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Florida Institute of Technology was founded in 1958 as Brevard Engineering College to support NASA by Dr. Jerome P. Keuper, who became the first president. The first concept for the school was developed under the name Brevard Engineering Institute. Classes were originally held at the Melbourne Municipal Airport in buildings formerly used by the Naval Air Station Melbourne. In 1961, the university moved to its current location in Melbourne, Florida. During the 1960s additional classroom and laboratory buildings, a library (formally dedicated on 23 January 1965), the Denius Student Center, Hedgecock Gymnasium, Gleason Auditorium and several dormitories were constructed. In 1961, the first graduate received an associate degree. The university was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1964 and officially changed its name to Florida Institute of Technology in 1966. Also in 1966, Dr. Jack Morelock founded the Department of Oceanography. In 1967, the School of Aeronautics was created. Defense scientists and NASA would meet with students recruiting for the space program. In 1969, the Panther Battalion Army ROTC program was formed. In 1970, the college merged with Aerospace Technical Institute to form the School of Aeronautics.
In 1972, the university launched its first off-campus program at the request of the United States Navy.
The Evans Library was completed in early 1984. The following year the original library was renovated and dedicated as the Jerome P. Keuper Administration Building. In 1988, the Homer R. Denius Student Center was renovated, the student plaza completed, and the applied research laboratory building acquired. The Claude Pepper Institute for Aging and Therapeutic Research and Skurla Hall, home of the School of Aeronautics, opened in 1990. In 1997, the university received a $50 million grant from the F. W. Olin Foundation. An engineering building and life sciences building were opened in 1999 in result of the grant.
Seven new residence halls were completed in 2003. Each residence hall was named after one of the seven fallen astronauts of the Shuttle Columbia disaster and dedicated to their memory. In 2004, Florida Tech obtained National Science Foundation (NSF) funding to build a 24-inch telescope atop the newly completed F.W. Olin Physical Sciences Center. However, Melbourne Beach resident Jim Ortega, who had retired from the University of Virginia to Florida in 1998, stepped forward with the additional funds needed to secure a 32-inch telescope and its associated observatory. In gratitude for this donation, the telescope was named the Ortega Telescope as part of the Ortega Observatory. In 2005, the F.W. Olin Physical Sciences Center opened.
Construction on the Emil Buehler Center for Aviation Training and Research at Melbourne International Airport began in 2008. The following year, the College of Business became the Nathan M. Bisk College of Business, and the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts, the Emil Buehler Center for Aviation Training and Research at the Melbourne International Airport, the Scott Center for Autism Treatment, the Harris Center for Science and Engineering and the Harris Institute for Information Assurance were opened.
In 2009, the college began offering online degrees. November 20, 2015, marked the unveiling of the Harris Student Design Center, an 11,500 square foot building on the south side of campus. This facility provides space for students completing design projects. In 2016, the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Innovative Design (CAMID) and the Larsen Motorsports High Performance Vehicles & Research Development Center opened at the Research and Development Center on Palm Bay Road.
The university established its football program in 2010. The Panther Aquatic Center was opened a year later. In 2011, the university partnered with the Brevard Art Museum and established it as the Foosaner Art Museum.
In October 2020, the university broke ground at the Olin Quad for the new Health Sciences Research Center, a 61,000 square foot three-story facility with 22,300 square feet for classrooms, training and labs.
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On April 24, 2026, the university became one of 16 other schools to host a US Coast Guard Auxiliary University Program unit which acts similarly to an ROTC program.
College archives
The Harry P. Weber University Archives opened in 2014. It was named after professor emeritus Harry Weber, who first joined the college in 1966 and was instrumental in establishing the archives. The archive collection serves to preserve the history of the institution and it is located in the Evans Library.
Jensen Beach Campus
Florida Institute of Technology's Jensen Beach Campus, also known as School of Marine and Environmental Technology (SOMET), was a specialized branch campus located on the former campus of Saint Joseph College of Florida on the Indian River Lagoon in Jensen Beach, Florida, approximately 50 miles south of the university's main campus. The campus attracted oceanography, underwater technology and other assorted marine biology students. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had more officers that are graduates of Florida Tech in Jensen Beach than from any other campus or college in the country. The SOMET was transferred to the main campus and became the Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences (DMES). The campus closed after the transition in 1986. In 2016, DMES was renamed Department of Ocean Engineering and Sciences (DOES) to communicate the department's focus.
Presidents
Presidents of the institution have included:
John Nicklow, 2023–present
Robert King (Interim), 2022–2023
T. Dwayne McCay, 2016–2022
Anthony J. Catanese, 2002–2016
Lynn E. Weaver, 1987–2002
John E. Miller, 1986–1987
Jerome P. Keuper, 1958–1986
From Wikipedia’s article on Florida Institute of Technology, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5