Campus History

Florida State University has attracted a wide variety of students over the years. This pictorial history illustrates the history of this university and those who proudly call themselves Seminoles.

After the Florida State Legislature passed an act calling for the creation of two seminaries of learning in 1851, West Florida Seminary was established in Tallahassee. In the 1880s, the seminary's curriculum was reorganized along the lines of a conventional four-year college, and in 1901, the name was changed to Florida State College, better suiting its well-rounded liberal arts education and the traditional college experience offered to its students. With the passage of the Buckman Act in 1905, the school began a new chapter as the Florida Female College. After the name was changed to Florida State College for Women in 1909, it went on to rank as one of the premier women's colleges in the country. In 1947, in part to accommodate the influx of returning GIs, the school resumed its coeducational status as Florida State University. Combining traditional strength in the arts and humanities with recognized leadership in the sciences, Florida State University is one of the country's foremost research institutions today.

Since 1868, Florida's oldest continually operating high school has been destroyed, rebuilt, moved, and refocused, existing under several names--Old Stanton High School, New Stanton High School, Stanton Vocational High School, and now Stanton College Preparatory School. Campus History Series: Stanton gives a pictorial history of the buildings, faculty, student life, and traditions that have left an indelible mark on African American life in Jacksonville through the years, reflecting also its evolution into a nationally recognized diverse student body of the highest academic caliber. Stanton's story, accomplishments, and pride are showcased through photographs obtained from a variety of school records and from generous contributions by alumni, previous staff and faculty, and their families.

In the 1950s, East Central Florida underwent a vast transformation with the creation of the American space program.

he sleepy fishing communities stretching from Titusville to Melbourne became home to an army of engineers, rocket scientists and technicians who would soon take Florida and the nation into the missile age. With no opportunities for advanced study nearby, a handful of determined men and women launched Brevard Engineering College in 1958. In 1966, Florida's secretary of state approved the college's petition to change its name to Florida Institute of Technology. In its short history, Florida Tech has overcome formidable hurdles and succeeded in winning a place in the top ranks of scientific and technological universities. A college on the rise, Florida Tech has not only a bright future, but a rich and colorful history that has been captured in striking photographs. The exciting story of ""Countdown College""-from the lift-off of Bumper 8 in 1950, which launched the space program in Florida, to the most recent high-tech additions to campus facilities-is the subject of this captivating new pictorial history.

Experience the University of Florida football program's fascinating 20th century journey, one that has brought enjoyment to millions and national recognition to the school.

The University of Florida, the state's oldest and largest university, is recognized today as one of the country's most academically diverse public institutions. Though able to trace its history to 1853, the school did not begin its popular football program until the first few years of the 20th century. The program has had its share of scandals and embarrassments over time, but it has also produced two Heisman Trophy winners, a national champion, numerous players drafted into the professional ranks, and a visibility that consistently ranks the team in the top five in the country. Now attracting 85,000 fans to each of its home games, the Gators' football program has become a vital part of the University of Florida.
When the team won the national championship in 1996, no one could have predicted such success just 90 years earlier. Fortunately, that journey through the last century has been captured in great photographs that include formal portraits of teams, action shots on the field, views of the stadium simply referred to as "The Swamp" by fans, and snapshots from every decade. These images tell the story of the birth and growth of a football team.

Since its establishment in 1959, Broward Community College continues to strive for excellence in education. In August 1960, the doors of the Junior College of Broward County were opened to 701 students served by 28 faculty members. Classes were offered in buildings that were formerly part of the Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Station on the grounds of what is presently Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport. Now more than 40 years later, BCC remains the principal provider of undergraduate higher education. BCC attracts a diverse student body, provides a curriculum responsive to needs of the community and changes in technology, and is now one of the largest community colleges in the state and nation. Images in Broward Community College highlight the school's creation, expansion, and continued growth. Black-and-white photographs showcase the students-among them well-known graduates like Maryland's governor Parris Glendening and novelist Rita Mae Brown; the presidents who have led the college over the years; faculty and staff members; organizations; teams; and events that make BCC what it is today.

Built on the site of the abandoned Boca Raton Army Air Field, Florida Atlantic niversity, in the short period since its founding in the 1960s, has come to be a well-regarded institution of higher education in Florida. Overcoming such early challenges as poor road systems in the area, unsuccessful recruiting
efforts, and student unrest arising from the Civil Rights Movement and the conflict in Vietnam, university leaders tirelessly promoted the vision that would eventually become a reality--Florida Atlantic University becoming a successful regional university. This engaging pictorial retrospective begins in the days prior to FAU's first semester and depicts the early players in the school's establishment, the construction of the first campus buildings, and the legislative planning and funding that made much of it possible. Fascinating original photographs capture student life through the decades--athletic teams and social clubs, dormitories and dining halls, classes and commencement ceremonies--as well as pay tribute to the faculty members and administrators who have helped to shape not just a
university, but the hearts and minds of countless students through the years.

Arcadia's University of Central Florida illuminates the history of a major institution of research, culture, education, and professional development that is stitched into the fabric of one of the nation's most dynamic and influential metropolitan areas.

Conceived in 1963, at the height of America's fascination with the space program and less than an hour from Florida's Space Coast, the school began as Florida Technological University, a vast and remote tract of wild palmettos and swampland that held the promise of a cutting-edge "Space University." But 1963 was the same year that Walt Disney made his fateful fly over Central Florida and chose the location for Walt Disney World, a decision that would ultimately transform the entire region. Florida Tech found itself growing along with the surrounding community in size, prominence, and power into a diverse institution that no one in those early years could have envisioned. Renamed the University of Central Florida in 1979 to better reflect its broad curriculum and its strong marriage with the region, the school has blossomed into the prototype for the modern metropolitan university.

Stetson University was founded in 1883 in historic DeLand, Florida, and has been educating students for over a century.

The passionate vision of the town's early promoter Henry Addison DeLand contributed in a large way to the success of the university. DeLand, a New Yorker with a dream, wanted his newly adopted town to be distinctive in rural Central Florida. Since the state had no four-year college, his foresight brought to fruition the excellent educational facility we have today.

In September 1968, the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale opened its doors on the beach where Las Olas Boulevard meets the Atlantic Ocean. With an enrollment of 55 students, the school offered three diploma programs: commercial art, fashion illustration, and interior design. The year 2008 marked the school's 40th anniversary, and today more than 3,000 students are enrolled in 17 different programs awarding bachelor's and associate's degrees and diplomas. Having moved to its new location on Seventeenth Street near the Intracoastal Waterway in 1986, the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale is currently one of the largest and most respected institutions of its kind. The school is owned and operated by the Education Management Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which has opened more than 42 schools across the United States and Canada.