Collections

In 1990, Dr. Anthony J. Catanese became Florida Atlantic University's fourth president.  During his presidency the student body more than doubled, four new campuses were built, three dozen new degree programs were introduced and the Owls -including a football team that made its debut in 2001 - began competing in Division I of the NCAA.  Most notably, Dr. Catanese led the first capital campaign in the university's history, and this, too, was highly successful, increasing the assets of the FAU Foundation from $18 million to $150 million.

Dr. Anthony J. Catanese was the fourth president of FAU serving from 1990 to 2003. The photographs in this collection document these years and reflect the growth and development of FAU under his leadership. Dr. Catanese added additional campuses to FAU, he oversaw the creation of the Charles E. Schmidt Bio-medical Science Center, which is the foundation of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, football was added to the athletics program, and new buildings sprouted on the campuses for both existing and new colleges. There are 470 photographs in the collection. To provide a sample of this collection, 36 photographs were digitized and described. If you would like to see more photographs, please contact lysca@fau.edu to make an appointment.

This collection consists of photographs documenting Dr. Creech's presidency (1973-1983) of Florida Atlantic University.  There are 361 photographs, negatives and contact sheets in this collection. To provide a sample of the collection, 24 photographs were digitized and described. If you would like to see more photographs, please contact lysca@fau.edu and make an appointment.

In 1973, Dr. Glenwood L. Creech became Florida Atlantic University's second president.  The new president hailed from the University of Kentucky, where he had been vice president of university relations. Dr. Creech was ideally suited to tackle the urgent challenge of increasing financial support for FAU. To encourage substantial private donations, the state had introduced a program that would match every gift of $600,000 made to endow an Eminent Scholar Chair with $400,000 in state funds, boosting the value of the donation to $1 million. Dr. Creech used this leveraging tool with great success, and FAU soon became the state leader in the procurement of these endowed chairs.

Dr. Helen Popovich, our third university president, the first woman to be FAU president, and the first woman to head a public university in Florida. Dr. Popovich graduated from the University of Texas-El Paso and received her doctorate in English from the University of Kansas. During her tenure, the population of Southeast Florida flourished, and the opportunity for FAU to expand and include first- and second-year students was well-timed. By late Fall of 1983, the Board of Regents approved the measure, and by the following year, the first class of freshmen started at FAU. Dr. Popovich worked to increase the enrollment of African American and Hispanic students. Serving the FAU community, she oversaw the Reuben O' D. Askew University Tower opening in downtown Fort Lauderdale, where students and faculty worked alongside business and industry executives. Dr. Popovich diversified the faculty and staff by supporting the appointment of women to professoriate and administrative roles. By 1986, the Women's Studies Certificate Program was created. In 1989, her last year in office, FAU reached the critical milestone of $10 million in sponsored research. Dr. Popovich's records reflect her internal and external University responsibilities as chief administrative officer of the University. The records include correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, agendas, clippings, photographs, publications, and other materials created and compiled by the Office of the President.

Dr. Helen Popovich was the third president of FAU serving from 1983-1989. These photographs document the years Dr. Popovich was at FAU and reflect the changes she oversaw. Dr. Popovich increased the number of minority students in attendance, was involved with including more women athletes at the university, and participated with implementing equal opportunity for the FAU community. There are 363 photographs, negatives and contact sheets in this collection.  To provide a sample of the collection, 13 photographs were digitized and described. If you would like to see more photographs, please contact lysca@fau.edu to make an appointment.

On November 12, 1964, Florida Atlantic University's first president, Dr. Kenneth Rast Williams was formally inaugurated. In 1962, two years before FAU opened, he took the helm of an institution with a small but dedicated faculty that quickly became known for outstanding classroom teaching and mentorship of students

This collection consists of photographs documenting Dr. Kenneth R. Williams' presidency of Florida Atlantic University.  There are 462 photographs, negatives and contact sheets in this collection. To provide a sample of the collection, 27 photographs were digitized and described.  If you would like to see more photographs, please contact lysca@fau.edu and make an appointment.

This collection documents the activities, milestones, and external engagements of President Armstrong's office and includes earlier and later presidential files that provide historical context for the presidency. Contents are a mix of resolutions, proclamations, Board of Trustees materials, college and international partnerships, awards and recognitions, photographs, event programs, speeches, press clippings, and special reports. Highlights include documentation on facility dedications, pivotal college initiatives (e.g., Pathways, international programs), major celebrations, and community relationships.

On January 31, 2003, by unanimous vote of the university's Board of Trustees, Frank T. Brogan - Florida's incumbent lieutenant governor and a 1981 graduate of FAU's master's degree program in educational administration - was named the fifth president of Florida Atlantic University.