FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
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'Florida International University', commonly known as 'FIU', is a public university with its main campus in University Park in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States. Florida International University is a Comprehensive Doctoral Research University with very high research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation. FIU is also the youngest university to be awarded a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, by the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the country's oldest and most distinguished academic honor society. FIU is one of only 78 universities nationwide to hold both designations.[1]
The university comprises 27 separate colleges and schools, that offer 205 programs of study with more than 280 majors.[2] FIU is also the fifth-largest university in Florida and the thirteenth-largest university in the United States in terms of enrollment. For Fall 2006, total enrollment was 39,500 students and 2,974 full-time faculty with more than 150,500 alumni around the world.[3]
FIU is ranked among the top 100 public national universities in the U.S. News & World Report's annual guide to "America's Best Colleges." FIU was the youngest institution in that group. U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" (2006 and 2007) also ranks FIU's undergraduate international business programs 7th best in the nation. In 2007, the College of Law achieved a 94% passing rate, the highest in the state of Florida, while being the youngest law school in the country.[4]
This recognition comes as the academic quality of the university improves and its admissions rates become more selective. Admission standards have also increased with acceptance rates dropping greatly from 63.2% for Fall 2005 to 42.8% for Fall 2006.[5] The average incoming freshmen had a SAT score of 1131, a 24 ACT score and a 3.64 high school GPA.
History
Founding: 1943-1969
Harold Crosby posing with Governor Bryant and members from the Board of Control in 1964.
The founding of Florida International University began in 1943, when state Senator Ernest 'Cap' Graham (father of future Florida governor and U.S. senator Bob Graham) presented the state legislature with the initial proposal for the establishment of a public university in South Florida. While his bill did not pass, Graham persisted in presenting his proposal to colleagues, advising them of Miami's need for a state university. He is recognized for his early awareness of the necessity of a public university to serve the city's growing population.
In 1964, Senate Bill 711 was introduced by Florida Senator Robert M. Haverfield; it instructed the state Board of Education and the Board of Regents (BOR), to begin planning for the development of a state university in Miami. The bill was signed into law by then-governor W. Haydon Burns in June 1965 and FIU was officially founded.
FIU's founding president Charles "Chuck" Perry was appointed by the Board of Regents in July 1969 after a nationwide search. Just 31 years old, the new president was the youngest in the history of the State University System and, at the time, the youngest university president in the country. Perry recruited the three co-founders - Butler Waugh, Donald McDowell and Nick Sileo - who came to abandoned Tamiami Airport in the summer of 1969 and launched the monumental task of creating a new university. Alvah Chapman, former Miami Herald publisher and Knight Ridder chairman, used his civic standing and media power to assist the effort. In the 1980s, Chapman would become chair of the FIU Foundation Board of Trustees.
Opening of the Doors: 1969-1975
Meteorologists at work at FIU's International Hurricane Research Center in 1970.
In September 1972, 5,667 students finally entered the new state university. Miami had been the largest city in the country lacking a public baccalaureate-granting institution, and now it finally had a university that offered both accessibility and affordability. Eighty percent of the student body had just graduated from Dade County Junior College (now Miami-Dade College). A typical student entering FIU was 25 years old and attending school full-time while holding down a full-time job. Forty-three percent were married. FIU was far from a typical university. Negotiations with the University of Miami and Dade County Junior College led FIU to open as an upper-division only school. It would be 9 years before lower-division classes were added.
The first commencement, held in June 1973, was held in the reading room of the ground floor of Primera Casa (today called the Perry Building) - the only place large enough on campus for the ceremony. More than 1,500 family members and friends watched FIU's first class of 191 graduates receive their diplomas.
By late 1975, after seven years at the helm, Charles Perry felt he had accomplished his goal and left the University to become president and publisher of the Sunday newspaper magazine ''Family Weekly'' (now ''USA Weekend''), one of the country's largest magazines. When he left, there were over 10,000 students attending classes and a campus with five major buildings and a sixth being planned
Crosby and Wolfe: 1976-1986
Harold Crosby, the University's second president and the founding president of the University of West Florida in Pensacola, agreed in 1976 to serve a three-year "interim" term. Under his leadership, the North Campus (which would be officially renamed the Biscayne Bay Campus in February of 1977) - located on the former Interama site on Biscayne Bay - was opened in 1977. State Senator Jack Gordon was instrumental in securing funding for the development of the campus. President Crosby was also insistent that the "I" in FIU be highlighted, which prompted the launching of new programs with an international focus and the recruitment of faculty from the Caribbean and Latin America. President Crosby's resignation in January 1979, triggered the search for a "permanent" president.
