History
The University of Florida was initially established in 1853, when Florida Governor Thomas Brown signed a bill that provided public support to higher education. In 1905, the Buckman Act consolidated Florida’s universities into four main schools, one of which was the University of Florida, in Gainesville. In 1910, orange and blue were chosen as the school colors, and the alligator was chosen as the mascot a year later. The first female student enrolled at UF in 1925.
In 1930, the first football game was played at Florida Field and although the Gators lost, the game marked the beginning of football’s popularity at UF. As World War II ended, more women were encouraged to attend UF and by 1950, more than 2,400 of them had chosen to do so. The school integrated African-American students in 1958 with little protest and grew steadily through the coming decades. In 1996, the Gators won their first national football championship. The school is now known as a leading public research university that enrolls over 40,000 students a year.
— With special reporting by Alison Kitchens ’10
Location
The University of Florida is located in Gainesville, which is within two hours of Orlando, Tallahassee, Tampa, and Jacksonville and has about 109,000 residents. College students and those associated with the university are a huge part of the city and surrounding area. Students looking to spend some time at the Atlantic and Gulf Coast beaches need only drive east or west for an hour.
The region’s favorable climate gives students plenty of incentive to stay outdoors and be active. Pathways for jogging and biking are popular as well as participation in other outdoor sports. Gainesville’s Hippodrome State Theatre offers many films and live shows throughout the season, while several concert series offered by the university add to the list of things to do. In 2007, Gainesville was named one of the “50 Best Places to Live and Play” by National Geographic and Adventure magazine.
— With special reporting by Alison Kitchens ’10
Campus
The University of Florida has a 2,000-acre campus with more than 900 buildings. General boundaries are Archer Road to the south, SW 13th Street to the east, SW 34th Street to the west, and West university Avenue to the north.
The northeast corner of campus is a designated Historic District, with 19 buildings listed on the National Register. Two more recognized buildings sit just outside the District’s boundaries. The athletic facilities including the football stadium are in the northwest portion of the campus. Scenic Lake Alice lies to the southwest, and Shands Hospital anchors the southeastern portion of the campus.
Turlington Hall, home to the administrative offices and classrooms of the College of Arts and Sciences, is at the center of campus and the courtyard that sits just outside it is a popular place for students to hang out between classes. The campus also features the Florida Museum of Natural History, art galleries, the Harn Museum of Art, two radio stations – one public, one commercial – and one public TV station.
Issues
In 2008, members from the group Students for a Democratic Society went on a hunger strike until President Machen, agreed to speak with them about socially responsible investment plans for the university’s $1.2 billion endowment. In a UF student government referendum, over 80 percent of student voters supported the adoption of a socially responsible investing policy.
After it was announced that the school would be cutting its budget by $47 million in May 2008, students became worried that the quality of their education would suffer, as the cuts would mean some layoffs and reduced enrollment. No tenured professors would be affected however people are concerned that the overall situation could lead talented faculty and prospective students to look elsewhere for a brighter future.
