The following text is offered for use by University employees and the general public when preparing information about the University (updated May 2012). Each section of text should be used in its entirety.

FAU DESCRIPTIONS
Short Description (basic)
Florida Atlantic University, a member of Florida's State University System, was established by legislative act in 1961. In addition to its original 850-acre campus in Boca Raton, FAU has sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. Fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, FAU is currently serving more than 29,000 undergraduate and graduate students through its 10 colleges.

Short Description (partnership emphasis)
Florida Atlantic University, founded in 1961, is currently serving more than 29,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. The University’s student body, which ranks as the most ethnically and culturally diverse in Florida's State University System, includes many men and women of non-traditional age. Long known as an outstanding teaching institution, FAU is undergoing rapid development as a center of cutting-edge research, particularly in the biomedical arena. This process has been accelerated by the University’s recently formed partnerships with three internationally known biomedical research organizations, the Scripps Research Institute, the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies and the Max Planck Society. Additionally, FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine recently welcomed its inaugural class.

Medium-Length Description (academic structure emphasis)
Established as Florida’s fifth public university by legislative act in 1961, Florida Atlantic University opened its doors to students in 1964. In addition to its original 850-acre campus in Boca Raton, FAU has sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. The University is currently serving more than 29,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Additionally, FAU’s Lifelong Learning Society, which is believed to be the largest and most successful program of its kind in the United States, serves men and women of retirement age.

FAU’s 10 colleges, offering more than 170 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, are the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science,  the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.

In 1967, FAU was elected to membership in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). At that time, the SACS Commission on Higher Education granted full accreditation to all of the University’s programs. In accordance with SACS regulations, accreditation was reaffirmed in 1972, 1982, 1992 and 2002. FAU also holds membership in the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and the Council of Graduate Schools.

Long Description (version 1)
Founded in 1961, Florida Atlantic University is a comprehensive public university that is currently serving more than 29,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites strategically located along the state’s southeastern coastline. Long known as an outstanding teaching institution, FAU is undergoing rapid development as a center of cutting-edge research, particularly in the biomedical arena. This process has been accelerated by the University’s recently formed partnerships with three internationally known biomedical research organizations: the Scripps Research Institute, the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies and the Max Planck Society. Additionally, FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine recently welcomed its inaugural class.

Through a well-developed network of partner campuses, FAU serves students at locations and sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida as well as through distance learning. FAU’s student body, which ranks as the most ethnically and culturally diverse in Florida's State University System, includes men and women of both traditional and non-traditional age. Modern student housing is available on the Boca Raton and Jupiter campuses, and all campuses offer attractive and varied dining facilities. The University community is served by an excellent library system that has more than 3.6 million items, including books, periodicals, government documents, microforms, maps, media and other materials as well as a wealth of electronic resources, including more than 374,000 full-text electronic books and 18,000 full-text electronic journals, plus access to several hundred proprietary databases..

A member of the Sun Belt Conference, FAU has 18 men’s and women’s intercollegiate teams, including an NCAA Division I football team that has won two bowl games in just eight years of play. The Boca Raton campus is home to a new 30,000-seat football stadium.

FAU’s 10 academically distinguished colleges are the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.

The University currently offers more than 170 undergraduate and graduate degree programs and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Additionally, the University holds membership in the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and the Council of Graduate Schools.

FAU has fully funded Eminent Scholar Chairs in disciplines that include the arts and humanities, brain science, community education, engineering, growth management, Holocaust and Judaic studies, international business, marine biology, nursing, philosophy and social science.

FAU is committed to serving the educational needs of persons of retirement age through non-credit courses offered by the Lifelong Learning Society, which is believed to be the largest and most successful organization of its kind in the United States. For more information on Florida Atlantic University, visit www.fau.edu.

Long Description (version 2)
Florida Atlantic University, created in 1961 by act of the Florida Legislature, went into operation in 1964 as the first university in the nation serving upper-division and graduate students exclusively. The University was dedicated on October 25, 1964, by President Lyndon B. Johnson, becoming one of the few American institutions of higher learning to be so honored by a sitting President of the United States. Twenty years later, in 1984, FAU became a four-year university when the first freshman class was admitted.

Today, more than 125,000 men and women are FAU alumni, and the University is serving more than 29,000 undergraduate and graduate students. In addition to the original 850-acre campus in Boca Raton, FAU has sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. 

The University is organized into 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.

FAU has fully funded Eminent Scholar Chairs in academic areas that include engineering, business, community education, the arts, social science, nursing, marine biology, philosophy, Holocaust studies, Judaic studies, brain science and growth management.

Playing an important part in furthering the mission of the University are a number of centers and institutes dedicated to specific academic or research pursuits. For example, FAU is the home of the Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center, a federally funded research facility that is developing technology to generate energy by harnessing the power of Florida’s ocean currents. For more than 40 years, FAU's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute has been a world-renowned center for ocean research. In addition, FAU is now home to one of the world's finest American Revolution-era document collections.

The University has also entered into joint research and education agreements with three of the premier scientific research organizations in the world: The Scripps Research Institute, the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies and the Max Planck Society. Active partnerships with the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Research Institute – a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center – and the Smithsonian Marine Station enhance FAU's mission. One of Florida's 11 public universities, FAU is committed to serving the educational needs of persons of retirement age through non-credit courses offered by the Lifelong Learning Society, which is believed to be the largest and most successful organization of its kind in the United States.