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Institutional
Purpose
The University of Florida is a public, land-grant, sea-grant and space-grant
research university, one of the most comprehensive in the United States,
encompassing virtually all academic and professional disciplines. It is
the largest and one of the oldest of Florida's 11 universities and is
a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU). Its faculty
and staff are dedicated to the common pursuit of the university's threefold
mission: teaching, research and service.
Teaching-undergraduate and graduate through the doctorate-is the fundamental
purpose of the university. Research and scholarship are integral to the
education process and to expanding humankind's understanding of the natural
world, the mind and the senses. Service is the university's obligation
to share the benefits of its knowledge for the public good.
Mission
The University of Florida faculty renews its commitment to serve the citizens
of Florida and educate students so they are prepared to make significant
contributions within an increasingly global community. In affirming the
university's academic mission, we honor the human component of our mission:
our students, faculty, staff and administrators; and recognize the importance
of these human resources to the university's success. Towards this affirmation,
the University of Florida faculty specifically encourages a campus-wide
culture of caring.
It is the mission of the University of Florida to offer broad-based, exclusive
public education, leading-edge research and service to the citizens of
Florida, the nation and the world. The fusion of these three endeavors
stimulates a remarkable intellectual vitality and generates a synthesis
that promises to be the university's greatest strength.
The university maintains its dedication to excellent teaching and researching
by creating a strong and flexible foundation for higher education in the
21st century. While the faculty remains committed to key aspects of the
university's original mission, changing times will require that we continually
expand and evaluate our academic aspiration. We do this in order to assure
that quality education at the University of Florida remains the highest
goal and most valued contribution to society.
The University of Florida belongs to a tradition of great universities.
The faculty and staff of the university are dedicated to the common pursuit
of its mission of education, research and service. Together with our undergraduate
and graduate students we participate in an educational process that links
the history of Western Europe with the traditions and cultures of all
societies, that explores the physical and biological universes, and that
nurtures generations of young people from diverse backgrounds to address
the needs of our societies. The university welcomes the full exploration
of our intellectual boundaries and supports our faculty and students in
the creation of new knowledge and the pursuit of new ideas.
Teaching is a fundamental purpose of this university at both the undergraduate
and graduate levels. Research and scholarship are integral to the education
process and to the expansion of our understanding of the natural world,
the intellect and the senses. Service reflects the university's obligation
to share the benefits of its research and knowledge for the public good.
These three interlocking elements span all of the university's academic
disciplines and represent the university's commitment to lead and serve
the State of Florida, the nation, and the world by pursuing and disseminating
new knowledge while building upon the experiences of the past. The University
of Florida aspires to advance the state, nation and the international
community by strengthening the human condition and improving the quality
of life.
Commitment
to Diversity
The University of Florida is committed to creating a community that reflects
the rich racial, cultural and ethnic diversity of the state and nation.
No challenge that exists in higher education has greater importance than
the challenge of enrolling students and hiring faculty and staff who are
members of diverse racial, cultural or ethnic minority groups. This pluralism
enriches the university community, offers opportunity for robust academic
dialogue and contributes to better teaching and research. The university
and its components benefit from the richness of a multicultural student
body, faculty and staff who can learn from one another. Such diversity
will empower and inspire respect and understanding among us. The university
does not tolerate the actions of anyone who violates the rights of another.
The university will strive to embody, through policy and practice, a diverse
community. Our collective efforts will lead to a university that is truly
diverse and reflects the state and nation.
History
The University of Florida traces its beginnings to 1853 when the state-funded
East Florida Seminary acquired the private Kingsbury Academy in Ocala.
After the Civil War, the seminary was moved to Gainesville. It was consolidated
with the state's land-grant Florida Agricultural College, then in Lake
City, to become the University of Florida in 1906. Until 1947, UF enrolled
men only and was one of only three state universities. The others were
Florida State College for Women (now FSU) and Florida A&M. In 1947,
the student body numbered 8,177 men and 601 women.
UF, the sixth largest university in the nation, celebrates its sesquicentennial
anniversary (150th) in 2003. Visit www.ufl.edu/150 for a list of the many
activities planned to mark this event.
Government of the University
A 13-member Board of Trustees governs the University of Florida. Six of
the trustees are appointed by the governor, and five are appointed by
the 17-member Florida Board of Governors, which governs the state university
system as a whole. The university's student body president and faculty
senate chair also serve on the Board of Trustees as ex officio members.
Trustees are appointed for staggered five-year terms.
The University of Florida Board of Trustees is a public body corporate
with all the powers and duties set forth by law and by the Board of Governors.
The University of Florida president serves as the executive officer and
corporate secretary of the Board of Trustees and is responsible to the
board for all operations of the university. University affairs are administered
by the president through the university administration, with the advice
and assistance of the Faculty Senate, various committees appointed by
the president, and other groups or individuals as requested by the president.
