Florida Atlantic University
Encyclopedia
Florida Atlantic University, also referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a public
, coeducational, research university
located in , United States. The university has six satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach
, Davie
, Fort Lauderdale
, Jupiter
, Port St. Lucie
, and in Fort Pierce
at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. Florida Atlantic serves a seven-county region that has a populace of more than three million people and spans more than 100 miles (160 km) of Florida's eastern coastline.
The university opened in 1964 as the first public university in southeast Florida
and the first university in the nation to offer only upper-division and graduate level courses. Although initial enrollment was only 867 students, this number increased in 1984 when the university admitted its first lower-division undergraduate students. As of 2011, enrollment has grown to over 29,000 students representing 140 countries, 49 states
and the District of Columbia
. Since its inception, Florida Atlantic has awarded more than 110,000 degrees to nearly 105,000 alumni worldwide.
In recent years Florida Atlantic has undertaken an effort to increase its academic and research standings while also evolving into a more traditional university. The university has raised admissions standards, increased research funding, built new facilities, and established notable partnerships with major research institutions. The efforts have resulted in not only an increase in the university's academic profile, but also the elevation of the football team
to Division I competition status, an on-campus football stadium, more on-campus housing, and the establishment of its own College of Medicine in 2010.
' sole radar training facility. The base was built on the existing Boca Raton Airport
and on 5,860 acres (23.7 km²) 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 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.
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."
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.
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 km²) 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 2010, there are approximately 28,000 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. Since its founding, the university has been led by six presidents. The university's current president is Dr. Mary Jane Saunders. Saunders was named president on March 3, 2010, following 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
. The past university presidents are Frank T. Brogan, Dr. Anthony J. Catanese, Dr. Helen Popovich, Dr. Glenwood Creech, and Dr. Kenneth Rast Williams.
The university has ten colleges which altogether offer over 147 different bachelor's
, master's
and doctoral
degree programs: the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing
, College for Design and Social Inquiry, 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
, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine 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 platform 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 university's admission requirements have been traditionally considered low. However, the institution has begun gradually increasing standards to improve its graduation and retention rates. Starting in the summer of 2004, the university began denying entry to students with low GPA and SAT
scores, directing them to first take remedial courses at a community college. For fall 2009, a minimum GPA of 2.6 and a minimum SAT score of 1390 or a composite score of 20 on the ACT are required for admission. Following a surge in the university's popularity, in early 2009 the university created its first wait-list for undergraduate enrollment. After February 15, 2009 applicants for admission in the 2009-2010 academic year were required to have a 3.5 GPA or an SAT score of 1600 (out of 2,400 total) to be considered. For the 2009–2010 academic year, the average high school GPA for an entering freshman was 3.4, with a score of 1069 on the SAT, and a 23 on the ACT
. The average class size for undergraduates is 33 students, and for graduate classes, 12 students. The student-to-faculty ratio is 18:1. The top three undergraduate majors by enrollment are elementary education
, accounting, and management
, respectively. The top three graduate majors by enrollment are business administration, nursing
, and educational leadership. The average age for first-year students is 18; however, the average age for all undergraduates is 24. The average age for graduate students is 34. The average 4-year graduation rate for first-time, non-transfer students is 14%. The 6-year graduation rate is 37%.
Notable programs at FAU are: the largest adult continuing education program in the United States; the first entirely student-run full-service record label in the US; and the only Wall Street
trading room simulator at a public university in Florida. 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 the Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales Chart
during its first week of release. The university's two-story trading room
simulator, located in the College of Business, provides hands-on financial education using 25 dual-monitor computers and can accommodate 50 people at one time. A second lab provides full audio/visual connectivity and 25 additional workstations. Florida Atlantic allows local financial businesses to use the Trading Room for training.
as a research university with high research activity. The university has established notable partnerships with major research institutions such as The Scripps Research Institute
, the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies
, and the Max Planck Society
. Following construction of a sister institute on the Jupiter
campus, Scripps operates out of a state-of-the-art research facility focusing on basic biomedical science, drug discovery, and technology development. While its headquarters were under construction, Torrey Pines operated out of Florida Atlantic's nearby Port St. Lucie campus. Max Planck announced in July 2008 that it will establish its first institute in the United States adjacent to Scripps on Florida Atlantic's John D. MacArthur Campus. The Society will focus on bio-imaging.
The university is the home of two centers of excellence: The Center of Excellence in Biomedical and Marine Biotechnology and The Center for Ocean Energy Technology. These centers have been selected by Florida’s Emerging Technology Commission to receive grants to continue and increase their operations. Florida Atlantic beat out some of Florida's top research universities, including the University of Florida
and Florida State University
, for the initial money from the state.
Since receiving its startup funding, Florida Atlantic has secured additional funds from other sources, including federal and private research grants. As a result, both centers have engaged in academic and industry partnerships, combining expertise in ocean engineering
, marine biotechnology
, functional genomics
, proteomics
, and bioinformatics
. Researchers, scientists, and students at the centers are designing technologies to explore the sea, harvest renewable energy
, discover new medicines, and develop new therapeutics to combat agents of bioterrorism
. As a result of this research, in 2007 the university and Lockheed Martin
announced an exclusive licensing agreement to develop and produce a rapidly deployable and autonomous mooring buoy system for military and scientific uses.
In 2010, the United States Department of Energy
designated FAU as one of three national centers for ocean energy research and development. The Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center joins centers in the Pacific Northwest (University of Washington
and Oregon State University
) and in Hawaii (University of Hawaii
). The Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center is undertaking research and development of technologies capable of generating renewable power from ocean currents and ocean thermal energy.
The university houses both an Imaging Technology Center and a NASA
Imaging Technology Space Center. Located in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the centers specialize in digital imaging research and development for use in both government and commercial applications in the areas of medical technology
, surveillance
, communication
s, education
, inspection
, scientific observation
, manufacturing
, visual recognition and identification, and motion picture and digital video
. The Florida Atlantic Imaging Technology Center is developing a curriculum
for digital imaging
and processing, thereby establishing Florida Atlantic as the only university in the nation to offer this technical concentration. The NASA Imaging Technology Center is one of 12 NASA Research Partnership Centers throughout the nation which develop dual-use research and development with the participation of NASA and other related industries in the US. The center occupies two sets of laboratories and administrative offices, one on Florida Atlantic’s main campus in Boca Raton, the other at the Fort Lauderdale campus.
Florida Atlantic also operates two research and development parks, one in Deerfield Beach and one in Boca Raton. The R&D Parks provide outside research facilities for companies, which enable them to interact with the university community and its facilities, resources, and expertise. Located inside the R&D Park on the Boca Raton campus is a Technology Business Incubator. The incubator works to foster the start-up and growth of technology-based businesses associated with the university.
's rankings of "Best Colleges." U.S. News ranks universities into one of two tiers, with one being the highest, based on how they compare with other colleges in a peer assessment, retention rates, student selectivity, faculty resources, financial resources, graduation rates, and the amount of alumni giving. The university was named one of the 146 "Best Southeastern Colleges" in the United States by the Princeton Review. The Review also recognized FAU's business program by naming the College of Business to their list of “Best 296 Business Schools” for 2009. For 2011, Florida Atlantic was ranked 249th in the nation by Washington Monthly. The magazine based its rankings on the following three criteria: "how well a university performs as an engine of social mobility (ideally helping the poor to get rich rather than the very rich to get very, very rich), how well a university does in fostering scientific and humanistic research, and how well a university promotes an ethic of service to country." The university was also ranked 28th in the United States and fourth in Florida by The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine for awarding 738 bachelor's degrees to Hispanic
students during the 2006–2007 academic year.
. In addition to its campuses in Palm Beach County
, the university operates three campuses in the Broward County
cities of Dania Beach
, Davie
, and Fort Lauderdale
. Florida Atlantic University also operates two campuses in the St. Lucie County
cities of Port St. Lucie
and Fort Pierce
. In addition to students who attend classes on the universities campuses, there are 1,612 distance learning students who conduct their studies over the internet or through other means. These students account for 6% of the university's student body.
Florida Atlantic is a signatory of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. This commits the institution to ensuring all new construction projects meet the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
Silver standards.
Florida Atlantic's main campus in Boca Raton was established on the remnants of a World War II American Army airbase
in 1964. Spanning 850 acre
s (3.5 km²) near the Atlantic Ocean
, the site is located between the cities of Palm Beach
and Fort Lauderdale. The campus was designated a burrowing owl
sanctuary in 1971 by the Audubon Society. The owls find the campus appealing because there are few predators, due to the university's proximity to the Boca Raton Airport, and because the campus was originally cleared of vegetation when operating as an airbase during World War II. "The feisty bird, traditionally associated with wisdom and determination, serves as the university's mascot."
