History of Florida State University - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The history of Florida State University dates to the 19th century and is deeply intertwined with the history of education

Education in Florida

The Florida education system consists of public and private schools in Florida, including the State University System of Florida , the Florida College System , the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida and other private institutions, and also secondary and primary schools.- Overview...

in the state of 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...

and in the city of Tallahassee

Tallahassee, Florida

Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...

.
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...

, known colloquially as Florida State and FSU, is one of the oldest and largest of the institutions in 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...

. It traces its origins to the West Florida Seminary, one of two state-funded seminaries the Florida Legislature

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...

voted to establish in 1851.

The West Florida Seminary, also known as the Florida State Seminary, opened for classes in Tallahassee in 1857, absorbing the Florida Institute, which had been established as an inducement for the state to place the seminary in the city. The former Florida Institute property, located where the historic Westcott Building

Westcott Building

The James D. Westcott Building is a historic building on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. The Westcott Building currently houses the chief administrative offices for Florida State University and is the primary focal point of the campus as seen down College Ave. The...

now stands, is the oldest continuously used site of higher education in Florida. The area, slightly west of the state Capitol

Florida State Capitol

The Florida State Capitol, in Tallahassee, Florida, USA, is the state capitol of the U.S. state of Florida. The building is an architecturally and historically significant building, having been listed on the National Register of Historic Places....

, was formerly and ominously known as Gallows Hill, a place for public executions in early Tallahassee. In 1858 the seminary absorbed the Tallahassee Female Academy

Tallahassee Female Academy

The Tallahassee Female Academy was one of the predecessor institutions of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida...

, established in 1843, and became coeducational.

In 1863, during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, Florida's Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

government added a military school to the institution, and changed its name to the Florida Military and Collegiate Institute. The school fielded student soldiers into an organized unit of the institution, which helped successfully repel a Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

attack on Tallahassee. In 1883, it became part of the Florida University, the first state-supported 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...

to be founded in Florida. The university project struggled with a lack of legislative support, and the seminary soon returned to its old name, but focused increasingly on modern-style secondary education. In 1905 the Buckman Act restructured higher education in Florida, and the school was reorganized as a college for white women, the Florida State College for Women. After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the school was made coeducation

Coeducation

Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...

al once again to help accommodate the influx of students entering college under the G.I. Bill, and was renamed Florida State University. It became racially integrated

Racial integration

Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...

in 1963, and was noted as a center of student activism

Student activism

Student activism is work done by students to effect political, environmental, economic, or social change. It has often focused on making changes in schools, such as increasing student influence over curriculum or improving educational funding...

during the 1960s. Through the 20th and 21st centuries Florida State University has grown in both size and academic prominence, with a particular focus on graduate and doctoral research.

Foundation

In 1823 the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

determined that the Florida Territory

Florida Territory

The Territory of Florida was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 30, 1822, until March 3, 1845, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Florida...

shall receive two seminaries

Seminary

A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...

of learning, one on each side of the Suwanee River. By 1838, the first constitution of the Florida Territory embraced and permanently guaranteed a system of general education (schools) and higher education (seminaries).

Throughout the history of Tallahassee strong energy and focus toward education originated with leaders and members of the First Presbyterian Church, Tallahassee

First Presbyterian Church, Tallahassee

First Presbyterian Church is an historic church in Tallahassee, Florida. It is located at 102 North Adams Street. The congregation was first organized on November 4, 1832 and the church building was built between 1835 and 1838, which makes it the oldest church in Tallahassee and the oldest building...

, located near Florida State University. The First Presbyterian Church building was built before 1838 and is the oldest public building in Tallahassee. For almost a century the First Presbyterian Church of Tallahassee would have a strong symbiotic relationship with the origin and development of the educational institution known today as Florida State University.

