Florida International University

Florida International University (FIU) is an American public research university in Greater Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park in Miami-Dade County. Florida International University is classified as a top-tier Research University with high research activity by the Carnegie Foundation, and is a first-tier research university as designated by the Florida Legislature. Founded in 1965, FIU is the youngest university to be awarded a Phi Beta Kappa chapter by the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the country's oldest academic honor society.

FIU is one of Florida's primary graduate research universities, and awards over 3,400 graduate and professional degrees annually. The university offers 191 programs of study with more than 280 majors in 23 colleges and schools. FIU offers many graduate programs, including architecture, business administration, engineering, law, and medicine, offering 81 master's degrees, 34 doctoral degrees, and 3 professional degrees.

FIU is the largest university in South Florida, the 2nd-largest in Florida, and the 7th-largest in the United States. Total enrollment in 2012 was 50,394 students, including 14,177 graduate students, and 2,974 full-time faculty with over 180,000 alumni around the world. In 2012, FIU's research expenditure was $104.6 million, with an endowment of $140 million. The university has an annual budget of $1.07 billion.

FIU has the lowest admissions rate amongst Florida public universities, making admissions into the university very competitive. Since 2007, more valedictorians from South Florida choose to attend FIU than any other university in the country. As Miami's public research university, competition to enroll at FIU has heightened as more students apply each year.

Founding: 1943-1969
The story of Florida International University's founding began in 1943, when state Senator Ernest 'Cap' Graham (father of future Florida governor and U.S. senator Bob Graham) presented the state legislature with the initial proposal for the establishment of a public university in South Florida. While his bill did not pass, Graham persisted in presenting his proposal to colleagues, advising them of Miami's need for a state university. He felt the establishment of a public university was necessary to serve the city's growing population.

In 1964, Senate Bill 711 was introduced by Florida Senator Robert M. Haverfield. It instructed the state Board of Education and the Board of Regents (BOR), to begin planning for the development of a state university in Miami. The bill was signed into law by then-governor W. Haydon Burns in June 1965, marking FIU's official founding.

FIU's founding president Charles "Chuck" Perry was appointed by the Board of Regents in July 1969 after a nationwide search. At 32 years old, the new president was the youngest in the history of the State University System and, at the time, the youngest university president in the country. Perry recruited three co-founders, Butler Waugh, Donald McDowell and Nick Sileo. Alvah Chapman, Jr., former Miami Herald publisher and Knight Ridder chairman, used his civic standing and media power to assist the effort. In the 1980s, Chapman became chair of the FIU Foundation Board of Trustees.

The founders located the campus on the site of the original Tamiami Airport on the Tamiami Trail (U.S. Route 41) between Southwest 107th and 117th Avenues, just east of where the West Dade Expressway (now the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike) was being planned. The abandoned airport’s air traffic control tower became FIU’s first building. It originally had no telephones, no drinking water, and no furniture. Perry decided that the tower should never be destroyed, and it remains on campus, where it is now known variously as the "Ivory Tower," the "Tower Building," or the "Public Safety Tower," and is the former location of the FIU Police Department.

Opening of the doors: 1969 to 1975


In September 1972, 5,667 students entered the new state university, the largest opening day enrollment at the time. Previously, Miami had been the largest city in the country lacking a public baccalaureate-granting institution. Eighty percent of the student body had just graduated from Dade County Junior College (now Miami-Dade College). A typical student entering FIU was 25 years old and attending school full-time while holding down a full-time job. Forty-three percent were married. Negotiations with the University of Miami and Dade County Junior College led FIU to open as an upper-division only school. It would be 9 years before lower-division classes were added.

The first commencement, held in June 1973, took place in the reading room of the ground floor of Primera Casa - the only place large enough on campus for the ceremony. More than 1,500 family members and friends watched FIU's first class of 191 graduates receive their diplomas.

By late 1975, after seven years at the helm, Charles Perry felt he had accomplished his goal and left the University to become president and publisher of the Sunday newspaper magazine Family Weekly (now USA Weekend), one of the country's largest magazines. When he left, there were more than 10,000 students attending classes and a campus with five major buildings and a sixth being planned.

Crosby and Wolfe: 1976 to 1986
Harold Crosby, the University's second president and the founding president of the University of West Florida in Pensacola, agreed in 1976 to serve a three-year "interim" term. Under his leadership, FIU's North Miami Campus (which was officially renamed the Bay Vista Campus in 1980, the North Miami Campus in 1987, the North Campus in 1994, and the Biscayne Bay Campus in 2000) - located on the former Interama site on Biscayne Bay - was opened in 1977. State Senator Jack Gordon was instrumental in securing funding for the development of the campus. President Crosby emphasized the university's international character, prompting the launching of new programs with an international focus and the recruitment of faculty from the Caribbean and Latin America. President Crosby's resignation in January 1979 triggered the search for a "permanent" president.

