"SUSF" redirects here. For the successor to Scottish Universities Sports Federation, see Scottish Universities Sport.
State University System of Florida
Public university system
Established1905 (age 121)
ChancellorRay Rodrigues
CityTallahassee
StateFlorida
CountryU.S.
Campus12 member institutions
ColorsBlue and gold  
Websitewww.flbog.edu
Enrollment430,000 (2023)

The State University System of Florida (SUSF or SUS) is a system of twelve public universities in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2018, over 341,000 students were enrolled in Florida's state universities.[1] Together with the Florida College System, which includes Florida's 28 community colleges and state colleges, it is part of Florida's system of public higher education. The system, headquartered in Tallahassee,[2] is overseen by a chancellor and governed by the Florida Board of Governors.

The Florida Board of Governors was created in 2003 to centralize the administration of the State University System of Florida. Previously, Florida's State University System had been governed by the Florida Board of Regents (1965–2001) and the Florida Board of Control (1905–1965).

History and governance

The system was created in Article IX, Section 7 of the Florida Constitution to support education, research, and public service for the people of Florida and their communities [3]. Prior to 1905, Florida's state institutions were governed by a Board of Education and even earlier variations thereof, reaching back to the Florida Constitution of 1838 wherein higher education and normal education was established, based on grants of land from the U.S. Congress. From 1905 to 1965, the few universities in the system were governed by the Florida Board of Control. The Board of Control was replaced by the Florida Board of Regents in 1965, to accommodate the growing university system.

The Board of Regents governed until it was disbanded by the Florida Legislature in 2001, and its authority was divided between the Florida Board of Education (which was given some authority over all levels of public education in the state), and appointed university boards of trustees, which operated independently for each separate institution. In 2002, Floridians led by U.S. senator Bob Graham passed an amendment to the Florida Constitution establishing a new statewide governing body, the Florida Board of Governors.

TermChancellor
1954–1968J. Broward Culpepper
1968–1975Robert B. Mautz
1975–1980E.T. York
1981–1985Barbara W. Newell
1985–1998Charles B. Reed
1998–2001Adam W. Herbert
2001Judy G. Hample
2003–2005Debra D. Austin
2005–2009Mark B. Rosenberg
2009–2013Frank T. Brogan
2014–2022Marshall Criser III
2023–presentRay Rodrigues
SUS Student Enrollment
YearStudents%±
1905620—
1910835+35%
19151,341+61%
19201,882+40%
19253,688+96%
19304,655+26%
19355,550+19%
19406,395+15%
19457,020+10%
195019,015+171%
195519,847+4%
196027,053+36%
196543,849+62%
197073,676+68%
1975115,334+57%
1980128,578+11%
1985146,692+14%
1990179,775+23%
1995208,493+16%
2000240,753+15%
2005287,375+19%
2010321,503+12%
2015345,672+8%
2020353,041+2%
2021354,186+0%
Sources:[4][5][6]