The Boca Raton Campus is home to a wide variety of university programs and facilities. These facilities are labs and classrooms, housing for students, and athletic and recreational facilities. In addition to academic and cultural programs, the campus also houses Florida Atlantic's Division I athletics program
. The main campus serves approximately 19,077 students, or 70% of the university's student body, offering a number of academic programs, activities, and services.
In an effort to create a more traditional, first-choice college atmosphere on the Boca Raton Campus, the university is working to develop an "Innovation Village". Plans for the village call for new residence halls, workforce housing, restaurants, stores, parking garages, and a 30,000-seat college football stadium that will be home to the Owls football team
. Florida Atlantic's project will be one of only two athletics/retail venues located on the campus of a Florida university; a similar Innovation Village-type project is located at the University of Central Florida
. The addition of the Innovation Village to the Boca Raton Campus has been controversial. Critics have argued the cost of the project is prohibitive and the money could be better spent on educating students or providing scholarships. The construction of the stadium has also created a controversy between Florida Atlantic and the City of Boca Raton. In 2002, the university and the city signed an agreement requiring an additional I-95
interchange be under construction before a stadium could be built on campus. The new Spanish River I-95 interchange serving the north side of FAU is scheduled to begin construction in 2014. http://www.bocaratontribune.com/nearly-decade-old-plan-to-build-new-interchange-on-i-95-in-boca-gets-fdot-approval/
The Boca campus also houses a number of other institutions, including the A.D. Henderson University School, FAU High School
, one of two Florida Atlantic Research Parks, and the Lifelong Learning Society.
. The John D. MacArthur Campus, named after businessman and philanthropist
John D. MacArthur
, was established in 1999 to serve residents of central and northern Palm Beach and southern Martin Counties. The MacArthur Campus occupies 45 acres (0.18 km²), upon which are eight classroom and office buildings, a library, a 500-seat auditorium, two residence halls, a dining hall, museum building, and utility plant. The MacArthur Campus also houses the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
, Scripps Florida
, and the Max Planck Florida Institute. The campus serves approximately 1,262 students, or 4% of the university's student body.
Campus, also known as SeaTech, was founded in 1997 as a state-funded Type II research center. The institute is part of Florida Atlantic’s Department of Ocean Engineering which was founded in 1965 as the first ocean engineering undergraduate program in the nation. The campus is located on 8 acres (0.03 km²) of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway
. SeaTech is home to university faculty and students engaged in sponsored ocean engineering research and development in the areas of acoustics
, marine vehicles, hydrodynamics and physical oceanography
, marine materials and nanocomposites
. The Dania Beach Campus serves approximately 70 students, roughly 1% of the university's total student body.
The Davie
Campus of Florida Atlantic University was established in 1990 on 38 acres (0.15 km²) of land in western Broward County. The campus features a multi-story student union
with offices for student government and student organizations, a multipurpose area and student lounge, a bookstore, and cafeteria. The union also contains a student health center that provides medical services and health counseling. The campus serves approximately 3,488 students, or 13% of the Florida Atlantic student body, making it the university's second largest campus by enrollment. Davie is also the home of "environmental research initiatives focused on Everglades
restoration."
The university has two buildings in Fort Lauderdale
, both of which are considered part of one Fort Lauderdale campus. The Askew Tower and the Higher Education Complex on Las Olas Boulevard Campuses offer courses in communication
, graphic design
, business
, computer arts, architecture
, urban and regional planning, criminal justice
, social work
, journalism
, and public administration
. The campuses are home to approximately 650 students or 2% of the university's student body.
, Florida
, the Treasure Coast Campus of Florida Atlantic University operates through a partnership with Indian River State College (IRSC). Since the 1970s, the university has been operating on the Treasure Coast
in conjunction with IRSC to enable students to transition from an associate's degree
to undergraduate and graduate
degrees.
Florida Atlantic purchased 50 acres (0.2 km²) of land in Port St. Lucie in 1994. The university operated in the existing infrastructure for eight years before joining with Indian River State College to open a joint-use facility. Both institutions continue to operate out of this 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) facility. The Treasure Coast Campus currently serves approximately 738 students, or 3% of the university's student body.
at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. Harbor Branch merged with the university in 2007 to become the HBOI at FAU. The Florida Legislature allocated $44 million for the university to acquire the institution and its 600 acre (2.4 km²) campus.
, compete in the NCAA
's Division I Sun Belt Conference. The university's athletics program began in 1979, when Florida Atlantic first started sponsoring intercollegiate teams. Since then, the university has worked to expand the quality of its intercollegiate program by attracting coaches such as Howard Schnellenberger
, Matt Doherty, Rex Walters
and Mike Jarvis
. In 2006, the athletic department was ranked 79th in the nation by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics
(NACDA). Along with USA Today
and the United States Sports Academy, NACDA recognized the university for its Division I athletic programs and accomplishments." This ranking placed Florida Atlantic in the top 24% of 326 NCAA Division I universities. The university's colors are FAU Blue, FAU Red, and FAU Silver.
In 2008
, the Florida Atlantic football team
finished six wins and six losses in regular season play and was invited to the Motor City Bowl
. The Owls defeated Central Michigan University
24–21, increasing their bowl record to two wins and zero losses. During the previous season, the football team
beat Troy University
in the final game of regular season play to become Sun Belt Co-Champions and receive an invitation to the New Orleans Bowl
. In just the seventh year of the football program's history, and the third year playing in Division I, Florida Atlantic set NCAA records by both becoming the youngest program ever to receive an invitation to, and win, a bowl game
. As a result of the New Orleans Bowl the university has seen a surge in school spirit.
In past seasons the Owls have garnered a number of accolades for their accomplishments. During the 2006–2007 season, the men's basketball team was noted as "one of the Sun Belt Conference
's top offensive teams," with a "scary offense" that earned it the reputation of the "best shooting team in the conference." In 2010, the men's basketball team defeated its first-ever Southeastern Conference
opponent Mississippi State University
61-59 http://www.mstateathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=16800&ATCLID=205039259 as well as Big East opponent the University of South Florida
50-42 http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=205042808&SPID=2923&SPSID=36686 en route to a 21-9 overall record and claimed the Sun Belt Conference
title.http://www.fau.edu/explore/homepage-stories/2011_02basketbllwin.php
The baseball team was also recognized by the NCAA as ranking in the Top 10 in five team categories. The team was also ranked third in the nation in home runs per game (1.66) and in slugging percentage (.563). In 2010, the Owls baseball team was 37-24 (21-9) and claimed their first Sun Belt Conference regular-season title.http://www.fauowlaccess.com/articles/194/fau-baseball-team-winning-sun-belt-title-is-our-no-2-story-of-the-year.aspx
Since the inception of the athletics program, a number of sports-related traditions and school spirit organizations have been started at the university. A recent tradition known as "Bury the Burrow in Red" calls for Florida Atlantic students to wear as much red as possible and fill the Burrow, the university's multi-purpose arena, during the annual basketball
game between Florida Atlantic and nearby Florida International University
(FIU).
Another traditional competition between Florida Atlantic and Florida International is the annual Shula Bowl
. This intercollegiate football game is named after legendary coach Don Shula
; the game originates from the fact that both head coaches, Florida Atlantic's Howard Schnellenberger
and former Florida International coach Don Strock
, worked under Shula at some point during their careers. As a home game, the competition takes place at FAU Stadium; as an away game, the bowl is played at FIU Stadium
in Miami.
The official spirit group supporting Florida Atlantic athletics is the "prOWLers." The group began in February 2002 to support the men's basketball program during the team’s run for the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship
. The group is funded by the Student Alumni Association, and can now be found at most sporting events cheering for Florida Atlantic. The prOWLers are joined by the Owl Rangershttp://www.owlrangers.com/, a fan group that paints their bodies in the Florida Atlantic school colors. The hOWLetts are a student club that attend gameday events and assist in recruiting athletes. http://fau.collegiatelink.net/organization/howlett-club/about
Boca Raton's main on-campus housing facilities are: Algonquin Hall (opened 1965), Heritage Park Towers (opened 2004), Indian River Towers (opened 2001), and Glades Park Towers (opened 2007) which is a dormitory for freshmen nearly identical to Heritage Park Towers. The university also offers upper-division undergraduate and graduate student housing in the Village Student Apartments, as well as a Business and Professional Women's Scholarship House for women with a strong academic background. As part of the first phase of the Innovation Village project, Florida Atlantic finished the construction of a 1,200 bed apartment-style housing facility for upperclassmen, graduate, and medical students. The facility opened in Fall 2011. http://www.upressonline.com/building-the-future-1.2137444
Within its existing residential life programs, Florida Atlantic offers a number of Learning Communities for freshmen and students with similar interests and concentrations. Participants meet people with similar interests, live on the same floor and take courses with others in their community, while receiving additional guidance related to those interests. The university's Learning Community programs are divided into two categories, Freshman Learning Communities and Living Learning Communities. The freshman program offers 16 different concentrations, including business, nursing, and education. The Living program offers six concentrations for students residing in the Heritage Park Towers dormitory
, including engineering and computer science and a Women's Leadership program.
