Florida Gulf Coast University
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| Florida Gulf Coast University | |
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| Established: | 1991 |
| Type: | Public |
| Endowment: | $46.5+ million (2007-08) |
| President: | Wilson G. Bradshaw |
| Provost: | Ronald Toll |
| Faculty: | 500, 336 instructional and administrative faculty, 164 adjunct faculty (2006) |
| Staff: | 681 |
| Students: | 9510[1] |
| Undergraduates: | 8,143[1] |
| Postgraduates: | 852[1] |
| Other students: | 515[1] |
| Location: | Fort Myers, Florida, USA |
| Campus: | Suburban Area 760 acres (3.08 km²) |
| Colors: | Cobalt Blue and Emerald Green, and as an accent, Old Gold |
| Mascot: | Azul the Eagle |
| Athletics: | NCAA Division I, ASC; 6 men's varsity teams / 9 women's |
| Affiliations: | AACSB, SACS, SUSF |
| Website: | http://www.fgcu.edu |
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Florida Gulf Coast University is the youngest public four-year university in the U.S. state of Florida, located in Fort Myers. Commonly referred to FGCU or Florida Gulf Coast, the coeducational university is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees.[2]
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[edit] About FGCU
[edit] History
The school was established by then-governor Lawton Chiles in 1991, although the site of the university wasn't chosen until 1992, and construction pushed back even further still (until 1995). The school first held classes in August 1997.
The Florida Legislature established governing boards of trustees for state universities in 2001, and 13 members were appointed to the Florida Gulf Coast University Board of Trustees. Trustees work closely with the FGCU President to meet the needs of today and the future.
In early 2007, FGCU President William Merwin announced his resignation due to an affair with a faculty member. The FGCU Board of Trustees appointed Richard Pegnetter, the Dean of the Lutgert College of Business, interim President. A search committee was appointed by the board of trustees to recommend candidates to be the permanent President. It was announced on August 25, 2007, that Wilson G. Bradshaw was appointed as the third president of the university. [3]
[edit] Campus
FGCU's campus is located in Fort Myers, Florida. The campus is located approximatley 12 miles (19 km) from Naples, Florida.
FGCU is located on 760 acres (3.1 km2) in Southwest Florida. Four hundred acres of the main campus are set aside for environmental preservation. There are three other satellite campus locations (Naples Center, Cape Coral Center and the Charlotte Center in Punta Gorda) which are yet to be expanded.
The university recently purchased a small waterfront parcel of land in Bonita Springs with the intentions of developing a marine research laboratory. The site has 10 boat slips and is located on Estero Bay. In addition, the university has been preparing plans for a research center at the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve which is mid-way between Naples and Marco Island.[4]
In October 2006, a 12-person panel (of leading Charlotte County citizens) was tasked with selecting the future location of an FGCU-Charlotte Satellite Center. There were five respondents to the Invitation to Negotiate (ITN). Each respondent met the minimum criteria of the ITN (although one was later removed from the process for falling short on (2) of the requirements) of 150 acres (0.61 km2) of land, $5M in cash to the university. In a unanimous vote by the panel (notably including Charlotte County Board of Commissioners Chairman, Tom Moore), only one was chosen, Hudson Sun-River. In their proposal to the FGCU, Hudson Sun-River offered $5M in cash, 150ac of land (located within their 2,458ac 'University Village' master-planned development), $750,000 in annual operating funds and up to $70M of built-out infrastructure.
The 63,000-square-foot (5,900 m2) Lutgert College of Business building and the 70,000-square-foot (6,500 m2) Holmes Hall - U.A. Whitaker School of Engineering Building have recently been built. In addition,the 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m2) Herbert J. Sugden Hall - Resort & Hospitality Management Building has been completed. The university is also in the process of constructing the 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) Academic Building 7. The university has also announced that they will build a shared-use facility at the Naples Botanical Gardens.[5]
On-campus housing is made up of two sections: North Lake Village and the new South Village. North Lake Village is located on an 80-acre (320,000 m2) lake and features apartment-style residence halls. South Village is currently being constructed and the first suite-style residence hall (Everglades Hall) opened fall 2008 houses 406 first-year students.
[edit] Academics
The university is currently expanding its graduate offerings and is adding to its research capabilities, with an Environmental Forensics Facility or "body farm" in the works. The Division of Justice Studies in the College of Professional Studies is in its first year of offering a Master of Science in Criminal Forensic Studies. Students can choose to become qualified as a Forensic Behavior Analyst, under Dr. Duane Dobbert, or as a Death Investigator.