Leon Academy

City officials of Tallahassee, however, took steps to establish a school for boys as early as 1827 with the establishment of the Leon Academy. The Leon Academy was advertised in the Pensacola Gazette of March 9, 1827 as being under the supervision of Presbyterian Rev. Henry M. White, A.M. By early 1831 the Leon Academy was under the control of the Tallahassee City Council. The Leon Academy was incorporated by an act of the Territorial Legislative Council on February 12, 1831 under the control of seven trustees. The Leon Academy suffered from lack of financial resources as well as high administrative turnover and in September, 1836 was operated by John M. Brook of Virginia as a "private Seminary for boys", while the trustees continued to control and manage the property. By 1840 the Leon Academy ceased operations as a public school. The trustees, however, turned to the Territorial Legislature once again, who passed an "Act in Relation to the Trustees of Leon Academy" in 1840 wherein the Treasurer of the Territory was directed to pay funds to the trustees to "assist said Trustees in building an Academy". On March 9, 1840 the Leon Academy had been refreshed with some Territory support. The trustees solicited Territory support on the basis the Leon Academy would serve both male and female students. There is disagreement among scholars if the male-only Leon Academy is the forerunner of the West Florida Seminary. A point of agreement between the scholars is that the same leading citizens of Tallahassee were interested in both institutions.

Leon Academy for Males and Females

The Leon Academy stopped operating in 1840 and was replaced by schools for males and females in a system established by Reverend Joshua Phelps and Elder

Elder (Christianity)

An elder in Christianity is a person valued for his wisdom who accordingly holds a particular position of responsibility in a Christian group. In some Christian traditions an elder is a clergy person who usually serves a local church or churches and who has been ordained to a ministry of Word,...

David C. Wilson, both of the First Presbyterian Church. Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

-educated Reverend William Neil and his wife Eliza Neil operated the academies for males and females, which were merged in 1846 into a new version of the Leon Academy for Males and Females. The Leon Academy later split into the Tallahassee Female Academy

Tallahassee Female Academy

The Tallahassee Female Academy was one of the predecessor institutions of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida...

, also known as the Leon Female Academy for females. While organized public education for males faltered between 1840 and 1850, education for females was intact and unusually complete. By January 1850 municipal elections in Tallahassee called for a city-supported school for males. The Tallahassee City Council, acting on the vote, assumed financial responsibility for the Florida Institute the same year.

Then on January 24, 1851 the Florida Legislature

Florida Legislature

voted to establish the two seminaries: West Florida Seminary (which became Florida State University) and East Florida Seminary (which became 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...

). The 1851 law specified the organization and governing boards of the schools, including terms of office for those boards, and specified the nature and scope of instruction at each institution. This law effectively established the joint charter for the two seminaries, providing for their complete operation. It did not decide locations for the schools, however, leaving this to be awarded to the jurisdictions with the best offer of support.

The Legislature concluded in Resolution

Resolution (law)

A resolution is a written motion adopted by a deliberative body. The substance of the resolution can be anything that can normally be proposed as a motion. For long or important motions, though, it is often better to have them written out so that discussion is easier or so that it can be...

No. 25 of that year that each seminary would be awarded to the county or town that would provide the best combination of land, buildings and money. Three towns presented offers for the West Florida Seminary - Tallahassee

Tallahassee, Florida

, Marianna

Marianna, Florida

Marianna is a city in Jackson County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,230 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,200 . It is the county seat of Jackson County and is home to Chipola College...

and Quincy

Quincy, Florida

Quincy is a city in Gadsden County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,982 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,975...

. The competition between the three soon became a bitter struggle between Marianna and Tallahassee for the West Florida Seminary. By January 1853 the Legislature accepted Ocala

Ocala, Florida

Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion County, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.-History:Ocala...

's offer for the East Seminary and in the same law directed Governor James E. Broome

James E. Broome

James Emilius Broome was an American politician who was the third Governor of Florida.- Early life and career :...

to appoint a special commission of six members from Middle and West Florida to decide upon the location of the West Seminary. The matter had grown so contentious that neither Governor Broome nor the Commission members looked forward to the task and did little to resolve the contest. The issue was then handed back to the Legislature where it was finally confronted. In the meantime, as an inducement to the Legislature, the City Council

City council

A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...

of Tallahassee had built and funded an all-male academy, called the Florida Institute, in Tallahassee.