Gregory Baker Wolfe, a former United States diplomat and then-president of Portland State University became FIU's third president, from 1979 to 1986. After stepping down as president, Wolfe taught in the university's International Relations department. The student union on the Biscayne Bay Campus is named in his honor.

Maidique: 1986 to 2009
Cuban born Modesto A. Maidique assumed the presidency at FIU in 1986, becoming the fourth in the university's history. Maidique graduated with a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), before joining the private sector. He held academic appointments from MIT, Harvard and Stanford Universities, and has been named to several US Presidential boards and committees.

Under his leadership, FIU heralded in an era of unprecedented growth and prestige with all facets of university undergoing major transformations. Physically, the university tripled in size and its enrollment grew to nearly 40,000. During his 23 years as president, the school established the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, the FIU College of Law, the FIU School of Architecture and the Robert Stempel School of Public Health. Also during his tenure, endowment grew from less than $2 million to over $100 million.

During Maidique’s tenure, the university added 22 new doctoral programs. Research expenditures grew from about $6 million to nearly $110 million as defined by the National Science Foundation. In 2000, FIU attained the highest ranking in the Carnegie Foundation classification system, that of “Doctoral/Research University-Extensive.” FIU’s faculty has engaged in research and holds far-reaching expertise in reducing morbidity and mortality from cancer, HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, diabetes and other diseases, and change the approaches to the delivery of health care by medical, public health, nursing and other healthcare professionals, hurricane mitigation, climate change, nano-technologies, forensic sciences, and the development of biomedical devices.

The arts also flourished while Maidique was at the helm, with the university acquiring The Wolfsonian-FIU Museum on Miami Beach and building the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum on its main campus. In athletics, FIU made inroads in becoming a powerhouse athletic university during Maidique's time as president and he championed the eventual establishment of a NCAA football program. Finally, the school earned membership into Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest honor society.

Maidique was the second longest-serving research university president in the nation. Now President Emeritus, he currently serves as the Alvah H. Chapman, Jr., Eminent Scholar Chair in Leadership and Executive Director of the Center for Leadership and Professor of Management at FIU.

FIU Today
On August 29, 2009, Mark B. Rosenberg became FIU's fifth president.



Having started as a two-year upper division university serving the Miami area, FIU has grown into a much larger traditional university serving students from all over the world. More than $600 million have been invested in campus construction, with the addition of new residence halls, the FIU Stadium, recreation center, student center, and Greek life mansions, as well as the fielding of the Division I-A Golden Panthers football team in 2002.

Since 1986, the university established its School of Architecture, College of Law and College of Medicine (named the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in 1999 after Herbert Wertheim donated $20 million to the college, which was matched by state funds and is the largest donation in the university's history., and acquired the historic Wolfsonian-FIU Museum in Miami Beach.

FIU now emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and is now classed as a "very high research activity" university under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Sponsored research funding (grants and contracts) from external sources for the year 2007-2008 totaled some $110 million. FIU has a budget of over $649 million

FIU's School of Hospitality & Tourism Management collaborated with China's Ministry of Education to work on preparations for the 2008 Summer Olympics. FIU was the only university in the United States invited to do so.

On November 14, 2008, Maidique announced that he would be stepping down and asked FIU's Board of Trustees to begin the search of a new president. He said he would remain president until a new one was found. On April 25, 2009, Mark B. Rosenberg was selected to become FIU's fifth president. He signed a five-year contract with the Board of Trustees.

Academics
FIU offers 191 academic programs, 60 baccalaureate programs, 81 master's programs, 3 specialist programs, 34 doctoral programs, and 4 professional program in 23 colleges and schools. In addition, 97% of the faculty have terminal degrees, and 50% currently have tenure at the university with a student/teacher ratio of 27:1.

Enrollment and admissions
Fall freshman admissions

''This table does not account deferred applications or other unique situations.''



Enrollment for Fall 2011 consisted of 47,966 students, 39,147 undergraduates and 8,819 graduate students, including students enrolled in professional programs. Women accounted for 56% of student enrollment and minorities made up 75% of total enrollment. Enrollment included students from all 50 U.S. states and more than 119 countries. The most popular College by enrollment is the College of Arts and Sciences. The freshman retention rate for 2009 was 83%. The fall 2011 incoming freshman class had an average 3.7 GPA, 1139 SAT score, and a 25 ACT score.

In 2008, 7% of FIU students were international students. Of those, the most popular countries of origin were: China (20%), India (13%), Jamaica (10%), Venezuela (6%), Colombia (5%), and Trinidad and Tobago (4%).