Ryder Business Building
Gregory Baker Wolfe, a former United States diplomat and then-president of Portland State University became FIU's third president, from 1979 to 1986. After stepping down as president, Wolfe went on to teach in the university's International Relations department. The student union on the Biscayne Bay Campus is named in his honor.
FIU Today
In 1986, Dr. Modesto A. Maidique became president of FIU. Maidique set forth a number of goals for FIU, including a substantial growth in its ability to serve the local population, the addition of a football team to the sports program, and the development of programs in architecture, law, and medicine. These goals have all been achieved - FIU has since grown to become the largest university in South Florida, with a budget of over $586 million and an economic impact of more than $1.7 billion on the South Florida economy.
Under the presidency of Maidique, FIU has grown immensely with a student enrollment of over 39,500 and more than $600 million on the construction of five new residence halls, a School of Architecture, College of Law, College of Medicine, expanded Green Library, Kovens Conference Center, addition of the Wolfsonian-FIU Museum, an expanded Frost Art Museum, Greek Life mansions, and numerous academic buildings, as well as fielding its first football team.[6]
FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and sponsored research funding (grants and contracts) from external sources for the year 2005-2006 totaled $92 million. FIU is ranked as a Research University in the High Research Activity category of the Carnegie Foundation’s prestigious classification system. True to the university's international appeal, FIU's Hospitality Management department is also collaborating with China's Ministry of Education, the only U.S. university to be invited to do so, to work on preparations for the 2008 Summer Olympics.[7]
Academics
The FIU logo.
FIU offers 205 academic programs, 85 baccalaureate programs, 87 master's programs, 3 specialist programs, 29 doctoral programs, and 1 professional program in 27 colleges and schools. In addition, 95% of the faculty have terminal degrees, and 57% currently have tenure at the university with a student/teacher ratio of 17:1.
FIU is also ranked among the top 100 public national universities in the U.S. News & World Report annual guide to "America's Best Colleges." FIU was the youngest institution in that group.
Colleges and Schools
★ College of Architecture and the Arts
★
★ School of Architecture
★
★ School of Art and Art History
★
★ School of Music
★
★ School of Theatre, Dance and Speech Communication
★ College of Arts and Sciences
★ College of Business Administration
★
★ School of Accounting
★
★ Chapman Graduate School of Business
★ College of Continuing and Professional Studies
★ College of Education
★ College of Engineering and Computing
★
★ School of Computing and Information Sciences
★ College of Law
★ College of Medicine (Fall 2009)
★ College of Nursing and Health Sciences
★
★ School of Health
★
★ School of Nursing
★
★ Robert Stempel School of Public Health
★ College of Social Work, Justice and Public Affairs
★
★ School of Criminal Justice
★
★ School of Public Administration
★
★ School of Social Work
★ School of Hospitality and Tourism Management
★ School of Journalism and Mass Communication
★ Honors College
University Presidents
| President | Tenure |
|---|---|
| Chuck Perry | 1965–1976 |
| Harold Crosby | 1976–1979 |
| Gregory Baker Wolfe | 1979–1986 |
| Modesto A. Maidique | 1986–present |
Enrollment and Admissions
Fall 2006 enrollment consists of 39,500 students, 31,000 undergraduates and 8,500 graduate students, including students enrolled in professional programs. For Fall 2005, women accounted for 56% of student enrollment and minorities made up 72% of total undergraduate enrollment. Fall 2006 enrollment included students from all 50 U.S. states and over 104 countries. The most popular College by enrollment is the College of Business Administration. [8]
The Fall 2006 freshman class had an average SAT score of 1131, a 24 ACT score and a 3.64 high school GPA. The freshmen acceptance rate for the Fall 2006 semester was 42.8%, dropping greatly from 63.2% for the 2005 Fall semester. This increase in selectivity is due to both a 64% increase in undergraduate applications since 2003 and as academic recognition increases.
