Florida Institute of Technology

Infobox University
name = Florida Institute of Technology
native_name =


image_size = 200px
caption = Florida Institute of Technology University Seal
latin_name =
motto = "Ad Astra Per Scientiam" "To the stars through science."
tagline = High Tech with a Human Touch
established = September 22, 1958
closed =
vision =
type = Private
affiliation =
calendar = [http://fit.edu/registrar/calendar/ Academic Calendar]
endowment = $42.9 million [http://www.nacubo.org/Images/All%20Institutions%20Listed%20by%20FY%202007%20Market%20Value%20of%20Endowment%20Assets_2007%20NES.pdf]
debt =
rector =
officer_in_charge =
chairman =
chancellor =
president = Anthony J. Catanese
vice-president =
superintendent =
provost = T. Dwayne McKay
vice_chancellor =
principal =
dean = Rodney Bowers (Dean of Students)
director =
head_label =
head =
staff-ratio = 9:1
faculty = 364
staff =
students = 5,118
undergrad = 2,594
postgrad = 2,524
doctoral =
divinity =
residents = 1,300
other =
profess =
alumni = 50,000+
city = Melbourne
state = Florida
province =
country = United States
address = 150 W. University Blvd., Melbourne, FL 32901
telephone = [phone]
coor = coord|28|03|56.78|N|80|37|28.14|W|region:US-FL_type:edu|display=inline,title
campus = Suburban
free_label =
free =
sports = Basketball, Rowing (Sport), Football (Soccer)
colors = Crimson color box|#990000 and Gray color box|#CCCCCC [ [http://fit.edu/upub/identity/color.html Florida Institute of Technology University Publications Graphic Identity Policy - Color Palette ] ]
colours =
nickname = Florida Tech
mascot = Panthers
fightsong =
athletics =
affiliations = NCAA Division II, Sunshine State Conference
nobel_laureates =
website = http://fit.edu

publictransit = Space Coast Area Transit
footnotes = Florida Institute of Technology, also known as Florida Tech, is a private, independent technical university located in Melbourne, Florida. Founded in 1958 as Brevard Engineering College, the institute has been known by its present name since 1966. Florida Tech's curriculum is largely focused on engineering fields, and places highly in several regional and national college-ranking surveys. The institute has a student body of over 5,100, almost equally divided between graduate- and undergraduate-level students, with the plurality of them focusing their studies on engineering and the hard sciences.

History

In the beginning, classes were held in leased classrooms at Eau Gallie Junior High School (now Westshore Junior/Senior High School at 250 West Brevard Avenue) and at University of Melbourne's lone building on Country Club Boulevard. Classes were moved from Eau Gallie Junior High School to Melbourne Methodist Church on Waverly St. in 1959 after the school district disapproved of two black students using the junior high school classrooms.

In 1961, Brevard Engineering College purchased the property of the University of Melbourne (Florida) [not to be confused with the University that bears the same name in Australia] which became the main campus in the heart of Melbourne, Florida. The only existing building at the time was the current Ray A. Work building. The next building to be built was the Keuper building, originally used as a library. Today it houses the Admissions, Financial Aid and Student Employment departments. In the 1960s and 1970s many buildings were constructed on the main campus.

Since 1996 the university has been in the midst of much construction and expansion. Following a $50 million grant given to them by the F. W. Olin Foundation, Florida Tech has constructed three new facilities for their engineering, life science, and physical science departments.

In the early 1990s Florida Institute of Technology changed its promotional identity from FIT to Florida Tech, to avoid confusion with the Fashion Institute of Technology at the State University of New York. This name change created some confusion in the Orlando, Florida area with the existing Florida Technical College and Florida Technological University, the former name of the University of Central Florida.

As part of Florida Tech's 50th Anniversary celebration, new construction began starting summer of 2006 with the construction of the Pantherium, located adjacent to the Homer Denius Student Union Building, as well as the South Campus Expansion, which includes three new residence halls, a new four-story life sciences building, a new parking complex, an autism research center, and a new dining/multipurpose facility. Construction is set to complete within the next five to seven years, with the three new residence halls, newly designated "Harris Village", [ [http://oxblue.com/pro/open/?webPath=mhwilliams OxBlue Pro Construction Cameras ] ] completed for the beginning of the Fall 2008 semester. [http://activities.fit.edu/crimson/issues/fall2007/090707.pdf]

Geographic history

The northern part of Florida Tech's main campus contains some rich history. The headwaters of Crane Creek are located here, and the creek begins in the Botanical Gardens southeast of Columbia Village Suites. These Botanical Gardens, colloquially referred to as 'The Jungle', occupy much of the northeastern part of the main campus and are home to a wide variety of local species, with transient visits from alligators and manatees. Crisscrossed by several trails (the main one is named for Dent Smith), they contain a collection of many varieties of palm trees and other flora. Numerous bridges on campus provide crossings over two of the three streams that feed Crane Creek. The third stream comes south from the Roberts Hall and Columbia Village Suites area to the north.

