Florida’s 1862 Land-Grant Institution: University of Florida
The University of Florida traces its origins to 1853 and the founding of the East Florida Seminary in Ocala. In 1884, the Florida Agricultural College was founded in Lake City as the state’s land-grant college, and in 1903 it was renamed the University of Florida. In 1905, the Florida legislature consolidated all its public colleges into three segregated institutions: the University of the State of Florida for white males, the Florida Female College for white females, and the State Normal School for Colored Students for African-American males and females. The new campus of the University of the State of Florida was opened in Gainesville in 1906, and in 1909 the school’s name was simplified to the University of Florida.
President: Kent Fuchs was named president of the University of Florida in 2015. Dr. Fuchs has an impressive land-grant pedigree. As a student, he earned his doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Illinois. Prior to becoming UF’s president, he was the provost and dean of engineering at Cornell University, New York’s land-grant institution. He also was the head of the school of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University, Indiana’s land-grant institution, as well as being a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois, that state’s land-grant institution. @PresidentFuchs
Florida’s 1890 Land-Grant Institution: Florida A&M University
http://www.famu.edu @FAMU_1887
Opened in 1887 as the State Normal College for Colored Students, its name was changed in 1891 to the State Normal and Industrial College for Colored Students in concert with the second Morrill Act. In 1909, the name of the college was changed to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes, and in 1953 the name was finally changed to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.
President: Larry Robinson was named president of Florida A&M University in 2017 after having served as this institution’s interim president in 2016-2017 and from 2012-2014. He also is a distinguished professor and researcher in the School of the Environment at FAMU. @LRobinsonFAMU
