Florida Institute of Technology
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Florida Tech
| Motto | ("Ad Astra Per Scientiam") |
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| Established | 1958 |
| School type | Private |
| President | Anthony James Catanese |
| Location | Melbourne, Florida, USA |
| Enrollment | 2,319 undergraduate, 2,363 graduate |
| Faculty | 265 |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Mascot | Panther |
| Homepage | www.fit.edu |
Founded by Jerome P. Keuper in 1958 as Brevard Engineering College, absorbing the University of Melbourne, and changing its name to Florida Institute of Technology in 1966, Florida Tech is a growing independent technological college centered on engineering fields. Florida Tech employs around 800 people at its home base in Brevard County . It attracts over 3,000 full and part-time residents to Melbourne each year. Many of its employees are national leaders in their fields. It has been a silent partner in the community's economic growth and in the growth of high-tech industry on the Space Coast for the past 45 years.
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3.1 College of Engineering |
History
In the beginning, classes were held in leased classrooms at Eau Gallie Junior High School (now Westshore Junior/Senior High School on Brevard Avenue) and at University of Melbourne's lone building on Country Club Boulevard. Classes were moved from Eau Gallie Junior High 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 which became the main campus in the heart of Melbourne, Florida. The only existing buildings at the time are 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 1960's and 1970's many buildings were constructed on the main campus. In 1968, the Hydrospace Technical Institute (HTI) was chartered in a donated building in Cocoa Beach. In 1972, the campus of St. Joseph College in Jensen Beach was purchased with the support of a young engineer named Evinrude. 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). The land was subsequently sold, and portions are now part of the Martin County Indian Riverside Park.
Since 1997 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.
Colleges and Schools
- College of Engineering
- College of Science and Liberal Arts
- School of Aeronautics
- School of Management
- School of Psychology
- School of Extended Graduate Studies
Academics
Florida Tech enrolls approximately 2,300 undergraduates and 2,300 graduate students. The university offers degrees in a wide variety of science and engineering disciplines, and is one of the few universities to offer an aviation degree. FIT is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The Engineering programs are also accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). The Computer Science program is accredited by the Computer Science Accreditation Commission of the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board. Its chemistry program is accredited by the Committee on Professional Training of the American Chemical Society. Aeronautical Science and Aviation Management programs are accredited by the Council on Aviation Accreditation. The university is divided into two colleges and four schools.
College of Engineering
The College of Engineering includes seven departments: chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical/computer engineering, engineering systems, mechanical/aerospace engineering, and marine/environmental systems. Programs offered in addition to those included in the department names are biological oceanography, chemical oceanography, coastal zone management, computer information systems, engineering management, environmental resource management, environmental science, geological oceanography, marine environmental science, meterorology, ocean engineering, physical oceanography, software engineering, and systems engineering.
College of Science and Liberal Arts
The College of Science and Liberal Arts is composed of six departments: biological sciences, chemistry, mathematical sciences, physics/space sciences, science/mathematics education, and humanities/communication. Programs offered in addition to those included in the department names are biochemistry, interdisciplinary science, and military science. Graduate programs are offered in applied mathematics, biological sciences, chemistry, computer education, environmental education, mathematics education, operations research, physics, technical and professional communication, science education, space sciences, and teaching. Advances degree include the Specialist in Education, and doctoral degrees in applied mathematics, biological sciences, chemistry, mathematics education, operations research, physics, science education, and space sciences.
School of Aeronautics
The School of Aeronautics offers bachelor’s degrees in aeronautical science, aviation management, aviation meteorology (with flight options available in each program) and aviation computer science. It offers master’s degrees in airport development and management, applied aviation safety and aviation human factors.
School of Management
The School of Management offers both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration, and bachelor’s degrees in accounting, business and environmental studies, and management information systems. An accounting track in the M.B.A. program is offered for individuals who have completed a four-year degree in accounting and require additional credits to be able to qualify for the CPA exam in Florida, or to receive reciprocal licensure in Florida from another state. grams and make significant contributions to project results. Florida Tech houses a number of research institutes and centers that, in collaboration with academic departments, aid in the students’ training. These institutes and centers are described more fully in the Research: Institutes, Centers and Major Laboratories section of this catalog.
School of Psychology
The School of Psychology offers bachelor’s degrees in psychology and forensic psychology, master’s degrees in applied behavior analysis and industrial/organizational psychology, and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology and industrial/organizational psychology.
