Florida A&M University
Encyclopedia
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
. FAMU is also one of Florida's land grant universities.
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.
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. The university was removed from probation on June 26, 2008.
The school drew media attention because a state-conducted audit found that staff on the payroll were not performing any work for the school. A payroll audit in 2005 led to the firing of the dean, Percy Luney Jr., although he was never directly linked to the deal, and the conclusion of Shirley Cunningham, Jr.'s faculty position. The interim university President, Castel Bryant, subsequently reported that Cunningham had not undertaken any work at the institution, despite his salary.
, the National Science Foundation
and the National Institutes of Health
. For 2007-2008, the largest source of funds was $15.1 million from the US Department of Education, followed by $6.1 million from the Department of Agriculture (most of which is allocated to FAMU by virtue of it being a land grant university.) FAMU's two largest research areas are agriculture and heath sciences. The Pharmacy College's research funding for 2009-2010 is $22.5 million ($21.0 million in federal, $1.1 million in state support, and from $325,046 private industry support) with over $37,301,715 committed through 2012.
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. 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.
, just south of the State Capitol and the campus of Florida State University
. It also has a law school campus in Orlando, Florida
and the Research and Development Center in Quincy, Florida
. The College of Pharmacy has extension campuses in Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa and Crestview, Florida.
FAMU offers a limited number of rooms for students with dependent families. Family households may occupy rooms in the Palmetto North Apartments. Residents are zoned to Leon County Schools
. Residents are zoned to Bond Elementary School, Nims Middle School, and Leon High School
.
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
students at 5%. Native Americans
, Hispanics and Asian Americans round out the remaining 5%.
and participates in NCAA Division I-AA. FAMU's sports teams are called the "Rattlers." FAMU offers men's sports in baseball, basketball, football, golf, swimming, tennis and track and field. It offers women's sports in basketball bowling, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field and volleyball.
From 1938 to 1961, the football team 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-America
ns, 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 Rattlers meet 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 historically black college or university campus and is one of two FCS schools to ever host the program (the other being the University of Pennsylvania
).
The men's basketball team has qualified for the opening round game of the NCAA men's basketball tournament 3 times(1999, 2004 & 2007).
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 Presidential Inauguration Parade by invitation of Bill Clinton
. The band has also performed in the Super Bowl and in the 56th Presidential Inauguration Parade.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....
located in Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the state capital, and is one of eleven member institutions of the State University System of Florida
State University System of Florida
The State University System of Florida is a system of eleven public universities in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2011, over 320,000 students were enrolled in Florida's state universities...
. FAMU is also one of Florida's land grant universities.
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.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.
Accreditation
Florida A&M University 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
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...
placed the university on probation for six months because the university failed to comply with several core requirements. The university was removed from probation on June 26, 2008.
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. The legislature established the school because no "separate but equal" state-supported law school existed for African-Americans at that time. The school's enrollment was limited to African-American male students and was located in Tallahassee, Florida. The FAMU law school was closed through a vote by the Florida legislature in 1965, with the funds transferred to a new law school at Florida State University. The College of Law reopened in 2002 and now occupies its own 160000 square feet (14,864.5 m²) 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. Of the 1,807 who applied to the school in 2009, 630 were accepted and 234 enrolled. Seventy-seven percent of the entering class are Florida residents, and 42% are non-minority students. The mean LSAT score of the 2009 entering class was 146.The school drew media attention because a state-conducted audit found that staff on the payroll were not performing any work for the school. A payroll audit in 2005 led to the firing of the dean, Percy Luney Jr., although he was never directly linked to the deal, and the conclusion of Shirley Cunningham, Jr.'s faculty position. The interim university President, Castel Bryant, subsequently reported that Cunningham had not undertaken any work at the institution, despite his salary.