Students from New York, New Jersey, and California make up the largest states for out-of-state students. Floridians make up 90% of the student population. Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, and Orange County make up the largest Florida counties for in-state students.

University Park accounted for 87% of the student population and 94% of housing students. The Biscayne Bay Campus accounted for about 13% of the student population, mostly of lower-division undergraduates and students of the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. Fall 2009, the average age for undergraduates was 23 and 31 for graduate students.

Undergraduate admissions
In 2010, FIU had an admission rate of 39.5% for first-time-in-college freshmen, the lowest in the State University System. As Miami's public research university, competition to enroll at FIU has heightened as more students apply each year. The preliminary Fall 2012 FIU freshman class had an average SAT score of 1141, a 25 ACT score and a 3.74 high school GPA. The freshmen 2010 acceptance rate was 39%. FIU received 16,626 freshmen applications and admitted 6,545, of which 2,607 enrolled.

FIU graduate admissions

Graduate admissions
For Fall 2011, 14,722 students applied for graduate admissions throughout the university. Of those, 30.5% were accepted. The Wertheim College of Medicine admitted 4.6% of its applicants, and the College of Law admitted 19%. Admission to the Wertheim College of Medicine is competitive, and the college has one of the highest number of applicants in the state, greater than the University of Florida. For Fall 2010, 3,606 students applied for 43 spots.

The FIU School of Architecture is the most competitive in Florida, with the lowest admission rate in the state at 14% (2011). For Fall 2009, the School of Architecture received over 1,000 applications for the first-year Master of Architecture program, with 60 being accepted, giving the School of Architecture a 6% admissions rate. The average high school GPA for the freshman class in the School of Architecture was 3.98, also making it one of the most selective schools at FIU.

Rankings


In 2011, FIU was ranked in the top 16 nationally amongst universities with the toughest grading system.

FIU is working on a new vision called "FIU in the year 2015: FIU at FIFTY" as part of their 50th anniversary "FIU at Fifty". The goal is to make FIU one of the top ten urban-serving public research universities in the country.

In 2000, FIU became the youngest university to be awarded a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, the country's oldest and most distinguished academic honor society. FIU is one of only 78 universities nationwide to hold both designations.

US News and World Report reported that FIU students are among the least indebted college students in the nation, and recognized the university as a "best buy" in higher education.

FIU ranked among the best values in public higher education in the country, according to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s 2011 survey, "100 Best Values in Public Colleges." FIU is ranked among the top 100 nationally for in-state students and out-of-state students.

FIU is ranked 1st in the U.S. for granting bachelor's degrees to minorities, and 9th in granting master's degrees to minorities (among the top 100 universities), according to Diverse Issues in Higher Education, (2010). FIU is also 1st in the nation in awarding science, technology, engineering, and math degrees to minorities. FIU produces over 1,500 minority graduates in those fields annually (2010).

From 2007 to 2010, FIU has ranked 1st in the State University System of Florida in energy conservation and sustainability.

College of Business Administration


The College of Business Administration is among the top 7% of elite business schools worldwide accredited by the AACSB International — the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" (2010) ranks the undergraduate international business program 12th best in the nation and ranks the Chapman Graduate School of Business 11th in the nation. FIU has been ranked in the top 10 every year since 2005. FIU is also the only university in Florida to be ranked in the top 15.

BusinessWeek (2008) ranks the College of Business among the top 15% of graduate business schools in the U.S., 1st in South Florida, and in the top 25 among public business schools in the U.S. The Landon Undergraduate School of Business was ranked in the top 5% in the U.S., ranked 8th in the country in the area of "Operations Management", and in the top 20 for "Accounting".

América Economía ranks the Chapman Graduate School of Business 22nd in the nation.

The Financial Times (2008) ranks the Executive MBA in the top 85 MBA programs in the world, and in the top 35 among U.S. Executive MBAs.

Hispanic Business (since 1998) and Hispanic Trends (since 2003) have placed the College of Business among the top 25 business schools for Hispanics. In 2008, it was ranked #8.

Fortune Small Business recognized the college as among the best in the United States for entrepreneurship in its listing of “America’s Best Colleges for Entrepreneurs,” (August, 2007), in the “Cross-Disciplinary/Cross Pollination” category.

Hispanic Trends ranks the Executive MBA program 8th in its list of the best Executive MBA programs for Hispanics.

QS in 2012 ranked FIU's MBA program #35 in North America.

College of Law


The Florida International University College of Law has consistently ranked 1st in the state of Florida with the state's highest bar-passing rates (2005, 2007, and 2009), and 1st in Florida in the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam at 96% in 2007.

