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Florida Atlantic University, also commonly referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a public coeducational research university located in Boca Raton, Florida, USA. The university has six additional partner campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and Fort Pierce at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. FAU's seven campuses span more than 100 miles of Florida's eastern coastline and serve a seven-county region which has a populace of more than five million people.

The university opened its doors 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. While initial enrollment was 867 students, this number would increase dramatically in 1984 when the university admitted its first undergraduate students. By 2007, enrollment has grown to approximately 26,000 students representing 144 countries, 48 states and the District of Columbia. Since its inception, FAU has awarded over 100,000 degrees to more than 95,000 alumni worldwide.

Although FAU provides for the educational needs of commuter students, in recent years it has undertaken an effort to increase its academic and research standings while evolving into a more traditional university. Under the direction of current President Frank T. Brogan, the university has raised admissions standards, increased research funding, built new facilities and established notable partnerships with major research institutions. These 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, plans for an on-campus football stadium in 2010, and a partnership with Boca Raton Community Hospital and the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine to build a teaching hospital on the main campus in Boca Raton.

History

On July 15, 1961, the Florida Legislature passed an act authorizing the establishment of a new university in southeastern Florida. A 1940s-era Army airbase in Boca Raton, Florida, was selected as the site of the new university. In 1962, the Florida Board of Control selected "Florida Atlantic University" as the name of the new institution. Ground was broken on December 8, 1962. FAU opened on September 14, 1964, six days behind schedule because of Hurricane Cleo. The first university in the nation to offer only upper-division and graduate work, FAU had an initial student body of 867. U.S. President Lyndon Johnson dedicated the university on October 25, 1964, and received the first honorary doctorate awarded by Florida Atlantic.

In 1969, the Board of Regents (successor to the Board of Control) approved an intercollegiate athletics program at FAU. The university teams become known as the Owls. FAU expanded to Broward County, Florida in 1971, with the founding of the Commercial Boulevard campus in Fort Lauderdale. During that same year the university was also named a burrowing owl sanctuary. By 1973, fall semester enrollment was 5,632. By the fall semester of 1983, enrollment would reach 9,388. For the first time in 1984, due to a rapidly growing population, Florida Atlantic opened its doors to freshmen and sophomores. In 1985, the Downtown Fort Lauderdale campus opened on Las Olas Boulevard.

In 1989, the Florida Legislature designated Florida Atlantic as the lead state university serving Broward County. The university also reached $10 million in sponsored research activity for the first time. Fall semester enrollment was 13,148. In 1993, FAU was elected to the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, the nation’s oldest higher education professional association. The university's intercollegiate teams also joined the Atlantic Sun Conference and moved to NCAA Division I. In 1995, Florida Atlantic purchased Barry University’s Port St. Lucie facility to establish a campus on the Treasure Coast, in partnership with Indian River Community College. By 1997, sponsored research funding exceeded $24 million.

In 1999, Howard Schnellenberger, a legendary figure in college football, was named Florida Atlantic’s first head football coach. The Barry and Florence Friedberg Lifelong Learning Center opened on the Boca Raton campus. The Jupiter campus also opened and was formally named for the late John D. MacArthur.

Sponsored research funding exceeded $36 million. By 2003, fall semester enrollment was 24,961. FAU also has maintained the most diverse student body in the State University System, with minority enrollment of 34.6%.

In 2003, the State of Florida awarded FAU $10 million to establish the nation's only Center of Excellence in Biomedical and Marine Biotechnology, a research facility that searches the waters off Florida's coastline for drugs from natural sources that could be used to treat cancer, heart disease and other serious illnesses. The Lady Owls softball team won the Atlantic Sun Conference championship for the seventh time and was listed among the all-time greatest teams in college softball history by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. In 2004, FAU admitted its first students to the University of Miami/Florida Atlantic University medical school partnership.

