Флорида Батыс Университеті: Тарихы мен қазіргі жағдайы

Public university in Pensacola, Florida, US

The University of West Florida (West Florida or UWF) is a public university in Pensacola, Florida, United States. Established in 1963 as a member institution of the State University System of Florida, the University of West Florida is a comprehensive research university without faculties of law or medicine, a designated space grant institution, and sits on the third largest campus in the State University System, at The university's mascot is Argie the Argonaut and its logo is the chambered nautilus.

In 1962, the Florida Legislature authorized the State Board of Education to locate a state university in Escambia County. Harold Crosby was appointed the first president in July 1964. UWF became the sixth institution of the State University System of Florida, which today consists of twelve public universities. Ground was broken on April 16, 1965, and in the same year the chambered nautilus was adopted as the official UWF emblem. UWF was originally an upper level institution, enrolling juniors, seniors and graduate students. The first students began classes in the fall of 1967, and in June 1968, 58 students received degrees in the first commencement ceremony.

Harold Crosby, the university's first president, selected the chambered nautilus to represent UWF because he was inspired by the poem "The Chambered Nautilus" by Oliver Wendell Holmes; it is "a symbol of growth, change and accomplishment."

The main campus of 1,600 acres (6.5 km2) of rolling hills and natural woodland along the Escambia River is ten miles (16 km) north of downtown Pensacola, in the Ferry Pass area. Its facilities have been designed to complement the natural forest and waterways. UWF's John C. Pace Library is the largest library in the Northwest Florida area. In addition to the main library on the main campus north of Pensacola, Florida, there is a branch library in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. It has 628,000 printed volumes, 1 million microfilms and microfiches, 3,000 serial subscriptions and nearly 2,000 online journal subscriptions. UWF has a second location, UWF on the Emerald Coast, in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

In 2001, the university acquired West Florida Historic Preservation, Inc, the previously state controlled group that manages the Historic Pensacola Village. The university has created several classes taught by and/or in conjunction with the staff at Historic Pensacola.

The UWF Historic Trust collects, preserves and interprets the history of northwest Florida.

The Arcadia Mill complex is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was the first industrial complex powered by water in Florida. It included shops, mills, a railroad drawn by mules and a 16 mile log flume. It operated from 1817 to 1855. It is curated by the University of West Florida.

UWF offers traditional residence halls, small community residence halls and university owned apartment complexes. The university also offers living learning communities, which provide signature programming and academic support to residents.

There are sixteen fraternities and sororities on campus. These chapters include over 500 members.

UWF offers a trolley service and public bicycles around campus known as "yellow bikes". There is parking for all visitors, students and employees. The Escambia County Area Transit bus system also offers students a discount rate.

West Florida athletic teams are the Argonauts. The university is a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Gulf South Conference (GSC) since the 1994–95 academic year. The Argonauts previously competed in the Southern States Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1974–75 to 1993–94, with a brief hiatus of dropping its athletics program from 1976–77 to 1979–80. West Florida competes in 15 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer and tennis; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis and volleyball.

UWF's athletic program has won ten national championships, with the most recent being football in the 2019 NCAA Division II Football Championship; as well as winning a women's tennis GSC championship for the 19th time, making that its 100th conference championship in school history.

In 2015, the university welcomed its first football team on campus and held intra team scrimmages throughout the fall. In 2016, UWF hosted its inaugural season, kicking off with a 45–0 win against Ave Maria University. In 2017, the football program qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs in just its second season. The team reached the championship game, losing to Texas A&M Commerce, 37–27, in just the 26th game in school history. In 2019, UWF's football program won the NCAA Division II national championship in its fourth season, winning against Minnesota State University, 48–40.