Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU was established as Florida's fifth public university and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity".
FAU has quickly grown to become one of the largest institutions in the state by enrollment. Florida Atlantic offers more than 180 undergraduate and graduate degree programs within its 10 colleges. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
FAU opened in 1964 as the first public university in the Miami metro area, offering only upper-division and graduate-level courses. Initial enrollment was only 867 students, increasing in 1984 when the university admitted its first lower-division undergraduate students. As of 2021, its enrollment had grown to over 30,000 students representing 180 countries, 50 states, and the District of Columbia. The university has an annual budget of $900 million and an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion. Since 1964, Florida Atlantic University has awarded degrees to over 185,000 alumni.
FAU's intercollegiate sports teams, the Florida Atlantic Owls, compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the American Athletic Conference. With 19 varsity athletic teams, the Owls have found success in winning titles and championships in the C-USA and garnering attention on the national scale. On October 21, 2021, Florida Atlantic accepted the invitation to join the AAC and became a full-member on July 1, 2023.
History
Establishment
On July 15, 1961, to meet the burgeoning educational demands of South Florida, the state legislature passed an act authorizing the establishment of a new university in the city of Boca Raton. Thomas F. Fleming Jr., founder of Boca Raton's First Bank and Trust Company negotiated with the federal government to secure the title to the air base lands and also established the Endowment Corporation to raise money for planning. Florida Atlantic University was built on Boca Raton Army Airfield, a 1940s-era army airbase. During World War II, the airfield served as the Army Air Corps' sole radar training facility. The base was built on the existing Boca Raton Airport and on 5,860 acres of adjacent land. A majority of the land was acquired from Japanese-American farmers from the failing Yamato Colony. The land was seized through eminent domain, leaving many Japanese-Americans little recourse in the early days of World War II.The airbase was used for radar training, anti-submarine patrols along the coast, and as a stopover point for planes being ferried to Africa and Europe via South America. The airfield was composed of four runways, which are still visible on the Boca Campus today and are mainly used for parking.
By early 1947, the military decided to transfer future radar training operations to Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi. The departure of the air force in 1947 would leave Boca Raton Army Airfield essentially abandoned.
Expansion and growth
Florida Atlantic University opened on September 14, 1964, with an initial student body of 867 students in five colleges. The first degree awarded was an honorary doctorate given to President Lyndon B. Johnson on October 25, 1964, at the dedication of the university. At the time of its opening, there were 350 employees, of which 120 were faculty. On-campus housing for students was first added in September 1965, when Algonquin Hall opened.Florida Atlantic's history is one of continuing expansion as the university's service population has grown. The university originally served only upper-division and graduate-level students, because the state intended the institution "to complement the state's community college system, accepting students who had earned their associate degrees from those institutions."
Florida Atlantic began its expansion beyond a one-campus university in 1971, when it opened its Commercial Boulevard campus in Fort Lauderdale. Due to a rapidly expanding population in South Florida, Florida Atlantic opened its doors to lower-division undergraduate students in 1984. The following year, the university added its third campus in downtown Fort Lauderdale on Las Olas Boulevard.
Recent history
In 1989, the Florida Legislature recognized demands for higher education in South Florida by designating Florida Atlantic as the lead state university serving Broward County. To fill this role, the university would establish a campus in City of Davie in western Broward County in 1990 and another in Dania Beach in 1997. Florida Atlantic later purchased 50 acres of land in Port St. Lucie in 1994 to establish a campus on the Treasure Coast. This would be the institution's fifth campus. The university continued its expansion in 1999 when it opened its Jupiter Campus, named for the late John D. MacArthur. This campus houses the university's honors college.Florida Atlantic University and the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine established a medical training program within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science in 2004. Plans originally called for the construction of a new teaching hospital in coordination with Boca Raton Community Hospital on the main campus. Following successive budget deficits in 2007, the hospital delayed its participation indefinitely. However, Florida Atlantic later established its own College of Medicine in 2010. The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution also joined the university in 2007, creating Florida Atlantic's seventh campus. To bring HBOI into the university, the Florida Legislature allocated $44 million to Florida Atlantic to acquire the institution.
Florida Atlantic has changed dramatically since its opening in 1964. There are now more than 30,000 students attending classes on seven campuses spread across 120 miles. The university consists of ten colleges and employs more than 3,200 faculty and staff. As of 2020, the university's endowment was over $240 million.
Since its founding, the university has been led by seven presidents. The university's immediate past president is Mary Jane Saunders. She was named president on March 3, 2010, then resigned on May 15, 2013. Her appointment followed the resignation of Frank Brogan. Brogan, a former Lieutenant Governor of Florida, left the university in late 2009 to become Chancellor of the State University System of Florida. Past university presidents also included Anthony J. Catanese, Helen Popovich, Glenwood Creech, and Kenneth Rast Williams. On January 17, 2014, the Board of Trustees announced the selection of John W. Kelly, formerly a vice president of Clemson University, to be the seventh president of the university with a starting date of March 1, 2014.
Academics
As of 2021, the university's student body consists of 24,663 undergraduates, 3,380 graduate students, 440 doctoral students, and 254 medical students. In 2021, the undergraduate student body consisted of 61% ethnic minorities and includes students from more than 180 countries. Florida Atlantic has long ranked as the most racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse institution in Florida's State University System. U.S. News & World Report has ranked FAU the 27th most diverse university in the nation. For the incoming freshman class of fall 2021, the acceptance rate was 60%.The university has ten colleges which altogether offer over 180 different bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs: the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, College of Social Work and Criminal Justice, College of Business, College of Education, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, and the Graduate College.
The university offers two honors options: the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College and a University Scholars Program. The Wilkes Honors College is located on the John D. MacArthur campus in Jupiter, Florida. It offers a liberal arts education in the context of a public university, yet is comparable to a private liberal arts college. The Boca Raton campus houses the University Scholars Program, which offers special honors seminars, forums, courses, and advanced course substitution for freshmen.
The fall 2021 incoming freshmen profile for the middle 50% was a 3.73–4.33 high school GPA, a 23–29 ACT composite score, and an 1100–1270 SAT total score. Additional admission requirements are needed for the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the School of Architecture, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and the College of Science.
The average class size at FAU for undergraduates is 33 students, and for graduate classes, 12 students. The student-to-faculty ratio is 20:1. The top three undergraduate majors by enrollment are elementary education, accounting, and management, respectively. The top three graduate majors by enrollment are business administration, educational leadership, and accounting, respectively. The average age for first-year students is 18; however, the average age for all undergraduates is 24, and the average age for graduate students is 33. The average 4-year graduation rate in 2021 was 47.5%.
Enrichment opportunities include internships, hands-on research, study abroad experiences, and 310 student clubs and organizations. The Lifelong Learning Society operates programs that serve the educational interests of more than 19,000 senior citizens by providing classes focusing on subjects of specific interest and audit options for regular university classes. Under the university's Commercial Music Program, Hoot/Wisdom Recordings was created in 2002, enabling students to work in all creative and business aspects of the music industry. This program generated music that landed a Top 10 spot on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales Chart during its first week of release. The university offers financial education programs in its computer lab. A second lab provides full audio/visual connectivity and additional workstations. Florida Atlantic allows local financial businesses to use its computer labs and facilities for training.