Today, FAU's $168 million endowment is larger than that of some larger state schools in Florida, including the University of Central Florida and Florida International University. FAU holds the fourth largest in the state. . FAU ranks as one of the less expensive state colleges in Florida, with tuition fees of $3,327 in-state, $16,390 out-of-state, and Room/board of $8,280. For comparison, the University of Florida has tuition fees of $3,370, University of Central Florida costs $3,432, and Florida State University costs $3,360 for in-state undergraduate tuition fees.

The Boca Raton campus remains the largest campus with 69% of FAU's students enrolled there. The Boca Raton campus and the Jupiter campus are the only campuses that offer student housing.

Since its founding, Florida Atlantic University has had five presidents. President Frank T. Brogan became the fifth president in 2003 after resigning his position as the Lieutenant Governor of Florida under then Governor Jeb Bush. Brogan graduated from the University of Cincinnati and holds a master's degree from Florida Atlantic.

Academics

Profile

Florida Atlantic University's student body consists of 22,181 undergraduates and 3,476 graduate and professional students. The undergraduate student body, containing 42% ethnic minorities, come from 144 countries, 48 states and the District of Columbia. For the 2004-05 academic year the university was ranked 16th in the United States among traditionally white four-year academic institutions for conferring bachelor’s degrees to African-Americans. During this period FAU conferred a total of 1,407 bachelor’s degrees in all disciplines for all minorities and ranked 37th in the nation, up six percent from the previous year. For the undergraduate class of 2010, the acceptance rate was 58%.

FAU has nine colleges, which altogether offer more than 170 different bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs. The university's colleges include The Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, The Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, The College Of Architecture, Urban and Public Affairs, The Barry Kaye College of Business, The College of Education, The College of Engineering and Computer Science, The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, The Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, and The Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science.

The university offers students 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 of FAU in Jupiter, Florida. It offers a rigorous liberal arts education in the platform of a public institution; students work with a professor to develop and write an honors thesis. The Boca Raton campus houses the University Scholars Program, which offers special honors seminars, forums, courses, and advanced course substitution for freshman.

Florida Atlantic has gradually been increasing its admission standards since it opened its doors to freshman in 1984. Starting in the summer of 2004, FAU began denying entry to students with low GPA's and SAT scores. Prospective students were directed to take remedial courses at a community college to better prepare them for success at the university. The higher admissions standards included a 3.2 GPA and an SAT score of at least 1000 for admittance in 2007. By 2007, the average high school GPA for an entering freshman was 3.3 and a 1052 on the SAT.

Today, the average class size for undergraduates is 32 people, and 11 people for graduate classes. Student to Faculty ratio is 19:1 with 98% of the faculty employed full-time. The top three undergraduate majors by enrollment are Elementary Education, Management, and Accounting, respectively. The top three graduate majors by enrollment are Business Administration, Nursing, and Educational Leadership. The average age for first time in college students is 18, however, the average age for all undergraduates is 25. The average age for graduate students is 34.

Notable programs at Florida Atlantic include the largest adult continuing education program in the U.S., the first entirely student-run full-service record label in the U.S., 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 20,000 senior citizens by providing classes focusing on subjects of interest, and audit options for regular university classes. Under FAU'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. Located in the Barry Kaye College of Business, the university's two-story trading room 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 financially-oriented businesses to use the Trading Room for staff training and development.

Research

FAU is currently classified as a Research University with high research activity by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. This ranking is the result of a campaign Florida Atlantic has undertaken to bolster its research standing. This has resulted in not only FAU's sponsored research exceeding $60 million per year, but notable partnerships with major research institutions such as the The Scripps Research Institute and The Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies. Scripps is constructing a sister institute on the Jupiter campus of FAU, which upon completion will operate out of a 364,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art research facility focusing on basic biomedical science, drug discovery, and technology development. Torrey Pines is constructing its headquarters in Port St. Lucie, Florida. While the headquarters is being built, Torrey Pines is operating out of Florida Atlantic's Port St. Lucie campus.

FAU is the home to two Centers of Excellence: The Center of Excellence in Biomedical and Marine Biotechnology and The Center of Excellence in Ocean Energy Technology. Selected by Florida’s Emerging Technology Commission, each center is awarded money in order 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 the startup funding, FAU has secured an 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.

