Florida State University
| Location: | Tallahassee, Florida |
| President: | Dr. T.K. Wetherell |
| Founded: | 1851 |
| Information: | 850.644.2525 |
| Web site: | www.fsu.edu |
Florida State University is a comprehensive, graduate-research University with a liberal arts base with a primary role to serve as a center for advanced graduate and professional studies while emphasizing research and providing excellence in undergraduate programs. Florida State University's location in the state capitol provides great opportunity for service and interaction among a variety of businesses and governmental agencies.
In 1857, the Florida Institute, established in 1854 as a school for boys, began operating as the Seminary West of the Suwannee on the site where the Westcott fountain and plaza stand today. The directors of the West Florida Seminary changed the name in 1861 to the Florida Collegiate and Military Institute to reflect the addition of military instruction. In 1905 the Buckman Bill transformed Florida State College into the Florida Female College.
On May 15, 1947, Governor Millard Caldwell signed a legislative act that returned the Florida State College for Women to co-educational status. Florida State University emerged, putting an end to the first and only state supported women's college in Florida.