In 2006, 2007, and 2009, the College of Law was ranked 1st in bar passing rates in Florida and in 2007, the College of Law was also ranked 1st in Florida in the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam at 96%. In July 2008, the College of Law achieved a 90.6% passing rate, which placed it 2nd among Florida's ten law schools. In February 2009, the College of Law achieved a 81.5% passing rate, which placed it 1st among Florida's ten law schools.

In 2010, the FIU College of Law was ranked among the Top 10 Best Value schools by The National Jurist. The Best Value rating was based on three criteria: bar passage rate, average indebtedness after graduation, and employment nine months after graduation.

FIU College of Law also ranked 3rd amongst Florida schools for the scholarly impact of its faculties, behind University of Florida and Florida State University. According to the Leiter Rankings, the College of Law has already made a scholarly impact that dramatically outpaces its academic reputation.

FIU recently jumped from 132nd to 113th place in the U.S. News & World Report rankings.

FIU Model United Nations Program
The FIU Model United Nations Program is one of FIU's premier academic programs. FIU MUN is a program of the School of International and Public Affairs and is housed within the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship Studies. Each year between 24 and 32 delegates participate in FIU MUN. The acceptance rate for new delegates is usually between 8 and 10 percent. FIU MUN is currently ranked as the 6th best Model UN Team in North America and is the top ranked team in the State of Florida.

FIU MUN also hosts an annual high school conference: Florida International Model United Nations (FIMUN). The conference traditionally hosts over 400 high school students from 20, or more, high schools from Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties.

Other colleges and schools
The Journal of Criminal Justice ranks the Criminal Justice program 10th in the U.S. (November 2007)

The creative writing program is ranked among the top ten in the country by "Who Runs American Literature?".

Faculty of the Ph.D. program in social welfare rank 4th in the United States in their scholarly accomplishment, according to Academic Analytics. FIU faculty were the only social work faculty in Florida to rank in the Top 10. (December 2007)

Campus
Florida International University has two major campuses in Miami, the main campus, University Park and its regional campus, the Biscayne Bay Campus, as well as several branch campuses and research facilities throughout South Florida, in Tianjin, China, and in Nervi and Genoa, Italy.

University Park (Modesto A. Maidique Campus)
The main campus, University Park, renamed Modesto Maidique Campus in 2009, encompasses 344 acres (1.4 km²) in the Miami neighborhood of University Park, (from which the area derives its name).

University Park houses almost all of the university's colleges and schools as well as all the administrative offices and main university facilities. University Park is also home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential House, the home of FIU's president, the Wertheim Performing Arts Center, the Frost Art Museum, the International Hurricane Research Center, and the university's athletic facilities such as FIU Stadium, U.S. Century Bank Arena, and the FIU Baseball Stadium.

Located five blocks north of University Park, is the 38-acre (145,000 m2) Engineering Center which houses a part of the College of Engineering and Computing and is the home of FIU's Motorola Nanofabrication Research Facility. The Engineering Center is serviced by the CATS Shuttle, FIU's student buses, which run throughout the day on weekdays connecting the two parts of campus.

University Park history
Construction on the campus began in 1965 with the complete destruction of Tamiami Airport in 1969. At the time, very little was located around FIU, and the campus was referred to as University Park. As Miami grew west, the area came to be known as University Park after the university's campus name.

Until the early-1990s, aerial pictures of the campus clearly revealed the features of the airport that used to occupy the land until 1969. Construction has removed all of these features, and only the University Tower remains as a memory of the university's past. University Park is a lush, heavily vegetated campus, with many lakes and nature preserves, as well as an arboretum and has over 90 buildings. As of late 2009, current construction at University Park includes the Nursing and Health Sciences Building, the School of International and Public Affairs Building, and a fifth parking garage.

On June 12, 2009, FIU's Board of Trustees voted unanimously to rename the University Park campus to the Modesto Maidique Campus. However, the change created a large backlash from the FIU community, as many felt it unfitting to name the campus after him. A campaign by FIU students and alumni was created to revert the name change, and to keep the name University Park. A Facebook group, "No to Maidique's Campus" with over 2,000 supporters has made national news, in many newspapers, TV news stations, and collegiate magazines, supporting to keep the name "University Park".

Biscayne Bay Campus


The Biscayne Bay Campus in North Miami is FIU's second-largest campus. It was opened in 1977 by Harold Crosby and occupies about 200 acres (809,000 m²), directly on the bay and adjacent to the Oleta River State Park, with which FIU has a research partnership. Access to these resources inspired the creation of a marine biology program on the Biscayne Bay Campus, which has become one of the university's most recognized programs. The Biscayne Bay Campus also houses the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Aquatic Center, and the Kovens Conference Center. The Golden Panther Express, FIU's student buses, connect the main campus and the Biscayne Bay Campus throughout the day on weekdays.