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 specializes in digital imaging research and development for use in both government and commercial applications in the areas of medical technology, surveillance, communications, education, inspection, scientific observation, manufacturing, visual recognition and identification, and motion picture and digital video. The FAU 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 develops dual-use research and development with the participation of NASA and other related industries in the U.S. The center occupies two sets of laboratories and administrative offices on Florida Atlantic’s main campus in Boca Raton and at the Fort Lauderdale campus.

Florida Atlantic also operates two Research and Development Parks located in Deerfield Beach, and Boca Raton, Florida respectively. The R&D Parks provide outside research facilities for companies enabling 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 FAU. 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.

Campus

Florida Atlantic University is located on seven campuses spread across three counties along Florida's eastern coastline. Located throughout Palm Beach, Broward, and St. Lucie Counties, the region is home to more than five million people. The university's main campus is located in the Palm Beach County city of Boca Raton. Palm Beach is also home to the John D. MacArthur Campus located in the city of Jupiter. In addition to its campuses in Palm Beach County, Florida Atlantic operates three campuses in the Broward County cities of Dania Beach, Davie and Fort Lauderdale. The university was officially designated in 1989 as the lead state university to serve Broward County by the Florida Legislature. Florida Atlantic University also operates two campuses in the St. Lucie County cities of Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution (HBOI). Harbor Branch is currently in the process of merging with the university to become The HBOI at FAU.

Palm Beach County Campuses

Boca Raton

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 acres 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 owl prefers the campus because there are few predators due to the university's proximity to the Boca Raton Airport, and the fact that the campus was originally cleared of vegetation when operating 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 include "state-of-the-art labs and classrooms, suite-style housing for students plus athletic and recreational facilities." In addition to academic and cultural programs, the campus also houses Florida Atlantic's Division One intercollegiate athletics program. The main campus serves approximately 19,533 students or 71% of FAU's student body offering "a broad range of academic programs, activities, and services."

The Boca campus also houses a number of other programs including the the A.D. Henderson University School, FAU High School, one of two FAU 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 Jupiter. 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 campus currently occupies approximately 45 acres with 18 buildings totaling more than 333,000 square feet: eight classroom/office buildings, a library, a 500-seat auditorium, two residence halls, a dining hall, museum building and central utility plant." The MacArthur Campus also houses the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College and Scripps Florida. The campus serves approximately 2,009 students or 6% of FAU's student body.

Broward County Campuses

Dania Beach - SeaTech

The Dania Beach 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." The campus is located on eight acres of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway. SeaTech is home to FAU "faculty members, engineers, technicians and students engaged in federally and industry-sponsored ocean engineering research and technology development in the areas of acoustics, marine vehicles, hydrodynamics and physical oceanography, marine materials and nanocomposites." The Dania Beach Campus serves approximately 60 students, roughly .2% of FAU's total student body.

Davie

The Davie Campus of Florida Atlantic University was established in 1990 on 38 acres of land in western Broward County. In order to expand the services available to students the university is currently building a new multi-story student union on the campus. Upon completion, the new "facility will include offices for student government and campus organizations, a multipurpose area and student lounge, a bookstore, and food services for students..." The union will also include a student health center that will provide a medical center, and a health counseling center. The campus serves approximately 5,108 students, or 14% of the FAU student body making it the university's second largest campus. Davie is also the home of "environmental research initiatives focused on Everglades restoration".

Fort Lauderdale

The Fort Lauderdale Campus, located in the heart of downtown Fort Lauderdale, "provides a laboratory for students in business, computer arts, architecture, urban and regional planning, criminal justice, social work, and public administration." The campus is home to approximately 1,062 students or 3% of FAU's student body.

St. Lucie County Campuses

Port. St. Lucie - Treasure Coast Campus

Located in Port St. Lucie, Florida the Treasure Coast Campus of Florida Atlantic University operates under a unique partnership with Indian River Community College (IRCC). Since the 1970s FAU has been operating on the Treasure Coast in conjunction with IRCC "to extend educational opportunities that take students from an associate's degree to undergraduate and graduate degrees."