University Park accounted for 87% of the student population and 94% of housing students. The Biscayne Bay Campus accounted for about 13% of the student population, mostly of lower division undergraduates and students of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. For Fall 2005, the average age for undergraduates was 25 and 31 for graduate students. [9]
Rankings
Health and Life Sciences Building I and II.
★ In 2000, FIU received the highest research university ranking conferred by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. That same year, FIU became the youngest university to be awarded Phi Beta Kappa chapter, the country's oldest and most distinguished academic honor society. FIU is one of only 78 universities nationwide to hold both designations.
★ FIU has been ranked among the top 100 public national universities in the ''U.S. News & World Report'' annual guide to "America's Best Colleges." FIU was the youngest institution in that group. However, FIU was placed in the fourth tier of the National Universities category which includes both public and private schools.[10] The magazine also reported that FIU students are among the least indebted college students in the nation, and it recognized the university as a "best buy" in higher education.
★ In 1998, ''Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine'' ranked FIU as the country's 18th best value in public higher education. FIU was named one of the top 10 public commuter colleges in the U.S. in the 1995 edition of Money Guide, an annual report published by ''Money magazine'', and has been cited in several other of the country's leading college guides.
★ FIU recently ranked among the best values in public higher education in the country, according to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s 2006 survey, "100 Best Values in Public Colleges." FIU ranked among the top 50 nationally for in-state students and among the top 100 nationally for out-of-state and international students.
★ FIU recently ranked 3rd in granting bachelor's degrees to minorities and 9th in granting master's degrees to minorities (among the top 100 degree producing colleges and universities), according to Diverse Issues in Higher Education, June 1, 2006.
★ FIU recruits the largest amount of valedictorians from South Florida than any other university in the country. [11]
College of Business Administration
Paul Cejas School of Architecture Building.
★ The College of Business Administration is among the 15% of elite business schools worldwide accredited by the AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
★ U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" (2006 and 2007) ranks FIU's undergraduate international business programs 7th best in the nation and lists the Chapman Graduate School of Business among the top 20 business schools in the U.S.
★ U.S. News & World Report's in the 2008 edition ranked FIU a Tier 4 University.
★ The Executive MBA program was recently ranked #1 in Florida by the Financial Times.
★ BusinessWeek ranked the College of Business 80th —in the top 20% among AACSB International-accredited business schools and in the top 5% among the 1,400 undergraduate business programs in the U.S. The College of Business ranked 3rd best among Florida’s public university business schools, behind the University of Florida (#43) and Florida State (#77). The Landon Undergraduate School of Business was ranked 8th in the country in the area of "Operations Management."
★ BusinessWeek (2002, 2004, 2006) ranks the College of Business among the top 68 graduate business schools in the U.S. and in the top 25 among public business schools.
★ Hispanic Business (since 1998) and Hispanic Trends (since 2003) have placed the College of Business among the top 25 business schools for Hispanics and most recently in the top 10 business schools.
★ América EconomÃa ranks the College of Business among the top international business schools in the world for Latin American business students.
The College of Law logo.
★ Financial Times (October 23, 2006) ranks the Executive MBA program in its list of the Top 85 Executive MBA programs in the world. The program was ranked higher (78th) than those at the University of Florida (#79) and the University of Miami (#81), making it the highest-ranked Executive MBA program in Florida. [12]
★ Fortune Small Business (March 8, 2006) cited FIU's business school as among the "Ten Cool Colleges for Entrepreneurs," offering "some of the most innovative programs for fledgling business owners."
★ The 1999 National CPA Examination Report noted that FIU Accounting graduates ranked first in the nation in passing the CPA exam on the first try and are consistently (last 5 years) ranked in the top 5 in their exam scores. In January 2001, the Academy of Management Journal ranked FIU's College of Business Administration (CBA) Management Information Systems (MIS) unit the 11th best in the U.S.
★ Hispanic Trends has ranked the Executive MBA program 8th in its list of the best Executive MBA programs for Hispanics.
College of Law
Lakeview Hall North and South, freshmen and sophomore residence halls.