The Death Investigator concentration prepares students to work in the field as medicolegal death investigators for Medical Examiner's offices, as well as crime scene investigators or law enforcement detectives. Those in Death Investigations may specialize in Crime Scene Investigations or in Human Identity and Trauma Analysis. The CSI course, under[ Dr. David Lounsbury], prepares students for careers in crime scene investigation. The Human and Trauma ID concentration, under the direction of forensic anthropologist Dr. Heather Walsh-Haney, trains students to identify human remains through skeletal attributes, and analyze decomposed and skeletal remains for signs of trauma.
[edit] Athletics
On May 10, 2006, FGCU gained membership to the NCAA Atlantic Sun Conference effective when FGCU moves to Division I sports starting in the 2007-2008 academic year. Athletic teams at FGCU include baseball, men's cross country, men's basketball, men's golf, men's soccer, men's tennis, softball, volleyball, women's basketball, women's cross country, women's golf, women's soccer, women's swimming and diving, women's tennis. On March 24, 2007, FGCU women's basketball team ended their 35-1 season with a loss in the Division II National Championship to Southern Connecticut State University.[6] In 2008, the Women's Basketball team qualified for the WNIT, becoming the first team to qualify for the WNIT in its first season of Division I sports.[7] During the 2008 WNIT Tourney, the team became the first Atlantic Sun conference team to win a post-season game since 1998, when Florida International University won in the Women's NCAA tourney.[8] The Women's team won the Atlantic Sun Conference regular season championship with a conference record of 17-3 [9] but is ineligible to compete in the conference tourney, as the team is still in transistion from Division II to Division I athletics. The women's team will receive a bid to the 2009 WNIT. [10]
FGCU is currently the defendant in a federal lawsuit that charges the school with retaliation against two female coaches after they challenged the school’s compliance with Title IX. Its former General Counsel, Wendy Morris, also filed a lawsuit in federal court in April, 2008, alleging that the university retaliated against her when she expressed concerns about gender discrimination in athletics, and that her employment was terminated as a direct result of her refusal to go along with the school's actions.[11]
FGCU plays its basketball games at Alico Arena, and its baseball games at Swanson Stadium.
[edit] Student life
[edit] Greek life
Florida Gulf Coast University has five Sorority Chapters and five Fraternity Chapters currently on campus. The sororities are Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Sigma Theta, Zeta Tau Alpha, and Chi Omega while the fraternities are Kappa Alpha Order, Kappa Alpha Psi, Pi Kappa Alpha, Epsilon Phi Chi, Sigma Chi, and Sigma Phi Epsilon.
[edit] Media
The university has operated public broadcasting stations WGCU television and WGCU-FM since 1996, when the license was transferred from the University of South Florida in Tampa. WGCU is a PBS member while WGCU-FM is an NPR member and broadcasts news, classical music and jazz.
[edit] Points of Interest
Student enrollment at FGCU has annually increased in double digits since FGCU opened for classes in August 1997, from approximately 2,000 students in its first year to over 10,000 today. Over the next five years undergraduate enrollment is expected to increase to more than 15,000 students. Recently added construction includes Academic Building V and a 500-car parking garage. Lake-front apartment-style student housing offers students watersports and private quarters with their own bath.
Former Secretary of State and retired General Colin Powell spoke to a crowd of 4,000 at FGCU's Alico Arena on March 23, 2007, as a part of the University Lecture Series.[12]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d "Board of Trustees Information System Quarterly Briefing Volume 7 Number 1". Florida Gulf Coast University. http://www.fgcu.edu/files/v7n1.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-08-12.
- ^ Commission on Colleges
- ^ FGCU Board of Trustees Names Bradshaw Third President
- ^ "FGCU purchases Bonita Springs waterfront property for marine lab". Florida Gulf Coast University. http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/Jul/09/fgcu_purchases_bonita_springs_waterfront_property_/. Retrieved on 2008-08-12.
- ^ "FGCU-Facilities Planning". Florida Gulf Coast University. http://www.fgcu.edu/facilities/progress.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-12.
- ^ Disappointment, heartbreak
- ^ Women's Basketball to Host USF in First Round of WNIT
- ^ FGCU Athletics - Official Site
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ "Second Former Coach Sues Florida School for Retaliation". Florida Gulf Coast University. http://www.publicjustice.net/PR/Flood_SecondCoach_041208.htm. Retrieved on 2008-08-12.
- ^ Powell: Like it or not, Iraq is a civil war
[edit] External links
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