Florida Atlantic University purchased 50 acres of land in Port. St. Lucie in 1994. The university operated in the existing infrastructure for eight years before joining with Indian River Community College in order to open a joint-use facility. Both institutions continue to operate out of this 100,000 square foot facility today. The Treasure Coast Campus currently serves approximately 1,207 students, or 3% of FAU's student body.

Fort Pierce - HBOI

In addition to the Treasure Coast Campus, FAU operates a campus jointly in Fort Pierce with the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution (HBOI). While this partnership began with informal research ties more than a decade ago, in recent years the partnership has solidified with the construction of an FAU research and teaching facility on Harbor Branch's 600 acre campus. This facility was constructed with $11 million in state appropriations. In early 2007 it was announced the institution would merge with Florida Atlantic University to become The HBOI at FAU. The Florida Legislature allocated $53 million in 2007 to FAU and the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in order to acquire the institution. This merger is currently in progress.

Student Life

Residential life

Residential housing at Florida Atlantic University is available on the Boca Raton and John D. MacArthur campuses. "All full-time freshman students are required to live in university housing," however, "exceptions are made for a number of reasons including residing with a parent or legal guardian within a 50-mile commutable distance from the campus, a student being 21 years of age, or if a student is married." Currently, 8% of the FAU student body lives on-campus. Boca Raton's on-campus housing includes the following dormitory facilities: Algonquin Hall (opened 1965), Heritage Park Towers (opened 2004), Indian River Towers (opened 2001), and Glades Park Towers, a dormitory for freshmen which is nearly identical to Heritage Park Towers (opening Fall 2007). The university also offers upper-division undergraduate and graduate student housing in the Village Student Apartments and a Business and Professional Women's Scholarship House for women with a strong academic background.

Within its residential life programs Florida Atlantic offers a number of Learning Communities for freshman and students with similar interests and concentrations. These communities "are a residential experience that bring together what happens inside and outside the classroom." Participants meet "students with similar interests, live on the same floor and take courses with others in their community, while receiving additional programming and support 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 6 concentrations for students residing in the Heritage Park Towers dormitory including Engineering and Computer Science and a Women's Leadership program.

Greek and social life

FAU is home to many national fraternities and sororities; however, there are currently no on-campus "frat houses" (the 2006 Boca Raton Campus Master Plan includes plans for 8 Greek Houses to be built within 3 years ).

The inter-fraternity council at FAU is comprised of Alpha Epsilon Pi, Alpha Nu Omega Fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega, Beta Chi Theta, Beta Theta Pi, Kappa Alpha Psi, Pi Kappa Alpha, Lambda Theta Phi, Phi Beta Sigma, Sigma Alpha Mu, and Sigma Phi Epsilon.

The National Panhellenic Conference member sororities on campus are Alpha Kappa Alpha, Alpha Nu Omega Sorority, Alpha Xi Delta, Delta Phi Epsilon, Delta Sigma Theta, Lamda Theta Alpha, Phi Sigma Sigma, Theta Phi Alpha, and Zeta Phi Beta.

Greek Week is an entire week of themed competitions among FAU Greek organizations during the Spring semester. In 2007, the theme was "countries" and the competitions included flag football, basketball, skit night, volleyball matches in the Housing Volleyball Pit, Olympic Competitions (tug-of-war, three-legged race, swim relay, obstacle course), Greek spirit competition, talent show, alcohol awareness nights, penny wars, dance marathon, a philanthropy event, and a Greek Awards Banquet. The winners of Greek Week 2007 were Theta Phi Alpha and Sigma Phi Epsilon.

