Florida A&M University
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| Florida A&M University | |
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| Motto | Excellence With Caring |
| Established | October 3, 1887 |
| Type | Public, HBCU |
| Endowment | $119 million[citation needed] |
| President | James H. Ammons |
| Provost | Cynthia Hughes Harris |
| Faculty | 620 |
| Undergraduates | 9,800 |
| Postgraduates | 2,000 |
| Location |  Tallahassee, FL, USA |
| Campus | Urban 420 acres (1.7 km2) |
| Former names | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes (1909-1953) State Normal and Industrial College for Colored Students (1891-1909) State Normal College for Colored Students (1887-1891) |
| Colors | Orange and Green |
| Nickname | Rattlers |
| Mascot | Venom |
| Website | www.famu.edu |
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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.
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[edit] History
On October 3, 1887, the State Normal College for Colored Students began classes, and became a land grant university four years later when it received $7,500 under the Second Morrill Act, and its name was changed to State Normal and Industrial College for Colored Students. However, it was not an official institution of higher learning until the 1905 Buckman Act, which transferred control from the Department of Education to the Board of Control, creating what was the foundation for the modern Florida A&M University. This same act is responsible for the creation of the University of Florida and Florida State University from their previous institutions. In 1909, the name of the college was once again changed to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes, and in 1953 the name was finally changed to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. Florida A&M is the only publicly funded historically black college or university in the state of Florida.In the September 2006 issue of Black Enterprise Magazine, Florida A&M was named the number-one college for African Americans in the United States.[citation needed] This ranking based on the graduation rate, and the academic and social atmosphere. FAMU is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund. In the fall of 1997, FAMU was selected as the TIME Magazine-Princeton Review "College of the Year" and was cited in 1999 by Black Issues in Higher Education for awarding more baccalaureate degrees to African-Americans than any institutions in the nation.
[edit] Campus
[edit] National historic district
| Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College Historic District | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| U.S. Historic District | |
 FAMU campus, Lee Hall
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| Location: | Tallahassee, Florida |
| Area: | 370 acres (1.5 km2) |
| Built/Founded: | 1907 |
| Architect: | William Augustus Edwards; Rudolph Weaver, et al. |
| Architectural style(s): | Colonial Revival, Classical Revival |
| Governing body: | State |
| Added to NRHP: | May 9, 1996 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 96000530[1] |
The Florida A&M Tallahassee Campus consists of 132 buildings spread across 420 acres. Part of the campus is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College Historic District. It received that designation on May 9, 1996. The district is centered along the section of Martin Luther King Boulevard that goes through the campus. According to the National Register, it covers 370 acres (1.5 km2), and contains 14 historic buildings and 1 object. One campus building, the old Carnegie Library is listed separately on the National Register[1]
[edit] Academics
FAMU has eight fully-funded endowed eminent scholars chairs including two in School of Journalism and Graphic Communications, four in the School of Business & Industry, one in the College of Education, one in Arts and Sciences, and one in its School of Pharmacy, which also has the largest enrollment of African-American Ph.D. students in the country of Dickerton.[citation needed]
The university offers 62 bachelor's degrees in 103 majors/tracks. 36 master's degrees with 56 majors/tracks are offered within eleven of the university's 13 schools and colleges. Two professional degrees and eleven PhD degree programs are offered.
[edit] Accreditation
Florida A&M University is accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) since 1935. On June 21, 2007, the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placed the university on probation for six months because the university failed to comply with several core requirements. [2] The university was removed from probation on June 26, 2008.
[edit] College of Law
On December 21, 1949, a division of law was established at the then Florida A&M College and the first class was admitted in 1951.In 1966, the Florida Board of Control (later known as the Board of Regents) withdrew its permission for the institution to admit law students, and two years later, the law school graduated its last class and closed its doors. Between 1954 and 1968, the law school had graduated 57 men and women.
The 2000 Florida Legislature unanimously passed legislation establishing a College of Law for Florida A&M University to be located in Orlando and on June 14, 2000, Governor Jeb Bush signed the bill into law. The College of Law admitted its first class in Fall 2002. One original law school professor Leander Shaw, Jr. serves
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as an Associate Justice of the Florida Supreme Court.