Regional centers
FIU also has other smaller regional centers located throughout South Florida in both Miami-Dade County and Broward County, serving the local communities in research, continuing studies, and in culture. In Broward County, there is the FIU Pines Center in Pembroke Pines, opened to satisfy the demand from Broward County residents. This center serves mostly night students in programs within the College of Business Administration. In Miami-Dade County, there are four regional FIU facilities, the Downtown Miami Center, the Wolfsonian-FIU Museum in Miami Beach (Washington Avenue and 10th St), the FIU-Florida Memorial research center in Miami Gardens, and a research site in Homestead.

Downtown Miami Center
FIU has a center on Brickell Avenue in Downtown Miami at 1101 Brickell Avenue dubbed "FIU Downtown on Brickell". FIU's College of Business Administration has had classes at the Burdines Building on Flagler Street and the Metropolitan Center had offices at 150 SE 2nd Ave since 2004. In August 2011, FIU expanded its Downtown center to 1101 Brickell with the expansion of course offerings for the College of Business Administration and the School of International and Public Affairs, as well as with FIU's research center, the Metropolitan Center. Most programs in Downtown are graduate-level evening courses geared for Downtown professionals and residents. As of Spring 2011, there were approximately 500 students enrolled at the Downtown center, with plans to grow the center to over 2,000 students by 2021.

International campuses
FIU also has international campuses in Asia and Europe. The Wolfsonian-FIU Museum has a regional facility in Nervi, Italy, the School of Architecture has facilities in Genoa, Italy for FIU's upper-division and graduate Architecture students, and the Florida International University Tianjin Center in China, from which a branch of the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management operates. The Tianjin Center was constructed as a cooperative venture with the local municipal government and was opened in the Summer of 2006. FIU has also exchanged agreements with the American University in Dubai so that FIU students can now take a semester abroad in Dubai.

Student housing
Florida International University's student housing facilities are managed by the Office of Housing and Residential Life and are available on both the main campus and the Biscayne Bay Campus. Currently, there are 3,009 beds distributed throughout 10 apartment buildings and 6 residence halls. At University Park, these are the University Park Apartments, Panther Hall, the University Park Towers, Everglades Hall, Lakeview Hall North, and Lakeview Hall South. At the Biscayne Bay Campus, housing is available in Bay Vista Hall. Together, approximately 7% of FIU's student population lives on-campus in student housing (not including Greek housing).

The Office of Housing and Residential Life also offers optional communities in the residence halls. These communities include the Architecture and Arts Community, for students majoring in Architecture or art-related majors, Honors Place for Honors College students, F.Y.R.S.T. (First Year Residents Succeeding Together) for all freshmen in any major, F.Y.R.S.T. Explore, for undecided freshmen, Leader's in Residence for students interested in civic service and leadership opportunities and the Law Community for College of Law students.

As of 2011, plans are underway for two new residence halls for 1,240 students, called Parkview Hall to be built on the Panther Hall parking lot, north of FIU Stadium. Parkview Hall will be built in two phases in two separate buildings, each housing 620 and 600 students respectively, to be completed by Fall 2013 and Fall 2016.

Libraries
FIU has six libraries, Green Library, FIU's main library; the Glenn Hubert Library (Biscayne Bay Campus), the Wolfsonian Library, the Engineering Library, the Law Library, and the Medical Library.

Green Library
Green Library is FIU's main library, and is the largest building on-campus, and one of the largest libraries in the Southeastern United States. Originally designed by Architect David M. Harper in 1973, the Green Library was expanded by the architecture firm M. C. Harry & Associates, Inc. in the early 1990s to its current eight floors, with a capacity to expand to a total of 15 floors if expansions are necessary. This eight floor structure was built around the original three-story library while it was still in use.

The first floor of the building has numerous offices, classrooms, auditorium spaces, a snack stop, and a Starbucks. The second floor has the reference section, cartography, circulation, and numerous computer and printing labs. The third and fourth floors are the home of the Medical Library, as well as a resource center for students of the Honors College, special collections section, archives, and study lounges. The fifth floor is the home of the School of Architecture Library, as well as the music and audiovisual sections. The sixth, seventh, and eighth floors are strictly quiet floors, and contain the general collection floors, numerous student study lounges, and library administration offices.

Law and Engineering libraries
Other libraries at University Park include the three-story College of Law Library in Diaz-Balart Hall, the Engineering Library, and the Medical Library. The Law Library opened in 2002, and has three floors, with all three holding the library's general collection. The third floor has a two-story, quiet reading room, as well as numerous study lounges. Although the Law Library is restricted to Law students, other students may use the library for research purposes. The Engineering Library is located on the second floor of the main building of the Engineering Center.

