University of West Florida - History

History

In 1962, the Florida Legislature authorized the State Board of Education to locate a state university in Escambia County. Following a feasibility study which demonstrated the need for an institution of higher education in Northwest Florida, funds were allocated for the development of the University of West Florida. The founding President was Harold Crosby. UWF became the sixth state university of the State University System of Florida, which today consists of eleven institutions of higher learning.

Ground was broken on April 16, 1965, and in the same year the Chambered Nautilus was adopted as the official UWF emblem. The initial building program, consisted of an administration classroom complex, library, Commons building, science complex, humanities building, audiovisual facility, utilities building and 15 student housing buildings accommodating approximately 500 resident students. Current facilities at UWF include: 35 academic buildings, 21 student services facilities, 25 dormitories, two university village student apartment complexes and 20 plant support facilities. In 1997, 600 acres (2.4 km2) additional were acquired which brought the Pensacola campus to 1,600 acres (6.5 km2), the second largest main campus in the State University System.

Initially, the university was organized in three resident or cluster colleges: Alpha, Gamma and Omega. Not only were academic disciplines assigned to these colleges, but student government, cultural programs and other activities were conducted within the colleges. UWF was originally an upper-level institution enrolling juniors, seniors, and graduate students. The first students began classes in the fall of 1967, and the first commencement exercises were held in June 1968 where 58 students received degrees. In 1969, the university undergraduate programs were accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the first master's degree programs were established.

In July 1979, the university organized in a more traditional structure by establishing three colleges: Arts and Sciences, Business and Education. Following authorization by the Florida Legislature, a lower division was established, and freshmen attended the university for the first time in the fall semester of 1983, boosting enrollment from 5,200 students to 5,920 students.

In July 1988, Computer Science, a department within the College of Business, was identified as the Division of Computer Science as a stand alone and plans were begun to incorporate it into a fourth college, the College of Science and Technology. That decision was later reversed and computer science was moved to the School of Computer Science and Engineering within the College of Arts and Sciences. During the fall term of 1999, the colleges reorganized as the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business and the College of Professional Studies.