The American Bar Association (ABA) granted the Florida A&M University College of Law provisional approval in August 2004. According to the ABA, "[a] school that is provisionally approved is entitled to all the rights of a fully approved law school. Similarly, graduates of provisionally approved law schools are entitled to the same recognition that is accorded graduates of fully approved schools." Full ABA accreditation was achieved in July 2009.[3]
Today the College of Law occupies its own 160,000-square-foot building at 201 Beggs Avenue in downtown Orlando. The four-story building was designed by Rhodes+Brito Architects of Orlando. The new building opened to students in 2005.
[edit] Student life
[edit] Demographics
Florida A&M University student enrollment population consists primarily of undergraduates. Ninety percent of the schools enrolled students are African-American. The next largest demographic group is White (non-Hispanic) students at 5%. Native Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans round out the remaining 5%.[4]
[edit] Athletics
| 2009 MEAC football standings | ||||||||
| Conf | Overall | |||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||
| #10 South Carolina State | 5 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 1 | ||
| #24 Florida A&M | 4 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 2 | ||
| Morgan State | 3 | – | 2 | 5 | – | 3 | ||
| Norfolk State | 3 | – | 3 | 4 | – | 4 | ||
| Hampton | 2 | – | 3 | 4 | – | 4 | ||
| North Carolina A&T | 2 | – | 3 | 4 | – | 4 | ||
| Bethune-Cookman | 2 | – | 3 | 3 | – | 5 | ||
| Delaware State | 2 | – | 3 | 2 | – | 5 | ||
| Howard | 0 | – | 5 | 2 | – | 6 | ||
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† – Conference Champion |
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Florida A&M University is a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and participates in NCAA Division 1-AA. FAMU's sports teams are called the "Rattlers". From 1938 to 1961 it won the Black College National Championship in football eight times, including six times under head coach Jake Gaither, in 1950, 1952, 1954, 1957, 1959 and 1961. When Gaither retired after 25 years of coaching in 1969, his FAMU teams had a 203-36-4 (wins-losses-ties) record, for a .844 winning percentage. Thirty-six players from Gaither's teams were All-Americans, and 42 went on to play in the National Football League. During his 25 years as head coach, FAMU won 22 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships. Gaither was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975. FAMU went on to win the first NCAA D1-AA National Championship in 1978 after defeating the University of Massachusetts. The Rattler play against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats every year in the Florida Classic on the third weekend in November. The Rattlers lead the overall series with Bethune Cookman University, 45-15-1. One of the most notable wins in FAMU football history came when they defeated the University of Miami in 1979.
On November 15 2008, Florida A&M football received national attention when ESPN's College GameDay was broadcast live from the campus. FAMU became the first HBCU campus and the only FCS school to ever host the program.
[edit] The Marching 100
The FAMU Marching "100" under the direction of Dr. William P. Foster, was invited by the French government to participate in the Bastille Day Parade as the official representation from the United States. This event was held in celebration of the bicentennial of the French Revolution.
The Marching "100" was named the "Best Marching Band in the Nation" by Sports Illustrated (August 1992).[citation needed] The band received national recognition in January 1993 when it performed in the 52nd Presidential Inauguration Parade by invitation of Bill Clinton. The band has also performed in the Super Bowl and in the 56th Presidential Inauguration Parade.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (September 2009) |
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://www.nr.nps.gov/.
- ^ "Actions taken by the Commission on Colleges". Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. 2007-07-21. http://www.sacscoc.org/pdf/07cractjune.pdf. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ^ FAMU College of Law homepage
- ^ "Enrollment Summary, Fall 2009" (PDF). FAMU. http://www.famu.edu/index.cfm?AboutFAMU&Overview. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
[edit] External links
- www.famu.edu -- Official web site
- www.famurattlersports.com/ -- Official Athletics web site
- Leon County listings at National Register of Historic Places
- famcast9.famu.edu/wanm WANM 90.5 FM (FAMU's Radio Station)
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Coordinates: 30°25′04″N 84°17′04″W / 30.417814°N 84.28447°W