Medical Library
The FIU Medical Library opened in August 2009 at the same time as the opening of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. The Medical Library offers a rich array of resources, services, and instructional support to advance the teaching and learning, discovery, and healthcare programs of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and is currently located on the third floor of Green Library building. Future construction of buildings for the College of Medicine will include a new space for the Medical Library outside of Green Library.

Wolfsonian and Glenn Hubert libraries
The Wolfsonian Library is located at the Wolfsonian-FIU Museum in South Beach, on the corner of Washington Avenue and 10th Street. The collection focuses exclusively on architecture, art, design, and history of the Western World from 1885 to 1945. The library serves mostly as a research library with an extensive collection of primary sources. For students, prior approval from the staff is needed to enter the library. The Glenn Hubert Library, previously named the 'Biscayne Bay Library', is the main, and sole library at the Biscayne Bay Campus.

Together, the entire FIU university-wide Library holdings include over 2,097,207 volumes, 52,511 current serials, 3,587,663 microform units, and 163,715 audio visual units.

International Hurricane Research Center
The International Hurricane Research Center (IHRC) is the nation’s only university-based research facility dedicated to mitigating the damage tropical storms inflict on people, the economy, and the environment. The IHRC is home to four institutes: the Laboratory for Coastal Research; the Laboratory for Social Science Research; the Laboratory for Insurance, Financial & Economic Research; and the Laboratory for Wind Engineering Research, as well as the FIU Wall of Wind. This first-of-its-kind testing system consists of a series of large industrial fans powered by race car engines. It produces a wind field equivalent to a Category Four hurricane. Not to be confused with the National Hurricane Center (also located at University Park), the IHRC is located on the western side of the campus.

Construction and expansion
In the early 2000s (decade), emphasis at FIU was placed on growth in degree programs and student enrollment. Since 2005 however, student enrollment has been capped and emphasis is now being placed on improving the quality of the existing academic programs. With the addition of the College of Medicine, the demand for facilities and classroom space has greatly increased. Future projects and/or buildings under construction include:

Construction: 2012 and onward

 * Ambulatory Care Center (Stempel Complex) - to be completed by 2013
 * Expansion to FIU Stadium - Expansion for 45,000 fans to be done in four separate phases (Phase I and II have been completed, Phase III and IV are projected to be completed from around 2011 to 2013)
 * Stocker Astroscience Center - to be completed in December 2012
 * Parkview Hall- 1,200-bed residence hall, broke ground in March 2012
 * Stempel Medical Complex - to be completed in late 2013
 * Student Academic Support Center - to be completed in late 2013
 * Alumni Center- funding plans underway

Campus transportation
Miami-Dade Transit serves University Park with Metrobus lines 8, 11, 24, and 71. Metrobus lines 75 and 135 serve the Biscayne Bay Campus. Bus lines 8, 11 and the 24 directly connect FIU with Downtown Miami.

Two distinct FIU-operated bus lines are available. The CATS Shuttle runs between University Park and the Engineering Center, and the Golden Panther Express, from University Park to the Biscayne Bay Campus.

The CATS Shuttle connects University Park from the Graham Center bus stop and the Engineering and Computer Sciences Building, to the Engineering Center on Flagler Street and 107th Avenue. The CATS Shuttle is free and runs roughly every 30 minutes between 7am to 10pm Monday through Friday. The Golden Panther Express connects the Biscayne Bay Campus to University Park. It runs from 7am to 11pm Monday through Thursday, 7am to approximately 8pm on Fridays, and costs $2.50 each way. The Golden Panther Express departs from the Graham Center bus stop at the main campus, and the Academic 1 bus stop at the Biscayne Bay Campus.

Greek life
FIU has over 30 fraternities and sororities divided into four governing councils: the Interfraternity Council (IFC), the Panhellenic Council (PC), the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), and the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC). The Order of Omega, a Greek honor society, has had a chapter at the university since 1991 and represents the academic top 3% of FIU Greeks.

The Interfraternity Council (IFC) comprises 13 fraternities. The Panhellenic Council (PC) is made up of 7 sororities. The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) comprises 8 historically black organizations, (4 fraternities and 4 sororities). The Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) consists of 7 cultural organizations for Latinos, Asians, and South Asians, (4 fraternities and 3 sororities).

Student media
FIUSM is the umbrella organization for The Beacon, the student-run newspaper; FIUSM.com, the student-run news and media website; and WRGP Radiate FM, the student-run radio station. Each organization's directors are selected by the Student Media board on a yearly basis.

The Beacon is the FIU student newspaper since 1965. The Beacon is published thrice weekly in a compact format during the Fall and Spring semesters (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and once a week on Wednesday during the Summer. It is split into five unique sections, News, reporting a mix of university, local and national events, At the Bay for news on the Biscayne Bay Campus, Sports, Opinion and Life! The Beacon is available free campus-wide in the residence halls, the Graham Center and all campus buildings.

