University of Florida
History
The University of Florida traces its origins to 1853, when the East Florida Seminary, the oldest of the University of Florida's four predecessor institutions, was founded in Ocala, Florida.
On January 6, 1853, Florida Governor Thomas Brown signed a bill that provided public support for higher education in the state of Florida.[17] Gilbert Kingsbury was the first person to take advantage of the legislation, and established the East Florida Seminary. The East Florida Seminary was the first state-supported institution of higher learning in Florida.[18] James Henry Roper, an educator fromNorth Carolina and a state senator from Alachua County, built a school, theGainesville Academy, around the same time. In 1866, after East Florida Seminary had closed during the American Civil War,[19] Roper offered his land and school to the State of Florida in exchange for the relocation of East Florida Seminary to Gainesville.[20]
The second major precursor to the University of Florida was the Florida Agricultural College, established at Lake City by Jordan Probst in 1884. Florida Agricultural College became the state's first land-grant college under the Morrill Act. In 1903, the Florida Legislature, desiring to expand the school's outlook and curriculum beyond its agricultural and engineering origins, changed the name of Florida Agricultural College to the "University of Florida," a name that the school would hold for only two years.[21]
Academics
Tuition
For the 2008-2009 academic year, annual undergraduate tuition was $3,790 for in-state students and $20,460 for out-of-state students.[37] For the 2008-2009 academic year, annual graduate tuition was $8,190 for in-state students, and $23,315 for out-of-state students. For the 2008-2009 academic year, annual law school tuition was $10,800 for in-state students, and $30,100 for out-of-state students.[38] For the 2008-2009 academic year, annual medical school tuition was $23,930 for in-state students, and $51,777 for out-of-state students.[39] For the 2009-2010 academic year, annual undergraduate tuition was $5,044 for in-state students and $27,321 for out-of-state students. [40]
Demographics
University of Florida students, numbering 51,413 in Fall 2008, come from more than 130 countries, and all 50 states. The ratio of women to men is 54:46, and 32 percent are graduate and professional students. Professional degree programs include architecture, dentistry, law, medicine, pharmacy and veterinary medicine. Minority populations constitute 33.5 percent of the student body, with 10.0 percent African-Americans, 15.0 percent Hispanics, 0.5 percent Native American, and 8.0 percent Asian-Americans or Pacific Islanders.[43]
Over 12,000 students, or nearly a quarter of University of Florida students come from the Miami/South Florida area, constituting the largest group of students at the university. The majority of Hispanicand Jewish students at the university are Miamians, with an estimated 6,000 Hispanic and 10,000 Jewish students at UF. Broward County alone produces the most UF students followed by Miami-Dade County.[44]
During the 2008-2009 academic year the University of Florida had the 12th highest enrollment for International Students in the United States. In total 4,731 international students enrolled at the university and this equates to about 9 percent of the total enrollment.[45] This was more than any other university in Florida. Also confirmed by Peterson's the International Student populations accounts for roughly 9.0% of the entire student body.[46]
The University of Florida is ranked second overall in the United States for the number of bachelor's degrees awarded to African-Americans, and third overall for Hispanics.[47] The university ranks fifth overall in the number of doctoral degrees awarded to African-Americans, and second overall for Hispanics, and third overall in number of professional degrees awarded to African-Americans, and second overall for Hispanics.[48] The university offers many graduate programs—-including engineering, business, law and medicine—-on one contiguous campus, and coordinates 123 master's degree programs and 76 doctoral degree programs in 87 schools and departments.[49][50]
| Student Body | U.S. Census[42] | |
|---|---|---|
| Hispanic American (of any race) | 15.0% | 14.7% |
| Asian American | 8.0% | 4.3% |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 66.5% | 73.9% |
| African American | 10.0% | 12.4% |
| Native American | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| International students | 9.0% | (N/A) |
Admissions
As the acceptance rate at the University of Florida has trended downward, the application process has become increasingly competitive. The university has a freshmen retention rate of 94%.[76] Approximately 90 percent of incoming freshmen score above the national average on standardized exams. For the Fall of 2011, admitted freshman applicants had an average grade-point average (GPA) of 4.3, a 1963 SAT score, and a 30 ACT score.[77]
In addition, UF admitted 1,179 International Baccalaureate students during the fall 2009 academic year. This was more than any other university in theUnited States.[78]
Freshmen First Time in College Statistics
| 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applicants | 29,269 | 26,512 | 25,798 | 26,326 | 24,126 |
| Admits | 11,423 | 11,459 | 10,821 | 10,916 | 10,158 |
| % Admitted | 39.0 | 43.2 | 41.9 | 41.5 | 42.1 |
Recreation
Many recreational activities available for students include indoor and outdoor sports, outdoor courts and playing fields on campus, in the O'Connell Center,University Golf Course, Plaza of the Americas, the Student Recreation and Fitness Center, the Southwest Recreation Center, and the Florida Gymnasium for indoor sports.[138] Florida offers intramural and club sports ranging from archery to weightlifting.[138] Near the campus are many recreational lakes and rivers, including university-owned Lake Alice.[138] In addition, student have access to the J. Wayne Reitz Union which is equipped with a bowling alley, pool tables, an arcade, and numerous other activities. South of Gainesville is Lake Wauburg, which also provides recreational activities for students, faculty, and staff. To the northwest of campus is the Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park.
