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Florida A&M University

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Florida A&M University
MottoExcellence With Caring
TypePublic
Established1887
Endowment$119 million
PresidentJames H. Ammons
Academic staff
620
Students12,792
Undergraduates11,223
Location
Tallahassee, Florida
,
USA United States
CampusUrban, 419 acres (1.70 km²)
ColorsOrange and Green   
NicknameRattlers File:FA&MRattlers logo.png
MascotVenom
Websitewww.famu.edu

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, commonly known as Florida A&M or FAMU (pronounced fam-you), is a historically black university located in Tallahassee, Florida, the state capital, and is one of eleven institutions in Florida's State University System.

Florida A&M University student enrollment population consists primarily of undergraduates (students enrolled at the lower division). 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. A perennial leader in the recruitment of National Achievement Scholars (NAS), FAMU tied Harvard in fall 2000 and was No.1 in the nation in recruiting NAS in 1992, 1995, and 1997.

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.

FAMU's sports teams are called the "Rattlers". The school is also well known for the marching band "Marching 100."

History

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Florida A&M University

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.

FAMU is noted for its School of Business & Industry (SBI) and College of Pharmacy. The School of Architecture is also highly acclaimed.

History of FAMU College of Law

The College of Law’s rich tradition of excellence dates back to its original founding. 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 graduated fifty-seven (57) men and women many of whom have gone on to make significant contributions to the legal profession both within the State and throughout the nation.

One of the original law school’s original professors, Leander Shaw, Jr., serves as an Associate Justice of the Florida Supreme Court.

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 will admit its first class in Fall 2002.

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Famu campus

The College of Law has committed to the following mission: To provide a law program with high academic standards that produce excellent legal professionals who demonstrate professionalism, provide public service, enhance justice and promote scholarship; to provide a program that offers both full-time and part-time learning opportunities to students; and, consistent with the enabling legislation, to provide opportunities for minorities to attain representation within the legal profession.

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University will continue its mission of meeting the educational needs of African Americans and other ethnic minorities, while maintaining its leadership in racial diversity. At the same time, the University seeks students from all racial, ethnic, religious and national groups, without regard to age, sex, or disability, who have the potential to benefit from a sound education. The University provides for all an atmosphere where excellent teaching and lifelong learning are hallmarks.

In law, FAMU reaffirms its historical responsibilities to its students to provide important opportunities for service to the diverse communities in Florida, the nation, and the world. FAMU strives to set, to maintain and to reward high standards for faculty, staff and students through continual evolution and pedagogy, curricula, research and public service demands. FAMU will continue to serve as a beacon of hope and a catalyst for change. The College of Law’s role is to promote the development of legal professionals as community leaders who are sensitive to the needs of all people.

The FAMU College of Law was passed as a Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 68 (CS/SB 68) and signed by Governor Jeb Bush into law as Chapter 2000-259.

History of the FAMU Rattlers

The FAMU Rattlers football team was a powerhouse in the middle of the 20th Century. From 1938 to 1961 it won the Black College National Championship 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.

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College Historic District
LocationTallahassee, Florida
Area370 acres (1.5 km2)
Added to NRHPMay 9, 1996

National historic status

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.

Presidents

  • 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
  • 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 Vaughn Bryant* 2005-2007
  • James H. Ammons 2007-Present

Asterisk (*): Interim

Notable alumni

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Athletics logo
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Alternate athletics logo

References

Footnotes

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