Florida Memorial's History

Florida Memorial University is a private coeducational institution with the distinction of being one of the oldest academic centers in the state, and the only historically Black university in South Florida. In 1879, members of the Bethlehem Baptist Association founded the school, then called Florida Baptist Institute, in Live Oak, Fla., to create “a college of instruction for our ministers and children.” Amid racial tensions, then President Rev. Matthew Gilbert and other staff members fled Live Oak for Jacksonville, Fla., where he founded the Florida Baptist Academy in the basement of Bethel Baptist Church, with Sarah Ann Blocker as the main instructor. In 1896, Nathan White Collier was appointed president of the Academy, a post he held for 45 years. J. Rosamond Johnson was recruited to teach music at the school, where he composed music for the poem “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” creating the song now known as the “Negro National Anthem.”

Due to a growing student body, in September 1918, the school began its third incarnation at its new home in St. Augustine, Fla., as the Florida Normal and Industrial Institute. In 1942, the school merged with the still-operating Florida Institute at Live Oak and became Florida Normal Industrial and Memorial College.

 
The advent of the civil rights movement brought change to St. Augustine. Florida Memorial students protested segregation by participating in sit-ins, wade-ins, and swim-ins, orchestrated in part by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Considering the turbulent times, Dr. Royal W. Puryear oversaw the relocation of the school to a 48-acre former airstrip near the South Florida City of Opa-locka in Miami-Dade County. In November 1968, the new campus opened as Florida Memorial College. In December 2004, the institution’s charter was amended, and the name Florida Memorial University was adopted.

What to know about Florida Memorial

FMU’s Department of Aviation & Safety serves as the focal point of technological education at Florida Memorial University. We offer rigorous programs designed to educate the future aviators, airport managers and air traffic controllers of the aerospace industry. Among many other facets, our programs stress critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, human resource management and written and oral communications. Our students gain a broad perspective of the aerospace industry, the environments in which it operates, and its impact on global transportation and economics.

The Aviation Management degree program is accredited by the Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI). The Professional Pilot program is Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 141 Certified. The Air Traffic Control program has FAA Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) designation.

Here are the Degree Plans for the various programs in the Department of Aviation & Safety...

1. Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Science (Concentration in Air Force Control)
2. Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Science (Concentration in Flight Education)
3. Bachelor of Science in Aviation Management
4. Minor in Aviation Safety
5. Minor in Homeland Security

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