College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
The School of Pharmacy was organized in 1951. It received its present name in 1985 in recognition of the expanded role and mission of the college in professional and graduate education. It is now one of the largest colleges of pharmacy in the country. It offers a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree (PharmD) and also a PhD program in Pharmacy. The fall PharmD enrollment was 1,068, and FAMU has produced over 20% of the nation's African-American pharmacists. The Pharmacy School in 2009–2010 graduate student enrollment is 122, with 42 PhDs, 21 DrPH, 45 MPH, and 14 MS candidates. The school has graduated over 60% of African-American PhDs in pharmaceutical sciences, since 1990. In 2003 it was ranked third in the nation for research funding through the National Institute of Health and consistently ranks as one of the top funded pharmacy school in the southeast. It is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) through June 30, 2010.Research
FAMU’s annual research funding currently exceeds $54 million. Research is funded by grants from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
, the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
and the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
. For 2007-2008, the largest source of funds was $15.1 million from the US Department of Education, followed by $6.1 million from the Department of Agriculture (most of which is allocated to FAMU by virtue of it being a land grant university.) FAMU's two largest research areas are agriculture and heath sciences. The Pharmacy College's research funding for 2009-2010 is $22.5 million ($21.0 million in federal, $1.1 million in state support, and from $325,046 private industry support) with over $37,301,715 committed through 2012.
History
| Thomas DeSaille Tucker | 1887 – 1901 |
| Nathan B. Young | 1901 – 1923 |
| William A. Howard | 1923 – 1924 |
| John Robert Edward Lee | 1924 – 1944 |
| J.B. Bragg * | April 5, 1944 – Sept 1, 1944 |
| William H. Gray, Jr. | 1944 – 1949 |
| H. Manning Efferson * | July 7, 1949 – April 1, 1950 |
| George W. Gore | 1950 – 1968 |
| Benjamin L. Perry, Jr. | 1968 – 1977 |
| Walter L. Smith Walter L. Smith Walter Laws Smith is a British-born American mathematician, known for his contributions to applied probability theory.Smith received his B.Sc. in mathematics from Cambridge University, going on to... |
1977 – 1985 |
| Frederick S. Humphries Frederick S. Humphries Frederick Stephen Humphries is an American academic administrator and chemistry professor. He has been a Regent Professor at the Florida A&M University College of Law since 2003. Dr. Humphries is President Emeritus of Tennessee State University , and is President Emeritus of Florida A&M University... |
1985 – 2001 |
| Henry Lewis III ** | Jan. 2002 – June 2002 |
| Fred Gainous Fred Gainous Fred Gainous was born in 1947, and his hometown is Tallahassee, Florida. He received his Bachelors Degree from Florida A & M University back in 1969, and his Masters & Doctorate from the University of Florida.... |
2002 – 2004 |
| Castell V. Bryant Castell V. Bryant Castell Vaughn Bryant was the interim president of Florida A&M University between January 2005 and May 2007. She is the first woman to hold this position at the university.... ** |
Jan. 2005 – May 2007 |
| James H. Ammons James H. Ammons Dr. James H. Ammons, is currently the president of Florida A&M University . He is a native Floridian who grew up in the heart of Florida's citrus belt. He graduated from Winter Haven High School in 1970 and entered Florida A&M University on the Thirteen College Curriculum Program during the fall... |
2007 – present |
| * Acting President **Interim President |
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
and Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
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
Black Enterprise
Black Enterprise is a monthly U.S. magazine which describes itself as "the premier business news and investment resource for African Americans" and claims a readership of 3.7 million. It was founded in 1970 by Earl G. Graves, Sr.. The publication is known for its annual listing of the largest...
Magazine, Florida A&M was named the number-one college for African Americans in the United States. This ranking based on the graduation rate, and the academic and social atmosphere. FAMU is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund
Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund , named for the U.S. Supreme Court's first African-American Justice, was established in 1987. TMCF supports and represents nearly 300,000 students attending 47-member schools, which include public Historically Black Colleges & Universities and Predominantly Black...
. 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.
Campus
FAMU's main campus is in Tallahassee, FloridaTallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
, just south of the State Capitol and the campus of Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
. It also has a law school campus in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
and the Research and Development Center in Quincy, Florida
Quincy, Florida
Quincy is a city in Gadsden County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,982 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,975...