The university's Department of Housing and Residential Life and the university's fraternities and sororities sponsor a program for freshmen
and other students returning to Florida Atlantic in the fall semester. This program, called the "Weeks of Welcome", spans 11 days and all campuses, and works to acclimate students with university life and to build a good on-campus community. On each day, a number of different events are scheduled, including Hall Wars, which are athletic competitions between dormitories; Luau
s, and a number of other events. The Weeks of Welcome is the second largest campus-wide event held by Florida Atlantic.
to Ultimate Frisbee, from varsity and club sports and a jazz
group to a pottery
guild
, from political organizations to chess and video game clubs. These organizations are funded by student tuition, from which $10.00 per credit hour goes toward an activities and service fee fund. This generates approximately $5.8 million that is then given to student government for allocation to student clubs and organizations. The student government also finances other student life programs, including career fairs, the University Press
, OWL TV
and Owl Radio, and Homecoming.
Florida Atlantic's homecoming
, also known as the "Owl Prowl," is celebrated annually in the fall semester. Events occur mainly on the Boca Raton Campus, but a number of other campuses host their own events as well. In the past, homecoming has had kickoff parties, costumed dances, bonfires, comedy shows, alumni events and dinners, a golf cart parade, and tailgating
. Florida Atlantic students have an organized football tailgating area known as the Rat's Mouth http://www.fau.edu/sil/Tailgating%20Expectations.pdf. The name references the Spanish
translation of Boca Raton.
Florida Atlantic completed an $18.6 million Recreation and Wellness Center in spring 2010. The facility houses an outdoor leisure and lap pool, a cardio equipment and free weight room, two multipurpose rooms, three indoor courts and health club-style locker rooms. http://www.fau.edu/campusrec/facility/rec_center.php In 2011, the facility won the NIRSA Outstanding Sports Facilities Award. Other recreation facilities include a $4.2 million http://www.fausports.com/facilities/trackandfieldcomplex.html track and field complex http://www.fau.edu/campusrec/facility/track.php with synthetic turf (opened January 2007), a ropes challenge course http://www.fau.edu/campusrec/challenge_course/challenge_course.php and the 6.5 acre Henderson Fields, utilized most often by the FAU Intramural Sports and Club Sports programs. http://www.fau.edu/campusrec/facility/henderson.php
, encompassing approximately 811 members or 4% of the undergraduate population. These Greek organizations provide academic motivation, forums for education on various life issues, philanthropy
and service to the community; contribute to the campuses through participation in campus life; and foster opportunities for people with similar values to engage in friendship. The highpoint of Greek life at Florida Atlantic is "Greek Week." This event is held annually during the spring semester and showcases a number of themed competitions between the university's Greek organizations. There are currently no on-campus Greek houses. However, a Greek Life Housing task force
has been formed to explore various housing models, including the cost of construction, "and make recommendations on how to improve the overall quality of the Greek housing...." Greek housing is planned for the upcoming Innovation Village complex. Fraternities include: Delta Tau Delta
, Phi Delta Theta
, Sigma Chi
, Alpha Epsilon Pi
, Pi Kappa Alpha
, Sigma Phi Epsilon
, Sigma Alpha Mu
, and Alpha Tau Omega
. Sororities include: Alpha Delta Pi
, Alpha Xi Delta
, Delta Phi Epsilon
, Sigma Kappa
, and Theta Phi Alpha
.
, 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
, also known as "Father Goose," is a poet, children's author, and nationally syndicated writer. 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
, and prop comedian
Carrot Top
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.
Public university
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...
, coeducational, research university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
located in , United States. The university has six satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach
Dania Beach, Florida
Dania Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 29,639. It is part of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010 census. Dania Beach is the location of one of the largest jai alai frontons in...
, Davie
Davie, Florida
Davie is a town in Broward County, Florida, United States. The town's population was 91,992 at the 2010 census.- History :Davie was founded by Jake Tannebaum and Tamara Toussaint. The original name of the town was Zona. In 1909 R.P. Davie assisted then Governor Broward by draining the swamplands...
, Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
, Jupiter
Jupiter, Florida
Jupiter is a town located in Palm Beach County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 39,328. The estimate population for 2009 is 50,606. As of 2006, the population had grown to 50,028, according to the University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research....
, Port St. Lucie
Port St. Lucie, Florida
Port St. Lucie is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The population of Port St. Lucie was 88,769 at the 2000 census but grew rapidly during the 2000s. In 2009 the State of Florida estimated the City's population at 155,251. Port St. Lucie forms part of a metropolitan area called...
, and in Fort Pierce
Fort Pierce, Florida
Fort Pierce, also spelled Ft. Pierce, is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, USA. It is known as The Sunrise City. The population was 37,959 at the 2004 census. As of 2008, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 41,000. It is the county seat of St. Lucie County.Fort Pierce is part...
at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. Florida Atlantic serves a seven-county region that has a populace of more than three million people and spans more than 100 miles (160 km) of Florida's eastern coastline.
The university opened in 1964 as the first public university in southeast Florida
South Florida metropolitan area
The South Florida metropolitan area, also known as the Miami metropolitan area, and designated the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area by the U.S...
and the first university in the nation to offer only upper-division and graduate level courses. Although initial enrollment was only 867 students, this number increased in 1984 when the university admitted its first lower-division undergraduate students. As of 2011, enrollment has grown to over 29,000 students representing 140 countries, 49 states
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
and the District of Columbia
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. Since its inception, Florida Atlantic has awarded more than 110,000 degrees to nearly 105,000 alumni worldwide.
In recent years Florida Atlantic has undertaken an effort to increase its academic and research standings while also evolving into a more traditional university. The university has raised admissions standards, increased research funding, built new facilities, and established notable partnerships with major research institutions. The efforts have resulted in not only an increase in the university's academic profile, but also the elevation of the football team
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
to Division I competition status, an on-campus football stadium, more on-campus housing, and the establishment of its own College of Medicine in 2010.
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. 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 CorpsUnited States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
' sole radar training facility. The base was built on the existing Boca Raton Airport
Boca Raton Airport
Boca Raton Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located two miles northwest of the central business district of Boca Raton, a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States...
and on 5,860 acres (23.7 km²) of adjacent land. A majority of the land was acquired from Japanese-American farmers from the failing Yamato Colony
Yamato Colony, Florida
The Yamato Colony was an attempt to create a community of Japanese farmers in what is now Boca Raton, Florida, early in the 20th century. With encouragement from Florida authorities, young Japanese men were recruited to farm in the colony...
. The land was seized through eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
, leaving many Japanese-Americans little recourse in the early days of World War II.
Enola Gay
Enola Gay is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, mother of the pilot, then-Colonel Paul Tibbets. On August 6, 1945, during the final stages of World War II, it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb as a weapon of war...
when it dropped a nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
on Hiroshima
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
. 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.
By early 1947, the military decided to transfer future radar training operations to Keesler Air Force Base
Keesler Air Force Base
Keesler Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Biloxi, a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. The base is named in honor of aviator 2d Lt Samuel Reeves Keesler, Jr., a Mississippi native killed in France in First World War.-Units:The base is home of...
in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. 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
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
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 PresidentPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
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
Florida Legislature
The Florida State Legislature is the term often used to refer to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The Florida Constitution states that "The legislative power of the state shall be vested in a legislature of the State of Florida," composed of a Senate...
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
Davie, Florida
Davie is a town in Broward County, Florida, United States. The town's population was 91,992 at the 2010 census.- History :Davie was founded by Jake Tannebaum and Tamara Toussaint. The original name of the town was Zona. In 1909 R.P. Davie assisted then Governor Broward by draining the swamplands...
in western Broward County in 1990. Florida Atlantic later purchased 50 acres (0.2 km²) of land in Port St. Lucie
Port St. Lucie, Florida
Port St. Lucie is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The population of Port St. Lucie was 88,769 at the 2000 census but grew rapidly during the 2000s. In 2009 the State of Florida estimated the City's population at 155,251. Port St. Lucie forms part of a metropolitan area called...
in 1994 to establish a campus on the Treasure Coast
Treasure Coast
The Treasure Coast is a region in the U.S. state of Florida, generally considered to include Indian River, St. Lucie, and Martin counties. The area stretches from Hobe Sound in the south to north of Sebastian in the north and includes the cities of Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, and Vero Beach...