The Florida Institute was in reality a resurrected version of an earlier public school for males and females called the Leon Academy established in 1827 by Presbyterian Reverend Henry White.

The subsequent law of 1851 establishing the Seminaries seemed an answer to the existing educational needs of Tallahassee when it passed the Legislature. Francis W. Eppes

Francis W. Eppes

Francis Wayles Eppes VII was the grandson of President Thomas Jefferson. After moving from Virginia with his family to near Tallahassee, Florida in 1829, he established a cotton plantation. In 1856 Eppes donated land and money to gain the location in Tallahassee of one of the first two...

, the grandson of Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

and who grew up on Monticello

Monticello

Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...

, was the Intendant

Intendant

The title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...

or Mayor of Tallahassee at the time of this competition. Eppes was well aware of the benefits an institution of higher learning could bring to a city and was determined to win the west seminary for Tallahassee. The building of the Florida Institute was regarded at the time as the "handsomest edifice in Tallahassee" and cost $6,172.00 at its completion in April, 1855. Enrollment in the school year 1855-1856 totaled around 100 students. A group of citizens calling themselves the "friends of the Institution" planned to petition the Legislature to create the University of Florida from the Florida Institute. By 1856 Eppes and the Tallahassee City Council had won the competition and transferred the Florida Institute to the state. The rise of land slightly west of the center of Tallahassee, formerly known as Gallows

Gallows

A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...

Hill

A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...

, which was the site and building of the ongoing Florida Institute, was offered and accepted as the western state seminary for male students. The seminary officially held classes as a state institution in 1857. In 1858 it absorbed the Tallahassee Female Academy begun in 1843 as the Misses Bates School, thereby becoming co-educational. The West Florida Seminary stood near the front of the Westcott Building on the existing FSU campus. This site is the oldest continually used location of higher learning in Florida. The eastern seminary was located in Ocala

Ocala, Florida

in 1853 and closed during the American Civil War

American Civil War

. It reopened in 1866 in Gainesville

Gainesville, Florida

Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...

and would eventually be combined with other schools to form what would be called the University of the State of Florida

University of Florida

in 1906.

Civil War and Reconstruction

During the American Civil War

American Civil War

the name of the seminary was changed to The Florida Military and Collegiate Institute and began military training for students. Young cadets from the school, along with other soldiers from Tallahassee, defeated Union

Union (American Civil War)

forces at the Battle of Natural Bridge

Battle of Natural Bridge

The Battle of Natural Bridge was a battle during the American Civil War, fought in what is now Woodville, Florida, near Tallahassee, on March 6, 1865...

in 1865. The students were trained by Valentine Mason Johnson

Valentine Mason Johnson

Valentine Mason Johnson was a professor of mathematics and the Superintendent of the West Florida Seminary during the American Civil War. Johnson was born on July 17, 1838 in Spotsylvania, VA and was an 1860 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute...

, a graduate of Virginia Military Institute

Virginia Military Institute

The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...

, who was a professor of mathematics and the chief administrator of the college. By the end of the war Tallahassee was the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

not to fall to Union forces.

The Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps

Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps

The Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest ROTC program, with 20,000 ROTC cadets in 272 ROTC programs at major universities throughout the United States.The modern Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps...

unit at Florida State University is one of only four ROTC units in the United States with permission to display a campaign streamer

Campaign streamer

Campaign streamers are decorations attached to military flags to recognize particular achievements or events of a military unit or service. Attached to the headpiece of the assigned flag, the streamer often is an inscribed ribbon with the name and date denoting participation in a particular battle,...

. The streamer reads NATURAL BRIDGE 1865. After the fall of the Confederacy, campus buildings were occupied by Union forces for over a month. The West Florida Seminary reverted to a purely academic purpose after the war, and began a period of substantial growth and development.

First state university

In 1883 West Florida Seminary became part of Florida University, Florida's first state-sponsored university

University

. In January 1883 Reverend John Kost, A.M.

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

, M.D.