. The College of Pharmacy has extension campuses in Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa and Crestview, Florida.
Residential facilities
FAMU requires all first year students and students with fewer than 12 credit hours to live on campus, if their families are over 35 miles (56.3 km) from the FAMU campus. Exceptions to this rule include married students, students with dependents, and students who are of age 21 by the start of classes.FAMU offers a limited number of rooms for students with dependent families. Family households may occupy rooms in the Palmetto North Apartments. Residents are zoned to Leon County Schools
Leon County Schools
Leon County Schools is a school district serving Leon County, Florida and based in Tallahassee.As of the 2004 - 2005 school year, it has about 34,100 students, 2209 teachers and 2100 administrative and support personnel. The current superintendent of schools is Jackie Pons.-History:Education in...
. Residents are zoned to Bond Elementary School, Nims Middle School, and Leon High School
Leon High School
Leon High School is a public high school in Tallahassee, Florida. For the 2007-2008 school year, the Florida Department of Education gave the school an "A" rating after its students scored well above the state average on standardized tests in reading and in math...
.
National historic district
The Florida A&M Tallahassee Campus consists of 132 buildings spread across 420 acres (1.7 km²). Part of the campus is listed on the U.S.United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
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
Carnegie Library at FAMU
The Carnegie Library at FAMU is a historic building on the campus of Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida. It was one of many public and college libraries donated by Andrew Carnegie which were named Carnegie Library after him....
is listed separately on the National Register
Research and Development Center
The FAMU Research and Development Center in Quincy, Florida serves students in animal science, pre-veterinary medicine and veterinary technology. In May 2009, a new New Animal Healthcare Complex opened to support FAMU's pre-veterinary program. The complex was funded by a $1.2 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Cooperative Extension Research.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)White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
students at 5%. Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, Hispanics and Asian Americans round out the remaining 5%.
Athletics
Florida A&M University is a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic ConferenceMid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic conference of historically black colleges and universities in the Southeastern United States...
and participates in NCAA Division I-AA. FAMU's sports teams are called the "Rattlers." FAMU offers men's sports in baseball, basketball, football, golf, swimming, tennis and track and field. It offers women's sports in basketball bowling, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field and volleyball.
From 1938 to 1961, the football team won the Black College National Championship eight times, including six times under head coach Jake Gaither
Jake Gaither
Alonzo Smith "Jake" Gaither was the head football coach at Florida A&M University for 25 years, and amassed one of the best winning records of any college football coach....
, 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-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
ns, and 42 went on to play in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. During his 25 years as head coach, FAMU won 22 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is a College athletic conference consisting of historically black colleges and universities located in the southern United States. Formed in 1913, the SIAC is a member of the NCAA and participates in Division II athletics...
championships. Gaither was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1975. FAMU went on to win the first NCAA D1-AA National Championship in 1978 after defeating the University of Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts
This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...
.
The Rattlers meet the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats are the names of the college sports teams at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida. Lynn W. Thompson is the current Athletic Director.Bethune-Cookman currently fields varsity teams in ten different sports...
every year in the Florida Classic
Florida Classic
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Classic is the annual college football game between the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman University and the Rattlers of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. The series record is FAMU 18, B-CU 10...
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
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
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 historically black college or university campus and is one of two FCS schools to ever host the program (the other being the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
).
The men's basketball team has qualified for the opening round game of the NCAA men's basketball tournament 3 times(1999, 2004 & 2007).
Marching band
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 Presidential Inauguration Parade by invitation of Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. The band has also performed in the Super Bowl and in the 56th Presidential Inauguration Parade.
See also
- State University System of FloridaState University System of FloridaThe State University System of Florida is a system of eleven public universities in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2011, over 320,000 students were enrolled in Florida's state universities...
- List of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University alumni
External links
- www.famu.edu -- Official web site
- www.famurattlersports.com - Official athletics web site