. This would be the institution's fifth campus. The university continued its expansion in 1999 when it opened its Jupiter
Jupiter, Florida
Jupiter is a town located in Palm Beach County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 39,328. The estimate population for 2009 is 50,606. As of 2006, the population had grown to 50,028, according to the University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research....
Campus, named for the late John D. MacArthur
John D. MacArthur
John Donald MacArthur was an American businessman and philanthropist who established the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, benefactor in the MacArthur Fellowships.-Early life:...
. This campus houses the university's honors college.
Florida Atlantic University and the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
's Miller School of Medicine established a medical training
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
program within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science
Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science
The Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine is the medical school of Florida Atlantic University located in Boca Raton, Florida, USA. The college offers the degrees of Doctor of Medicine , Doctor of Medicine/Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy .-External links:**...
in 2004. Plans originally called for the construction of a new teaching hospital
Teaching hospital
A teaching hospital is a hospital that provides clinical education and training to future and current doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients...
in coordination with Boca Raton Community Hospital
Boca Raton Community Hospital
Boca Raton Regional Hospital is a 400-bed not-for-profit health care organization located in Boca Raton, Florida. Born out of compelling need in 1967, Boca Raton Regional Hospital has consistently focused its efforts and its resources on one mission and one purpose only; the health and welfare of...
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 2010, there are approximately 28,000 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. Since its founding, the university has been led by six presidents. The university's current president is Dr. Mary Jane Saunders. Saunders was named president on March 3, 2010, following the resignation of Frank Brogan. Brogan, a former Lieutenant Governor of Florida
Lieutenant Governor of Florida
The Lieutenant Governor of Florida is a statewide elected office in the government of the U.S. state of Florida. According to the Florida Constitution, the lieutenant governor is elected to a four-year term congruent with that of the Governor of Florida, and succeeds to the office of Governor if it...
, left the university in late 2009 to become Chancellor of the State University System of Florida
State University System of Florida
The State University System of Florida is a system of eleven public universities in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2011, over 320,000 students were enrolled in Florida's state universities...
. The past university presidents are Frank T. Brogan, Dr. Anthony J. Catanese, Dr. Helen Popovich, Dr. Glenwood Creech, and Dr. Kenneth Rast Williams.
Profile
The university's student body consists of 23,613 undergraduates, 4,245 graduate and professional students, 64 medical students, and 1,368 unclassified students. The undergraduate student body contains 44% ethnic minorities and includes students from 140 countries, 49 states, and the District of Columbia. For the undergraduate class of 2012, the acceptance rate was 35% for first-time-in-college students.Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
, master's
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
and doctoral
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
degree programs: the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
The Charles E. Schmidt College of Science is an academic college of Florida Atlantic University located in Boca Raton, Florida, USA. The mission of the college "is to provide the benefits of scientific understanding to our students and the public through teaching, research and service." The dean of...
, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing
Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing
The Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing is an academic college of Florida Atlantic University located in Boca Raton, Florida, USA. The dean of the college is Dr. Anne Boykin....
, College for Design and Social Inquiry, College of Business, College of Education
Florida Atlantic University College of Education
The College of Education is an academic college of Florida Atlantic University located in Boca Raton, Florida, USA. The college's main focus is to "provide effective leadership in areas of research, service, and teaching at the local, state, national, and international levels..." The college was...
, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Florida Atlantic University College of Engineering and Computer Science
The College of Engineering and Computer Science is an academic college of Florida Atlantic University located in Boca Raton, Florida, USA. The college's mission is " to educate those who will contribute to the advancement of technical knowledge and who will be the leaders of tomorrow, conducts...
, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters is an academic college of Florida Atlantic University located in Boca Raton, Florida, USA. The Schmidt College of Arts and Letters focuses on the traditional and liberal arts.-Schools and departments:...
, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
The Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College is an academic college of Florida Atlantic University, located at the John D. MacArthur campus of FAU in Jupiter, Florida. The Wilkes Honors College opened in 1999 and offers a rigorous liberal arts education through the platform of a public institution, with a...
, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine 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
Liberal arts college
A liberal arts college is one with a primary emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences.Students in the liberal arts generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including sciences as well as the traditional...
in the platform 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 university's admission requirements have been traditionally considered low. However, the institution has begun gradually increasing standards to improve its graduation and retention rates. Starting in the summer of 2004, the university began denying entry to students with low GPA and SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
scores, directing them to first take remedial courses at a community college. For fall 2009, a minimum GPA of 2.6 and a minimum SAT score of 1390 or a composite score of 20 on the ACT are required for admission. Following a surge in the university's popularity, in early 2009 the university created its first wait-list for undergraduate enrollment. After February 15, 2009 applicants for admission in the 2009-2010 academic year were required to have a 3.5 GPA or an SAT score of 1600 (out of 2,400 total) to be considered. For the 2009–2010 academic year, the average high school GPA for an entering freshman was 3.4, with a score of 1069 on the SAT, and a 23 on the ACT
ACT (examination)
The ACT is a standardized test for high school achievement and college admissions in the United States produced by ACT, Inc. It was first administered in November 1959 by Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test, now the SAT Reasoning Test...
. The average class size for undergraduates is 33 students, and for graduate classes, 12 students. The student-to-faculty ratio is 18:1. The top three undergraduate majors by enrollment are elementary education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, accounting, and management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
, respectively. The top three graduate majors by enrollment are business administration, nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
, and educational leadership. The average age for first-year students is 18; however, the average age for all undergraduates is 24. The average age for graduate students is 34. The average 4-year graduation rate for first-time, non-transfer students is 14%. The 6-year graduation rate is 37%.
Notable programs at FAU are: the largest adult continuing education program in the United States; the first entirely student-run full-service record label in the US; and the only Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
trading room simulator at a public university in Florida. 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 the Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales Chart
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
during its first week of release. The university's two-story trading room
Trading room
A trading-room gathers traders operating on financial markets.The trading-room is also often called the front office.The terms dealing-room and trading-floor are also used, the latter being inspired from that of a open outcry stock exchange....
simulator, located in the College of Business, provides hands-on financial education using 25 dual-monitor computers and can accommodate 50 people at one time. A second lab provides full audio/visual connectivity and 25 additional workstations. Florida Atlantic allows local financial businesses to use the Trading Room for training.
Research
Florida Atlantic is classified by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of TeachingThe Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
Founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and chartered in 1906 by an act of the United States Congress, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching is an independent policy and research center, whose primary activities of research and writing have resulted in published reports on every level...
as a research university with high research activity. The university has established notable partnerships with major research institutions such as The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute is an American medical research facility that focuses on research in the basic biomedical sciences. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, with a sister facility in Jupiter, Florida, the institute is home to 3,000 scientists, technicians, graduate students, and...
, the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies
Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies
The Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, also commonly referred to as TPIMS, is a non-profit biomedical research institute "dedicated to the discovery of causes, treatments and cures for a wide variety of diseases and afflictions including heart disease, cancer, AIDS, diabetes, multiple...
, and the Max Planck Society
Max Planck Society
The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes publicly funded by the federal and the 16 state governments of Germany....
. Following construction of a sister institute on the Jupiter
Jupiter, Florida
Jupiter is a town located in Palm Beach County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 39,328. The estimate population for 2009 is 50,606. As of 2006, the population had grown to 50,028, according to the University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research....
campus, Scripps operates out of a state-of-the-art research facility focusing on basic biomedical science, drug discovery, and technology development. While its headquarters were under construction, Torrey Pines operated out of Florida Atlantic's nearby Port St. Lucie campus. Max Planck announced in July 2008 that it will establish its first institute in the United States adjacent to Scripps on Florida Atlantic's John D. MacArthur Campus. The Society will focus on bio-imaging.
The university is the home of two centers of excellence: The Center of Excellence in Biomedical and Marine Biotechnology and The Center for Ocean Energy Technology. These centers have been selected by Florida’s Emerging Technology Commission to receive grants to continue and increase their operations. Florida Atlantic beat out some of Florida's top research universities, including the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
and Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
, for the initial money from the state.
Marine electronics
Marine electronics refers to electronics devices designed and classed for use in the marine environment where even small drops of salt water will destroy electronics devices...
, marine biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
, functional genomics
Functional genomics
Functional genomics is a field of molecular biology that attempts to make use of the vast wealth of data produced by genomic projects to describe gene functions and interactions...