Students
University of Florida students, numbering more than 47,373 in Fall 2002,
come from more than 100 countries, all 50 states, and each of the 67 counties
in Florida. The ratio of men to women is 48/52. Seventy-two percent of
UF students are undergraduates (34,031), 21 percent are graduate students
(9,931) and 7 percent (3,411) are in the professional programs of dentistry,
law, medicine, pharmacy and veterinary medicine.
Approximately 3,498 African-American students, 4,717 Hispanic students
and 3,087Asian-American students attend UF. More than 90 percent of entering
freshmen rank above the national mean of scores on standard entrance exams
taken by college-bound students. UF consistently ranks among the top five
public universities in the nation in the number of enrolled National Merit
Scholars, Achievement Scholars, International Baccalaureate graduates
and Advance Placement score recipients.
Faculty
The university has approximately 4,000 distinguished faculty members with
outstanding reputations for teaching, research and service. The faculty
attracted $437.2 million in research and training grants in 2001-02.
UF currently has 60 eminent scholar chairs, positions funded at more than
$1 million each to attract nationally and internationally recognized scholars.
A variety of other endowed professorships help attract prominent faculty.
More than two dozen faculty are members of the National Academies of Science
and/or Engineering, the Institute of Medicine or a counterpart in another
nation. Also, in a national ranking of total Fulbright Awards for 2000-01,
UF ranks 4th among AAU public universities, with five visiting scholars
and 10 American scholars.
A very small sampling of honored faculty includes: a Nobel Laureate, Pulitzer
Prize winners in editorial writing and poetry, inventors of Gatorade and
Bioglass (a man-made material that bonds with human tissue), one of the
four charter members of the Solar Hall of Fame, and an art faculty with
80 percent of its members in Who's Who in American Art.
Programs
The University of Florida is among the nation's 151 leading research universities
as categorized in 2000 by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.
UF is one of 63 members of the Association of American Universities, the
nation's most prestigious higher education organization. The university
is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866 Southern
Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097: Telephone number
404-679-4501) - Commission
on Colleges to award the degrees of bachelor, master, specialist and engineer,
as well as doctoral and professional degrees. It has 21 colleges and schools
and more than 100 interdisciplinary research and education centers, bureaus,
and institutes. Almost 100 undergraduate degree programs are offered.
The Graduate School coordinates more than 200 graduate programs throughout
the university's colleges and schools. Professional postbaccalaureate
degrees are offered in dentistry, law, medicine, pharmacy and veterinary
medicine.
Last year, more than 32,000 people took advantage of the many university-sponsored
opportunities made available through the Division of Continuing Education.
More than 25,000 people participated in non-credit conferences, workshops,
institutes, and seminars. More than 7,500 students are enrolled in Independent
Study by Correspondence courses, both credit and non-credit.
Semester
System
UF operates on a semester system. The academic year begins and ends in
August. There are two semesters averaging 15 weeks of instruction, plus
a week of final examinations and two six-week summer terms. Semesters
begin in August, January, and May, with summer term offered as a whole
as Term C, or in two sessions as half terms, with Term A beginning in
May and Term B beginning in June.
Facilities
On 2,000 acres, most of it within the limits of a 100,000-population urban
area, the university operates out of 902 buildings, 176 of them equipped
with classrooms and laboratories. Facilities are valued at approximately
$982.7 million. Notable among these are the Brain Institute, the physics
building, University Art Gallery, a microkelvin laboratory capable of
producing some of the coldest temperatures in the universe, a 100-kilowatt
training and research nuclear reactor, the second largest academic computing
center in the South, and a self-contained intensive-care hyperbaric chamber
for treating near-drowning victims.
The Florida Museum of Natural History is the largest natural history/anthropology
museum in the Southeast, and one of the top 10 in the nation. Its research
collections contain nearly 6.5 million specimens.
The Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, with 18,000 square feet of exhibit space,
is one of the largest museums in the Southeast. The Curtis M. Phillips
Center for the Performing Arts attracts world-class symphony orchestras,
Broadway plays, operas, and large-scale ballet productions to Gainesville.
The Stephen C. O'Connell Center and the J. Wayne Reitz Union provide space
for a myriad of student and faculty activities. One thousand persons can
participate simultaneously in eight different recreational activities
in the O'Connell Center, which is home to the Gator basketball, volleyball,
swimming and gymnastics teams. More than 20,000 use the student union
daily for dining, meeting, bowling, pool and other games, arts and crafts,
music listening and TV viewing.
Campus Safety
and Security
The University of Florida is an open campus and can rightly be considered
a city within a city. As such, the campus is not immune to the same security
issues that affect other parts of the Gainesville community.