Activities

FAU has a wide variety of student organizations on all campuses, including but not limited to: Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity, American Institute of Architecture Students, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), World of Warcraft club, Psi Chi (the Psychology Honors Society), American Medical Student Association (AMSA), Konbit Kreyol, the Pre-Dental Society, FAU Film Productions, Geology Club, FAU Linguistics Society, National Society of Black Engineers, Philosophy Club, Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity, Baha'i Club, Caribbean Students Association, Peer Mentoring Program, Fantasy Literature Club, Japanese Animation and Multimedia Society (JAMS), Latin Swing Club, Robotics Club, Fencing Club, Sailing Club.. FAU also has three school spirit organizations known as the prOWLers (which supports FAU football), the Rowdy Rexes (FAU basketball), and the Crazy Coonies (FAU baseball).

Altogether, FAU has 40 Academic Organizations, 19 Honor Societies, 18 Spiritual/Religious Organizations, 16 Diversity Appreciation Organizations, 5 Service Organizations, 25 Personal Interest Organizations, 12 Club Sports and 7 Student Government Agencies.

Among the seven Student Government Agencies, students may get involved with the student newspaper (the award-winning University Press), intramural sports, practice politics and financial management as a senator for Student Government, plan/volunteer for on-campus social events like concerts and dinners with the FAU SG Program Board, be a DJ for the student radio station (Owl Radio), or shoot TV/film for Owl TV.

Traditions

• Owl Prowl: FAU celebrates an annual Homecoming Week called "Owl Prowl" in the Fall semester. Events mostly occur on the Boca Raton campus but the other campuses have their own events. In 2004, events included a 60's-themed costumed dance, laser tag, a giant slide, bowling, a bonfire (where students sang the FAU fight song), football game with Tailgate party, and a comedy show by Bill Bellamy and Orlando Jones. In 2006, Owl Prowl included a Breezeway kickoff, velcro wall, Fall Family Fest, Alumni Event, BBQ dinner, bingo, golf cart parade, themed dinner, costume party, "Red Carpet Affair" formal dance, Talon Leadership Awards ceremony, Timucua Pageant, pep rally, Halloween Horror Nights trip, and a tailgate event. The Comedy Show hosted Mo'Nique, DeRay Davis, and Lil Duval.

• Hall Wars: During the 11-day Weeks of Welcome, residential students square off in various competitions (including volleyball, tug-of-war, and relay races) for the Annual Hall Wars competitions. Started in 2003, Hall Wars are run by FAU Greeks and the Resident Student Association.

• Timucua Pageant: Named after the razed Timucua dormitory where it was first held, the Timucua Pageant is a talent show held on the HPT lawn and hosted by the FAU Department of Housing and Residential Life. In 2006, the 8th Annual Timucua Pageant had 14 competitors from multiple majors competing in 'day wear', 'night wear', and talent exhibitions. Winners were crowned as King and Queen.

• Brain Bowl: Each Spring semester the College of Engineering and Computer Science holds Engineering Week. These events usually feature free food and a "Brain Bowl" competition between the College's departments. The 2007 theme was "Mardi Gras" featuring flamenco dancing as the main event.

• Night Breakfast: During Finals Week of the Spring and Fall semesters, the FAU Student Government Program Board holds a free Late Night Breakfast in the Centre Marketplace. Besides free food, students also enjoy a DJ, free candy, giveaways, and occasionally small carnival rides.

• Bury the Burrow in Red: A tradition started in 2006, this annual basketball face-off between FAU and FIU calls for FAU students to wear red and pack the basketball arena (The Burrow) in an attempt to break previous attendance records.