★ In 2007, the College of Law achieved a 94.4% passing rate, the highest in the state of Florida, while being the youngest law school in the country. [4] A few weeks earlier, the FIU College of Law had accomplished the rare feat of entering the ''U.S. News & World Report'' rankings in the third tier (most new law schools begin in the fourth tier and take several years to work their way up to the third tier).
Engineering, Writing and Hospitality Management
The College of Engineering is consistently ranked among the best in the United States and is #1 in enrolling Hispanic graduate students in science and engineering in the continental US. The University further claims that the program is well-funded, with over $50 million in external funding over the last five years. FIU claims to be 7th among all universities - public and private - in the number of U.S. Patents. [14]
The Creative Writing Program is ranked among the top ten in the country by "Who Runs American Literature?" in the Dictionary of Literary Biography.
The School of Hospitality and Tourism Management is one of the nation’s top programs. The School of Hospitality Management is recognized by industry leaders as one of the nation's top five hospitality management programs.
Campus
FIU has two major campuses, University Park and the Biscayne Bay Campus, as well as several minor campuses and facilities around South Florida.
University Park
Deuxieme Maison.
The main campus, University Park, encompasses 344 acres (1.4 km²) in University Park, (from where the campus derives its name), west of Miami. University Park houses all of the university's colleges and schools as well as all the administrative offices and main university facilities. University Park is also home to University House, the home of FIU's president, the Wertheim Performing Arts Center, the Frost Art Museum, the International Hurricane Research Center, and the university's athletic facilities such as FIU Stadium, University Park Stadium, and the Pharmed Arena.
Until the early-1990s, aerial pictures of the campus clearly revealed the features of the airport that used to occupy the land until 1969. Construction has obliterated all of these features, and only the University Tower remains as memory of the university's past. Today, University Park is home to about 87% of the student population and 94% of housing students. University Park is a lush, heavily-vegetated campus, with many lakes and nature preserves, as well as an arboretum and has 92 buildings. Current construction at University Park includes an independent art museum for the Frost Art Museum, a Graduate Business School Complex, a Molecular Biology Building, a Student Services Building, an International Studies Building, a Medical School Complex, and an expansion to FIU Stadium for a seating capacity of 45,000.
Located five blocks north of University Park, is the 36 acre (145,000m²) Engineering Center which houses a part of the College of Engineering and Computing and is the home of FIU's Motorola Nanofabrication Research Facility. The Engineering Center is also serviced by the Golden Panther Express, FIU's student buses, which run throughout the day on weekdays connecting the two parts of campus.
Biscayne Bay Campus
View of the campus from the Ryder Business Building.
The second major campus is the Biscayne Bay Campus in North Miami. The Biscayne Bay Campus was opened in 1977 by Harold Crosby and is about 200 acres (809,000 m²), directly on the bay and adjacent to the Oleta River State Park, with which FIU has a research partnership. Access to these resources inspired the creation of a marine biology program on the Biscayne Bay Campus, which has become one of the university's most recognized programs. The Biscayne Bay Campus also houses the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, one of the nation's top programs, the Aquatic Center, Bay Vista Hall, and the Kovens Conference Center. The Golden Panther Express, FIU's student buses, connect the main campus and the Biscayne Bay Campus throughout the day on weekdays.[15]
Regional Campuses
★ The FIU-Pines Center in Pembroke Pines.
★ The Metropolitan Center in Downtown Miami.
★ A research tower in Fort Lauderdale.
★ A research site in Homestead.
★ The Wolfsonian-FIU art museum in Miami Beach.
International Campuses
★ A branch of the Wolfsonian-FIU in Nervi, Italy.
★ Facilities in Genoa, Italy for the School of Architecture's graduate architecture programs.
★ The Tianjin Center in Tianjin, China, from which a branch of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management operates. The facility was constructed as a cooperative venture with the local municipal government and was opened in the Summer of 2006.
Facilities
Student Housing
University Park Towers, graduate student and upperclassmen apartments.
FIU's student housing facilities are managed by the Office of Housing and Residential Life and is available on both the main campus and the Biscayne Bay Campus. Currently, there are 3,300 beds distributed throughout 10 apartment buildings and 6 residence halls. Together, approximately 14% of FIU's student population lives on-campus in student housing.