, proteomics
Proteomics
Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins, particularly their structures and functions. Proteins are vital parts of living organisms, as they are the main components of the physiological metabolic pathways of cells. The term "proteomics" was first coined in 1997 to make an analogy with...
, and bioinformatics
Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is the application of computer science and information technology to the field of biology and medicine. Bioinformatics deals with algorithms, databases and information systems, web technologies, artificial intelligence and soft computing, information and computation theory, software...
. Researchers, scientists, and students at the centers are designing technologies to explore the sea, harvest renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
, discover new medicines, and develop new therapeutics to combat agents of bioterrorism
Bioterrorism
Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form. For the use of this method in warfare, see biological warfare.-Definition:According to the...
. As a result of this research, in 2007 the university and Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
announced an exclusive licensing agreement to develop and produce a rapidly deployable and autonomous mooring buoy system for military and scientific uses.
In 2010, the United States Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
designated FAU as one of three national centers for ocean energy research and development. The Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center joins centers in the Pacific Northwest (University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
and Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
) and in Hawaii (University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
). The Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center is undertaking research and development of technologies capable of generating renewable power from ocean currents and ocean thermal energy.
The university houses both an Imaging Technology Center and a NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Imaging Technology Space Center. Located in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the centers specialize in digital imaging research and development for use in both government and commercial applications in the areas of medical technology
Medical technology
Medical Technology encompasses a wide range of healthcare products and is used to diagnose, monitor or treat diseases or medical conditions affecting humans. Such technologies are intended to improve the quality of healthcare delivered through earlier diagnosis, less invasive treatment options and...
, surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
, communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
s, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, inspection
Inspection
An inspection is, most generally, an organized examination or formal evaluation exercise. In engineering activities inspection involves the measurements, tests, and gauges applied to certain characteristics in regard to an object or activity...
, scientific observation
Observation
Observation is either an activity of a living being, such as a human, consisting of receiving knowledge of the outside world through the senses, or the recording of data using scientific instruments. The term may also refer to any data collected during this activity...
, manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
, visual recognition and identification, and motion picture and digital video
Digital video
Digital video is a type of digital recording system that works by using a digital rather than an analog video signal.The terms camera, video camera, and camcorder are used interchangeably in this article.- History :...
. The Florida Atlantic Imaging Technology Center is developing a curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
for digital imaging
Digital imaging
Digital imaging or digital image acquisition is the creation of digital images, typically from a physical scene. The term is often assumed to imply or include the processing, compression, storage, printing, and display of such images...
and processing, thereby establishing Florida Atlantic as the only university in the nation to offer this technical concentration. The NASA Imaging Technology Center is one of 12 NASA Research Partnership Centers throughout the nation which develop dual-use research and development with the participation of NASA and other related industries in the US. The center occupies two sets of laboratories and administrative offices, one on Florida Atlantic’s main campus in Boca Raton, the other at the Fort Lauderdale campus.
Florida Atlantic also operates two research and development parks, one in Deerfield Beach and one in Boca Raton. The R&D Parks provide outside research facilities for companies, which enable them to interact with the university community and its facilities, resources, and expertise. Located inside the R&D Park on the Boca Raton campus is a Technology Business Incubator. The incubator works to foster the start-up and growth of technology-based businesses associated with the university.
Library
Rankings
For 2012, Florida Atlantic University was classified as a second-tier university by the U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
's rankings of "Best Colleges." U.S. News ranks universities into one of two tiers, with one being the highest, based on how they compare with other colleges in a peer assessment, retention rates, student selectivity, faculty resources, financial resources, graduation rates, and the amount of alumni giving. The university was named one of the 146 "Best Southeastern Colleges" in the United States by the Princeton Review. The Review also recognized FAU's business program by naming the College of Business to their list of “Best 296 Business Schools” for 2009. For 2011, Florida Atlantic was ranked 249th in the nation by Washington Monthly. The magazine based its rankings on the following three criteria: "how well a university performs as an engine of social mobility (ideally helping the poor to get rich rather than the very rich to get very, very rich), how well a university does in fostering scientific and humanistic research, and how well a university promotes an ethic of service to country." The university was also ranked 28th in the United States and fourth in Florida by The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine for awarding 738 bachelor's degrees to Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
students during the 2006–2007 academic year.
Campus
Florida Atlantic University is a distributed university located on seven campuses spread across Palm Beach, Broward, and St. Lucie Counties. The region is home to more than three million people. The university's main campus is located in the City of Boca Raton in Palm Beach County. The county is also home to the John D. MacArthur Campus located in the City of JupiterJupiter, Florida
Jupiter is a town located in Palm Beach County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 39,328. The estimate population for 2009 is 50,606. As of 2006, the population had grown to 50,028, according to the University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research....
. In addition to its campuses in Palm Beach County
Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in total area, and third in population. As of 2010, the county's estimated population was 1,320,134, making it the twenty-eighth most populous in the United States...
, the university operates three campuses in the Broward County
Broward County, Florida
-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...
cities of Dania Beach
Dania Beach, Florida
Dania Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 29,639. It is part of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010 census. Dania Beach is the location of one of the largest jai alai frontons in...
, Davie
Davie, Florida
Davie is a town in Broward County, Florida, United States. The town's population was 91,992 at the 2010 census.- History :Davie was founded by Jake Tannebaum and Tamara Toussaint. The original name of the town was Zona. In 1909 R.P. Davie assisted then Governor Broward by draining the swamplands...
, and Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
. Florida Atlantic University also operates two campuses in the St. Lucie County
St. Lucie County, Florida
St. Lucie County is a county located in the state of Florida. The county seat is the city of Fort Pierce. In the year 2000, the population was 192,695. As of the year 2010, the United States Census Bureau sets the population at 277,789.- History :...
cities of Port St. Lucie
Port St. Lucie, Florida
Port St. Lucie is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The population of Port St. Lucie was 88,769 at the 2000 census but grew rapidly during the 2000s. In 2009 the State of Florida estimated the City's population at 155,251. Port St. Lucie forms part of a metropolitan area called...
and Fort Pierce
Fort Pierce, Florida
Fort Pierce, also spelled Ft. Pierce, is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, USA. It is known as The Sunrise City. The population was 37,959 at the 2004 census. As of 2008, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 41,000. It is the county seat of St. Lucie County.Fort Pierce is part...
. In addition to students who attend classes on the universities campuses, there are 1,612 distance learning students who conduct their studies over the internet or through other means. These students account for 6% of the university's student body.
Florida Atlantic is a signatory of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. This commits the institution to ensuring all new construction projects meet the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
Silver standards.
Boca Raton
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
in 1964. Spanning 850 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s (3.5 km²) near the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, the site is located between the cities of Palm Beach
Palm Beach, Florida
The Town of Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...
and Fort Lauderdale. The campus was designated a burrowing owl
Burrowing Owl
The Burrowing Owl is a tiny but long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing Owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or any other open dry area with low vegetation. They nest and roost in burrows, such as those excavated...
sanctuary in 1971 by the Audubon Society. The owls find the campus appealing because there are few predators, due to the university's proximity to the Boca Raton Airport, and because the campus was originally cleared of vegetation when operating as an airbase during World War II. "The feisty bird, traditionally associated with wisdom and determination, serves as the university's mascot."
The Boca Raton Campus is home to a wide variety of university programs and facilities. These facilities are labs and classrooms, housing for students, and athletic and recreational facilities. In addition to academic and cultural programs, the campus also houses Florida Atlantic's Division I athletics program
Florida Atlantic Owls
The Florida Atlantic Owls are the athletics teams of Florida Atlantic University. The Owls participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as members of the Sun Belt Conference....
. The main campus serves approximately 19,077 students, or 70% of the university's student body, offering a number of academic programs, activities, and services.
In an effort to create a more traditional, first-choice college atmosphere on the Boca Raton Campus, the university is working to develop an "Innovation Village". Plans for the village call for new residence halls, workforce housing, restaurants, stores, parking garages, and a 30,000-seat college football stadium that will be home to the Owls football team
Florida Atlantic Owls football
The Florida Atlantic Owls football team represents Florida Atlantic University, a mid-major NCAA Division I-A college football team, that competes in the Sun Belt Conference.-Overview and history:...
. Florida Atlantic's project will be one of only two athletics/retail venues located on the campus of a Florida university; a similar Innovation Village-type project is located at the University of Central Florida
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida, commonly referred to as UCF, is a metropolitan public research university located in Orlando, Florida, United States...
