The University of Florida, whose flagship campus is in Gainesville, has grown substantially since its humble beginnings as a small seminary. Now, the school enrolls 50,000 students and is home to 16 colleges and over 150 research centers and institutes.
Florida has over 4,000 faculty members with impressive credentials. They include the holders of 34 Eminent Scholar chairs and 42 members of one of the national academies. The school also boasts two Nobel Prize Laureates, a Fields Medalist, two Pulitzer Prize winners, a recipient of the Smithsonian’s Institution’s conservation award, and recipients of NASA’s top research award.
The university spends $740 million on research. Gatorade—the original and still most the popular sports drink—is just one of the hundreds of products developed from research conducted here. The school also has research relationships with groups like Scripps Florida, the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, and the Moffitt Cancer Center.
The astronomy department is especially known for its contribution to telescope technology. Another of the university’s remarkable specialties is one of the world’s largest butterfly and moth collections (over nine million and counting).
The University of Florida produces $8.76 million worth of commerce, and every state dollar given to the school produces a $15 return
