Florida Institute of Technology

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Located in Melbourne, Florida (Brevard County), United States, this independent technological college was 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. In the early 1990's Florida Institute of Technology changed its promotional identity from F.I.T. 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 Technical University, the former name of the University of Central Florida.

Florida Tech curriculum is focused on engineering fields, and employs around 800 people at its main campus 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. Florida Tech growth continues with increasing enrollment numbers, and multiple off-campus locations.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Geographic History 2 Colleges and Schools 3 Academics 3.1 College of Engineering 3.2 College of Science 3.3 College of Aeronautics 3.4 College of Business 3.5 College of Psychology and Liberal Arts 3.6 School of Extended Graduate Studies 4 Housing 4.1 Apartment Complexes 4.1.1 Southgate 4.1.2 Columbia Village Suites 4.2 Residence Halls 4.2.1 Roberts Hall 4.2.2 Wood Hall 4.2.3 Campbell Hall 4.2.4 Shaw Hall 4.2.5 Evans Hall 4.2.6 Brownlie Hall 5 Buildings on Campus 5.1 Grissom Hall 5.2 Denius Student Center 5.3 Shepard Hall 5.4 Link Building 5.5 Skurla Hall 5.6 Crawford Building 5.7 Gleason Performing Arts Center 5.8 Clemente Center 5.9 Olin Engineering Complex 5.10 Olin Life Sciences Building 5.11 Olin Physical Sciences Building 6 References 7 External links

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 ( 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 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 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.

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. Numerous bridges on campus provide crossings over two of the three streams that feed Crane Creek. The third stream goes north from the Roberts Hall and Columbia Village Suites area north. This area around Crane Creek was known as Cathead in the early 1900's after numerous panthers that lived in this area.

Melbourne's first wood school house is here, at the east 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 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.

Colleges and Schools

• College of Engineering
• College of Science
• College of Aeronautics
• College of Business
• College of Psychology and Liberal Arts
• 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. F.I.T. 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 five colleges and one school.

College of Engineering

The College of Engineering includes seven departments: chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer sciences, 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, meteorology, ocean engineering, physical oceanography, software engineering, and systems engineering.

College of Science

The College of Science 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. Advanced degrees include the Specialist in Education, and doctoral degrees in applied mathematics, biological sciences, chemistry, mathematics education, operations research, physics, science education, and space sciences.

College of Aeronautics

The College 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.

College of Business

The College of Business 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.

College of Psychology and Liberal Arts

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 divided among six dormitories and two apartment 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

Originally to be named Crane Creek Suites, they were renamed on October 29, 2003 to the Columbia Village Suites to honor the fallen crew members of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. The 7 residence buildings, plus one commons building are located in the northeast part of the campus, north of Crane Creek.

• Husband Hall - Colonel Rick D. Husband, USAF, Commander
• McCool Hall - Commander William C. McCool, USN, Pilot
• Anderson Hall - Lt. Col Michael P. Anderson, USAF, Payload Commander
• Ramon Hall - Colonel Ilan Ramon, IAF, Payload Specilist
• Chawla Hall - Kalpana Chawla, Mission Specilist
• Brown Hall - Captain David M. Brown, USN, Mission Specialist
• Clark Hall - Commander Laurel Clark, USN, Mission Specialist

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, though not run by the school (WCRR, located in another building, is the student run radio station).

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. It is named after Virginia Wood, a founder of Melbourne Village, Florida who gave the University of Melbourne $50,000 in 1954. In 2005 dollars, that is nearly $350,000.

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 (Formerly a pub or bar, now a coffee shop; when Evans Hall opened, the bottom floor had bowling lanes, which were replaced by a game room by 1980). Named for Florence (Flossy) Evans, the husband of citrus farmer John Evans, for which the Library is named after. Jerome Keuper approached John Evans for donations for a new library. He left his estate to the University. The proceeds of the sale of his land funded the construction of the Evans Library. The land was sold to the DeBartolo Group, which built the Melbourne Square Mall on the land. The road to the west of the mall is named after the Evans family.

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. It is named after V.C. Brownlie who donated 40 acres to the University of Melbourne. The residence hall sits on a portion of his donated land.

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 Virgil "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. Named after the founder of Radiation, Inc., which was purchased by Harris Corporation.

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. The third floor also contains the Florida Tech Hydrogen Center.

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 [1]on campus. It also is used widely for WFIT concerts and special performances on campus. It is named after William Lansing Gleason and his family. William Lansing Gleason donated money for the auditorium, and also donated a coquina rock slab as a foundation for the Little Red Schoolhouse in 1971.

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, Electrical/Computer 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.

References

• Countdown to College: Launching Florida Institute of Technology by Gordon Patterson Florida Historical Quarterly - Volume 77, Issue 2, Fall 1998
• Space University: Lift-Off of Florida Institute of Technology Florida Historical Quarterly - Volume 79, Issue 1, Summer 2000.

External links

• Florida Institute of Technology official site
• Guide to Residence Halls
• Gleason Performing Arts Center
• School of Extended Graduate Studies official site
• WFIT, NPR member station located at Florida Tech's campus
• The Florida Tech Crimson, Florida Tech's Student-run newspaper
• Weather and energy measurements atop Roberts Hall

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