As the university continues to grow, the demand for housing from out-of-state and local students continues to rise. Thus, there is a main push for on-campus housing. Between 2002 and 2006, three new residence halls were constructed increasing student capacity by 1,250. Construction of 2 more residence halls and 3 fraternity mansions is expected to commence within the next few years. For Fall 2009, 2 more residence halls for 1,500 more students is expected to open and will be built on the northwest side of campus by the Graduate School of Business Complex.
Plans are also underway of land acquistion of the Miami Fairgrounds for a housing/entertainment mini-city, with 4 to 5 housing towers and a shopping center in the middle between FIU Stadium and the Wertheim Performing Arts Center. Currently, this is under the planning stage and is co-related with the current expansions underway at FIU Stadium for 45,000 seats, expected to be finished in stages by Fall 2008.
Everglades Hall, upperclassmen apartments.
'University Park:'
★ University Park Apartments
★ Panther Hall
★ University Park Towers
★ Everglades Hall
★ Lakeview Hall North
★ Lakeview Hall South
'Biscayne Bay Campus:'
★ Bay Vista Hall
Libraries
Green Library, FIU's largest building and the largest library in the Southeastern United States.
The eight-story Green Library, is the main FIU library and is the largest building on-campus as well as the largest library in the Southeastern United States. Other libraries include the College of Law Library in Balart Hall, the Pines Center Library, the Wolfsonian Library, the Biscayne Bay Library, the Engineering Center Library and the future College of Medicine Library.
The Library holdings include over 1,973,612 volumes, 40,813 current serials, 3,997,890 microform units, and 159,978 audio visual units.
International Hurricane Research Center
The International Hurricane Research Center (IHRC), administered by both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and FIU is located on the western side of the University Park campus. The IHRC is the nation’s only university-based research facility dedicated to mitigating the damage tropical storms inflict on people, the economy and the environment. The IHRC is also home to four institutes: the Laboratory for Coastal Research; the Laboratory for Social Science Research; the Laboratory for Insurance, Financial & Economic Research; and the Laboratory for Wind Engineering Research, as well as the FIU Wall of Wind. This first-of-its-kind testing system, consists of a series of large industrial fans powered by race car engines, which produces a wind field equivalent to a Category Four hurricane.[16]
Current Construction and Expansion
Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall, the College of Law building under construction in 2005.
Currently, FIU is undergoing a great period of growth. With an annual increase in student enrollment, a move to NCAA Division I athletics, and with the addition of a School of Architecture, College of Law, and a College of Medicine, the demand for facilities and classroom space has greatly increased.
Recently completed projects and future projects include:
★ Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall- College of Law building broke ground in 2004 and finished in 2005
★ Recreation Center- finished in 2005
★ Lakeview Hall North and Lakeview Hall South - undergraduate residence halls, finished in Summer 2006
★ Frost Art Museum - independent building, opening in Fall 2007
★ Graduate Business School Complex - 3 separate buildings, opening in September 2007
★ Medical School Complex - opening in Fall 2009
★ Expansion to FIU Stadium - Expansion to capacitate 45,000 fans to be done in two separate phases (phase I to be completed by Fall 2008 and phase II to be completed by Fall 2010)
★ Student Services Building - to house undergraduate admissions, visitor's center, academic advising and career services expected to be finished by 2009 [17]
★ International Studies Building - to break ground in July 2008 and finish by 2010
★ Molecular Biology Building - to break ground in August 2008 and finish by 2010
Student Life
Greek Life
FIU has an extremely active Greek Life with over 29 fraternities and sororities divided into three governing councils, the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), The Panhellenic Council (PC) and the Interfraternity Council (IFC). The Interfraternity Council governs over Delta Lambda Phi, Pi Kappa Phi, Beta Theta Pi, Phi Gamma Delta, Sigma Alpha Mu, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Sigma Kappa, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Lambda Theta Phi, Pi Kappa Alpha and Tau Kappa Epsilon. The Panhellenic Council governs over Alpha Omicron Pi, Delta Phi Omega, Phi Sigma Sigma, Alpha Xi Delta, Lambda Theta Alpha, Sigma Sigma Sigma, Delta Phi Epsilon, Sigma Lambda Gamma and Phi Mu. The National Pan-Hellenic Council governs over Alpha Phi Alpha, Omega Psi Phi, Zeta Phi Beta, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Kappa Alpha Psi and Phi Beta Sigma. Currently, there are two on-campus fraternity mansions for Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) and Pi Kappa Alpha with plans to construct three more in the next year in the Greek Circle.
