Biscayne Bay Campus

The BBC is surrounded by the Oleta River State Park.

The Biscayne Bay Campus (BBC), located in North Miami, Florida, is a branch campus of Florida International University. With a student body of more than 7,000, it is the largest branch campus in Florida’s State University System.^[1]

FIU’s nationally ranked schools of Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management,Journalism and Mass Communication, Environment, Arts and Society, and Business Administration are headquartered at BBC. Offering numerous undergraduate majors and selected graduate degrees located about an hour from FIU main campus.^[2]

Encompassing nearly 200 acres and surrounded by the largest urban park in Florida, Oleta River State Park, the scenic campus right on the edge of Biscayne Bay is just minutes away from Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, and the Beaches. It offers direct access to Biscayne Bay, recreational activities, a library, an aquatic center, a conference center, a food court and a modern marine science research facility.

FIU's Biscayne Bay Campus completed renovations in the Fall of 2014. The campus has a brand new Panther Plaza, Wolfe University Center Lobby, Wolfe University Center Lounge, Wine Spectator Restaurant,^[3] Hubert Library Instructional Lab, Starbucks, Food Court, and Royal Caribbean International Performance and Production Facility.

The Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by FOOD & WINE

SOBEWFF® is a national, four-day destination event showcasing the talents of the world’s most renowned wine and spirits producers, chefs and culinary personalities. Hosted by Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida and Florida International University (FIU), the Festival benefits FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management and the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center. To date, the Festival has raised more than $24 million for the School.^[4]

Having just celebrated its 15th year, the Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by FOOD & WINE began as a one-day festival known as the Florida Extravaganza held at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus. For five years, from 1997-2001, the Florida Extravaganza showcased wines from national and international wineries paired with food from local restaurants and chefs working with students of FIU’s School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. In 2002, Lee Brian Schrager, then director of special events & media relations at Southern Wine & Spirits of America, took the reins of the one-day festival and brought his vision for the Festival to life by relocating it to South Beach. The renamed South Beach Wine & Food Festival® was held March 15 – 17, 2002 and attracted close to 7,000 guests to a series of dinners, seminars, a Grand Tasting Village and live Auction in its first year.

In 2006, the South Beach Wine & Food Festival celebrated its fifth anniversary and became one of the largest and most well-known festivals of its kind in the country. During the planning of the 2007 Festival, Food Network entered into a partnership to become its title sponsor. The resulting Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by FOOD & WINE combined the international appeal of top-quality libations from around the world, the national appeal of Food Network and its celebrity chefs and hosts, and the appeal of Latin and Caribbean-inspired regional cuisine.

In 2011, the Festival celebrated 10 years and released the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival Cookbook: Recipes and Behind-the-Scenes Stories from America’s Hottest Chefs (Clarkson Potter), written by Lee Brian Schrager with Julie Mautner, featuring a foreword by Anthony Bourdain.

The Festival and Southern Wine & Spirits celebrated the opening of the Wine Spectator Restaurant Management Laboratory and Mel Dick Wine Tower at FIU, the state-of-the-art educational facility built as a result of the funds raised from the Festival over the years, during the 2014 Festival. For the Festival's 15th anniversary in February 2016, the event introduced its inaugural Taste Fort Lauderdale Series, marking a major physical expansion of the Festival's footprint. Next year's Festival will take place February 22–26, 2017The Festival now attracts more than 65,000 guests annually to its 85+ events throughout the weekend.^[5]

FIU-Royal Caribbean partnership

On December 19, 2013, FIU's president Mark B. Rosenberg announced a new partnership between FIU and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL). that includes a 130,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art rehearsal and production studio on Friday for Royal Caribbean’s onboard entertainment, and provides learning and practical opportunities for our FIU students.^[6]

Located on FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus, the production studio features three-story studios, a 300-seat theater, 20,000-square-foot costume-making facility, 10 rehearsal studios, and recording and video editing facilities.^[7]

The Royal@FIU World Stage Collaborative will create new opportunities for students in FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and the College of Architecture and the Arts (CARTA). These include paid internships, custom curricula and behind-the-scenes access to Royal Caribbean’s experts and facilities. Students will also gain hands-on experience in cruise line operations, stage management, lighting, stage design, audio engineering and production.^[8]

In addition, FIU faculty and staff will have access to RCL marketing and sales data from its six cruise brands to conduct original research and present findings to RCL. The collaborative is an example of FIU’s efforts to create innovative public-private partnerships that bridge private industry with academia to promote talent development, research and economic vitality.^[9]

Wolfe University Center

The Wolfe University Center serves as the social community center for Biscayne Bay Campus. The facility received a $2 million renovation completed in the Fall of 2014. The Wolfe University Center is a multipurpose building consisting of a theater, three (3) meeting rooms, an executive conference room, and four (4) ballrooms. The Wolfe University Center can accommodate up to 500 guests.^[10] It also features ATM, bank, food court, computer lab, business center, bookstore on site, student video game lounge, in-house caterer, on-site ropes course and team-building, recreational areas such as tennis courts, olympic pool and gym. Home to cultural, educational, and recreational programs, it offers involvement opportunities for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and visitors.^[11]

Campus life

Student Government Association

The Student Government Association represents the student body. Their sole purpose is to ensure that student voices are heard and expressed to the administrators. SGC-BBC represents the student body's needs on the Biscayne Bay Campus of Florida International University.

Students Organization Council

SOC oversees all the clubs at Florida International University's Biscayne Bay Campus.

Student Programming Council

The Student Programming Council is an organization that programs events for the FIU students and its community. Events range from comedy shows to movies, concerts, pool parties, special events and lectures. Members of SPC have the opportunity to gain leadership experience, network and learn how to program a variety of events. In addition, the council works with other organizations on campus to provide more diverse programming to students.

FIU Panther Power

Panther Power is the spirit council located at Florida International University's Biscayne Bay Campus.

Housing

Bay Vista Housing was the student housing from 1985 to 2014. In the Fall of 2016 the new BayView Student Living opened up.

Bay Vista Housing was a four-story, apartment-style building that opens into a courtyard. Bay Vista Housing was closed down in 2014 for refurbishment. It is located about 30 miles north of the MMC Campus in North Miami.^[12] It will reopen in order to house residents of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line offices.^[13]

BayView Student Living opened in July 2016.^[14]

References

External links

• Florida International University - Official website
• FIU Biscayne Bay Campus - Official Biscayne Bay Campus website

^[1]

1. ↑ BBC Campus Life FIU BBC Student Affairs
2. ↑ "FIU Housing". FIU Office of Housing and Residential Life. Archived from the original on September 12, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2008. 
3. ↑ Verbick, Trey. "VP Servitas". BayView.