School of Extended Graduate Studies
The School of Extended Graduate Studies began in August 1972 as “Off-Campus Programs,” when 42 students enrolled in a master’s degree program in electrical engineering at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland. Today master’s degree programs are offered at 10 graduate centers in five states. Curricula and course content are tailored to meet the needs of the students and their employers, while maintaining the highest possible academic quality and integrity. Class times and locations are selected for the convenience of the students. Since 1972, nearly 15,000 Florida Tech master’s degrees have been conferred on off-campus candidates.
Housing
Campus housing is split between six dormitories, and two apartments complexes.
Apartment Complexes
Southgate
Southgate is an off-campus housing complex owned and operated by the university. Southgate is restricted to upperclassmen and offers studio and one bedroom apartments as well as two and three bedroom apartments.
Columbia Village Suites
Recently constructed, Columbia is an on-campus facility. It is named in to honor the fallen astronauts of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Each building in the complex is named after one of the killed crew members.
Residence Halls
Roberts Hall
Restricted to freshmen, Roberts Hall is a coeducational residence hall. It is seven stories tall, and also serves as the headquarters for WFIT, a radio station on campus.
Wood Hall
Wood Hall is an all male residence hall situated in the "Dorm Quad". Wood Hall is one of several designated first year areas on campus, meaning that returning students may not squat in these halls.
Campbell Hall
Campbell Hall is another residence hall situated in the Dorm Quad. It is also a designated first year area.
Shaw Hall
Shaw Hall is an all female residence hall in the Dorm Quad. It is also a designated first year area.
Evans Hall
Evans Hall is restricted to upperclassmen. The top two floors are rooms for students. The second floor is Evans Dining Hall, and the bottom floor has Campus Services, the Rathskellar, and the Rathskellar Café.
Brownlie Hall
Brownlie Hall is across the street from the Dorm Quad. Each room has its own bathroom. The hall also has a pool and laundry facilities for its residents.
Buildings on Campus
Grissom Hall
Grissom Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus, used to be a dormitory, but now contains classrooms and some faculty offices, especially humanities teachers. The building is named in honor of astronaut Gus Grissom.
Denius Student Center
The Student Union Building, known around campus as the "SUB", houses the SUB Café, the Campus Bookstore, the mailroom, the student Activities office, and offices for several clubs around campus, including the Campus Activities Board, FITSSFF (FIT Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy), and College Players. The second floor of the SUB also contains the Hartley Room, a meeting place for some groups on campus. The second floor of the SUB is a common place to hang around on campus.
Shepard Hall
Shepard Hall contains a few classrooms, usually utilized for the general math, science, and english classes.
Link Building
The Link Building contains classrooms, and is the home of the Department of Marine and Environmental Systems.
Skurla Hall
Skurla Hall is the home of the School of Aeronautics at Florida Tech. It contains many classrooms, computer labs, faculty offices, and a large auditorium.
Crawford Building
The Crawford Science Tower is a seven floor building on campus. It contains the humanities and math department offices. The Science Tower has been used less since the opening of the Olin Physical Science Building, when most of the science departments relocated. However, its many classrooms are still utilized by all departments.
Gleason Performing Arts Center
The Gleason Auditorium is the home of the College Players on campus. It also is used widely for WFIT concerts and special performances on campus.
Clemente Center
The Charles and Ruth Clemente Center for Sports and Recreation was opened in 2001. It contains Center Court (a dining facility), two large gymnasiums, a racquetball court, and a second floor with workout machines. Performances which are too large for the 500 seat Gleason Auditorium are often held here, like the Emerson Drive concert of Fall 2004.
Olin Engineering Complex
The Olin Engineering Complex, often called just "the Olin building", is the home to the Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering department and the computer sciences department. It features several open computer labs (with 24 hour access), numerable classrooms, and faculty offices.
Olin Life Sciences Building
The Olin LS building is home to the Biological Sciences programs on campus. It contains numerous classrooms and several laboratories.
Olin Physical Sciences Building
Completed in 2004, the Olin Physical Sciences Building houses the Chemistry Department and the Physics Department. One notable feature is a large telescope dome placed on top of the building. The building is located next to the Olin Engineering Complex.
External links
- Florida Institute of Technology official site (http://www.fit.edu)
- Guide to Residence Halls (http://auxservices.fit.edu/housing/rhalls.html)
- Gleason Performing Arts Center (http://auxservices.fit.edu/gleason/)
- School of Extended Graduate Studies official site (http://segs.fit.edu/)
- WFIT, NPR member station located at Florida Tech's campus (http://www.wfit.org)