The Jungle is colloquially divided into the "near Jungle" and "deep Jungle", with the former consisting of the area near campus with paved or wooden paths and bridges and the latter consisting of the more distant portions in which trails are simply worn paths through the vegetation. The plants and structures of the near Jungle are actively maintained by campus, while the deep Jungle has reverted to primarily Florida wilderness. Small wooden pagodas are scattered through the deep jungle, and students have previously set up hammocks. There are numerous "regions" of the deep jungle, characterized by their flora, including a heavily wooded area lacking singificant undergrowth and an area directly behind Evans Dormitory replete with extremely large pothos.

This area around Crane Creek was known as Cathead in the early 1900s after numerous panthers that lived in this area.

Melbourne's first (one-room) wooden school house is here, at the end of the Dent Smith Trail, northwest of the Evans Library.

The railroad of the Union Cypress Company traveled from east to west here just south of the Crawford Science Tower. It carried lumber from cypress swamps to the west, to the former mill town of Hopkins, just south of Crane Creek and U.S. 1.

Jensen Beach Campus

In 1968, the Hydrospace Technical Institute (HTI) was chartered in a donated building in Cocoa Beach. In 1972, the campus of Saint Joseph College of Florida located on the Indian River in Jensen Beach, Florida was purchased with the support of Ralph Evinrude, owner of Outboard Marine Corporation and husband of Frances Langford. The HTI was moved to Jensen Beach, and became the School of Marine and Environmental Technology(SOMET). The Jensen Beach campus closed in 1986 and SOMET was transferred to the main campus to become the Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences(DMES). An MBA program had been started on the campus and it was continued for a time in rented quarters on East Ocean Boulevard in Sewall's Point. The campus in Jensen Beach was subsequently sold. The dormitories and cafeteria located on the hill west of N.E. Sewall's Point Road were torn down and replaced by an assisted living facility. The rest of the campus lying east of Sewall's Point Road is now owned by the Martin County government and is now the Martin County Indian Riverside Park. The old chapel building is being converted into the Children's Museum of Martin County while the former administration building (once a home called Tuckahoe) located on Mount Elizabeth, which is actually a Native American midden, is being restored by the Friends of Mount Elizabeth. The library and classroom buildings and the old metal building were all demolished.

ponsored events

In early 2005, Florida Tech held a symposium attracting 85 engineers and contractors to hear from experts in the fields of disaster reconstruction, planning, contracting and mitigation. [ [http://cob.fit.edu/displaynews.cfm?id=208 Florida Institute of Technology NCSBI Hurricane Seminar ] ] The timing was to prepare professional to cope with the 2005 hurricane season. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Atlantic_hurricane_season] Florida Tech has been sponsoring and hosting a "Business Ethics Competition" since 1996 for Brevard County high schools. [SHS students win ethics competition, "The Beaches Hometown News", March 23, 2007, page 1]