WRGP Radiate FM logo.
Student media
Main articles: The Beacon, WRGP, Gulf Stream Magazine
''The Beacon'' is the FIU student newspaper since 1965. ''The Beacon'' is published twice weekly in a compact format during the Fall and Spring semesters (Monday and Thursday) and once a week on Monday during the Summer. It is split into five unique sections, ''News'', reporting a mix of university, local and national events, ''At the Bay'' for news on the Biscayne Bay Campus, ''Sports'', ''Opinion'' and ''Life!'' ''The Beacon'' is available free campus-wide in the residence halls, the Graham Center and all campus buildings.[18]
WRGP Radiate FM is FIU's student-run radio station since 1984.[19] It broadcasts on 95.3 MHz at the University Park Campus and on 96.9 MHx at the Biscayne Bay Campus. The signal originates in Homestead on 88.1 MHz and a broadcast translator rebroadcasts Radiate FM's signal to the University Park Campus and later again translated to the Biscayne Bay Campus.
Gulf Stream Magazine is FIU's literary magazine since 1989. Gulf Stream Magazine is published by The Creative Writing Program and is a bi-annual dedicated to publishing emerging and established writers of great fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and features interviews, black and white photography, and chapbook reviews. In addition, the magazine publishes two yearly editions of its literary e-zine, Gulfstream!ng.[20]
Arts and Culture
Chapman Plaza in front of the Graham Center and the FIU Bookstore.
FIU has two museums, the Frost Art Museum and the Wolfsonian-FIU. The Frost Art Museum is located on campus and was opened in 1977 as The Art Museum at Florida International University as a student gallery. Today, the Frost Art Museum features collections of both Latin American and 20th century American art. The Wolfsonian-FIU is located in Miami Beach and promotes the collection, preservation and understanding of decorative art and design from the period from 1885 to 1945. FIU has the country's largest university sculpture collection, named the Martin Z. Margulies Family Collection, with over 80 such sculptures around campus. Many different art structures, statues, paintings and mosaics can be seen throughout campus in gardens, buildings, walkways, and on walls.[21]
The School of Theatre and Dance produces a wide variety of live student performances, and the School of Music presents an annual fall series of concerts that showcase talent in a variety of genres. The festival features FIU musicians as well as distinguished visiting performers. Many plays, musicals, concerts, operas, and dance shows are produced each year, through the School of Theatre, Dance, & Speech Communication at FIU's Wertheim Performing Arts Center.
FIU annually hosts the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival on campus through the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. The festival is one of the major culinary events in the nation and an event that showcases the talents of the world's most renowned wine and spirits producers, chefs and culinary personalities.
The Panther Rage logo, one of FIU's many student spirit groups.
Student Government
FIU's Student Government Association has an operating budget of over $9.3 million.[22] The Student Government Association presides over and funds the over 300 student clubs and organizations and honor societies at the university. The Student Government Association is split into six separate organizations- the Graduate Students Association, the Honors Council, the Student Programming Council, the Student Organizations Council, which represents the over 300 student clubs and organizations, the Homecoming Council, Panther Power and Panther Rage, the student spirit groups.[23] The Panther Power and Panther Rage groups can be seen in all Golden Panthers athletic events along with the Golden Panthers Band, the Dazzlers cheer team, the Golden Panthers cheerleaders and dance teams.[24] In 2004, thanks to the Student Government Association, MTV's Campus Invasion Tour was held at FIU.
Athletics
Main articles: FIU Golden Panthers, FIU Golden Panthers Football
The FIU Golden Panthers logo.
