Editorial Resources

The following text is offered for use by University employees and the general public when preparing information about the University (updated October 2010). 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 campuses and sites in Fort Lauderdale, Davie, Dania Beach, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce. Fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, FAU is currently serving 28,000 regularly enrolled, degree-seeking students through its 10 colleges.

Short Description (partnership emphasis)
Florida Atlantic University, founded in 1961, is currently serving 28,000 degree-seeking students on seven campuses and sites located along state’s southeastern coastline. 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. FAU is in the process of launching an independent medical education program with plans to offer both an M.D. degree and a dual M.D./Ph.D. degree in partnership with the Scripps Research Institute’s Kellogg School of Science and Technology.

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 campuses and sites in Fort Lauderdale, Davie, Dania Beach, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce. The University is currently serving 28,000 degree-seeking 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, has a membership of nearly 20,000 men and women of retirement age.

FAU’s 10 colleges, offering more than 170 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, are the 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 Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and the Graduate College.

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 28,000 degree-seeking students at seven locations strategically arrayed along the state’s southeastern coastline. Long known as an outstanding teaching institution and included in the Princeton Review’s 2007 listing of the best universities in America, 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 is in the process of launching an independent medical education program. Establishment of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine was approved recently by the Florida Legislature, and the accreditation process is under way. Plans call for this unique program to offer both the M.D. degree and a dual M.D./Ph.D. degree in partnership with the Scripps Research Institute’s Kellogg School of Science and Technology, whose graduate programs are consistently ranked among the top in the nation.

Through its well-developed network of partner campuses, FAU serves students at locations in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Davie, Dania Beach, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce 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 one million hard copy holdings, 500,000 e-books and 5,000 e-journal subscriptions.

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. A 30,000-seat football stadium  is slated to open in 2011 on the Boca Raton campus.

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 Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and the Graduate College.

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 110,000 men and women are FAU alumni, and the University is serving about 28,000 degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate students on seven campuses. In addition to the original 850-acre campus in Boca Raton, FAU serves students at locations in Fort Lauderdale, Davie, Dania Beach, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce. 

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 Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and the Graduate College.

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, major national research center was established at FAU in 2010, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center is focused on developing ways to tap the power of oceans as a source of clean, affordable energy. FAU also houses the Center of Excellence in Biomedical and Marine Biotechnology, which is dedicated to expediting the discovery and commercialization of new medicines from the sea. The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute recently came under the FAU umbrella as a research center. 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. Also, FAU is in the process of launching an independent medical education program. Establishment of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine was approved recently by the Florida Legislature, and the accreditation process is under way. Plans call for this unique program to offer both the M.D. degree and a dual M.D./Ph.D. degree in partnership with the Scripps Research Institute’s Kellogg School of Science and Technology, whose graduate programs are consistently ranked among the top in the nation.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. For more information on Florida Atlantic University, visit www.fau.edu.