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

, LL.D of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

proposed to carry out the mandate of the 1868 Constitution requiring a state university. Kost secured a charter from Governor William D. Bloxham

William D. Bloxham

William Dunnington Bloxham was an American politician. He served as the 13th and 17th Governor of Florida in two non-consecutive terms. Prior to his first term as governor, he served in the Florida House of Representatives....

that merged West Florida Seminary and the Tallahassee College of Medicine and Surgery into a new institution known as Florida University. The West Florida Seminary became the institution's Literary College, and was to contain several "schools" or departments in different disciplines. However, in the new association the seminary's "separate Charter and special organization" were maintained. The charter also recognized three further colleges to be established at a later time: a Law College, a Theological Institute, and a Polytechnic and Normal Institute.

The Florida Legislature recognized the university under the title "University of Florida" in Spring 1885, but committed no additional financing or support. Without legislative support, the university project struggled, and the association dissolved when the medical college relocated to Jacksonville

Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...

later that year. The Florida Agricultural College in Lake City

Lake City, Florida

Lake City is the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, in the United States. In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 12,614. In addition, it is the Principal City of the Lake City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is composed of Columbia County, and had an...

tried to revive interest in the university plan, announcing its desire to merge with the University of Florida in 1886 and 1887, however, nothing came of this at the time. By 1891, however, President Edgar had developed a four-year curriculum and a collegiate organization with freshmen, sophomore, junior and senior ranks. The school's first Commencement, under the name Florida State University, took place from June 10–12, 1891. The Tallahassee institution never assumed the "University of Florida" name, though the act recognizing it as such was not repealed until 1903, when the title was transferred to the Florida Agricultural College.

The West Florida Seminary, as it was still generally called, continued to expand and thrive. It shifted its focus increasingly towards modern-style post-secondary education, awarding "Licentiates of Instruction" – its first diploma

Diploma

A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...

s – in 1884, and awarding Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

degrees in 1891. It had become Florida's first liberal arts

Liberal arts

The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...

college by 1897, and in 1901 it was reorganized into the Florida State College with four departments: the College, the College Academy, the School for Teachers and the School of Music.

Buckman Act

The 1905 Buckman Act reorganized the existing six Florida colleges into three institutions, segregated

Racial segregation

Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...

by race and gender - a school for Caucasian

Caucasian race

The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...

males, a school for Caucasian females, and a school for African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

s. As a result the coeducational Florida State College was reorganized as the Florida Female College, which accepted only white female students. By 1909 the name was again changed to the Florida State College for Women after the initial title was generally rejected.

Under the Buckman Act the State Normal School for Colored Students (now Florida A&M University

Florida A&M University

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, commonly known as Florida A&M or FAMU, is a historically black university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States, the state capital, and is one of eleven member institutions of the State University System of Florida...

) became the college serving African Americans, while the state's remaining four institutions were merged into a school for white males known as the University of the State of Florida (now the University of Florida

University of Florida

), located in Gainesville

Gainesville, Florida

. White males who had previously attended Florida State College were subsequently required to attend the university in Gainesville, and took with them the fraternity system and the football team. The Buckman bill was the brainchild of Henry Holland Buckman

Henry Holland Buckman

Henry Holland Buckman was an attorney from Duval County, Florida, who became a legislator in the Florida Legislature and served on the Judiciary Committee...

, a legislator from Duval County, Florida

Duval County, Florida

Duval County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2010, the population was 864,263. Its county seat is Jacksonville, with which the Duval County government has been consolidated since 1968...

. It was hotly debated, with one legislator saying in debate: "I believe in coeducation. Statistics prove satisfactory to me that separate institutions for male and female is detrimental (sic) to both--physically, mentally and morally." Further, according to Shira Birnbaum, the Buckman Act:

...didn't merely standardize, consolidate and narrow opportunities for public higher education in Florida. It also inaugurated an era of new school gender practices. Right from the start, in fact, the Buckman Act's message to Florida's women was that the highest levels of educational attainment--the advanced degrees and professional schools of a "university education"--would be reserved for white males attending the new all-male University of the State of Florida. White women, by contrast, had to settle for a "college."
Furthermore, the Buckman Act mandated that the university would "teach...the fundamental laws and...the rights and duties of citizens ..." to its male students. The college, by contrast, would "teach...all the useful arts and sciences that may be necessary or appropriate." A dual discourse had been laid out--one that framed education for white men as a matter of "citizenship" and education for white women as a matter of "usefulness".