The university recognizes that it must develop and maintain a safe and
secure environment for its students, faculty and staff.
The university has the utmost concern for the safety of each student,
and it strives to give each student maximum freedom. With this freedom,
however, comes the responsibility to exercise personal safety.
No community's security plan can attain maximum effectiveness unless everyone
in the community contributes to making it work. Safety and security are
personal and shared responsibilities. Only by accepting this responsibility
can members of the university community maintain a safe and secure campus
environment.
The University Police Department has close to 100 sworn officers, with
the addition of a dozen new officers since 1990. UF also has instituted
a voluntary apartment safety program, in cooperation with local law enforcement,
to advise students of those apartment complexes that have been inspected
by police for safety.
Standard
of Ethical Conduct
Honesty, integrity and caring are essential qualities of an educational
institution, and the concern for values and ethics is important to the
whole educational experience. Individual students, faculty and staff members,
as well as the university's formal organizations, must assume responsibility
for these qualities. The concern for values and ethics should be expressed
in classes, seminars, laboratories and, in fact, in all aspects of university
life. By definition, the university community includes members of the
faculty, staff and administration as well as students.
Education at the University of Florida is not an ethically neutral experience.
The university stands for, and seeks to inculcate, high standards. Moreover,
the concern for values goes well beyond the observance of rules.
A university is a place where self-expression, voicing disagreement and
challenging outmoded customs and beliefs are prized and honored. However,
all such expressions need to be civil, manifesting respect for others.
As a major sector in the community, students are expected to follow the
university's rules and regulations that, by design, promote an atmosphere
of learning. Faculty, staff and administration are expected to provide
encouragement, leadership and example.
While the university seeks to educate and encourage, it also must restrict
behavior that adversely affects others. The Standard of Ethical Conduct
summarizes what is expected of the members of the university community.
Academic
Honesty
The university requires all members of its community to be honest in all
endeavors. A fundamental principle is that the whole process of learning
and pursuit of knowledge is diminished by cheating, plagiarism and other
acts of academic dishonesty. In addition, every dishonest act in the academic
environment affects other students adversely, from the skewing of the
grading curve to giving unfair advantage for honors or for professional
or graduate school admission. Therefore, the university will take severe
action against dishonest students. Similarly, measures will be taken against
faculty, staff and administrators who practice dishonest or demeaning
behavior.
Student Responsibility. Students should report any condition that facilitates
dishonesty to the instructor, department chair, college dean or Student
Honor Court.
Faculty Responsibility. Faculty members have a duty to promote honest
behavior and to avoid practices and environments that foster cheating
in their classes. Teachers should encourage students to bring negative
conditions or incidents of dishonesty to their attention. In their own
work, teachers should practice the same high standards they expect from
their students.
Administration Responsibility. As highly visible members of our academic
community, administrators should be ever vigilant to promote academic
honesty and conduct their lives in an ethically exemplary manner.
Alcohol and
Drugs
The use of alcohol and other drugs can have a negative impact on judgments
and reactions, health and safety, and may lead to legal complications as
well.
- The University's Role. The university's principal role is to engage
in education that leads to high standards and respectful conduct. When
those are compromised, it will take disciplinary action against organizations
and individuals violating either the law or the unreasonable use of
alcohol. It also must provide help for students who are alcohol-dependent.
The university will deal severely with students convicted of the illegal
possession, use, or sale of drugs.
- What the University Community Can Do to Prevent Alcohol Abuse and
Drug Use. Students can help control substance abuse by declining to
use or condone the use of drugs and by insisting that organizations
and individuals use alcohol within the bounds of the law and reasonable
conduct. Students should make an effort to prevent persons who have
abused alcohol or used drugs from harming themselves or others, especially
in driving a motor vehicle. They should encourage those needing professional
help to seek it. The same standards and regulations apply equally to
faculty, staff and administration.
Relations
Between People and Groups
One of the major benefits of higher education and membership in the university
community is greater knowledge of and respect for other groups, religious,
racial and cultural. Indeed, genuine appreciation for individual differences
and cultural diversity is essential to the environment of learning.
Another major aspect of university life involves sexual relationships.
Sexual attitudes or actions that are intimidating, harassing, coercive
or abusive, or that invade the right to privacy of the individual are
not acceptable. Organizations or individuals that adversely upset the
balance of communal living are subject to university disciplinary action.
Only in an atmosphere of equality and respect can all members of the university
community grow.
Service
to Others
An important outcome of a University of Florida education should be a
commitment to serving other people. This sense of service should be encouraged
throughout the institution by faculty, administration, staff and students.
Through experience in helping individuals and the community, students
can put into practice the values they learn in the classroom.
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