studies. Several academic programs enjoy national reputations. These include the Department of English, which boasts one of the nation's top creative writing programs; the Classics Department, which offers comprehensive programs ranging from analysis of Roman literature to archeology; and several other programs, including the Departments of Geology and Oceanography.[2][3]

History

The College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest college at the university, having existed since the founding of Florida Female College in 1905. Though it has awarded bachelor's degrees since its founding, the first master's degree was not offered until 1908. The next year, the university was renamed Florida State College for Women and issued its first master's degree under that name in 1909. Doctorates were given out by the College of Arts and Sciences beginning in 1952.

The college is housed in several buildings including Dodd Hall, the Bellamy Building, the Psychology Building and the Williams Building. The dean of the College of Arts and Sciences is located in the Longmire Building.

In July 2011, Sam Huckaba, previously associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, became interim dean. He then was formally named dean in October 2012.[4]

National rankings

Symbolic torches on Heritage Tower fountain

2013 U.S. News & World Report rankings:[5]

Department of History

As one of the founding departments of the College of Arts and Sciences when the university was still the Florida Female College, the History Department has a long history. Currently serving more than 550 students, the college offers a broad range of courses every year. The first master's degree was awarded in 1927 and the first doctoral student was hooded in 1962. Since then the college has awarded more than 600 master's degrees and 300 PhDs.[6]

The Department of History includes accomplished faculty in Napoleonic history, Eastern European history, war and society, history of science, Latin American/Caribbean history, and Atlantic world history. The department chair is Edward Gray. Distinguished faculty members include Darrin McMahon, who has been featured on the History Channel as well as other entertainment programs;[7] Elna Green, Allen Morris Professor of History; James P. Jones, better known as Jim Jones, a beloved fixture in the department recently celebrated 50 years of teaching at the university;[8] and Robert Gellately, the Earl Ray Beck Professor of History.[9] The faculty have been awarded a number of awards and written many books in their fields.[10][11]

Biological sciences

The Department of Biological Sciences includes accomplished faculty in cellular and molecular biology, computational biology, evolution and ecology, and neuroscience. The department has embarked on an innovative new cluster hiring initiative that focuses on the integration of genotype and phenotype. In 2008 The James E. King Life Sciences building opened giving the Department of Biological Sciences a new home. The new building is a state-of-the-art addition to the campus which consists of over 181,000 square feet of space. Included in the building are spaces for instrumentation, research, and the support needed for these activities. Rooftop greenhouses are a visually distinctive design feature and allow for more hands-on experiences. Also included in the building is a 150-seat auditorium, new teaching laboratories, and more than 30 research laboratories.[12][13]

Chemistry and biochemistry

Pacific Yew tree — original source of Taxol. As Pacific yew trees were harvested for the drug tamoxifen faster than they could grow back, a crisis emerged in the supply of a beneficial anti-cancer medication. FSU's semisynthetic Taxol greatly improved the supply of this anti-cancer drug.

Research in the chemistry department currently spans fields ranging from analytical through organic, using experimental techniques and equipment including advanced lasers, spectrometers[14] and superconducting magnets.

A five-story 168,000-square-foot (15,600 m2) chemistry building opened on May 2, 2008. The building features state-of-the-art facilities and houses all fields of chemistry. Labs are located on floors 2 through 5 and are segregated by division. The second floor is home to material chemists, while the third and fourth floors serve physical and analytical chemists. The fifth floor is home to synthetic organic chemistry with labs specifically designed to accommodate organic synthesis research. The building serves to enhance the department's strengths in molecular recognition, materials, nanotechnology, biochemistry, molecular synthesis, computational chemistry, and advanced measurement science as well as further support its robust PhD and postdoctoral fellow training programs.[15]

Also working in the field of materials science and nanoscience at FSU is the Nobel laureate Sir Harry Kroto, the co-discoverer of the C60 "buckyball", who is a member of FSU's Chemistry and Biochemistry Department.[16]

Taxol — anti-cancer drug
A significant achievement at the university was chemistry professor and synthetic organic chemist Robert A. Holton's synthesizing of tamoxifen on Dec. 9, 1993. The synthezized version, Taxol, has been used as an effective breast cancer and ovarian cancer treatment.

