Century Tower, University of Florida. The University of Florida, or UF, is a public university located in Gainesville, Florida. Founded in Ocala in 1853, UF is the fourth-largest university in the United States with over 48,000 students. It also has the eighth-largest budget (nearly $1.9 billion per year) and is considered one of the top public universities in the United States, ranking second among public institutions in the number of National Merit Scholar students. Its current president is James Bernard "Bernie" Machen.
History
In 1853, the East Florida Seminary is founded in Ocala. During the Civil War, the school closes and upon reopening is moved to Gainesville. In 1895, the Florida Agricultural College at Lake City is founded and changes its name to University of Florida by 1904. The 1905 Buckman Act creates the current University of Florida by consolidating the University of Florida at Lake City, the St. Petersburg Normal and Industrial School at St. Petersburg and the South Florida Military College at Bartow in to one campus at Gainesville. Andrew Sledd from the University of Florida at Lake City becomes the first president and architect William A. Edwards designs the first campus buildings in the collegiate gothic style. The alligator is chosen as the school mascot in 1911.
The Buckman Act established the University of Florida as the only public school in Florida for white males. In 1947, UF began allowing women to enroll. Admission of African-American students began in 1958.
Shands Hospital at UF first opened in 1958 along with the medical school. Rapid campus expansion began in the 1950s and continues to the present. In 1985, UF's status as a major research institution was confirmed by its admission to the presigious Association of American Universities. Current efforts at UF continue to focus on expanding the university's role in research in all fields.
Academics
UF is divided into twenty-one colleges, which offer over 100 undergraduate majors and an equally wide array of 200 graduate degrees, including the only dentistry and veterinary medicine programs in the state.
Florida's programs are generally ranked highly among public universities, and the university was ranked as a Top Tier school by US News and World Reports for 2004. The graduate programs in chemistry and tax law are consistently ranked among the best in the United States. UF's engineering programs are very well-funded, partly from royalties on the sale of a UF invention, Gatorade. The university is 13th among all universities - public and private - in the number of U.S. Patents awarded in 2000.
The acceptance rate at UF has slowly fallen over the past decade as more students apply. In 2004, the average incoming freshman had a weighted GPA of 4.0, an SAT score of 1290, and an ACT composite of 28. Undergraduate tuition is around $100 per credit for Florida residents, and $460 per credit for out-of-state students, with a typical load of 30 credits per year.
Athletics
The school's sports teams are called the Gators and compete in the East Division of the Southeastern Conference of the NCAA's Division I-A. Florida has one of the strongest collegiate athletic programs in the United States and dedicates about $44 million per year to its sports teams and facilities.
Gator Football reaches a national audience and the team is often ranked among the top 25 in the NCAA. In 1996, the Gators won their only national championship under coach Steve Spurrier and quarterback Danny Wuerffel. In December 2004, coach Urban Meyer took over head coaching duties. Traditional football rivals include the Seminoles of Florida State University, the Hurricanes of the University of Miami, the Bulldogs of the University of Georgia, and since the early 1990's the Volunteers of the University of Tennessee. A hallmark of the Gator football season is "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party", the rivalry game against Georgia, played in Jacksonville, Florida.
Basketball is another sport at which the Gators have seen success. The UF men's basketball squad appeared in the 1994 Final Four and lost in the 2000 NCAA Championship game to Michigan State. They are currently coached by Billy Donovan, who has been the head coach of the Gators since 1996. Florida's primary men's basketball rival is traditional SEC basketball superpower Kentucky - though the rivalry is felt more keenly in Florida than in Kentucky.
The Gators have also seen success in gymnastics, volleyball, tennis, soccer, and baseball.
Alumni
Famous UF alumni include:
- John Atanasoff, inventor of the digital electronic computer
- Lawton Chiles, former governor of Florida and former U.S. senator
- Faye Dunaway, actress
- Rich Fields, announcer of The Price Is Right, radio personality
- Bob Graham, governor, senator, and presidential candidate
- Rex Grossman, quarterback for the Chicago Bears
- Carl Hiaasen, novelist and Miami Herald columnist
- Spessard Holland, governor, senator, namesake of Holland & Knight
- Joseph Kittinger, pilot
- Fred Levin, defense attorney, for whom the UF law school is named
- Marshall Nirenberg, Nobel Prize winner in medicine and physiology
- Forrest Sawyer, ABC News anchorman
- Joe Scarborough, former congressman and MSNBC talk show host
- George A. Smathers, former U.S. senator and presidential candidate
- Emmitt Smith, professional football player
- Steve Spurrier, Heisman Trophy-winning football player and former NFL coach
- Bob Vila, former host, This Old House
- Buddy Ebsen, Actor, deceased
The University of Florida has more of its graduates in the United States Congress than any other university or college in the country - currently nine alumni serve in the House or Senate.
See also
References
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