History
One of the oldest academic centers in Florida, the university was founded in 1879 as the Florida Baptist Institute in Live Oak, Florida. Soon after, the American Baptist Home Mission Society gave its full support and the first regular school year began in 1880.
In 1882, the Florida Baptist Academy was established in Jacksonville, Florida. The name was later changed to Florida Normal and Industrial Institute. It was there that two brothers, James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson (faculty member), wrote the words and music to "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" (known as the "Negro National Anthem"), in 1900.
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Old Homes Plantation Bell
The Old Homes Plantation is where the famous bell which now sits above the Susie C. Holley Chapel was purchased. The bell was originally used to gather slaves to issue daily orders. This bell was cast at the same foundry as the Liberty Bell, which is enshrined in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. |
Florida Normal and Industrial Institute moved to St. Augustine in 1918 on part of a 110-acre (0.45 km2) tract of land known as "Old Homes Plantation", formerly one of the largest slave plantations in Florida. In 1941, the Live Oak and St. Augustine institutions merged, changing their limited offerings from a junior college classification to a four-year liberal arts institution which graduated its first four-year class in 1945. Its name was changed in 1950 to Florida Normal and Industrial Memorial College. In 1963, the charter was again amended to change the name to Florida Memorial College. In 1968, the college relocated to its present site in Northwest Miami and by 1972 graduated its first class at the Miami site. Florida Memorial College celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1979 and began a series of expansion projects on the 44-acre (180,000 m2) site.
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Jazz Festival
The university hosts an annual jazz festival, named in honor of professor and trumpeter, Melton Mustafa. |
In 1993 Dr. Albert E. Smith was appointed as the college's tenth president, heralding another period of growth in the institution's rich history. In December 2004, the institution's name was changed to Florida Memorial University with the announcement being made at the Founders' Convocation in March 2005. On July 3, 2006, Dr. Karl S. Wright became the eleventh president. In 2006, Florida Memorial College changed its name to Florida Memorial University.
On November 9, 2010, Henry Lewis III, a former dean and professor of pharmacy at Florida A&M University, was named the university's twelfth president.
In May 2011, President Henry Lewis III, announced its future plans for FMU which included forty objectives he hopes to accomplish by 2020. He plans on increasing the student population from 2,000 to 3,500, build 360 dorms on-campus as well as more classroom buildings, and improved education quality. A new wellness center is also expected to start construction in 2014.
Read more about this topic: Florida Memorial University
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