FIUSM.com is the FIU student-run media website since 2008. FIUSM.com publishes content generated by the Student Media team, including text, audio, and video.

WRGP Radiate FM is FIU's student-run radio station since 1984. It broadcasts on 95.3 MHz at the University Park Campus and on 96.9 MHz at the Biscayne Bay Campus. The signal originates in Homestead on 88.1 MHz and a broadcast translator rebroadcasts WRGP's signal to the University Park Campus and later again translated to the Biscayne Bay Campus.

Arts and culture
FIU has two museums, the Frost Art Museum and the Wolfsonian-FIU Museum. The Frost Art Museum is located on Modesto A. Maidique campus and was opened in 1977 as The Art Museum at Florida International University. The Frost Art Museum's Permanent Collection consists of a broad array of art objects from ancient cultural artifacts to contemporary works of art. The Wolfsonian-FIU Museum is located in Miami Beach and promotes the collection, preservation and understanding of decorative art and design from the period from 1885 to 1945. FIU also has a large sculpture collection, named the Sculpture Park at FIU, with sculptures from such prominent artists as Anthony Caro, Jacques Lipchitz, Daniel Joseph Martinez, and Tony Rosenthal. Many different art structures, statues, paintings and mosaics can be seen throughout campus in gardens, buildings, walkways, and on walls.

The School of Theatre and Dance produces a wide variety of live student performances, and the School of Music presents an annual fall series of concerts that showcase talent in a variety of genres. The festival features FIU musicians as well as distinguished visiting performers. Many plays, musicals, concerts, operas, and dance shows are produced each year, through the School of Theatre, Dance, & Speech Communication at FIU's Wertheim Performing Arts Center.

FIU annually hosts the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival in South Beach through the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, a major national culinary event.

Student Government Association


The Student Government Association presides over and funds the over 300 student clubs and organizations and honor societies at the university and has an operating budget of over $11 million. The Student Government Association is split into three branches, with the Executive, a Legislative Student Senate, and Judicial Supreme Court. Due to the unique nature of a multi-campus university, the President of Modesto Maidique Campus (University Park) serves as the Student Representative on the University's Board of Trustees, the current President and Trustee is Patrick O'Keefe, while the current president for the Biscayne Bay Campus is Denise Halpin who also serves as a member of the Foundation Board.



The Student Government contains five separate governing councils- the Student Programming Council, the Council for Student Organizations, which represents the over 200 or more student clubs and organizations, the Homecoming Council, Black Student Union, and Panther Power, the student spirit group. The Panther Power group can be seen in all Golden Panthers athletic events along with the Golden Panthers Band, the Golden Dazzlers dance team and the Golden Panthers cheerleaders. In 2004, MTV's Campus Invasion Tour was held at FIU, bringing numerous bands such as Hoobastank to FIU.

Order of the Torch
The Order of the Torch is a semi-secret honorary leadership society akin to other secret societies in the state such as Florida Blue Key at the University of Florida, and the Iron Arrow Honor Society at the University of Miami. The organization is rumored to have been founded in 2003 as a way of organizing student leadership to restructure student life to mirror that of a traditional university. Members now include students, faculty, staff and community members, including FIU alumni Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez (class of 1974). Top leadership in Student Government, Homecoming, and the most elite campus fraternal organizations, rank among its members.

Spirit traditions
FIU has many traditions from student spirit groups, alumni association events and student spirit events. Panther Rage, one of FIU's largest student spirit groups are seen at all the athletics events.

FIU also holds many Golden Panther spirit events throughout the year. Some of these include, Panther Camp held in the Summer prior to the Fall term for incoming freshmen, where students spend a weekend in a retreat center learning all the traditional Golden Panther cheers, chants, traditions meeting other incoming students. Started in 2006, Panther Camp has grown quickly in popularity from only 25 participants in 2006 to over 120 participants in 2007. In 2008, Panther Camp expanded to two camps with a combined total of 240 freshman participants. Panther Camp is expected to grow in size for Summer 2010, as the waiting list has continued to double from year to year. Freshmen who participate are more likely to get involved in Student Life than other students.

Week of Welcome, usually held the first or second week of the Fall semester holds many spirit events, such as Trail of the Torch. Trail of the Torch is another university tradition that has continued to grow annually, where a pep rally is held in the Housing Quad with music, food, giveaways and dancing. After the pep rally, the torch of knowledge is lit and blue and gold candles are distributed to the crowd for the procession around the campus, trailing the torch from the Housing Quad to the torch in front of the Primera Casa building. Rage Week and Homecoming Week are other major back-to-back spirit weeks held in the Fall semester. They include the Homecoming Parade, Greek Row parties, Homecoming football game, Blue/Gold Party, pep rallies and other Panther Rage events.