Notable Student Activism

• Five members of the FAU community took part in a 200-mile humanitarian effort called the Bike2Belarus Initiative, a directive of the Irish Students 10k. One of the poorest nations in Europe, Belarus was ravaged by after effects of the 1986 Chernobyl accident. Ultimately, the bike trip raised a quarter of a million dollars for Belarus, matched by the Irish Government and used for the construction of a hospice and orphanage.
• The Annual FAU 16-hour Dance Marathon raises money for the Children's Miracle network, which in turn benefits the Shands Children's Hospital at the University of Florida. In 2004, thirty-eight dancers ultimately raised $7,000. In 2005, more than fifty volunteers danced the night away to raise $11,500.
• FAU Softball raised $1,400 over a three-day tournament in its effort to "Strike Out Cancer." The fundraiser, noted by the Sun-Sentinel, was held during the FAU Classic softball tournament on Feb.16-18, 2007. Members collected donations for each strikeout. All of the proceeds went to the America Cancer Society for the 2007 Relay for Life that took place at FAU's Boca Raton campus.
• Over 100 FAU students rallied to form a human chain during the "Save Darfur" event in the hopes of raising awareness of the ongoing genocide crisis. The student-run event was sponsored by FAU's Amnesty International chapter. The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County sponsored an FAU sophomore to participate in the "Save Darfur Now: Voices to End Genocide" rally that took place on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2006 in New York's Central Park.

Recognition

• Media rankings. Washington Monthly, which publishes an annual ranking of top universities, placed FAU at number 240 in the nation. The Princeton Review has named the university as one of the "Best Southeastern Colleges" in the United States. In the 2006 edition of the U.S. News & World Report rankings of "Best Colleges", FAU was ranked in the fourth tier of national universities.

• Innovations in Ocean Engineering. FAU was the first university in the country to offer an undergraduate degree in ocean engineering; the first class of 35 "Oceaneers" graduated in 1967. The program was created in 1964 in response to the loss of the Navy's nuclear-powered USS Thresher off the coast of Massachusetts. The sub and its crew were lost after a test dive and found in 8,400 feet of water, far below the sub's crush depth. Concerned about underwater equipment designed by engineers with no marine experience, FAU and the Navy established a program that would eventually draw students from around the globe and be recognized in the 1996 Guiness Book of World Records for the "the fastest speed attained by a human-powered propeller submarine.".

• Accounting. A 2001 report by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy found that students from the FAU College of Business' School of Accounting ranked seventh among all colleges and universities nationwide based on the percentage of candidates passing all four subjects of the Certified Public Accountant examination. In 1998, Florida Atlantic graduate Mindy Tyson placed first in the United States in the CPA exams and was awarded the Gold Medal.

• Business School. FAU's business school is among the 10% of elite business schools world-wide that are Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business accredited, the highest worldwide standard of achievement for business schools. FAU also ranked in Success Magazine's Top 50 Business Schools for Entrepreneurs and ranked as the best Florida-housed program by Entrepreneurship. Additionally, FAU's Virtual MBA has been ranked among the nation’s Top 25 On-line business programs by U.S. News and World Report every year since its inception in 2000; FAU's real estate faculty, as a group, were ranked 8th in the nation for quality of published research; the Department of Finance was ranked 35th in the world based on a compilation of published research in sixteen core financial journals and second in the nation for published research in financial education and the Department of Information Technology and Operations Management was ranked in the nation’s top 50 programs by Decision Line.

• Overall Athletics. FAU's Athletic Department was recently ranked 79th in the nation by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) . In conjunction with USA Today and the United States Sports Academy, NACDA recognized the University for its Division I athletic programs and accomplishments. This national ranking places Florida Atlantic in the top 24% of 326 NCAA Division I universities. FAU was the only school in either the Sun Belt or Atlantic Sun conferences that placed in the top 100 and was the 4th highest ranked program in the state of Florida, finishing behind the University of Florida, Florida State University and the University of Miami. The FAU women’s basketball team was also listed among the nation’s top-10 percent in Academic Performance Rating, while an average of 136 student athletes earned a 3.0 or above GPA each semester.

• Individual Athletics. The FAU Owls athletic teams have garnered numerous accolades for their accomplishments. In 2007 alone: the men's basketball team was recently noted as "one of the Sun Belt Conference's top offensive teams", with a "scary offense" earning it the reputation as the "best shooting team in the conference.". The baseball team has recently earned a NCAA ranking in the Top-10 in five team categories.

Athletics

Florida Atlantic University competes in athletics with 18 intercollegiate sports teams on the Division I level in the Sun Belt Conference. FAU has attracted renowned coaches such as Howard Schnellenberger (football) and former NBA player Rex Walters (men's basketball).