Campus

Main campus

Florida Tech's main campus is located in Melbourne, Florida. :"For a list of residence halls at Florida Tech, see Florida Institute of Technology housing."
*Grissom Hall - First floor contains classrooms and some faculty offices, especially humanities professors. Grissom Hall's basement is home to WCRR, Crimson, and FITV. Its second and third floors are used as residence.
*Homer Denius Student Union Building (SUB)- First Floor houses the SUB Café, Florida Tech Bookstore, Florida Tech Mail Annex. Second Floor houses the Office of Student Life, offices for Student Government Association, FITSSFF, Campus Activities Board, Student Ambassadors, College Players, Anime Club, Alpha Phi Omega, Players in Harmony, and the Greek Life Office. Second Floor also contains the John and Martha Hartley Room.
*Shepard Hall - Classrooms used for math, science, and English, houses the department of science/mathematics education.
*Link "Engineering" Building - Department of Marine and Environmental Systems and the Florida Tech Hydrogen Center.
*Skurla Hall - School of Aeronautics.
*Crawford "Science" Tower -Humanities and Math department offices.
*Gleason Performing Arts Center [ [http://auxservices.fit.edu/gleason.html Gleason Center] ] - for plays, [ [http://cp.fit.edu College Players] ] WFIT concerts, and special performances on campus.
*Charles and Ruth Clemente Center for Sports and Recreation - contains a dining facility, two large gymnasiums, and a racquetball court.
*F.W. Olin Engineering Complex - (Not to be confused with the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, which was founded by the same foundation) Engineering Departments of Mechanical/Aerospace, Electrical/Computer, Civil and Chemical; and the Computer Sciences Department.
*F.W. Olin Life Sciences Building - Biological Sciences programs.
*F.W. Olin Physical Sciences Building - Chemistry Department and the Physics/Space Sciences Department. One notable feature is a large telescope dome on the roof of the building that houses a 32" telescope (the largest optical telescope in the state of Florida).
*Frueauff Building - Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, Engineering Material Sciences Laboratory.
*Evans Library - A member of the Federal Depository Library Program.

outh campus expansion

Florida Tech has begun the next wave of expansion efforts in the south end of campus. Three new residence halls were recently built and opened for the fall 2008 semester. In addition, there are plans to build an NCAA certified pool next to Clemente Center, a new life sciences building, a parking complex to replace the current life sciences labs located in Simcox Square, a new dining services facility, and a new autism center. [ [http://activities.fit.edu/crimson/issues/fall2007/090707.pdf "Crimson Fall 2007"] ]

atellite campuses

Florida Tech also has satellite campuses at Huntsville, Alabama (Redstone Arsenal Site), Hampton Roads, Virginia (Fort Eustis Office, Army Education Center), Norfolk Naval Station (Building CEP-87), Fort Lee, Virginia (Fort Lee Site at the United States Army Logistics Management College), Alexandria, Virginia (National Capital Region Site), Marine Corps Base Quantico, Fort Detrick, Morris County, NJ, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Kennedy Space Center, Rockledge, Florida, and Orlando, Florida. [ [http://uc.fit.edu/es/locations.html Florida Institute of Technology University College Site Locations ] ]

Organization

Florida Tech’s administration is headed by the Executive Council, [ [http://fit.edu/president/officers.html University Officers ] ] consisting of President Anthony J. Catanese, Provost and Executive Vice President T. Dwayne McCay, Vice President of Financial Affairs and CFO Jack Armul, and Senior Vice President for Advancement Thomas G. Fox.

Under Provost McCay are the six individual college deans, Vice Provost of Academic Affairs R. H. Fronk, Vice Provost for Enrollment Management Garry Hamme, Vice Provost for Research, Vice Provost for Student Affairs/Dean of Students, Associate Provost for Auxiliary Enterprises Brian Dailey, Assistant Provost for Government/Community Relations J. C. Gleason, Associate Provost for Information Technology J. R. Newman, Director for Facility Security P. Porche, Assistant Provost and Registrar Charlotte Young. [http://fit.edu/faculty/orgchart/orgchartweb2006.pdf]

Academic Affairs covers the graduate and international programs, study abroad programs, institutional research, the university safety office, and the Evans Library [http://www.lib.fit.edu Florida Institute of Technology Evans Library Homepage] . Enrollment Management covers undergraduate and graduate admissions as well as financial aid and scholarships office. Vice Provost for Research covers sponsored programs, Institute for Energy Systems, Intellectual Property, Institute for Computing and Information Systems, Institute for Materials Science and Nanotechnology, National Center for Hydrogen Research, Institute for Biological and Biomedical Sciences, National Center for Small Business Information, and Institute for Marine Research. Student Affairs covers the Office of Student Life, which includes Residence Life and student organizations, Career Services and Cooperative Education, International Student and Scholar Services, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Campus Ministry, and the Holzer Health Center/OMNI Health Care. Auxiliary Enterprises include the Clemente Center, Athletics, Food Services, Campus Services, Bookstore, and ELS Language Center.

Outreach

Florida Tech employs around 800 people at its main campus in Brevard County. It attracts over 3,300 full and part-time residents to Melbourne each year. It has been a partner in the community's economic growth and in the growth of high-tech industry on the Space Coast for the past 45 years. Florida Tech growth continues with increasing enrollment numbers, and multiple off-campus locations.

Academics

tudent demographics