| 1958 |
Brevard
Engineering College is founded by by Dr. Jerome P. Keuper to
offer continuing education opportunities to scientists, engineers
and technicians who are working for NASA at Cape Canaveral.
working at what is now Kennedy Space Center. The new school
grew quickly, in many ways paralleling the rapid development
of space technology that was taking place at Cape Canaveral. |
| 1961 |
The
university moves to its current Melbourne campus in 1961 and
began construction of administration and classroom buildings.
During the 1960s, additional classroom and laboratory buildings,
a library, the Denius Student Center, Hedgecock Gymnasium,
Gleason Auditorium and several dormitories are all constructed,
and as the decade ends, the seven-story Crawford Building is
being completed. |
| 1964 |
The
college is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools and is the only such independent institution in
the Southeast. |
| 1966 |
University
officially changes its name to Florida Institute of Technology
in acknowledgement of its growing identity as a scientific
and technological university. |
| 1972 |
The
university’s first off-campus program is launched in
Maryland in 1972 at the request of the U.S. Navy. Today, the
program extends master’s-level work at nine locations
in six states and via the Virtual Graduate Center through the
Extended Campus distance learning program. |
| 1974 |
Originally,
all graduate students attended classes on a part-time basis,
but by 1974, nearly half of those enrolled are full-time students,
able to choose their master’s studies from some 14 diverse
areas. |
early
1980s
|
The
new Evans Library is completed. |
| 1985 |
In
1985, the original library is renovated and dedicated as the
Jerome P. Keuper Administration Building. |
| 1986 |
In July 1986, Dr. John E. Miller
is named the second president of the university. The title of
President Emeritus is bestowed upon the late Drs. Keuper and
Miller. |
| 1987 |
The
university’s third president, Dr. Lynn Edward Weaver,
takes office. Dr. Weaver, who retired in 2002, oversaw dramatic
changes at Florida Tech. |
| 1988 |
The
Homer R. Denius Student Center is renovated, the student plaza
is completed and the Applied Research Laboratory Building is
acquired. |
| 1990 |
The
Claude Pepper Institute for Aging and Therapeutic Research
and Skurla Hall, home of the School of Aeronautics, both opened. |
| 1997 |
Florida
Tech receives a $50 million grant from the F.W. Olin Foundation. |
| 1999 |
As
a result of this grant, two major facilities are completed
in the fall of 1999—an Engineering Complex and a Life
Sciences Building. Construction of the new Charles and Ruth
Clemente Center for Sports and Recreation is made possible
by a generous gift from a Florida Tech trustee and his wife,
and the F.W. Olin Foundation. Among its many features the state-of-the-art
facility houses varsity and intramural courts, a complete fitness
center, aerobics room, walking track and the athletics department
offices. |
| 2002 |
Dr.
Anthony James Catanese becomes the fourth president of the
university. Dr. Catanese joins Florida Tech after a dozen successful
years as the president of Florida Atlantic University. A well-regarded
urban planner, Dr. Catanese also holds the position of professor
in Florida Tech’s College of Business. He is a prolific
writer, having authored 13 books and more than 65 journal articles. |
| Construction is completed
on seven new residence halls, which are named for each of the
seven fallen astronauts of the Shuttle Columbia and dedicated
to their memory. |