Holton and his organic chemistry team won a race to develop a cheaper semisynthetic version (Holton Taxol total synthesis). In 1993, Bristol-Myers Squibb began marketing Taxol, ultimately earning more than $1.6 billion by the year 2000. Just like other chemotherapy drugs, it had side effects, but it also prolonged lives, and in many cases caused a full remission of cancer.[17]

Before the drug company's exclusive license expired, Florida State earned $351 million in royalties, vaulting the school into the ranks of Columbia University and California's state universities in research profits. By comparison, Taxol has earned Florida State more than three times what the popular beverage Gatorade earned the University of Florida.[18] In addition, polymer chemist and professor, Joseph Schlenoff, holds 30 patents relating to his research into multilayers and hydrogels.[19]

Computer science

FSU's computer science program is a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAE/IAE) by the National Security Agency. Florida State is the only university in Florida to achieve this status. In U.S.News Computer Science rankings of 2010, the department was ranked 79th in the nation compared to being unranked in 2008. In 2012, the department maintains the same rank. It ranked second in Florida only to University of Florida CISE which has more than 45 tenure track faculty. The department had 16 tenure track faculty in 2010. The number of tenure track faculty in the department was 12 in 2012 (2 on sabbatical) and plans to hire two new faculty in 2012. The department offers a bachelor's degree in CS, three tracks for master's degrees, and continues to offer the PhD as well. Through a joint effort between the FSU biology and computer science departments, FSU is now one of the few universities in the country offering a bachelor's degree in computational biology. The department also has created an interdisciplinary bachelor's degree in computer criminology by working with the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice. The research funding and the number of research assistants has significantly increased in recent years. Many of the faculty are internationally recognized, hold distinguished positions on editorial boards and conference committees, and with their students are publishing innovative research in very prestigious conferences and journals. In 2010, the department had five CAREER Award recipients including three NSF CAREER Award recipients, one DoE CAREER Award, and one AFOSR Young Investigator Program recipient. Three graduates of the department have received NSF CAREER Awards in the past.

English

The Department of English at FSU is a nationally ranked program[20] that encompasses many majors and produces a number of journals such as the Kudzu Review and The Journal of Early Modern Studies.[21] Comprising a wide range of topics, the faculty include winners of Guggenheim, National Endowment for the Arts, Fulbright, and Newberry Library fellowships.[22][23] The program contains a number of special programs and offers bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees.

Special Programs in the English Department
Creative Writing Program[24]
Literature Program[25]
Rhetoric and Composition[26]

Meteorology

Cyclone Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004

Founded in 1949, the FSU meteorology program is the largest and most complete meteorology program in the southeastern United States, with 17 faculty members, over 85 graduate students and approximately 200 undergraduate students.[27]

Many graduates of the Florida State meteorology program whether bachelor's, master's or doctorate work in the national media including Neil Frank and Max Mayfield, former directors of the National Hurricane Center in Miami; Janice Huff of the NBC Today Show and on-air meteorologists from The Weather Channel: Stephanie Abrams, Rich Johnson and Jennifer Lopez.

Physics

Diagram of the 45 tesla hybrid magnet at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

The Department of Physics, comprising more than 60 faculty and over 100 graduate students, is a major research department, offering graduate programs that have been ranked amongst the best in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.[28] Theoretical and experimental nuclear physics and particle physics are particularly strong areas; nuclear physics is currently rated with the top 7 programs in the United States. There are also extensive research programs in biophysics, condensed matter physics and atomic physics, as well as an expanding astrophysics program.

In terms of major facilities, the department has its own superconducting linear particle accelerator at which experiments ranging from precision atomic measurements to analysis of rare-isotope collisions are performed. Additionally, the department is a heavy user of major national and international lab facilities. It maintains active groups working on experiments at Fermilab, CERN, Brookhaven National Laboratory, TJNAF, Argonne National Laboratory, and several others. Indirectly, through current director Dr. Gregory Boebinger as well as his predecessor, laboratory founder Dr. Jack Crow, the department operates the main complex of the multi discipline National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, located near campus at FSU's Innovation Park.