A residence hall currently on the campus of the University of Florida bears the name Buckman Hall

Buckman Hall

Murphree Area is an historic residence hall complex on the northern edge of the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. The complex is adjacent to University Avenue, one of the major public roads that serve the university and define its boundaries. It was the university's first...

in honor of the legislator. No equivalent building to date exists on the campus of Florida State University. Despite the impact of the Buckman Act, Albert A. Murphree

Albert A. Murphree

Albert Alexander Murphree was an American college professor and university president. Murphree was a native of Alabama, and became a mathematics instructor after earning his bachelor's degree...

, then President of the Florida State College, determined to stress liberal studies and academic performance. Florida State was the largest of the original two universities in Florida, even during the period as the college for women (1905 to 1947) until 1919. By 1933 the Florida State College for Women had grown to be the third largest women’s college in the United States. In 1935, the College was awarded the Alpha

Alpha

Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. Alpha or ALPHA may also refer to:-Science:*Alpha , the highest ranking individuals in a community of social animals...

Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa in Florida. The Florida State College for Women was the first state women's college in the South

South

South is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.South is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to east and west.By convention, the bottom side of a map is south....

to be awarded a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, as well as the first university in Florida to be so honored for academic quality.

Wartime changes

After World War II

World War II

, returning soldiers taking advantage of the new G.I. Bill placed an unexpectedly heavy demand on the state university system. The Tallahassee Branch of the University of Florida (TBUF) was quickly opened on the campus of the Florida State College for Women. The men were housed in former barracks

Barracks

Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...

on Dale Mabry Field

Dale Mabry Field

Dale Mabry Field was an early airfield located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States established in 1928 and replaced by Tallahassee Regional Airport. It was located at what is now Appleyard Drive and W...

, an existing WWII U.S. Army Air Force training field west of Tallahassee, that was deactivated in part after the war. Male students were then enrolled into the Florida State College for Women and traveled to the main campus by bus. Part of Dale Mabry Field became known as "West Campus" during this brief period. By the end of the 1946-1947 school year, 954 men were enrolled in the TBUF program. By 1947 the Florida Legislature returned the FSCW to coeducational status and renamed the Florida State College for Women the Florida State University. The FSU West Campus land and barracks plus other areas continually used as an airport

Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

later became the location of the Tallahassee Community College

Tallahassee Community College

Tallahassee Community College is a community college, located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. The institution was founded in 1966 by the Florida Legislature. The college is a member of the Florida College System....

.

The 1950s brought substantial growth and development to the university. Several colleges were added and the first Ph.D.

Ph.D.

A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

was awarded in Chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

by 1952. Many buildings recognizable today were added to the university such as the Strozier Library, Tully Gymnasium and the original parts of the Business building. Programs supplementing the original liberal arts and education departments were added including Business, 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...

(discontinued in 1959), Library Science

Library science

Library science is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and other areas to libraries; the collection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information resources; and the...

, 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 Social Welfare. Social Welfare was later split into the College of Criminology

Criminology

Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...

and the College of 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...

Student activism and racial integration

During the 1960s and 1970s Florida State University was known as a center of student activism

Student activism

especially in the areas of racial integration

Racial integration

, women's rights

Women's rights

Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...

and the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

. The school acquired the nickname 'Berkeley of the South' during this period, in reference to similar student activities at the University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

and is also purported to be the site of the genesis of "streaking

Streaking

Streaking is the act of running nude through a public place.-History:On 5 July 1799, a Friday evening at 7 o'clock, a naked man was arrested at the Mansion House, London, and sent to the Poultry Compter...

