Florida Agricultural and Mechanical 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 |
| Students: | 11,700 |
| Location: | Tallahassee, Florida, United States |
| Campus: | Urban, 420 acres (1.7 km2) |
| Former names: | State Normal College for Colored Students State Normal and Industrial College for Colored Students Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes |
| 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, USA, the state capital, and is one of eleven institutions in Florida's State University System. Florida A&M is the only publicly funded historical black college or university in the state of Florida.
Florida A&M University student enrollment population consists primarily of undergraduates. 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.
Most recently Florida A&M has become the number-one college for African Americans in the country according to Black Enterprise Magazine's September 2006 issue. This ranking is due mostly to the high graduation rate, as well as the high 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.
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.
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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 Board 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.
| President | Term |
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| Thomas DeSaille Tucker | 1887-1901 |
| Nathan B. Young | 1901-1923 |
| W.H.A. Howard * | 1923-1924 |
| John Robert Edward Lee, Sr. | 1924-1944 |
| J.B. Bragg * | 1944-1944 |
| William H. Gray, Jr. | 1944-1949 |
| George W. Gore, Jr. | 1950-1968 |
| Benjamin L. Perry, Jr. | 1968-1977 |
| Walter L. Smith | 1977-1985 |
| Frederick S. Humphries | 1985-2001 |
| Henry Lewis * | 2001-2002 |
| Fred Gainous | 2002-2004 |
| Castell V. Bryant * | 2005-2007 |
| James H. Ammons | 2007-Present |
| *denotes Interim president |
[edit] Accreditation
Florida A&M University is fully accredited and has been 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. [1] The university was removed from probation on June 26, 2008.
[edit] FAMU 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, many of whom went on to make significant contributions to the legal profession both within the State and throughout the nation.
The 2000 Florida Legislature unanimously passed legislation establishing a law school at Florida A&M University 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 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." Under ABA guidelines FAMU has five years to achieve full accreditation and faces the ABA's final ruling on its disposition at the end of the 2008 academic year.[2]
Today the College of Law stands in its own 160,000-square-foot building in downtown Orlando. The four-story building was designed by Rhodes+Brito Architects of Orlando. The new building opened to students in 2005.
[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[3] |
The Florida A&M 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.
[edit] Student activities
[edit] Athletics
| Team | Conf W | Conf L | Overall Record |
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| X - South Carolina State | 8 | 0 | 10-2-0 |
| Florida A&M | 5 | 3 | 9-3-0 |
| Bethune-Cookman | 5 | 3 | 8-3-0 |
| Hampton | 5 | 3 | 6-5-0 |
| Delaware State | 5 | 3 | 5-6-0 |
| Morgan State | 4 | 4 | 6-6-0 |
| Norfolk State | 3 | 5 | 5-7-0 |
| North Carolina A&T | 1 | 7 | 3-9-0 |
| Winston-Salem State* | 0 | 0 | 3-8-0 |
| Howard | 0 | 8 | 1-10-0 |
| * Not eligible for conference title | |||
| X - 2008 Conference Champions | |||
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 every 3rd weekend of November. The Rattlers have dominated the overall series leading Bethune 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 award winning College Football GameDay was broadcasted live from the campus. FAMU became the only FCS school to host the program in 2008 and the first HBCU campus to ever host the program.
[edit] The Marching 100
The school's marching band is known as 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). The band received national recognition in January 1993, when it performed in the 52nd Presidental Inauguration Parade by invitation of William Clinton. The band has also performed in the Super Bowl and in the 56th Presidental Inauguration Parade.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Actions taken by the Commission on Colleges". Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. 2007-07-21. http://www.sacscoc.org/pdf/07cractjune.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
- ^ "Optimism for FAMU law school fades amid problems." St. Petersburg Times (2007-08-22).Retrieved on 2008-12-4.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://www.nr.nps.gov/.
[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
