Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL
Graduates: 4605
Undergraduates: 25523
Setting: Large four-year, primarily nonresidential
In-state Tuition: $2,522.00
SAT / ACT / GPA: 1570 / 23 / 3.46
Public/Private: Public
Campus Housing: Yes
Florida Atlantic University is a public research university with multiple campuses along the southeast Florida coast serving a uniquely diverse community. It promotes academic and personal development, discovery, and lifelong learning. FAU fulfills its mission through excellence and innovation in teaching, outstanding research and creative activities, public engagement and distinctive scientific and cultural alliances, all within an environment that fosters inclusiveness.
Florida Atlantic University is a public university located in Boca Raton, Florida with five satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and in Fort
Florida Atlantic University is a public university committed through its distributed campus structure to providing access to challenging opportunities in higher education for students in Southeast Florida and beyond. Its mission is to serve its region, state, and nation by preparing students to make meaningful contributions in an increasingly complex global society, by encouraging reflection on and evaluation of emerging needs and priorities, and by supporting research and service that enhances economic, human, and cultural development. FAU accomplishes its mission primarily through its teachers and researchers, its undergraduate educational programs, its graduate and professional offerings, and its linkages to other educational institutions and the community
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. Florida Atlantic University was built on a 1940s-era army airbase in Boca Raton. 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 (23.7 km�) 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. Florida Atlantic University's original logo Florida Atlantic University's Alumni Plaza in Boca Raton The Boca Raton airbase was used for radar training, anti-submarine patrols along the coast, and as a stop-over point for planes being ferried to Africa and Europe via South America. It had a troop strength of 16,000 men, with approximately 1,200 civilian workers. The airfield was composed of four runways, each stretching 5,200 feet (1.58 km) long, set in a triangle shape, with one runway bisecting the triangle. These runways are still visible on the Boca Campus today and are mainly used for parking. Over the course of the war, the airfield would grow to encompass more than 800 buildings serving approximately 100,000 airmen, including those who were aboard the Enola Gay when it dropped a nuclear weapon on Hiroshima. As the war drew to a close Boca Raton Army Airfield saw a steady decline in use. By the end of 1945, about only 100 planes were stationed at the airbase. Florida Atlantic University's Social Science Building, Boca Raton campus By early 1947, the military decided to transfer future radar training operations to Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi. This decision was finalized when, on September 17, 1947, the Fort Lauderdale Hurricane struck South Florida. According to historian Donald Curl, "the 1947 storm caused extensive damage to the hurriedly built frame structures of the base and was responsible for widespread flooding." These conditions led the Air Force to abandon the site earlier than originally planned. The departure of the air force in 1947 would leave Boca Raton Army Airfield essentially abandoned. Historian Roger Miller, who visited the airfield during this period, describes the airbase as having "a small operations office to check into and out of, a deteriorating and empty mess hall, and about twenty-odd other wooden buildings of World War II vintage." 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 and opening of the university. At the time of its opening, Florida Atlantic's faculty numbered 120 out of a total of 350 employees. 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 Florida 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, in 1984 Florida Atlantic took another major step by opening its doors to lower-division undergraduate students. The following year, the university added its third campus, in downtown Fort Lauderdale on Las Olas Boulevard. Recent history The President's residence at the Eleanor R. Baldwin House in Boca Raton 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 Dania Beach in 1997 and another campus in the City of Davie in western Broward County in 1990. Florida Atlantic later purchased 50 acres (0.2 km�) 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 budgets 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 (HBOI) also joined the university in 2007, creating Florida Atlantic's seventh campus. To bring HBOI into the university family the Florida Legislature allocated $44 million to Florida Atlantic to acquire the institution. Florida Atlantic has changed dramatically since its opening in 1964. As of 2013, there are more than 30,000 students attending classes on seven campuses spread across 120 miles (193 km). The university consists of ten colleges and employs more than 3,200 faculty and staff. The university's endowment decreased from $182 million in June 2008 to $142 million in January 2009 due to a worsening economy. However with the national economic recovery the endowment has increased to $179 million by the end of 2012. Since its founding, the university has been led by seven presidents. The university's immediate past president is Dr. 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 Dr. Anthony J. Catanese, Dr. Helen Popovich, Dr. Glenwood Creech, and Dr. Kenneth Rast Williams. On January 17, 2014, the Board of Trustees announced the selection of Dr. John W. Kelly, formerly a VP of Clemson University, to be the seventh president of the university with a starting date of March 1, 2014.
Urban Area 850 Acres (3.5 Km�) 6 Other Satellite Campuses
Florida Atlantic University has awarded more than 110,000 degrees to nearly 105,000 alumni worldwide since its opening. Some notable Florida Atlantic alumni are R. David Paulison, the former head of the United States' Federal Emergency Management Agency; and former university President Frank T. Brogan, a former Lieutenant Governor of Florida. Charles Ghigna or "Father Goose" is a children's poet and former nationally syndicated columnist. Judith Ortiz Cofer is an acclaimed Puerto Rican author whose works span a range of literary genres including poetry, short stories, and essays. Other alumni are Chris Carrabba, the lead singer of the band Dashboard Confessional; and Phil Zimmermann, the creator of Pretty Good Privacy. Entertainers Mary Carey, a pornographic actress and former candidate for Governor of California, prop comedian Carrot Top, and humorist Daniel Dickey also attended the university. Alumnus and NASA astronaut Steven Swanson went to space aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis during STS-117 in June 2007, and Space Shuttle Discovery during STS-119 in March 2009.
Chief_administrator: Dennis J. Crudele (Interim President)
Website: www.fau.edu/
Financial aid office website: www.fau.edu/finaid/
Net price calculator web address: www.fau.edu/admissions/npcalc.htm
Online application website: www.fau.edu/admissions/Apply_Online.php
Admission office website: www.fau.edu/admissions/
ConferenceConference USA
Websitewww.fausports.com/?
Address777 Glades Rd.
ColorsBlue Red
MascotOwlsey The Burrowing Owl
Hattiesburg,MS
Bowling Green,KY
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