Innovation Village

In an effort to create a traditional, first-choice college atmosphere, FAU worked with KUD International to develop an Innovation Village for its campus in Boca Raton. When completed in 2010, the Innovation Village will include new residence halls, workforce housing, restaurants, stores, parking garages, and a long-awaited 30,000-seat football stadium that will be home to the Florida Atlantic University Owls football team. It is envisioned that the Innovation Village will create a miniature "college town" within FAU . The project will be completed in phases, with the housing and retail opening first in Fall 2008 and 2009 and the football stadium opening in Fall 2010. FAU's Innovation Village 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 also being built at the University of Central Florida.

Notable Professors and Alumni

• Dr. David F. Bjorklund, psychology professor, author, pioneer in evolutionary developmental psychology
• Dr. J. A. Scott Kelso, noted neuroscientist, Glenwood and Martha Creech Eminent Scholar in Science, and founder of the Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences
• Dr. Robert P. Watson, alumnus of FAU, author, national media commentator, former candidate for the United States House of Representatives. Currently an associate professor of political science.

• Dr. Jie Wu, professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Program Director for the Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS) program of the National Science Foundation.
• Dr. Cecilia Campoverde, associate professor of social work in the College of Architecture, Urban and Public Affairs; founder and volunteer Director of the Guatemalan Project, Inc. that worked to create a new community in Guatemala called El Triunfo for survivors of Hurricane Mitch
• Dr. Ramaswamy Narayanan, bioinformatics expert, Director of GeneChip Core Facility, and Acting Director for the FAU Center for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology.
• Dr. Maria Fadiman, associate professor, an ethnobotanist and member of the 2006 National Geographic Emerging Explorers
• Richard Shusterman, Professor of Philosophy, American pragmatist philosopher, Dorothy F. Schmidt Eminent Scholar in the Humanities, and Founder and Director of the FAU Center for Body, Mind, and Culture.

Notes and references

1. ^ "Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2006 Market Value of Endowment Assets with Percent Change Between 2005 and 2006 Endowment Assets" (PDF). National Association of College and University Business Officers. Retrieved 2007-05-29. Cite error: The named reference "Endowment" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
2. ^ "2006-2007 Quick Facts". Florida Atlantic University: Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Analysis. Retrieved 2006-08-26. Cite error: The named reference "Facts" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
3. ^ "Explore FAU Campuses". Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved 2006-08-22.
4. "Florida Atlantic University: Visual Standards Manual Version 1.0 (7/2005) (PDF)" (PDF). Florida Atlantic University: Communications Office. Retrieved 2006-08-22.
5. ^ "Early Detection of Developmental Disorders in Babies to be a Focus of New Infant Development Laboratory" (Press release). Florida Atlantic University: University Communications and Marketing. 2005-09-22. Retrieved 2006-08-22.
6. "Explore FAU History: Milestones in FAU History (1955-1969)". Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved 2006-08-22.
7. ^ Restrepo, Dan (2004-02-05). "New admissions standards: good for FAU, bad for Florida". The University Press Online. Retrieved 2006-08-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
8. ^ Travis, Scott (2006-08-17). "FAU to boost scientific reputation with biomedical science college". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
9. King, Dale (2006-09-20). "Brogan's 'State of University' address notes alliances, progress". Boca Raton News. Retrieved 2006-10-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
10. "FAU Ranks Among Top 100 Colleges and Universities in Producing Undergraduate Degrees for Minorities" (Press release). Florida Atlantic University: University Communications and Marketing. 2006-07-13. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
11. "SAT & ACT Scores & High School GPA for First-Time-In-College Students". Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
12. "Colleges and Degrees". Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
13. "FAU hits a high note with music studies". Oxendine Publishing. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
14. "FAU Graduate's Masters Thesis Produces Billboard Hit" (Press release). Florida Atlantic University: University Communications and Marketing. 2007-02-26. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
15. "Students experience Wall Street in FAU's two-story trading room simulator". Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
16. "Florida Atlantic University-Boca Raton". The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
17. "Message from the Vice President". Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
18. Reed, Charlie (2007-04-02). "FAU Research Week starts today". Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
19. "FAU to Receive $5 Million to Establish The Florida Center of Excellence in Ocean Energy Technology" (Press release). Florida Atlantic University: University Communications and Marketing. 2006-11-17. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
20. ^ "Center of Excellence in Biomedical and Marine Biotechnology". Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
21. "Florida Atlantic Research & Development Park". Florida Atlantic Research & Development Park. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
22. "Florida Atlantic University and Lockheed Martin to Develop Autonomous Mooring Buoy System for Military and Scientific Use" (Press release). Lockheed Martin. 2007-05-17. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
23. ^ "Maps and Directions - Boca Raton Campus". Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
24. "About FAU at Jupiter". Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
25. ^ "Dania Beach Campus". Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
26. "Davie Campus". Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
27. "FAU Constructs Student Union at Davie Campus" (Press release). Florida Atlantic University: University Communications and Marketing. 2007-05-07. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
28. "About FAU in Broward". Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved 2007-06-24. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
29. "Fort Lauderdale Campus". Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
30. "About FAU on the Treasure Coast". Florida Atlantic University. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
31. Bierman, Noah (2007-06-18). "Harbor Branch institute becoming part of Florida Atlantic University". Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
32. Reed, Charlie (2007-05-17). "Work begins on merger plan for Harbor Branch and FAU". Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
33. "Frequently Asked Questions". Florida Atlantic University: Department of Housing and Residential Life. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
34. "Joint Audit and Finance/Strategic Planning Committee" (PDF). FAU Board of Trustees. 2007-06-13. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
35. "Business and Professional Women's Scholarship House Program Application Packet" (PDF). Florida Atlantic University: Department of Housing and Residential Life. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
36. "Welcome Home" (PDF). Florida Atlantic University: Department of Housing and Residential Life. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
37. ^ "Becoming a Part of the Community: Living Learning Communities" (PDF). Florida Atlantic University: Department of Housing and Residential Life. Retrieved 2007-07-09.