. The addition of the Innovation Village to the Boca Raton Campus has been controversial. Critics have argued the cost of the project is prohibitive and the money could be better spent on educating students or providing scholarships. The construction of the stadium has also created a controversy between Florida Atlantic and the City of Boca Raton. In 2002, the university and the city signed an agreement requiring an additional I-95
Interstate 95 in Florida
Interstate 95 is the main Interstate Highway on the east coast of the United States; it serves the Atlantic coast of Florida. It begins at a partial interchange with U.S. Highway 1 just south of downtown Miami, and heads north past Daytona Beach and Jacksonville to the Georgia state line at the St...
interchange be under construction before a stadium could be built on campus. The new Spanish River I-95 interchange serving the north side of FAU is scheduled to begin construction in 2014. http://www.bocaratontribune.com/nearly-decade-old-plan-to-build-new-interchange-on-i-95-in-boca-gets-fdot-approval/
The Boca campus also houses a number of other institutions, including the A.D. Henderson University School, FAU High School
Florida Atlantic University High School
Florida Atlantic University High School is a Florida high school dual enrollment program connected with Florida Atlantic University. Ninth grade year is completed at the Alexander D. Henderson University School campus, while grades 10-12 are completed on the FAU main campus in Boca Raton...
, one of two Florida Atlantic Research Parks, and the Lifelong Learning Society.
Jupiter – John D. MacArthur Campus
In addition to the Boca campus in southern Palm Beach County, Florida Atlantic operates a campus in northern Palm Beach County, in JupiterJupiter, Florida
Jupiter is a town located in Palm Beach County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 39,328. The estimate population for 2009 is 50,606. As of 2006, the population had grown to 50,028, according to the University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research....
. The John D. MacArthur Campus, named after businessman and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
John D. MacArthur
John D. MacArthur
John Donald MacArthur was an American businessman and philanthropist who established the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, benefactor in the MacArthur Fellowships.-Early life:...
, was established in 1999 to serve residents of central and northern Palm Beach and southern Martin Counties. The MacArthur Campus occupies 45 acres (0.18 km²), upon which are eight classroom and office buildings, a library, a 500-seat auditorium, two residence halls, a dining hall, museum building, and utility plant. The MacArthur Campus also houses the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
The Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College is an academic college of Florida Atlantic University, located at the John D. MacArthur campus of FAU in Jupiter, Florida. The Wilkes Honors College opened in 1999 and offers a rigorous liberal arts education through the platform of a public institution, with a...
, Scripps Florida
The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute is an American medical research facility that focuses on research in the basic biomedical sciences. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, with a sister facility in Jupiter, Florida, the institute is home to 3,000 scientists, technicians, graduate students, and...
, and the Max Planck Florida Institute. The campus serves approximately 1,262 students, or 4% of the university's student body.
Broward County campuses
Dania Beach – SeaTech
The Dania BeachDania Beach, Florida
Dania Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 29,639. It is part of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010 census. Dania Beach is the location of one of the largest jai alai frontons in...
Campus, also known as SeaTech, was founded in 1997 as a state-funded Type II research center. The institute is part of Florida Atlantic’s Department of Ocean Engineering which was founded in 1965 as the first ocean engineering undergraduate program in the nation. The campus is located on 8 acres (0.03 km²) of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway
Intracoastal Waterway
The Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000-mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are artificial canals...
. SeaTech is home to university faculty and students engaged in sponsored ocean engineering research and development in the areas of acoustics
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
, marine vehicles, hydrodynamics and physical oceanography
Physical oceanography
Physical oceanography is the study of physical conditions and physical processes within the ocean, especially the motions and physical properties of ocean waters.Physical oceanography is one of several sub-domains into which oceanography is divided...
, marine materials and nanocomposites
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
. The Dania Beach Campus serves approximately 70 students, roughly 1% of the university's total student body.
Davie
The Davie
Davie, Florida
Davie is a town in Broward County, Florida, United States. The town's population was 91,992 at the 2010 census.- History :Davie was founded by Jake Tannebaum and Tamara Toussaint. The original name of the town was Zona. In 1909 R.P. Davie assisted then Governor Broward by draining the swamplands...
Campus of Florida Atlantic University was established in 1990 on 38 acres (0.15 km²) of land in western Broward County. The campus features a multi-story student union
Student activity center
A student activity center is a type of building found on university campuses. In the United States, such a building is more often called a student union, student commons, or student center...
with offices for student government and student organizations, a multipurpose area and student lounge, a bookstore, and cafeteria. The union also contains a student health center that provides medical services and health counseling. The campus serves approximately 3,488 students, or 13% of the Florida Atlantic student body, making it the university's second largest campus by enrollment. Davie is also the home of "environmental research initiatives focused on Everglades
Everglades
The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...
restoration."
Fort Lauderdale
The university has two buildings in Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
, both of which are considered part of one Fort Lauderdale campus. The Askew Tower and the Higher Education Complex on Las Olas Boulevard Campuses offer courses in communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
, graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
, business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, computer arts, architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, urban and regional planning, criminal justice
Criminal justice
Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...
, social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
, journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, and public administration
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
. The campuses are home to approximately 650 students or 2% of the university's student body.
Port St. Lucie – Treasure Coast Campus
Located in Port St. LuciePort St. Lucie, Florida
Port St. Lucie is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The population of Port St. Lucie was 88,769 at the 2000 census but grew rapidly during the 2000s. In 2009 the State of Florida estimated the City's population at 155,251. Port St. Lucie forms part of a metropolitan area called...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, the Treasure Coast Campus of Florida Atlantic University operates through a partnership with Indian River State College (IRSC). Since the 1970s, the university has been operating on the Treasure Coast
Treasure Coast
The Treasure Coast is a region in the U.S. state of Florida, generally considered to include Indian River, St. Lucie, and Martin counties. The area stretches from Hobe Sound in the south to north of Sebastian in the north and includes the cities of Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, and Vero Beach...
in conjunction with IRSC to enable students to transition from an associate's degree
Associate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...
to undergraduate and graduate
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
degrees.
Florida Atlantic purchased 50 acres (0.2 km²) of land in Port St. Lucie in 1994. The university operated in the existing infrastructure for eight years before joining with Indian River State College to open a joint-use facility. Both institutions continue to operate out of this 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) facility. The Treasure Coast Campus currently serves approximately 738 students, or 3% of the university's student body.
Fort Pierce – Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution
In addition to the Treasure Coast Campus, Florida Atlantic University operates a campus in Fort PierceFort Pierce, Florida
Fort Pierce, also spelled Ft. Pierce, is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, USA. It is known as The Sunrise City. The population was 37,959 at the 2004 census. As of 2008, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 41,000. It is the county seat of St. Lucie County.Fort Pierce is part...
at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. Harbor Branch merged with the university in 2007 to become the HBOI at FAU. The Florida Legislature allocated $44 million for the university to acquire the institution and its 600 acre (2.4 km²) campus.
Athletics
Florida Atlantic's 18 varsity sports teams, the OwlsFlorida Atlantic Owls
The Florida Atlantic Owls are the athletics teams of Florida Atlantic University. The Owls participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as members of the Sun Belt Conference....
, compete in the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
's Division I Sun Belt Conference. The university's athletics program began in 1979, when Florida Atlantic first started sponsoring intercollegiate teams. Since then, the university has worked to expand the quality of its intercollegiate program by attracting coaches such as Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger is an American football coach at both the professional and college level. He is currently in his final season as head coach of Florida Atlantic University, having announced his retirement on August 11, 2011, effective at the end of the 2011 season...
, Matt Doherty, Rex Walters
Rex Walters
-External links:...
and Mike Jarvis
Mike Jarvis
Mike Jarvis is an American college basketball coach and the current head men's basketball coach at Florida Atlantic University. He has coached at Boston University, George Washington University and St. John's University. He also has worked as a commentator for college basketball games on ESPN...
. In 2006, the athletic department was ranked 79th in the nation by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics
National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics
The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics is a professional organization for college and university athletic directors in the United States. NACDA boasts a membership of more than 6,100 individuals and more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico...
(NACDA). Along with USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
and the United States Sports Academy, NACDA recognized the university for its Division I athletic programs and accomplishments." This ranking placed Florida Atlantic in the top 24% of 326 NCAA Division I universities. The university's colors are FAU Blue, FAU Red, and FAU Silver.
In 2008
2008 Florida Atlantic Owls football team
The 2008 Florida Atlantic University Owls football team represented Florida Atlantic University in the 2008 college football season. The team was coached by Howard Schnellenberger and played their home games at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, FL...
, the Florida Atlantic football team
Florida Atlantic Owls football
The Florida Atlantic Owls football team represents Florida Atlantic University, a mid-major NCAA Division I-A college football team, that competes in the Sun Belt Conference.-Overview and history:...
finished six wins and six losses in regular season play and was invited to the Motor City Bowl
2008 Motor City Bowl
The 2008 Motor City Bowl was a National Collegiate Athletic Association bowl game in which the Florida Atlantic Owls defeated the Central Michigan Chippewas 24–21. It was played on December 26, 2008 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan and aired on ESPN. The underdog FAU team from the Sun Belt...
