History of Florida State University
The area, slightly west of the state Capitol, was formerly and ominously known as Gallows Hill, a place for public executions in early Tallahassee.The school fielded student soldiers into an organized unit of the institution, which helped successfully repel a Union attack on Tallahassee at the Battle of Natural Bridge.[8] The university project struggled with a lack of legislative support, and the seminary soon returned to its old name, but focused increasingly on modern-style secondary education.Through the 20th and 21st centuries Florida State University has grown in both size and academic prominence, with a particular focus on graduate and doctoral research.[11] For almost a century the First Presbyterian Church of Tallahassee would have a strong symbiotic relationship with the origin and development of the educational institution known today as Florida State University.[16] The Leon Academy suffered from lack of financial resources as well as high administrative turnover and in September 1836 was operated by John M. Brook of Virginia as a "private Seminary for boys", while the trustees continued to control and manage the property.[14] Leon Academy was replaced by schools for males and females in a system established by Reverend Joshua Phelps and Elder David C. Wilson, both of the First Presbyterian Church.The rise of land slightly west of the center of Tallahassee, formerly known as Gallows Hill, which was the site and building of the ongoing Florida Institute, was offered and accepted as the western state seminary for male students.[7][32] The students were trained by Valentine Mason Johnson, a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, who was a professor of mathematics and the chief administrator of the college.The West Florida Seminary reverted to a purely academic purpose after the war, and began a period of substantial growth and development.[36] In January 1883 Reverend John Kost, A.M., M.D., LL.D of Michigan proposed to carry out the mandate of the 1868 Constitution requiring a state university.[47] Despite the impact of the Buckman Act, Albert A. Murphree, then President of the Florida State College, determined to stress liberal studies and academic performance.[55] The FSU West Campus land and barracks plus other areas continually used as an airport later became the location of the Tallahassee Community College.[citation needed] Programs supplementing the original liberal arts and education departments were added including Business, Journalism discontinued in 1959, Library Science, Nursing and Social Welfare.[56] The 1950 Homecoming half-time show included a dedication ceremony naming the stadium in honor of university President Doak Campbell.Mission Control used the Fight Song to awaken alumnus and current professor Norm Thagard one morning in 1983 while he was aboard the Challenger spacecraft.[60] During the 1960s and 1970s, Florida State University was known as a center of student activism especially in the areas of racial integration, women's rights and the Vietnam War.The school acquired the nickname 'Berkeley of the South'[61] during this period, in reference to similar student activities at the University of California, Berkeley and is also purported to be the site of the genesis of "streaking," which is said to have first been observed on Landis Green.[62][63][better source needed] Governor Claude Kirk appeared unexpectedly one morning with a chair and spent the day, with little escort or fanfare, on Landis Green discussing politics with protesting students.Its purpose is to allow students to "explore socially relevant topics and to foster a healthier philosophy of education through classes in which anyone could teach or attend.When Calvin Patterson, a star player from Miami, signed with the Florida State Seminoles he endured insults and threats from the beginning.[67] A 2017 study by The Education Trust, examining data from 2014, found that Florida State University ranked in the top 20 colleges in the country in graduation rates among African-American students.[68] The strategic vision of Florida State University, known as Pathways of Excellence, changed in September 2005 as the result of an evaluation of "FSU’s academic productivity and recognition as viewed in the context of the Phase I and Phase II indicators for membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) and the standards used by the National Research Council for evaluating doctoral programs."[69] The task group made recommendations, on which FSU President Wetherell acted, which are intended to transform the overall academic quality and scholarly productivity of the university.On November 20, 2014, a gunman armed with a .380 semiautomic pistol, identified as 31-year-old Myron May, shot an employee and two students at Strozier Library on the university campus shortly after midnight.His social media indicated that he was one of a number of people driven to violence who believed he was a "targeted individual" attacked by mind control and invisible weapons.
educationFloridaTallahasseeFlorida State UniversityState University System of FloridaFlorida LegislatureWestcott BuildingCapitolTallahassee Female AcademycoeducationalAmerican Civil WarConfederateBattle of Natural BridgeuniversityWorld War IIG.I. Billracially integratedstudent activismresearchFrancis W. EppesUnited States CongressFlorida TerritoryseminariesSuwannee RiverFirst Presbyterian Church, TallahasseePrinceton UniversityEast Florida SeminaryUniversity of FloridaResolutionMariannaQuincyJames E. BroomeCity CouncilPresbyterianReverendGallowsGainesvilleUniversity of the State of FloridaValentine Mason JohnsonVirginia Military InstituteMississippi RiverArmy Reserve Officers' Training Corpscampaign streamerMichiganWilliam D. BloxhamJacksonvilleFlorida Agricultural CollegeLake CitydiplomasBachelor of Artsliberal artsAlbert A. MurphreeAlbert Alexander MurphreeBuckman ActsegregatedgenderAfrican AmericanFlorida A&M UniversitySouth Florida Military CollegeBartowHenry Holland BuckmanDuval County, FloridaBuckman HallPhi Beta KappabarracksDale Mabry FieldU.S. Army Air ForceairportTallahassee Community CollegeChemistryJournalismLibrary ScienceNursingCriminologySocial WorkDoak CampbellMarching ChiefsMission ControlNorm ThagardChallengerspacecraftracial integrationwomen's rightsVietnam WarUniversity of California, BerkeleystreakingClaude KirkMiccosukee Land Co-opBiophysicssit-insFlorida Agricultural and Mechanical UniversitytraitorstrategicAssociation of American UniversitiesNational Research Councilphysical infrastructureSocial ScienceLaboratoryPsychologyLife SciencesTheatreNational High Magnetic Field LaboratorySuperconductivitydie in vaintargeted individualmind controlBurning Spear SocietyFlorida State SeminolesHistory of FloridaList of Florida State University peopleList of presidents of Florida State UniversityBattle of New MarketThe CitadelThe University of MississippiWayback MachineTallahassee, FloridaCollege of Arts and SciencesCollege of BusinessCollege of Communication and InformationCollege of Criminology and Criminal JusticeCollege of EducationCollege of EngineeringCollege of Fine ArtsCollege of Human SciencesCollege of LawCollege of Medicine