The school's sports teams are called the Golden Panthers with colors blue and gold. The Golden Panthers participate in NCAA Division I-A as part of the Sun Belt Conference in all sports except for men's soccer (which competes in Conference USA as an affiliate member). Three main sports facilities serve as home venues for FIU sports. The Golden Panthers football team plays at FIU Stadium, the men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams play at the Pharmed Arena, and the men's baseball team plays at University Park Stadium. The school's original nickname, was the "Sunblazers" until 1987, when it was changed to the current "Golden Panthers". The "Sunblazers" basketball team was also featured in a second season episode of Miami Vice entitled "The Fix". From 1991 to 1998, FIU competed in the Trans America Athletic Conference until 1998, when FIU joined the Sun Belt Conference.
FIU's athletics department has produced several professional and Olympic athletes, including current players in Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, National Basketball Association, National Football League and Women's National Basketball Association.
FIU has won two NCAA Division II national championships in men's soccer, in 1982 and 1984. To date, these are the only national titles the university has achieved in athletic competition. The men's soccer team competes as an affiliate member of Conference USA. This relationship began in 2005 and was formed since the Sun Belt Conference does not sponsor men's soccer. The team played in the Atlantic Soccer Conference from 2000 to 2004. The men's soccer team reached the Division I championship game in 1996, but lost to St. John's University 4-1.
FIU Recreation Center.
The Golden Panthers football team plays home games at FIU Stadium nicknamed "The Cage" and are currently coached by Mario Cristobal. In 2005, the Golden Panthers moved to the Sun Belt Conference, making their transition from Division-1AA to Division-1A complete. In their first season in the conference, FIU began winning (5-6).
Besides competing in the Sun Belt Conference, the Golden Panthers football team competes in the annual Shula Bowl against in-state rival Florida Atlantic University. Due to this competition in the Shula Bowl, the rivalry between the two schools has grown, with rivalry extending into the men's baseball and basketball teams as well.
On October 14, 2006, FIU and the University of Miami began a cross-town rivalry after a football game in which both teams caused a brawl, consequently one of the largest in collegiate history. To strengthen the rivalry between the two schools, football games between the two schools will continue throughout the 2007 and 2008 football seasons.
Alumni
Main articles: List of Florida International University people
With more than 150,500 alumni around the world, the FIU Golden Panthers constitute one of the fastest-growing university alumni groups in the state of Florida. FIU graduates more than 8,000 students a year and confers more than half of all degrees awarded by universities in South Florida.[25]
References
1. www.fiu.edu/docs/about_fiu.htm
2. FIU, Did You Know?
3. w3.fiu.edu/irdata/portal/quickfacts.htm
4. www.miamiherald.com/416/story/76305.html
5. www.fiu.edu/oir/fb05-06/adm_data.pdf
6. www.fiu.edu/oir/approved_doc_programs_and_20_year_data.xls
7. http://www.chinaeconomicreview.com/mba/category/tianjin/
8. [1] ''Florida International University: OPIE'' Retrieved on 5-24-2007.
9. [2] ''Florida International University: Fall 2005 enrollment data'' Retrieved on 5-24-2007.
10. www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/natudoc/tier4/t4natudoc_brief.php
11. FIU recruits the largest amount of South Florida valedictorians
12. http://rankings.ft.com/rankings/emba/rankings.html
13. www.miamiherald.com/416/story/76305.html
14. http://www.eng.fiu.edu/cec/CEC_Facts.htm
15. parking.fiu.edu/bus_schedule.htm
16. http://news.fiu.edu/releases/2007/05-30_damageresearch.htm
17. FIU Magazine
18. The Beacon, student newspaper of FIU
19. WRGP Radiate FM, FIU student radio
20. Gulf Stream Magazine
21. The Beacon, Frost Art Museum
22. www.fiu.edu/~sga/docs/2006-2007_BUDGET.pdf
23. http://www.fiu.edu/~sga/index2.htm
24. http://www.fiu.edu/~rage/index.htm
25. http://fifty.fiu.edu/docs/board_message.pdf
External links
★ Official FIU website
★ FIU Admissions
★ FIU Alumni Relations
★ Official FIU Athletics Site
★ FIU, A Brief History
★ FIU Insider
Student Life
★ FIU Bookstore
★ FIU License Plates
★ The Beacon, student-run newspaper
★ WRGP Radiate FM, FIU student radio
Maps
★ Official Campus Map
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