," which is said to have first been observed on Landis Green. Governor Claude Kirk appeared unexpectedly one morning with a chair and spent the day, with little escort or fanfare, on Landis Green discussing politics with protesting students. Elements of free speech activism still exist at FSU today. The Center for Participant Education was established in 1970 as an alternative to traditional university academics. Its purpose is to allow students to "explore socially relevant topics and to foster a healthier philosophy of education through classes in which anyone could teach or attend. Since then, CPE has been investigated by the Legislature, suspended by the Board of Regents, and challenged by FSU administration. CPE has managed to hold strong through all of this, and remains today as one of the last free universities in the country." Florida State also established the Institute of Molecular Biophysics

Biophysics

Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...

, Space Biosciences and the Programs in Medical Studies.

After many years as a segregated university, and partly due to the efforts of students starting in the late 1950's (including sit ins and an application to attend Florida A&M University by FSU student Alan Breitler in 1960), in 1962 Maxwell Courtney became the first African American

African American

undergraduate student admitted to Florida State. In 1968 Calvin Patterson became the first African American player for the Florida State University football team.

Tallahassee and Florida State were difficult places for African Americans even as late as 1968. When Calvin Patterson, a star player from Miami signed with the Florida State Seminoles he endured insults and threats from the beginning. Tallahassee, at the time, was very much still rooted in the Old South as Patterson was neither accepted by many white students and fans at FSU nor the black students at nearby historically black Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University who viewed Patterson as a traitor. Difficult history became triumph, however, as Florida State today has the highest graduation rate for African American students of all universities in Florida, including Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.

Today, Florida State University aspires to become a top American research university with at least one-third of its graduate programs ranked in the Top-15 nationally. Florida State University owns more than 1,530 acres (6.2 km²) and is the home of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory among other advanced research facilities. The university continues to develop in its capacity as a leader in Florida graduate research. Other milestones at the university include the first ETA10-G/8

ETA10

The ETA10 was a line of vector supercomputers designed, manufactured, and marketed by ETA Systems, a spin-off division of Control Data Corporation . The ETA10 was announced in 1986, with the first deliveries made in early 1987...

supercomputer

Supercomputer

A supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...

, capable of 10.8 GFLOPS in 1989, remarkable for the time in that it exceeded the existing speed record of the Cray-2/8

Cray-2

The Cray-2 was a four-processor ECL vector supercomputer made by Cray Research starting in 1985. It was the fastest machine in the world when it was released, replacing the Cray Research X-MP designed by Steve Chen in that spot...

, located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory , just outside Livermore, California, is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center founded by the University of California in 1952...

by a substantial leap and the development of the anti-cancer drug Taxol.

The Jefferson-Eppes Trophy

Jefferson-Eppes Trophy

Created in 1995, the Jefferson–Eppes Trophy is awarded to the winner of the college football game between the Seminoles of Florida State University and Cavaliers of the University of Virginia. It is named for former United States President and founder of the University of Virginia, Thomas...

is exchanged between the University of Virginia

University of Virginia

The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

and Florida State University after each football competition in recognition of the common roots shared between the two schools.

Pathways of Excellence

The strategic

Strategy

Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...

vision of Florida State University, known as Pathways of Excellence, changed in September 2005 as the result of an evaluation of "FSU’s academic productivity and recognition as viewed in the context of the Phase I and Phase II indicators for membership in the Association of American Universities

Association of American Universities

The Association of American Universities is an organization of leading research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education...

(AAU) and the standards used by the National Research Council

United States National Research Council

The National Research Council of the USA is the working arm of the United States National Academies, carrying out most of the studies done in their names.The National Academies include:* National Academy of Sciences...

for evaluating doctoral programs." The task group made recommendations, on which FSU President Wetherell acted, which are intended to transform the overall academic quality and scholarly productivity of the university. The faculty group created specific goals for the university which include investment in new university faculty hired in "academic clusters" focused principally on doctoral-level research. Coupled with this investment in 200 new faculty members is an expansion of the physical infrastructure of the university. To date, new construction is underway or recently completed for a new Experimental Social Science Laboratory

Laboratory

A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...

