History of Florida State University - Wartime Changes

Wartime Changes

After World War II, returning soldiers taking advantage of the new G.I. Bill placed an unexpectedly heavy demand on the state university system. The Tallahassee Branch of the University of Florida (TBUF) was quickly opened on the campus of the Florida State College for Women. The men were housed in former barracks on Dale Mabry Field, an existing WWII U.S. Army Air Force training field west of Tallahassee, that was deactivated in part after the war. Male students were then enrolled into the Florida State College for Women and traveled to the main campus by bus. Part of Dale Mabry Field became known as "West Campus" during this brief period. By the end of the 1946-1947 school year, 954 men were enrolled in the TBUF program. By 1947 the Florida Legislature returned the FSCW to coeducational status and renamed the Florida State College for Women the Florida State University. The FSU West Campus land and barracks plus other areas continually used as an airport later became the location of the Tallahassee Community College.

The 1950s brought substantial growth and development to the university. Several colleges were added and the first Ph.D. was awarded in Chemistry by 1952. Many buildings recognizable today were added to the university such as the Strozier Library, Tully Gymnasium and the original parts of the Business building. Programs supplementing the original liberal arts and education departments were added including Business, Journalism (discontinued in 1959), Library Science, Nursing and Social Welfare. Social Welfare was later split into the College of Criminology and the College of Social Work.