Psychology

The Psychology Building at FSU which was opened in 2008

FSU's Psychology Department has served as an education and research institution in the university for more than 100 years and has the distinction of being the first psychological laboratory in Florida. Founded in 1902, the program has since grown from two courses taught by only a couple faculty members to one which offers over one hundred courses each semester and boasts nearly 70 faculty members.[29][30] In 1952 FSU began offering a doctoral degree in psychology with the first PhD going to a student the next year. The department was historically housed in Francis Eppes Hall (formerly College Hall) and the Kellog Building.[31] In 2008 the department moved into the new Psychology Building located on the western edge of campus.[32]

A number of the faculty have been recognized for achievements in their field at the university and national level. Many of the faculty have written books on their subjects of interest or have written chapters for books. The department is the center of research in many areas and funding through state and federal grants reaches upwards of $6,000,000 annually.[33] In 2011, PhD program in clinical psychology was ranked 32nd by U.S. News & World Report[34] and the department itself was ranked 50th.[35]

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Dean and Associate Deans". Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  2. ↑ "College of Arts and Sciences". Mission and History: Mission and history. Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  3. ↑ "College of Arts and Sciences". Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  4. ↑ Elish, Jill. "News Archive". Huckaba named dean of College of Arts and Sciences. Florida State University. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  5. ↑ Florida State University Rankings U.S. News & World Report, accessed November 2, 2013
  6. ↑ Grant, Jonathan. "Welcome Message". Welcome to the History Department. Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  7. ↑ "Darrin M. McMahon". Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  8. ↑ "James P. Jones". Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  9. ↑ "Robert Gellately". Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  10. ↑ "Recipients of University Teaching Awards". Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  11. ↑ "Faculty Publications". Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  12. ↑ "Pathways of Excellence". Life Sciences Building. Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  13. ↑ Fairhurst, Libby. "New James E. 'Jim' King Life Sciences Building moves biological science mission forward". FSU News. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  14. ↑ Florida State University - Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Laser Facility Equipment Data Retrieved on 5-03-2007.
  15. ↑ "Chemistry Building Pathways Page".
  16. ↑ "Sir Harold W. Kroto". Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  17. ↑ Florida State University, Research in Review, Fall 2002 Retrieved on 5-03-2007.
  18. ↑ St. Petersburg Times, April 30, 2004, "From Campus to Commerce" by Robert Trigeaux Retrieved on 5-03-2007.
  19. ↑ "Joseph Schlenoff, the Leo Mandelkern Professor of Polymer Science at Florida State, has received the 2013 Florida Award". Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  20. ↑ "English Department News". NRC Ranks FSU Among Nation's Top English Departments. Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  21. ↑ "English Department". Faculty Index. Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  22. ↑ "David Kirby". Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  23. ↑ "Elizabeth Spiller". Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  24. ↑ Florida State University, English Department, Creative Writing Retrieved on 5-03-2007.
  25. ↑ "English Department". The Literature Program. Florida State University. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  26. ↑ "The English Department at Florida State University - Rhetoric and Composition". Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  27. ↑ Florida State University Meteorology Department, Academic Programs webpage Retrieved on 5-03-2007.
  28. ↑ Florida State University - College Highlights and Selected National Rankings Retrieved on 5-01-2007.
  29. ↑ Scarborough, Baron. "PSYCHOLOGY: 1900 - 1989". A Brief History. Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  30. ↑ "Faculty Index". Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  31. ↑ "A history of the Psychology Department Buildings". Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  32. ↑ "History Timeline of Significant Milestones of the Department of Psychology". Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  33. ↑ "About the Department of Psychology". Florida State University. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  34. ↑ "FSU Highlights". Arts & Sciences. US News and World Report via FSU. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  35. ↑ "Florida State University". Best Social Sciences & Humanities. US News and World Report. Retrieved 11 October 2011.

External links