, a College of Medicine Research Building, a new Psychology

Psychology

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

Building, a new Chemistry

Chemistry

Building, a new Life Sciences

Life sciences

The life sciences comprise the fields of science that involve the scientific study of living organisms, like plants, animals, and human beings. While biology remains the centerpiece of the life sciences, technological advances in molecular biology and biotechnology have led to a burgeoning of...

Teaching and Research Building and a new Materials Research Building.

Concurrently, other existing research facilities at the university have been renovated, including the Nancy Smith Fichter Dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

Theatre

Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

, the Kasha Laboratory of the Institute of Molecular Biophysics

Biophysics

plus enhancements to the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and a new Applied Superconductivity

Superconductivity

Superconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance occurring in certain materials below a characteristic temperature. It was discovered by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911 in Leiden. Like ferromagnetism and atomic spectral lines, superconductivity is a quantum...

Center.

Presidents

Eric J. Barron
Eric J. Barron
Eric J. Barron is the President of Florida State University and a former Director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado . He previously served as Dean of the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas-Austin, where he held the Jackson Chair in Earth...

2009–Present
T. K. Wetherell
T. K. Wetherell
Dr. Thomas Kent "T. K." Wetherell was an educational administrator and former politician. He served as president of Florida State University from 2003 through 2009...

2003-2009
Talbot D'Alemberte 1994-2003
Dale W. Lick 1991-1994
Bernard F. Sliger 1976-1991
Stanley Marshall
Stanley Marshall
-Coaching career:Marshall was the head football coach for the Jamestown Jimmies located in Jamestown, North Dakota. He held that position for three seasons, from 1954 until 1956...

1969-1976
John E. Champion 1965-1969
Gordon W. Blackwell 1960-1965
Milton W. Carothers 1960
Robert M. Strozier
Robert M. Strozier
Robert M. Strozier was president of Florida State University, between 1957 and 1960. The main library on the Tallahassee campus of Florida State University bears his name....

1957-1960
Albert B. Martin 1957
Doak S. Campbell
Doak S. Campbell
Doak Sheridan Campbell was president of Florida State College for Women, as it made the transition from an all-female school under that name to the coeducational Florida State University, between 1941 and 1957.-Early life:...

1947-1957
Edward Conradi
Edward Conradi
Edward Conradi served as President of Florida State College for Women from 1909 to 1941, and as President Emeritus from 1941 until his death in 1944....

1909-1941
Albert A. Murphree
Albert A. Murphree
Albert Alexander Murphree was an American college professor and university president. Murphree was a native of Alabama, and became a mathematics instructor after earning his bachelor's degree...

1897-1909
Alvin Lewis 1892-1897

George Edgar
George Edgar
George Matthews Edgar was the President of the Seminary West of the Suwannee River, in Tallahassee, Florida, an institution which eventually became Florida State University. He served in that office from 1887 to 1892. Edgar first called the West Florida Seminary "Florida State University" during...

1887-1892
Major E.R. Weeks 1882-1885
John N. Whitner 1880-1882
James Douglass Wade 1873-1880
T. Sumner Stevens 1869-1871
J. Lucius Cross 1866-1868
Valentine Mason Johnson
Valentine Mason Johnson
Valentine Mason Johnson was a professor of mathematics and the Superintendent of the West Florida Seminary during the American Civil War. Johnson was born on July 17, 1838 in Spotsylvania, VA and was an 1860 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute...

, CSA 1864-1865
Levi H. Persons 1864
Valentine Mason Johnson
Valentine Mason Johnson
Valentine Mason Johnson was a professor of mathematics and the Superintendent of the West Florida Seminary during the American Civil War. Johnson was born on July 17, 1838 in Spotsylvania, VA and was an 1860 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute...

, CSA
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

1864
Colonel Bannister 1863-1864
Various Confederate States Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

officers
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...

1862-1863
J. Lucius Cross 1861-1862
Philip H. Montague 1860-1861
Reverend Duncan McNeil Turner 1857-1860
William Y. Peyton 1857 (former president of the Florida Institute)

External links

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