External links

• Official Website
• Official History
• Official Athletics site
• University Press FAU's student-run newspaper
• FAU Division of Research
• FAU Research and Development Parks
• UMSM at FAU

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v t e The State University System of Florida
Campuses	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Florida Atlantic University Florida Gulf Coast University Florida International University Florida Polytechnic University Florida State University New College of Florida University of Central Florida University of Florida University of North Florida University of South Florida University of West Florida
Chancellors	J. Broward Culpepper (1954–1968) Robert B. Mautz (1968–1975) E. Travis York (1975–1981) Barbara W. Newell (1981–1985) Charles B. Reed (1985–1998) Adam W. Herbert (1998–2001) Judy G. Hample (2001) Debra D. Austin (2003–2005) Mark B. Rosenberg (2005–2009) John Delaney (2009) Frank T. Brogan (2009–2013) Marshall Criser III (2014–2022) Ray Rodrigues (2023–)
Governing body	Florida Board of Control Florida Board of Regents Florida Board of Governors
Other	University Press of Florida Florida Institute of Oceanography List of State University System Libraries Bright Futures Scholarship Program Florida Student Association Advisory Council of Faculty Senates
State University System of Florida - Founded in 1905

v t e Sun Belt Conference
Full members	Appalachian State Mountaineers Arkansas State Red Wolves Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Georgia Southern Eagles Georgia State Panthers James Madison Dukes Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks Marshall Thundering Herd Old Dominion Monarchs South Alabama Jaguars Southern Miss Golden Eagles and Lady Eagles Texas State Bobcats Troy Trojans
Beach volleyball-only members	Charleston Cougars Mercer Bears UNCW Seahawks
Men's soccer-only members	Kentucky Wildcats South Carolina Gamecocks UCF Knights West Virginia Mountaineers
Championships and awards	List of champions Baseball Football Men's basketball Women's basketball

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• Florida Atlantic University
• Sun Belt Conference
• Educational institutions established in 1961
• Oak Ridge Associated Universities