Go Owls!

-FAU became an official owl sanctuary in April 1971, when about 150 burrowing owls could be found on campus

-The FAU emblem was changed in 2001 from a diminutive, nice-looking owl to a fierce, angry-looking one when it was decided FAU needed a new image to go along with its new varsity football team.

By the numbers

-Only 800 students were enrolled in 1964; today, there are over 25,000 students here. The breakdown by campus is, from largest to smallest: &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspBoca Raton-17,376&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspDavie-5,227&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspMacArthur/Jupiter-2,059 &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspFort Lauderdale (Downtown)-837 &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspTreasure Coast-817 &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspOff-campus-462&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspFort Lauderdale (Commercial)-80&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspSea Tech-69

-In 1980, Florida legislature allowed people who were over 60 years of age to attend classes for free. FAU immediately formed the Society of Older Students, which had 250 members in its first year. Today we know it as the Lifelong Learning Society, which currently serves 15,000 students.

-In 2001-02, FAU awarded 2,249 Bachelor’s degrees to women as compared to 1,256 to men, 570 Master’s degrees to women and 328 to men.

-Florida residents pay $92.88 per undergraduate credit and $186.56 per graduate credit. Non-residents, on the other hand, pay $410.47 per undergraduate credit and $678.15 per graduate credit.

In case you get lost

www.fau.edu provides the latitudes and longitudes of most of the FAU campuses. Why, you ask? Your guess is as good as ours.

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspBoca Raton: &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspLatitude 80 deg 05′ 07″ W, Longitude 26 deg 22′ 19″ N

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspSeaTech (Dania Beach):&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspLatitude 80 deg 05′ 07″ W, Longitude 26 deg 22′ 19″ N

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspAskew Tower (Ft. Lauderdale):&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspLatitude 80 deg 05′ 07″ W, Longitude 26 deg 22′ 19″ N

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspJohn D. MacArthur (Jupiter):&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspLatitude 80 deg 05′ 07″ W, Longitude 26 deg 22′ 19″ N

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspTreasure Coast (Port St. Lucie):&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspLatitude 80 deg 05′ 07″ W, Longitude 26 deg 22′ 19″ N

Back in the day

-The Boca Raton campus used to be an army air base. The buildings opened in 1942 as the Air Corps’ only WWII radar training school.

-FAU was originally conceived as a college for only upper-division levels and graduate students as a completion program for the area’s many two-year junior colleges

-FAU’s original name was University of South Florida, but the title was already taken. The next proposed name was Boca University. Legislators finally decided upon the title Florida Atlantic University in 1962.

-At FAU’s dedication ceremony on Oct. 25, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson spoke before a crowd of 15,000 and received the university’s first honorary doctorate.

-FAU’s first fall term was delayed a week because Hurricane Cleo struck and flooded the campus.

-In 1965, FAU became the first American university to offer an undergraduate degree in ocean engineering.

Celebrity sightings

-Past FAU speakers include Tom Brokaw, Hilary Rodham Clinton, and Jimmy Carter.

-Carrot Top, AKA Scott Thompson, whose most recent accomplishments include the “1-800-CALL ATT” commercials, graduated from FAU, thus making him our most famous (or infamous) graduate. The former marketing major reminisces about his FAU experience on his website, www.carrottop.com- “I went to school at the “Harvard of Florida” — Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. If it tells you anything, Boca Raton is French for “Mouth of the Rat.” ‘Nuff said. I majored in skirt chasing and minored in partying — finally graduating with a 4.0…blood alcohol level. As I said, my parents were really proud.” Clearly Carrot Top never took a French class while he was here.

Academically Speaking

-FAU President Helen Popovich (1983-1990) was first woman to hold a university presidency in the Florida state system. Popovich was an advocate for women’s rights and approved the Women’s Studies Certificate program in 1986.

-The top ten majors by enrollment are as follows:&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp1. Elementary Education&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp2. Biological Science&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp3. Management&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp4. Accounting&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp5. Psychology&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp6. Communication&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp7. Computer Science&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp8. Criminal Justice&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp9. Management Information Sytems&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp10. Pre-Nursing

Making headlines

-In March 2001, state lawmakers threatened to cut funding when the theatre department staged “Corpus Christi,” a play starring a homosexual Jesus-like figure.

For more information on the history of FAU, see Florida Atlantic University by Donald W. Curl.