As we return to campus and embark on a new academic year, I've prepared a video message and update on the state of the university for the FAU community.

From its earliest days, FAU students, faculty and staff have shown tremendous determination to overcome adversity. In late August 1964, as FAU prepared to welcome its first students, Hurricane Cleo hit South Florida. The storm caused a great deal of damage to the new campus and delayed the start of classes by nearly a week. However, when the flood waters receded and the power came back on, FAU’s charter class arrived, excited to begin their studies at Florida’s newest university.

We now begin our 56th academic year and I’m reminded of the perseverance of those first Owls, and how that strength of spirit endures to this today. While the past few months haven’t been easy on any of us, I’ve watched with pride as Owls across the university stepped up to support our neighbors, uplift our students and continue FAU’s Race to Excellence. The resilience and innovation showcased during this time is truly inspiring. I’m confident that, together, we will make this another great year at Florida Atlantic University.

Welcome, Owls. We are in this together. Watch Video

John Kelly

President

Construction will soon begin on the 58,000-square-foot FAU Neuroscience Building. This facility will enhance collaborative research with Scripps Research and Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (MPFI). The $35 million transformative research space represents a significant investment by the state of Florida, FAU and its research partners... Read More

Wilkes Honors College Dean Justin Perry opened the Fall 2020 semester on Friday, July 21 with Convocation remarks and invited alumni to provide words of encouragement and advice to the incoming class. The college welcomes another record-breaking group this fall, with over 200 students in the incoming class plus the inaugural cohort of 25 students from FAU’s High School in collaboration with the Max Planck Academy. The incoming freshman class shares an average 4.23 GPA, 1300 SAT, and 29 ACT score. Among those reporting, 39% were in the top 10% of their high school graduating class.

The freshman class also includes two Valedictorians, two Salutatorians, and eight National Merit students (with an additional 2 National Merits students attending the High School). With back to back incoming classes of over 200 students, the Wilke Honors College is well on its way to reaching the strategic goal of 800 students by 2023.

Florida Atlantic University's Academy for Community Inclusion within the Department of Exceptional Student Education in FAU's College of Education recently received a $1.5 million grant from The Taft Foundation... Read More

Undergraduates from ten different universities participated in a federally funded REU Summer Integrated Neuroscience Experience (SINE) at FAU Jupiter. The program led by Alex Keene, Ph.D., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and Johanna Kowalko, Ph.D., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College helped students conduct research remotely in FAU and Scripps laboratories. Students presented their final projects virtually on diverse topics ranging from sleep and eye size to neuronal mitochondria... Learn More

The FAU Brain Institute wrapped up its Summer Neuroscience Scholars (SUNS) program, an 8-week experience for students to participate in directed, remote learning in preparation for research in the laboratory. Participants, under direction of their mentors, engage in directed reading and video cast discussion with Institute faculty and their trainees to explore career networking and next steps in school/job applications and interviews, research ethics in the laboratory, and best practices in communicating science to the general public, among other topics... Learn More

"The SUNS program provided a wonderful opportunity for myself to grow as a young aspiring scientist. Even though I could not physically be in the lab, the remote project I was able to collaborate on opened my eyes to the detailed steps it takes to create and execute a research experiment."

-Oriana Williams, Senior, FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, mentored by Carmen Varela, Ph.D.... Read More Student Quotes

Ning Quan, Ph.D., a Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine and Florida Atlantic University Brain Institute neuroscientist is among a team of researchers with new findings connected to nasal inflammation... Read More

The Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College is pleased to announce the appointment of professor Ashley Kennedy to the position of Assistant Director of the Leon Charney Diplomacy Program. Dr. Kennedy, Associate Professor of Philosophy, will be in charge of Diplomacy Program operations on FAU’s Jupiter campus... Read More

Lawrence Toll, Ph.D., an investigator in the FAU's Brain Institute and professor in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, along with three other FAU researchers were recently inducted into the FAU chapter of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), a non-profit established to recognize inventors for accomplishments in research and commercialization, and in enhancing the visibility of scientific innovation... Read More

Randy Blakely, Ph.D., executive director of the FAU Brain Institute, and professor of biomedical science in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, was recently appointed to serve on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Brain Initiative Multi-Council Working Group. The group includes representatives from 10 institutes and centers that contribute to the NIH Brain Initiative, a project where neuroscientists undertake the groundbreaking approach to understanding how the brain works and how disease occurs.

Johanna Kowalko, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology in the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College received a $1,691,000 MIRA award from the National Institutes of Health for General Medical Sciences to examine how natural variation in genes contributes to aggressive behaviors using Mexican cavefish.

Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College Associate Professor Greg Macleod, Ph.D., recently published a study in the Journal of Neuroscience highlighting how activity can alter pH levels at synapses and ultimately affect communication between neurons. This study was selected from thousands of article by graduate students and postdoctoral fellow to be reviewed and featured in the forthcoming Journal of Neuroscience “Journal Club” Issue.

Even though Alzheimer’s disease was discovered more than 100 years ago, scientists still know shockingly little about what causes it, how to treat it, and how to diagnose it. But, hopefully, that will change soon. Two research groups at the FAU Brain Institute have received grants to study these problems with the expectation that their work will result in new, more effective approaches to understanding and diagnosing the disease... Read More

Private Lives, Public Histories, edited by Wilkes Honors College professors Rachel Corr, Ph.D. and Jacqueline H. Fewkes, Ph.D., brings together diverse methods from archaeology and cultural anthropology. This collection of essays reflects a uncommon collaboration between two sub-fields of anthropology -- cultural anthropology and archaeology-- to explore ideas about the past, and also brings together a variety perspectives and topics from communities all over the world. “This book is a very special collaboration between Dr. Corr and myself, as it is the first time we have had the chance as colleagues to work together on a publication, and reflects our shared interest in ethnohistory as a topic of study for anthropologists,” said Fewkes. “It is the result of a fascinating panel that we organized for the American Anthropological Association annual conference in Fall 2018, and many of the original panel participants contributed to the volume, as well as a few new authors.”

16^th Annual Week of Welcome

Weeks of Welcome (WOW) has taken place at Florida Atlantic University for many years. Students who have experienced Weeks of Welcome in their first year at FAU have felt more connected to the University and met lifelong friends. This fall, the majority of WOW events are taking place virtually. For more information, email involvement@fau.edu. 

View list of WOW events.

Join OLLI at FAU Jupiter this fall for online learning! The staff at OLLI are working diligently to bring community members engaging classes and thoughtful discussions through a fun virtual learning experience. The fall semester live Zoom classes have limited seating, so signing up early is encouraged. The goal for OLLI at FAU is to continue to provide individuals with intellectual and cultural exploration while maintaining social interaction on a virtual platform. Classes start in October. #OLLIatHome

 

Registration is now open!

 

There continues to be an urgent need to ramp-up contact-tracing capacity in the United States. In response to the high demand, FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing is offering a fully-online certificate course on intro to public health, COVID-19, contact tracing and risk-reduction. The five-week, 15-hour course begins September 15 and is open to the general public. Register today. For more information about the COVID-19 Intro to public health/contact tracing certificate program, email contact_tracing@health.fau.edu.

FAU's Parking and Transportation Services recently posted the fall semester shuttle schedule... Read More