Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university in Lee County, Florida near Fort Myers. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is its second youngest member. The university was established on May 3, 1991, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award 58 different types of bachelor's, 25 different master's, six doctoral degrees, and twelve graduate certificates.All of the university's undergraduate engineering degrees are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
The university's academics are divided into six main colleges: U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering, Lutgert College of Business, Marieb College of Health & Human Services, College of Education, College of Arts and Sciences, and Honors College. The prominent schools and departments within the colleges include; Bower School of Music & the Arts, The Emergent Technologies Institute (ETI), School of Nursing, School of Resort & Hospitality Management, and School of Entrepreneurship.
FGCU's intercollegiate athletic teams, the Eagles, compete in the ASUN Conference in NCAA Division I sports.
In 1991, Charles B. Edwards, chair of the Board of Regents, lobbied the Florida Legislature to pass legislation recommending that Florida's 10th state university be built in the Florida Southwest Region. Florida governor Lawton Chiles signed the bill authorizing the school in May 1991.
The Board of Regents selected a 760-acre (310 ha) site in the south Fort Myers area donated by Ben Hill Griffin III, on which to build the university. On April 26, 1993, Roy E. McTarnaghan, who served as the executive vice chancellor for the State University System of Florida, was appointed president of the yet-unnamed “New University of Southwest Florida.” Founding president McTarnaghan and a small number of employees set up temporary base in downtown Fort Myers in a space provided by the Lee County Commission.The school was officially established by then-governor Lawton Chiles in 1991, although FGCU commemorates August 25, 1997, the first time classes were held on campus.
Academic Building 5 at Florida Gulf Coast University was later renamed "Charles B. Edwards Hall", in honor of Edwards.
In July 1999, William C. Merwin became FGCU's second president. Merwin sought to create a traditional four-year university. Being an active fundraiser, Merwin raised more than $250 million for the university in a short eight-year period, rapidly expanding the school. New buildings included Lutgert College of Business, Holmes Hall (U.A. Whitaker School of Engineering), Whitaker Hall, Cohen Center (the student union), Alico Arena and an expansion of on-campus housing. Student enrollment at FGCU increased from approximately 2,000 in its first year, to almost 15,000 as of 2017. In 2007, Dr. Wilson G. Bradshaw became the university's third president. Bradshaw announced that he would step down after the 2016–17 academic year, and the Board of Trustees selected Michael V. Martin to replace Bradshaw in 2017.
Responding to a challenge for state universities to improve their four-year graduation rate, FGCU in 2016 introduced a program called Soar in 4, which reimburses out-of-pocket tuition expenses for the freshman year of students who graduate within four years and meet certain other criteria.
Mike Martin, former chancellor of Louisiana State University and the Colorado State University System, succeeded Bradshaw as Florida Gulf Coast University president on July 1, 2017. The transition from Bradshaw to Martin came during the university's celebration of its 20th anniversary.
In 2017, the College of Health Professions & Social Work was renamed the Marieb College of Health & Human Services after a $10 million gift from donor Elaine Nicpon Marieb, for whom Marieb Hall was named after her original $5 million pledge.
FGCU's 807-acre (3.27 km2) campus is located in unincorporated Southwest Florida in Lee County, 21 miles (34 km) from Naples and south of Fort Myers. It is within San Carlos Park's fire district and uses a Fort Myers postal code.The 150-acre (0.61 km2) center of the campus, known as the Academic Core, contains the buildings housing most of the school's classrooms and labs. There are three separate housing areas on the periphery of the campus: North Lake, South Village, and West Lake Village. North Lake Village overlooks Miromar Lake, with recreational activities including boating and water skiing, with a new boardwalk and dining facility opening along its waterfront in 2017.
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