Founded on Oct. 3, 1887, and established as one of the country's original land-grant institutions in 1890, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University is part of the state of Florida's 11-member university system. Located in Tallahassee, with satellite campuses in Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville and Tampa, FAMU historically educates African Americans. Today, FAMU recruits students of all races. The facility offers diverse educational opportunities at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral level, including 62 bachelor's degrees, 39 master's degrees, 10 Ph.D. programs and a juris doctor at its College of Law.
Land Grant Beginning
With the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890, Congress established land-grant schools. Criteria dictated that land-grant institutions teach agriculture, military tactics and the mechanic arts. In an effort to ensure members of the working class could obtain a liberal college education, classical studies were also required of these federally funded schools.
Originally named the State Normal College for Colored Students, which had three departments, its name was changed to the State Normal and Industrial College for Colored Students with its land-grant designation.
Expansion
A change of management in 1905 officially established the facility as a school of higher education. In 1909, with an enrollment of 317, the name was changed again, this time to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes, and the school awarded its first degrees.
After a fire in 1910, Andrew Carnegie donated $10,000 to build a new library.
By 1949, the student population reached 2,000. From 1924 to 1944, 48 buildings were erected, 396 acres of land was acquired and an Army ROTC program was established.
During the turbulent civil rights era of the 1950s and 1960s, FAMU continued to expand, developing the Black Archives Research Center and Museum, establishing the Program in Medical Sciences, developing the School of Architecture and adding a Naval ROTC unit. The name changed to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in 1953, when the Florida legislature designated the school a university. The Schools of Pharmacy, Law, Graduate Studies and Nursing were created during the same timeframe.
Many new buildings popped up on campus during that era, which saw $14 million expended on 23 structures, one of which was the FAMU Hospital, which was opened in 1956 and closed in 1971, when it was renovated to house the university's administration staff. By 1970, the school's enrollment had increased to 5,024.
Continuing on the fast track in the 1980s, FAMU milestones included its first Ph.D. authorization in 1984. By 1985, students had the option of 11 schools and colleges.
Entering the last decade of the 20th century, FAMU stepped up its recruiting campaign, going after the best and brightest students. FAMU ranked ahead of Harvard, Yale and Stanford in 1992, 1995 and 1997 in enrollment of National Achievement finalists. As the 1998-99 school year dawned, FAMU listed an enrollment of 12,000.
In 2004, Dr. Castell Vaughn Bryant assumed the leadership reins, becoming the first woman president in the school's 117-year history.
By 2007, Dr. James H. Ammons stepped in to preside over FAMU's fully-accredited 13 schools and universities and its 13,000 students. One of his first priorities was the re-establishment of the university's school of law, which closed in 1968. He was successful, and FAMU College of Law admitted its first class in 2002. In 2006, the school relocated to Orlando. The school obtained full accreditation from the American Bar Association on July 30, 2009.
Athletics
A significant potion of the expansion in the 1970s and 1980s focused on athletic infrastructure. A women's athletic complex that included a track and Olympic-size pool was one of the first projects. Renovations to Bragg Memorial Stadium increased seating to 25,000.
Rattler sports run the gamut from golf to football. Its football program gained national exposure on Nov. 15, 2008, when ESPN's College Gameday broadcast live from the campus.
The school responded to the recognition by showcasing the FAMU Marching "100," the FAMU cheerleaders and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority step team. FAMU's football team did not tarnish the moment as they handed their Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference-rival Hampton Pirates a 45-24 shellacking.
Controversy
FAMU has not been without its share of controversy, especially in recent years.
In July 2005, FAMU fired 41 staff members as an internal audit revealed paychecks, amounting to $1.1 million, were handed out to employees who did no work. Administrators also announced intentions to review another 286 employees who received more money than they earned.
This revelation came on the heels of NCAA sanctions against school sports that included a three-year, self-imposed probationary period for its entire sports program.
FAMU had to repay a National Science Foundation grant of $1.5 million because the school could not show how it had spent the agency's money.
Then in late 2007, campus police uncovered a cheating ring that allegedly showed grades had been changed by computer hackers. After being probed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Attorney's office got involved.
Not long after the cheating accusations surfaced, Detroit, Michigan media outlets reported that Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, a FAMU graudate, was involved in a text-message scandal involving his former chief of staff. Facing charges of perjury, Kilpatrick resigned his seat on the board of his alma mater's foundation.
Future
A relatively clean audit, the first in three years, was announced on Dec. 7, 2007. Details of the audit indicated seven internal problems were being corrected and made note that 11 serious flaws had shown a marked improvement.
The self-imposed sports probation is over, and the Rattlers' football team has been ranked in the top five in the country during the 2010 season.
The university's strategic plan, encompassing 2010 to 2020, is a comprehensive vision of goals aimed at moving FAMU forward in all aspects of academia. Its primary considerations include ensuring its students are the best and brightest; its faculty engages in scholarly activities and service; its research continues to address local, state and global needs; its campus facilities are state-of-the-art; and that its graduates are competent leaders and courageous agents of change.