. The Owls defeated Central Michigan University
Central Michigan University
Central Michigan University is a public research university located in Mount Pleasant in the U.S. state of Michigan...
24–21, increasing their bowl record to two wins and zero losses. During the previous season, the football team
2007 Florida Atlantic Owls football team
The 2007 Florida Atlantic University Owls football team represented Florida Atlantic University in the 2007 college football season. The team was coached by Howard Schnellenberger and played their home games at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, FL...
beat Troy University
Troy University
Troy University is a public university that is located in Troy, Alabama, United States. It was originally founded in 1887 as Troy Normal School. Its main campus enrollment is 7,194 students. The total enrollment of all Troy University campuses is 29,689...
in the final game of regular season play to become Sun Belt Co-Champions and receive an invitation to the New Orleans Bowl
New Orleans Bowl
The New Orleans Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played annually at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana since 2001. The game was sponsored by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from 2002 to 2004 and was officially called the Wyndham New...
. In just the seventh year of the football program's history, and the third year playing in Division I, Florida Atlantic set NCAA records by both becoming the youngest program ever to receive an invitation to, and win, a bowl game
2007 New Orleans Bowl
The 2007 R+L CarriersNew Orleans Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game. Part of the 2007-08 NCAA football bowl games season, it was played on December 21, 2007 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans....
. As a result of the New Orleans Bowl the university has seen a surge in school spirit.
In past seasons the Owls have garnered a number of accolades for their accomplishments. During the 2006–2007 season, the men's basketball team was noted as "one of the Sun Belt Conference
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...
's top offensive teams," with a "scary offense" that earned it the reputation of the "best shooting team in the conference." In 2010, the men's basketball team defeated its first-ever Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
opponent Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
61-59 http://www.mstateathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=16800&ATCLID=205039259 as well as Big East opponent the University of South Florida
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
50-42 http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=205042808&SPID=2923&SPSID=36686 en route to a 21-9 overall record and claimed the Sun Belt Conference
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...
title.http://www.fau.edu/explore/homepage-stories/2011_02basketbllwin.php
The baseball team was also recognized by the NCAA as ranking in the Top 10 in five team categories. The team was also ranked third in the nation in home runs per game (1.66) and in slugging percentage (.563). In 2010, the Owls baseball team was 37-24 (21-9) and claimed their first Sun Belt Conference regular-season title.http://www.fauowlaccess.com/articles/194/fau-baseball-team-winning-sun-belt-title-is-our-no-2-story-of-the-year.aspx
Traditions
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
game between Florida Atlantic and nearby Florida International University
Florida International University
Florida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...
(FIU).
Another traditional competition between Florida Atlantic and Florida International is the annual Shula Bowl
Shula Bowl
The Shula Bowl is an annual college football rivalry game between the Florida Atlantic University Owls and the Florida International University Golden Panthers. The game's winner receives a traveling trophy, the "Don Shula Award" for one year. The current winner is FIU, winning 41-7 on 12 November...
. This intercollegiate football game is named after legendary coach Don Shula
Don Shula
Donald Francis "Don" Shula is a former American football cornerback and coach.He is best known as coach of the Miami Dolphins, the team he led to two Super Bowl victories, and to the National Football League's only perfect season. Shula was named 1993 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated....
; the game originates from the fact that both head coaches, Florida Atlantic's Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger
Howard Schnellenberger is an American football coach at both the professional and college level. He is currently in his final season as head coach of Florida Atlantic University, having announced his retirement on August 11, 2011, effective at the end of the 2011 season...
and former Florida International coach Don Strock
Don Strock
Don Strock is a former professional football player who was the head coach of the Florida International University football team from 2002–2006.-College:Strock played college football at Virginia Tech, and graduated in 1973...
, worked under Shula at some point during their careers. As a home game, the competition takes place at FAU Stadium; as an away game, the bowl is played at FIU Stadium
FIU Stadium
FIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for...
in Miami.
The official spirit group supporting Florida Atlantic athletics is the "prOWLers." The group began in February 2002 to support the men's basketball program during the team’s run for the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship
Atlantic Sun Conference
The Atlantic Sun Conference is a college athletic conference operating in the Southeastern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I; it does not sponsor football. The conference was established in 1978 as the Trans America Athletic Conference...
. The group is funded by the Student Alumni Association, and can now be found at most sporting events cheering for Florida Atlantic. The prOWLers are joined by the Owl Rangershttp://www.owlrangers.com/, a fan group that paints their bodies in the Florida Atlantic school colors. The hOWLetts are a student club that attend gameday events and assist in recruiting athletes. http://fau.collegiatelink.net/organization/howlett-club/about
Residential life
Residential housing at Florida Atlantic University is available on the Boca Raton and John D. MacArthur campuses. "All full-time freshmen are required to reside in university housing," however, "exemptions from this policy are made for students who: are 21 or older by the first day of class, reside with parent(s) or legal guardian(s) within a 50 miles (80.5 km) radius of the Boca Raton [C]ampus, or are married." As of 2008, 2,421 students (9% of the university body) live on-campus in Boca Raton. The Wilkes Honors College on the MacArthur Campus requires all students live on-campus within its two residence halls, however, exceptions are made for students who are 26 years of age, married, or have dependent children. As of 2008, there are 260 students (1% of the student body) residing on-campus at the honors college.Boca Raton's main on-campus housing facilities are: Algonquin Hall (opened 1965), Heritage Park Towers (opened 2004), Indian River Towers (opened 2001), and Glades Park Towers (opened 2007) which is a dormitory for freshmen nearly identical to Heritage Park Towers. The university also offers upper-division undergraduate and graduate student housing in the Village Student Apartments, as well as a Business and Professional Women's Scholarship House for women with a strong academic background. As part of the first phase of the Innovation Village project, Florida Atlantic finished the construction of a 1,200 bed apartment-style housing facility for upperclassmen, graduate, and medical students. The facility opened in Fall 2011. http://www.upressonline.com/building-the-future-1.2137444
Within its existing residential life programs, Florida Atlantic offers a number of Learning Communities for freshmen and students with similar interests and concentrations. Participants meet people with similar interests, live on the same floor and take courses with others in their community, while receiving additional guidance related to those interests. The university's Learning Community programs are divided into two categories, Freshman Learning Communities and Living Learning Communities. The freshman program offers 16 different concentrations, including business, nursing, and education. The Living program offers six concentrations for students residing in the Heritage Park Towers dormitory
Dormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
, including engineering and computer science and a Women's Leadership program.
The university's Department of Housing and Residential Life and the university's fraternities and sororities sponsor a program for freshmen
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
and other students returning to Florida Atlantic in the fall semester. This program, called the "Weeks of Welcome", spans 11 days and all campuses, and works to acclimate students with university life and to build a good on-campus community. On each day, a number of different events are scheduled, including Hall Wars, which are athletic competitions between dormitories; Luau
Luau
A luau is a Hawaiian feast. It may feature food, such as poi, kalua pig, poke, lomi salmon, opihi, haupia, and beer; and entertainment, such as Hawaiian music and hula...
s, and a number of other events. The Weeks of Welcome is the second largest campus-wide event held by Florida Atlantic.
Campus organizations and activities
For the 2010–2011 academic year, Florida Atlantic had approximately 300 registered student organizations. Among the groups are academic organizations, honor societies, spiritual/religious organizations, diversity-appreciation organizations, service organizations, personal interest organizations, sports clubs, and student government agencies. These clubs and organizations run the gamut from sailingSailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
to Ultimate Frisbee, from varsity and club sports and a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
group to a pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
, from political organizations to chess and video game clubs. These organizations are funded by student tuition, from which $10.00 per credit hour goes toward an activities and service fee fund. This generates approximately $5.8 million that is then given to student government for allocation to student clubs and organizations. The student government also finances other student life programs, including career fairs, the University Press
University Press (Florida Atlantic University)
The University Press, also commonly referred to as the UP, is the student-run newspaper of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, USA. The newspaper is published semimonthly during the summer and weekly during the fall and spring semesters. The current editor-in-chief is Gideon Grudo...
, OWL TV
OWL TV (Florida Atlantic University)
OWL TV is the Student television station of Florida Atlantic University. Founded in 1998, OWL TV airs daily on campus in the resident halls and covers events, meetings and what’s happening at student programs. The station is an organization of Florida Atlantic's Student Government Association...
and Owl Radio, and Homecoming.
