University of Florida

The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant major research university located on a 2,000-acre (8.1 km2) campus in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States. The university is one of 62 elected members of the Association of American Universities. The University of Florida was founded in 1853, and has been recognized as a "Public Ivy" UF is currently ranked 49th overall among national universities in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report rankings.

The University of Florida is a flagship university of the State University System of Florida and one of the largest universities in the United States, with 51,413 students as of fall 2008. It is the largest comprehensive university in the state of Florida and has one of the largest budgets in the United States at nearly $4.377 billion per year. UF is home to 17 colleges and more than 150 research centers and institutes. As of the 2007-2008 academic year, UF ranked twelfth among all institutions in the number of new National Merit Scholar students enrolled. Researchers at the University of Florida developed the famous sports drink Gatorade.

The University of Florida offers many graduate programs—including engineering, business, law and medicine—on one contiguous site, and coordinates 123 master's degree programs and 76 doctoral degree programs in 87 schools and departments.

The University of Florida NCAA Division I athletic teams, referred to as the Florida Gators, compete in Southeastern Conference. Alligators named Albert and Alberta are the official mascots. Throughout the school's history, the University of Florida's athletic program has earned 22 total National Championships.

History

The institutional history dates back to 1851, when the Florida Legislature created two seminaries, one west of the Suwannee River, and the other to the east. Century Tower - A tribute to the students and alumni who perished in both World War I and World War II.

In 1853, UF's official date of founding, Gilbert Kingsbury was the first man to take advantage of the legislation passed in 1851 and established the East Florida Seminary (EFS) in Ocala, Florida. The East Florida Seminary was the first state-supported institution of higher learning in Florida. James Henry Roper, an educator from North Carolina and a state senator from Alachua County, built a school, the Gainesville Academy, around the same time.[citation needed] In 1866, after EFS had closed due to the American Civil War, Roper offered his land and school to the state of Florida in exchange for the relocation of East Florida Seminary to Gainesville. His offer was accepted and the current site of the University of Florida was built in its place.Epworth Hall, the main building of East Florida Seminary, still stands in downtown Gainesville, but is not on UF's campus today.

In 1985, Florida became a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a higher-education organization composed of 62 public and private institutions in North America. UF is one of only 17 public, land-grant universities that belongs to the association. In 2009, President Bernie Machen and the Board of Trustees stipulated that they are going to have the University of Florida go thru a major transition. The Board of Trustees supported the reduction of the number of undergraduates and shifting resources to graduate education and research in the future.

The University of Florida has continued to rise in the U.S. News & World Report college and university rankings. In 2001, UF was labeled a Public Ivy and was 2nd in Kiplinger's 2009 "Best Buys of Education" (behind the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). U.S. News currently ranks UF as the 49th overall best university; the state of Florida and UF alumni are actively making a concerted effort to become a Top-10 overall public.

Research

The University of Florida, the state's largest university and one of the biggest research universities in the nation, contributes nearly $6 billion annually to Florida's economy and is responsible for nearly 75,000 jobs. The Milken Institute named UF one of the top-five U.S. institutions in the transfer of biotechnology research to the marketplace (2006). Some 50 biotechnology companies have resulted from faculty research programs. UF consistently ranks among the top-10 universities in licensing. Royalty and licensing income includes the glaucoma drug Trusopt, the sports drink Gatorade, and the Sentricon termite elimination system. The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, ranked #1 by the NSF in Research and Development, is part of the Flagship University and the current Vice President is Dr. Larry Arrington. It should also be noted that the UF is currently ranked seventh among all private & public universities for the total number of patents awarded for 2005.

Library

The University of Florida's libraries is the largest most extensive information resource system in the state. In total, the University of Florida has ten libraries, and over 4 million volumes of books and journals (pre-renovations) and 7 million microfilms. Collections cover virtually all disciplines and include a wide array of formats – from books and journals to manuscripts, maps, and recorded music. Increasingly collections are digital and are accessible on the Internet via the library web page or the library catalog.

Academic Reputation

The University of Florida was ranked in 2008 by U.S. News & World Report as 49th overall among "National universities" in the United States. In addition U.S. News in 2009 ranked UF as one of the Top 10 most popular colleges in the United States, this ranking is determined by institutions with the highest yield rates. The 2007 Academic Ranking of World Universities list assessed the University of Florida as 51st among world universities and 38th in the United States based on overall research output and faculty awards. In the "2007 National College Ranking", U.S.News & World Report America's Best Colleges 2009 UF's Overall Ranking Overall #35, Washington Monthly ranked the University of Florida 26th overall. For 2007, Newsweek ranked UF one of the "Top 25 Hottest Schools". According to the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities in 2009, the University of Florida ranks 22nd best all around.

Another ranking by Research Center for Chinese Science Evaluation of Wuhan University ranks UF 37th in the world. The ranking is based on Essential Science Indicators (ESI), which provides data of journal article publication counts and citation frequencies in over 11,000 journals around the world in 22 research fields.

UF ranked 2nd among all universities in Kiplinger's "100 Best Values in Public Colleges" (2006, 2007 & 2008) and 4th in The Scientist magazine's "Best Places to Work in Academia" (2005); UF was also ranked the best overall in top values amongst all the public flagship universities by USA Today (2006). UF admitted 1,049 International Baccalaureate students for the 2004-2005 academic year - more than any other university in the world. The freshmen retention rate of 94 percent is among the highest in the U.S.
UF's ranked college placement 13th best by "The Princeton Review" in its "2009 Best 368 Colleges Rankings".

Colleges

Agricultural and Life Sciences,

College ofBusiness Administration,

Warrington College ofDesign,

Construction and Planning,

College ofDentistry,

College ofEducation, College of

Engineering, College of

Fine Arts, College of

Health and Human Performance, College of

Journalism and Communications, College of

Law, Levin College of

Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of

Medicine, College of

Nursing, College of

Pharmacy, College of

Public Health and Health Professions, College of

Veterinary Medicine, College of

University of Florida was ranked 165th in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking