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. 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, 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 . 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.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|-
! Term !! Chancellor
|-
|1954–1968
|J. Broward Culpepper
|-
|1968–1975
|Robert B. Mautz
|-
|1975–1980
|E.T. York
|-
|1981–1985
|Barbara W. Newell
|-
|1985–1998
|Charles B. Reed
|-
|1998–2001
|Adam W. Herbert
|-
|2001
|Judy G. Hample
|-
|2003–2005
|Debra D. Austin
|-
|2005–2009
|Mark B. Rosenberg
|-
|2009–2013
|Frank T. Brogan
|-
|2014–2022
|Marshall Criser III
|-
|2023–present
|Ray Rodrigues
|}
<div class="center"></div>
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|-
! colspan="3" style="background-color:#ccf; background-color:#ccf; padding-right:3px; padding-left:3px; font-size:110%; text-align:center;" | SUS Student Enrollment
|- style="font-size:95%; text-align:center"
! style="border-bottom:1px solid black" | Year || style="border-bottom:1px solid black" | Students || style="border-bottom:1px solid black;" |
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1905 || || | —
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1910 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +35%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1915 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +61%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1920 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +40%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1925 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +96%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1930 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +26%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1935 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +19%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1940 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +15%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1945 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +10%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1950 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +171%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1955 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +4%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1960 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +36%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1965 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +62%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1970 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +68%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1975 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +57%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1980 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +11%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1985 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +14%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1990 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +23%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 1995 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +16%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 2000 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +15%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 2005 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +19%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 2010 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +12%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 2015 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +8%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 2020 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +2%
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 2021 || || style="text-align:right; padding-right:15px" | +0%
|-
| colspan="3" style="border-top:1px solid black; font-size:85%; text-align:left" | Sources:
|}
Universities within the system
{| class="wikitable sortable" ;
! colspan=6 style="background:#003050;color:#a7850f;" | State University System of Florida
|-
! class="sortable"|Institution
! class="sortable"|Location
! class="sortable"|Established
! class="sortable"|Start of instruction
! class="sortable"|Enrollment (2021)
! class="sortable"|Athletics
|-
|Florida State University
|Tallahassee
|1851
|1857
|45,130
|ACC (NCAA Division I)
|-
|University of Florida
|Gainesville
|1853
|1853
|61,112
|SEC (NCAA Division I)
|-
|Florida A&M University
|Tallahassee
|1887
|1887
|9,000
|SWAC (NCAA Division I)
|-
|University of South Florida
|Tampa
|1956
|1960
|44,322
|The American (NCAA Division I)
|-
|Florida Atlantic University
|Boca Raton
|1961
|1964
|30,155
|The American (NCAA Division I)
|-
|University of West Florida
|Pensacola
|1963
|1967
|13,317
|Gulf South (NCAA Division II)<br>
|-
|University of Central Florida
|Orlando
|1963
|1968
|70,406
|Big XII (NCAA Division I)
|-
|Florida International University
|Miami
|1965
|1972
|56,732
|The American (NCAA Division I)
|-
|New College of Florida
|Sarasota
|1960 (private, joined SUSF in 1975 via USF, independent 2001)
|1964
|659
|The Sun (NAIA)
|-
|University of North Florida
|Jacksonville
|1965
|1972
|16,594
|ASUN (NCAA Division I)
|-
|Florida Gulf Coast University
|Fort Myers
|1991
|1997
|15,370
|ASUN (NCAA Division I)
|-
|Florida Polytechnic University
|Lakeland
|2012
|2014
|1,563
|The Sun (NAIA; possibly 2027–28)
|}
Gallery
<gallery mode="packed" heights="100px">
Samuel H. Coleman Memorial Library.jpg|Florida A&M University
FAU Education College.JPG|Florida Atlantic University
Main Campus (8405658966).jpg|Florida Gulf Coast University
Florida_Polytechnic_University_(25811685378).jpg|Florida Polytechnic University
Westcott Fountain.jpg|Florida State University
JaneBancroftCookLibrary.jpg|New College of Florida
Reflection Pond (16342612701).jpg|University of Central Florida
Gville UF Century Tower01.jpg|University of Florida
UNF Student Union pic.jpg|University of North Florida
USF Marshall Center Running of the Bulls.JPG|University of South Florida
PIMG0125.JPG|University of West Florida
</gallery>
See also
- Florida College System
- Florida Student Association
- Florida Department of Education
- Advisory Council of Faculty Senates
- List of colleges and universities in Florida