Florida Atlantic's homecoming
Homecoming
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni of a school. It most commonly refers to a tradition in many universities, colleges and high schools in North America...
, also known as the "Owl Prowl," is celebrated annually in the fall semester. Events occur mainly on the Boca Raton Campus, but a number of other campuses host their own events as well. In the past, homecoming has had kickoff parties, costumed dances, bonfires, comedy shows, alumni events and dinners, a golf cart parade, and tailgating
Tailgating
Tailgating is the practice of driving on a road too close to the vehicle in front, at a distance which does not guarantee that stopping to avoid collision is possible...
. Florida Atlantic students have an organized football tailgating area known as the Rat's Mouth http://www.fau.edu/sil/Tailgating%20Expectations.pdf. The name references the Spanish
Spanish
Spanish may refer to:* Of or related to Spain* Spanish language, the official language of Spain and most of Latin America* Spanish people * The Spanish Empire, the empire administrated by Spain from the 15th century* Spanish cuisine...
translation of Boca Raton.
Florida Atlantic completed an $18.6 million Recreation and Wellness Center in spring 2010. The facility houses an outdoor leisure and lap pool, a cardio equipment and free weight room, two multipurpose rooms, three indoor courts and health club-style locker rooms. http://www.fau.edu/campusrec/facility/rec_center.php In 2011, the facility won the NIRSA Outstanding Sports Facilities Award. Other recreation facilities include a $4.2 million http://www.fausports.com/facilities/trackandfieldcomplex.html track and field complex http://www.fau.edu/campusrec/facility/track.php with synthetic turf (opened January 2007), a ropes challenge course http://www.fau.edu/campusrec/challenge_course/challenge_course.php and the 6.5 acre Henderson Fields, utilized most often by the FAU Intramural Sports and Club Sports programs. http://www.fau.edu/campusrec/facility/henderson.php
Greek life
Florida Atlantic is home to 23 chapters of national fraternities and sororitiesFraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
, encompassing approximately 811 members or 4% of the undergraduate population. These Greek organizations provide academic motivation, forums for education on various life issues, philanthropy
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
and service to the community; contribute to the campuses through participation in campus life; and foster opportunities for people with similar values to engage in friendship. The highpoint of Greek life at Florida Atlantic is "Greek Week." This event is held annually during the spring semester and showcases a number of themed competitions between the university's Greek organizations. There are currently no on-campus Greek houses. However, a Greek Life Housing task force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
has been formed to explore various housing models, including the cost of construction, "and make recommendations on how to improve the overall quality of the Greek housing...." Greek housing is planned for the upcoming Innovation Village complex. Fraternities include: Delta Tau Delta
Delta Tau Delta
Delta Tau Delta is a U.S.-based international secret letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, . It currently has around 125 student chapters nationwide, as well as more than 25 regional alumni groups. Its national community service...
, Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta , also known as Phi Delt, is an international fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, Beta Theta Pi, and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. The fraternity has about 169 active chapters and colonies in over 43 U.S...
, Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
, Alpha Epsilon Pi
Alpha Epsilon Pi
Alpha Epsilon Pi , the Global Jewish college fraternity, has 155 active chapters in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Israel with a membership of over 9,000 undergraduates...
, Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...
, Sigma Phi Epsilon
Sigma Phi Epsilon
Sigma Phi Epsilon , commonly nicknamed SigEp or SPE, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College , and its national headquarters remains in Richmond, Virginia. It was founded on three principles: Virtue,...
, Sigma Alpha Mu
Sigma Alpha Mu
Sigma Alpha Mu , also known as "Sammy", is a college fraternity founded at the City College of New York in 1909. Originally only for Jewish men, Sigma Alpha Mu remained so until 1953, when members from all backgrounds were accepted. Originally headquartered in New York, Sigma Alpha Mu has...
, and Alpha Tau Omega
Alpha Tau Omega
Alpha Tau Omega is a secret American leadership and social fraternity.The Fraternity has more than 250 active and inactive chapters, more than 200,000 initiates, and over 7,000 active undergraduate members. The 200,000th member was initiated in early 2009...
. Sororities include: Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Delta Pi is a fraternity founded on May 15, 1851 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The Executive office for this sorority is located on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. Alpha Delta Pi is one of the two "Macon Magnolias," a term used to celebrate the bonds it shares with Phi Mu...
, Alpha Xi Delta
Alpha Xi Delta
Alpha Xi Delta is a women's fraternity founded on April 17, 1893 at Lombard College, Galesburg, Illinois. Alpha Xi Delta is one of the oldest women's fraternities as well as one of the ten founding fraternities of the National Panhellenic Conference...
, Delta Phi Epsilon
Delta Phi Epsilon (social)
Delta Phi Epsilon is an international sorority founded on March 17, 1917 at New York University Law School in New York City...
, Sigma Kappa
Sigma Kappa
Sigma Kappa is a sorority founded in 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn...
, and Theta Phi Alpha
Theta Phi Alpha
Theta Phi Alpha women's fraternity was founded at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor on August 30, 1912. Theta Phi Alpha is one of 26 national sororities recognized in the National Panhellenic Conference...
.
Alumni
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 PaulisonR. David Paulison
Robert David Paulison is a former fire chief who served as the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency . Paulison was appointed by President George W. Bush on September 12, 2005 to replace the embattled Michael D. Brown, who resigned amid controversy over his handling of disaster...
, the former head of the United States' Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
; and former university President Frank T. Brogan, a former Lieutenant Governor of Florida
Lieutenant Governor of Florida
The Lieutenant Governor of Florida is a statewide elected office in the government of the U.S. state of Florida. According to the Florida Constitution, the lieutenant governor is elected to a four-year term congruent with that of the Governor of Florida, and succeeds to the office of Governor if it...
. Charles Ghigna
Charles Ghigna
Charles Ghigna is an American children's author, poet, speaker and nationally syndicated feature writer....
, also known as "Father Goose," is a poet, children's author, and nationally syndicated writer. Judith Ortiz Cofer
Judith Ortiz Cofer
Judith Ortiz Cofer is a Puerto Rican author. Her work spans a range of literary genres including poetry, short stories, autobiography, essays, and Young-adult fiction.-Early years:...
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
Chris Carrabba
Christopher Ender Carrabba is the lead singer and guitarist of the band Dashboard Confessional, and is the vocalist for the American emo/indie rock band Further Seems Forever.-Biography:...
, the lead singer of the band Dashboard Confessional
Dashboard Confessional
Dashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, led by singer-songwriter Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived from the song "The Sharp Hint of New Tears" from the debut album The Swiss Army Romance....
; and Phil Zimmermann
Phil Zimmermann
Philip R. "Phil" Zimmermann Jr. is the creator of Pretty Good Privacy , the most widely used email encryption software in the world. He is also known for his work in VoIP encryption protocols, notably ZRTP and Zfone....
, the creator of Pretty Good Privacy
Pretty Good Privacy
Pretty Good Privacy is a data encryption and decryption computer program that provides cryptographic privacy and authentication for data communication. PGP is often used for signing, encrypting and decrypting texts, E-mails, files, directories and whole disk partitions to increase the security...
. Entertainers Mary Carey, a pornographic actress and former candidate for Governor of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and prop comedian
Prop comedy
Prop comedy is a comedy genre that makes use of humorous objects, or conventional objects used in humorous ways. The stage and film term "prop", an abbreviation of "property", refers to any object handled by an actor in the course of a performance. Although some form of prop comedy has likely...
Carrot Top
Carrot Top
Scott Thompson , better known by his stage name Carrot Top, is an American comedian known for his bright red hair, prop comedy, and self-deprecating humor.-Early years:...
also attended the university. Alumnus and NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
Steven Swanson
Steven Swanson
Steven Ray Swanson is an American engineer and a NASA astronaut. Swanson is married and has 3 children. Steven has received numerous awards and honors. These include the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal and the JSC Certificate of Accommodation and many others...
went to space aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis
Space Shuttle Atlantis
The Space Shuttle Atlantis is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter in the Space Shuttle fleet belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration , the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States...
during STS-117
STS-117
- Crew Notes :The initial crew manifest before the Columbia accident was:Astronaut Mark Polansky was originally slated to pilot this mission, but was moved to STS-116, which he commanded...
in June 2007, and Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
during STS-119
STS-119
-Crew notes:This mission was originally scheduled to bring the Expedition 9 crew to the ISS. This crew would have consisted of:-Mission parameters:* Mass:* Orbiter liftoff: * Orbiter landing: * Perigee: * Apogee:...
in March 2009.
External links
- Florida Atlantic University – official website
- Florida Atlantic Athletics – official website
- University Press – student newspaper