The campus also contains open spaces, small ponds, picnic areas, shady nooks and an 81-acre (330,000 m2) wildlife sanctuary that provide opportunities to enjoy Florida's year-round sunshine activity life.[138]
Lastly, the University of Florida has more than eight hundred organizations and clubs for students to join.[139] They range from cultural and athletic to subjects pertaining to philanthropy. Some of the most popular organizations are Florida Blue Key, Theatre Strike Force, the Marching Band, Florida Competitive Cheerleading, Dazzlers, the Gatorettes, Hillel at UF, Gator Growl, Progressive Black Journalists, Miss University of Florida, and the Speakers Bureau. If students wish they can create their own registered student organization if the current interest or concern is not addressed by the previously established entities.[140]
Sports
The University of Florida's intercollegiate sports teams, known as the "Florida Gators", compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Southeastern Conference (SEC).[165] For the 2009–2010 school year, the University Athletic Association budgeted more $85 million for its sports teams and facilities. Since 1986, the Gators have won twenty-three of the last twenty-six SEC All-Sports Trophies, recognizing Florida as the best overall athletics program in the SEC.[166] Florida's sports program has ranked among the top five in the nation in twenty of the past twenty-eight years, and it is the only Division I program that has ranked among the top ten athletic programs in the country in each of the last twenty-eight years.[167]
Florida has won a total of twenty-nine team national championships,[168] twenty-three of which are NCAA championships.[169] Florida is one of only two Division I FBS universities to win multiple national championships in each of the two most popular NCAA sports: football (1996, 2006, 2008) and men's basketball (2006, 2007).
Football
The University of Florida fielded its first official varsity football team in the fall of 1906, when the university held its first classes on its new Gainesville campus. Since then, theFlorida Gators football team has played in thirty-seven bowl games, won three consensus national championships and eight Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships, produced 135 All-Americans, thirty-five National Football League (NFL) first-round draft choices, and three Heisman Trophy winners.[171]
The Gators won their first post-season game on Christmas Day 1912 in the Bacardi Bowl, beating the Vedado Athletic Club 28–0 in Havana, Cuba.[172] The Gators earned national attention in 1928, setting a national record for most points scored in a season by an 8–1 team that also produced the Gators' first All-American, end Dale Van Sickel.[173] The Gators' first major bowl win was the 1967 Orange Bowl in which coach Ray Graves and Heisman Trophy quarterbackSteve Spurrier led the Gators to a 27–12 victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
In 1990, Spurrier returned to his alma mater as its new head coach, and spurred the Gators to their first six official SEC football championships. The Gators, quarterbacked by their second Heisman Trophy winner, Danny Wuerffel, won their first national championship in 1996 with a 52–20 victory over Florida State Seminoles in the Sugar Bowl. In 2006, Urban Meyer coached the Gators to a 13–1 record, capturing their seventh SEC Championship, and defeating the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes 41–14 for the BCS National Championship. In 2008, the Gators' third Heisman-winning quarterback, Tim Tebow, led them in a 24–14 BCS Championship Game victory over the Oklahoma Sooners for their third national championship.
Since 1930, the Gators' home field has been Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, which seats over 90,000 fans—the twelfth largest college football venue in the country.[174] The stadium is popularly known as "The Swamp", and The Sporting News has named Florida's fans as the top college crowd in the nation and ranked the stadium as the nation's loudest.[175]
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