Research. Research defines this university. Our faculty dedicate themselves not only to the bedrock function of education, not only to the land-grant function of service, but equally to the essential activity of research. By research we mean the effort to expand our understanding of the natural world, the world of the mind and the world of the senses. We define research to include the theoretical abstractions of the mathematician, the experi- mental discoveries of the geneticist, the insights of the semiotician, the re-creations of the histo- rian or the analysis of the anthropologist. We define research to capture the business profes- sor's analysis of economic organization, the architect's design and the musician's interpreta- tion or the artist's special vision. Research by agronomists improves crops, and research by engineers enhances materials. Medical and clin- ical research cures and prevents diseases. The list of research fields continues as endlessly as the intellectual concerns of our faculty and the academic vision of our colleges. We must publish university research, what- ever the field. The musician who never per- forms, the scientist whose work never appears for review by colleagues, the historian whose note cards never become a book may have accomplished much, but their accomplishments remain incomplete. When we say research, we mean research and creative activity that con- tribute to the international public conversation about the advancement of knowledge. History Florida's oldest and largest university, 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 sem- inary was moved to Gainesville. It was consoli- dated 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. Today UF is the ninth largest university in the nation. Government of the University Direct supervision over the university, its policies and affairs is vested in the Board of Regents, a body composed of 12 citizens who are appointed by the governor for six-year terms, one student appointed for one year, and the State Commissioner of Education. University affairs are administered by the presi- dent with the advice and assistance of univer- sity administration, the University Senate and various committees elected by the Senate and appointed by the president. Students University of Florida students-numbering almost 40,000 in Fall 1996-come from more than 100 countries (3,683 international students), all 50 states, and every one of the 67 counties in Florida. The ratio of men to women is 52/48. Seventy-seven percent of UF students are undergraduates (30,711), 17% are graduate stu- dents (6,819) and 6% (2,402) are in the profes- sional programs of dentistry, law, medicine, pharmacy and veterinary medicine. Approximately 2,400 African-American stu- dents, 3,565 Hispanic students and 2,275 Asian- American students attend UF. Ninety percent of entering freshmen rank above the national mean of scores on standard entrance exams taken by college-bound students. UF consis- tently ranks among the top five public universi- ties 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 dis- tinguished faculty members with outstanding reputations for teaching, research and service. The Teaching Improvement Program (TIP), a nationally recognized program to enhance and reward undergraduate teaching, has provided a major emphasis on the quality of instruction. The newly developed Professorial Excellence Program (PEP) rewards faculty based on their accomplishments and continuing productivity since promotion to the rank of professor, including excellence and high merit in scholar- ship or creative achievement, teaching, service and extension. The faculty attracted more than $200 million in research and training grants in 1995-96. UF currently has 54 eminent scholar chairs, positions funded at more than $1 million each to attract nationally and internationally recognized scholars. A variety of other endowed professor- ships helps 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 1995-96, Florida stands 11th among all universities, with 14 visiting scholars and eight american scholars. A very small sampling of honored faculty includes: a Nobel Laureate, Pulitzer Prize win- ners 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 88 leading research universities as GENERAL INFORMATION categorized in 1994 by the Carnegie Commis- sion on Higher Education. UF is one of 62 mem- bers 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- Commission on Colleges to award the degrees of bachelor, master, spe- cialist and engineer, as well as doctoral and pro- fessional degrees. UF is one of the nation's top three universities offering more academic pro- grams on a single campus than any of the nation's other universities. It has 21 colleges and schools and over 100 interdisciplinary research and education centers, bureaus, and institutes. Almost 100 undergraduate degree programs are offered. The Graduate School coordinates 200 graduate programs throughout the universi- ty's colleges and schools. Professional postbac- calaureate 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 confer- ences, workshops, institutes, and seminars. And more than 7,500 students enrolled in Independent Study by Correspondence courses, both credit and non-credit. Semester System UF operates on a semester system. The acad- emic year begins and ends in August. There are two semesters averaging 15 weeks of instruc- tion, 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 97,500-population urban area, the university operates out of more than 890 buildings, 158 of them equipped with classrooms and laborato- ries. Facilities are valued at approximately $625 million. Notable among these are the 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 aca- demic 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.