About Us
History of the College of Education
Take a look inside and learn about the many positive contributions that the faculty and staff of the ±«Óãtv College of Education have made to the field of education and the ±«Óãtv during its first 50 years of existence.
1950s
President John Allen
(1957-1970)
1957
Dr. John Allen is appointed as the first president of the ±«Óãtv.
1959
Dr. Jean Battle is appointed as the first dean of the College of Education. Barbara
Johnson Campbell becomes the first student accepted to the University as an elementary
education major.
1960s
1960
Dr. William Bott is hired as the College's first faculty member. In September, classes
begin for the first education majors and 1,977 students are enrolled in the University.
1963
In April, Evelyn O'Neal and Lucas King, both education majors, become the first two
graduates of ±«Óãtv. The Florida Board of Education approves the College's teacher preparation
programs. The first graduating class of the College of Education consists of 325 students.
1964
The Florida Board of Controls grants permission to offer a master's degree program
in elementary education. Dean Jean Battle is elected as chair of the Florida Council
of Deans and Directors of Teacher Education.
1965
The College receives a grant to establish the Upward Bound Program for Disadvantaged
Minorities and Dr. Richard Pride becomes the program's director.
Both ±«Óãtv and the College receive accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges
and Universities.
1967
The Physical Education Department's building and gymnasium are completed.
1968
The College of Education building is completed and 110 faculty members and staff move
into the facilities.
The College hosts the National School Superintendents Conference.
Approximately 400 student interns are recalled from schools in surrounding counties during a walkout of K-12 Florida teachers.
Faculty member, Dick Loveless, establishes The New Place in Ybor City, which provides
art, music, theater, dance, and photography for children in economically deprived
families.
1969
Faculty member, Dr. Les Tuttle, becomes the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs for
the ±«Óãtv St. Petersburg campus.
Sixty-two percent of the Florida teachers that the Hillsborough County School District hires are graduates of the College.
The Florida Board of Regents approves a Doctor of Philosophy in education degree program.
1970s
President Cecil Mackey
(1971-1976)
1970
Dr. Dean Harris, a former faculty member of the College, becomes acting president
of ±«Óãtv.
1971-72
The College of Education is ranked first among other ±«Óãtv colleges in grants as awards
totaled over $2.4 million.
1973
Dr. Roger Wilk is appointed as the second dean of the College of Education.
1974
The ±«Óãtv Fort Myers campus holds classes for the master's degree program in elementary
education.
1977
Dr. William Katzenmeyer is appointed as the third dean of the College of Education.
1980s
President John Lott Brown
(1979-1988)
1980
The College establishes the Center for Economic Education.
The Florida legislature authorizes the Teacher Education Center to be established
within the College with the mandate of providing staff development for Florida school
districts.
1981
The Sun Coast Area Teacher Training Program (SCATT) begins at the College.
1984
The Teacher Evaluation Assessment Center is established by the College by the Florida
legislature.
The Florida Center for Instructional Computing is established.
1985
The College is awarded the National Resource Center for Middle Grades Education.
1989
The College is granted its first accreditation from the National Council for the Accreditation
of Teacher Education (NCATE) with all standards met.
1990s
President Francis T. Borkowski
(1988-1993)
1990
The David C. Anchin Center is established.
1994
Dr. Steve Permuth is appointed the fourth dean of the College of Education.
The College receives continued NCATE accreditation with all standards met.
1996
Construction on the College of Education Building II, which also includes the Anchin
and Stavros Centers, is completed.
1997
Dr. Jane Applegate is appointed the fifth dean of the College of Education.
President Betty Castor
(1994-1999)
1998
±«Óãtv is designated as a Research I university.
The National Association of Secondary School Principals cites the College as one of the nation's leading producers of educational research.
The College becomes the first college of education in the nation to be awarded a charter school (±«Óãtv Dr. Kiran C. Patel Charter School).
In collaboration with the Hillsborough County School District, Pizzo Elementary School opens on the ±«Óãtv campus.
1999
The College receives continued NCATE accreditation with all standards met.
2000s
President Judy Genshaft
(2000-present)
2001
The Institute for Instructional Research and Practice (IIRP) receives a $17 million
grant to develop tests to certify education majors to teach in the state of Florida.
2003
Dr. Colleen S. Kennedy is appointed the sixth dean of the College of Education.
2005
The College is appropriated $500,000 from the Florida legislature for the Laptop Initiative
project.
The number of graduates exceeds 50,000 within the first 50 years of the institution's
founding.
2005-2006
Nearly $29 million in external grants are secured, setting a record for the College.
2006
The College becomes the fifth largest college of education in the nation and is ranked 60th in the top-third of graduate schools of education by "US News and World Report". The publication also lists the College as one of America's best graduate schools for the third consecutive year.
The College receives continued NCATE accreditation with all standards met.
Apple chooses ±«Óãtv to participate in its iTunes Universities program that provides students, faculty, and the public with easy access to high quality educational content through podcasting. Provost Renu Khator selects the College of Education and ±«Óãtv Health to pilot this program for ±«Óãtv.
2010s
2010
The Chronicle of Higher Education ranked ±«Óãtv as the 5th fastest growing research university
in the U.S. from 2000-2010.
2013
Dr. Vasti Torres is appointed the seventh dean of the College of Education.
2015
U.S. News and World Report Best Online Graduate Programs 2015 ranks the College of
Education among the top 20 institutions with the best on-line graduate education degree
programs.
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