Superstitions and legends
There are many other traditions at FIU that are not spirit-related. The large cube in front of Deuxième Maison is said to give good luck in exams and tests and thus is spun by hundreds of students every semester. During final exams, a line forms around the cube with people waiting to be able to spin the cube for good luck on their exams. The "Kissing Bridge" tradition in Turtle Pond in between the Ryder Business Building and Green Library. The tradition is that if you kiss someone on the bridge you will stay with them forever. The top floor of Green Library is said to be haunted; students have reported a friendly ghost that wanders the halls minutes before the library closes at night. Another superstition is that if a student steps on the seal engraved in front of the Graham Center and in the WUC at the Biscayne Bay Campus, the university's student union, it is said that they will delay their graduation for many years, or never graduate at all, and thus even on crowded days, students go around the seal to avoid stepping on it.

Athletics




Florida International University has seventeen varsity sports teams, named the Golden Panthers. The Golden Panthers' athletic colors are blue and gold, and compete in the NCAA Division I as part of the Sun Belt Conference in all sports except for men's soccer (which competes in Conference USA as an affiliate member). Three main sports facilities serve as home venues for Golden Panther athletics. The Golden Panthers football team plays at FIU Stadium ("The Cage"), the men and women's basketball and volleyball teams play at the U.S. Century Bank Arena, and the men's baseball team plays at FIU Baseball Stadium. Other athletics venues include the Aquatic Center, Tennis Complex, softball fields, and various other recreational fields. U.S Century Bank Arena will undergo an expansion that will include more seating and a more modern entrance. The expansion was completed in late 2011. On July 1, 2013, FIU will move up to Conference USA.

Traditional rivals of the FIU Golden Panthers include Florida Atlantic University and the University of Miami. The Golden Panthers football team competes in the annual Shula Bowl, a yearly football game played for the Don Shula Award against in-state rival Florida Atlantic University. Due to this competition in the Shula Bowl, the rivalry between the two schools has grown, with the rivalry extending into the men's baseball and basketball teams as well.

The Golden Panthers football team plays home games at FIU Stadium nicknamed "The Cage" and are currently coached by Mario Cristobal. In 2005, the Golden Panthers moved to the Sun Belt Conference, making their transition from Division I-FCS to Division I-FBS complete. In their first season in the conference, the Golden Panthers began by going 5-6. FIU's athletics department has produced many professional and Olympic athletes, including current players in Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, National Basketball Association, National Football League and the Women's National Basketball Association. Notable alumni include Mike Lowell (Boston Red Sox), Raja Bell (Utah Jazz), and Carlos Arroyo (Boston Celtics).

In 2009, FIU hired NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas as head coach of the men's basketball team. In 2010, the Panthers football team finished the season #1 as Sun Belt Conference champions, and went on to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl against Toledo on December 26, 2010. The game was won 34-32 in a fourth quarter play that became known as the "Motor City Miracle."

Notable alumni
With over 180,000 alumni around the world, the FIU Golden Panthers constitute one of the fastest-growing university alumni groups in the state of Florida. FIU graduates more than 10,000 students a year and confers more than half of all degrees awarded by universities in Miami. Alumni services is run by the FIU Alumni Association, which sponsors numerous alumni events, galas, and ceremonies annually.

In conjunction with the Office of Alumni Relations, the Division of External Affairs publishes a quarterly news and alumni magazine, "FIU Magazine". FIU Magazine is distributed free of charge to all FIU alumni, faculty and donors.

FIU in television and entertainment
FIU's campus has been the set for many films, television shows, and music videos. One of the earliest television shows to have filmed at FIU was Miami Vice in 1985. In the episode, "The Fix", the U.S. Century Bank Arena was used as one of the scenes. The TV show Burn Notice has also filmed various episodes at FIU, with scenes at the College of Business Buildings and the Diaz-Balart College of Law Building. In 2007, Chris Brown filmed the music video for his song "Kiss Kiss" at FIU, with scenes near the Frost Art Museum and around the Graham Center. Various telenovelas for Telemundo and Univision have filmed television episodes at FIU as well. In 2007, Telemundo's Pecados Ajenos was filmed in the Graham Center.

In 2009, TLC's What Not to Wear filmed an episode on campus at the Management and Advanced Research Center. In October 2009, former CNN news anchor Rick Sanchez broadcast his CNN show from the Graham Center at FIU. The new A&E show The Glades shot an episode at University Park, using the Frost Art Museum as a background and the Health and Life Sciences building as the façade for a NASA Administrative Building.

In 2011, the FIU Drumline appeared in the music video "Champion" by Nelly. The FIU Band and Drumline continue to take part in many parades, and shows, including appearances on Univision, the 2011 Florida Lottery commercial, and many others.