Universities within the system

State University System of Florida
InstitutionLocationEstablishedStart of instructionEnrollment (2021)Athletics
Florida State UniversityTallahassee1851[MI 1]185745,130[7]ACC (NCAA Division I)
University of FloridaGainesville1853[MI 1]185361,112[8]SEC (NCAA Division I)
Florida A&M UniversityTallahassee1887[MI 1]18879,000[9]SWAC (NCAA Division I)
University of South FloridaTampa1956196044,322[10]The American (NCAA Division I)
Florida Atlantic UniversityBoca Raton19611964[MI 2]30,155[11]The American (NCAA Division I)
University of West FloridaPensacola19631967[MI 3]13,317[12]Gulf South (NCAA Division II)
(ASUN, NCAA Division I in 2026)
University of Central FloridaOrlando[MI 4]1963196870,406[13]Big XII (NCAA Division I)
Florida International UniversityMiami[MI 5]19651972[MI 6]56,732[14]The American (NCAA Division I)
New College of FloridaSarasota1960 (private, joined SUSF in 1975 via USF, independent 2001)1964659[15]The Sun (NAIA)
University of North FloridaJacksonville19651972[MI 2]16,594[16]ASUN (NCAA Division I)
Florida Gulf Coast UniversityFort Myers[FoundingDate 1]1991199715,370[17]ASUN (NCAA Division I)
Florida Polytechnic UniversityLakeland201220141,563[18]The Sun (NAIA; possibly 2027–28)[19]
  1. ^ In 1836, the United States Congress authorized the establishment of a University of Florida in the Florida Territory to be located on lands reserved in both East and West Florida. In 1851, the Florida legislature voted to establish two seminaries of learning: West Florida Seminary (which later became Florida State University) and East Florida Seminary (which later became the University of Florida).[20] In 1905, when the Buckman Act reorganized higher education in Florida, the three resulting state institutions (Florida, Florida State, and Florida A&M) all adopted 1905 as their founding date. In 1935, the Florida Board of Control changed the founding dates of Florida and Florida State to the years their predecessor Seminaries opened: 1853 and 1857, respectively. In 2000, Florida State reverted to the charter date of 1851 as its founding date, which was used before 1905,[21] reflecting the date the legislature authorized both seminaries. Florida A&M later declared its founding date to be 1887 to reflect when its predecessor, the State Normal College for Colored Students, was founded.[22]
  2. ^ FAU and North Florida did not admit freshmen or sophomores until 1984.
  3. ^ West Florida did not admit freshmen or sophomores until 1983.
  4. ^ The main UCF campus has an Orlando mailing address, but is in unincorporated Orange County.
  5. ^ The main FIU campus has a Miami mailing address, but is in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.
  6. ^ FIU did not admit freshmen or sophomores until 1981.

See also

References

  1. ^ "System Accountability Report Summary". Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  2. ^ "Contact Us." State University System of Florida. Retrieved on August 26, 2011. "Florida Board of Governors State University System 325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1614 Tallahassee, Fl 32399-0400"
  3. ^ "About Us". State University System of Florida. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  4. ^ "State University System of Florida | Board of Governors : Resources". Flbog.edu. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
  5. ^ "Enrollment data". www.flbog.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  6. ^ "Data Dashboard FL Universities". Data Dashboard FL Universities. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  7. ^ "2021-22 Common Data Set FAMU". Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  8. ^ "UF Data". Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  9. ^ "2021-22 Common Data Set FAMU". Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  10. ^ "2021-22 Common Data Set USF". Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  11. ^ "2021-22 Common Data Set FAU". Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  12. ^ "2021-22 Common Data Set UWF". Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  13. ^ "2021-22 Common Data Set UCF". Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  14. ^ "2021-22 Common Data Set FIU". Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  15. ^ "New College Data". Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  16. ^ "2021-22 Common Data Set UNF". Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  17. ^ "2021-22 Common Data Set FGCU". Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  18. ^ "2021-22 Common Data Set FPU". Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  19. ^ White, Gary (March 10, 2026). "Florida Poly in Lakeland will add several sports, open play in 2026". The Ledger. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  20. ^ "Timeline". The Florida Memory Project. State Library and Archives of Florida. 1851. Archived from the original on August 1, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  21. ^ "Argo 1901-1902 | FSU Digital Repository". repository.lib.fsu.edu. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  22. ^ Memorial of the Trustees of the University of Florida (R.K. Call, John G. Gamble, Thomas Randall, Louis M. Goldsborough, Thos. Eston Randolph, F. Eppes, E. Loockerman, Benjamin Chaires, Turbutt R. Betton, Fitch W. Taylor, J. Loring Woart, Ashbeel Steele, J. Edwin Stewart), p. cxxiii. United States Congress. December 7, 1835. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  1. ^ The main FGCU campus has a Fort Myers mailing address, but is in unincorporated Lee County.