Endless Opportunity at FAU Davie

By Nenita P. Wild — Old Davie School Intern, Graduate of FAU History Masters program.

 

Formative Years at the Florida Atlantic University         

Davie in the late 1980s was still mostly undeveloped and well-known for its rural appeal—but there was high demand for higher education in the area. Broward County in this period was the second most populous county in the state. State legislators recognized the need for a public university in the county, which resulted in Florida Atlantic University (FAU) expanding its campus to Davie.

In an interview with Dr. Joyanne Stephens conducted by Nenita P. Wild, a history grad student at FAU Boca, she provided a glimpse of FAU’s formative years. Dr. Stephens was assistant to the Broward Provost in 1989, who coordinated and worked closely with the Deans and administrators at the FAU Boca campus to grow the programs in Broward. Prior to Dr. Stephens’s retirement, she was the vice president and associate provost of regional campuses in FAU and worked tirelessly to meet the goal in providing the students with higher education.

During the expansion years of FAU in Davie, there was no I-595 for easy commuting, but many faculty members like Dr. Stephens were committed to making a difference in the student life on campus. She shared a fun-fact of one of the memorable experiences during her first semester at the Davie Campus.  Before the construction of the buildings in the early 1990s, the faculty and staff members of FAU occupied rented buildings at Broward Community College. She said, “I arrived on Monday morning to see the first floor of our rented building totally transformed. Hallways had been narrowed, fake exposed ductwork.  What was going on? [They were filming] a remake of the movie ‘Cape Fear’ and our building was part of the action.” FAU grew from the rented floors to state-of-the-art buildings that fosters student’s dreams of higher education.

 

Learning Opportunities in Rural Davie

The programs at FAU Davie were designed to cater to the needs of students in the area, especially those from Broward Community College (BCC). The partnership of FAU and BCC was called a two-plus-two, where FAU offered the junior and senior courses of the undergraduate programs, as well as graduate programs. Dr. Stephens described this partnership, “as the model for university/community college relationships. With the support of our Deans and faculty from both FAU and BCC, the emphasis was placed on the articulation of programs and assuring that students move seamlessly from BCC to FAU.”

Students in the area were from different backgrounds including non-traditional, older, and married with families. Many of the courses at FAU were offered in the evening—from 4 in the afternoon and on Saturdays. More importantly, according to Dr. Stephens, “most students were first generation; the first in their family to attend college.” The student body also consisted of “minority students whose parents had migrated from the Caribbean, South and Central America.”

The diversity of the students inspired the faculty, both those who were hired to be full time faculty for the Davie campus and faculty who came from the Boca Campus.  According to Dr. Stephens the combination of resident and traveling faculty “allowed the university to offer complete degree programs on the Davie Campus, essential for students with complex lives who needed educational opportunities close to work and home.”  Dr. Stephens commented, “many were Broward County teachers who would rush from their classes to ours, working on graduate degrees.  Others were older students, women and men, who had interrupted their education to marry and raise a family.” There were traditional age students as well who worked full time and needed a campus close to their jobs.  Dr. Stephens was so proud of the students enrolled at FAU’s Davie Campus.  She said,” I love, love, love non- traditional students.  They are focused, committed and grateful for the opportunities that BC and FAU provides.

By 1990, FAU fully opened its doors to students from BCC and others in the area who were seeking a bachelor and master’s degree.  In the later years, the multi-million-dollar state of the art library and other classroom facilities were constructed. The library was a symbol of the partnership between Florida Atlantic University and Broward Community College (BCC). While the Davie campus was still considered to be in a rural area, it was successful in providing local students a chance to pursue their degree in higher education.

Go Owls!

The partnership between FAU and BCC was “wonderful” as Dr. Stephens noted. Dr. Stephens joined FAU in 1989 and after a year, the enrollment reached around one thousand students in Davie. By 2007, the enrollment increased to six thousand students. FAU continued to expand its academic programs in Broward that resulted in the growth of faculty and staff members as well.

In closing, it was a great honor and privilege to interview Dr. Stephens, especially her openness to share the historical event of FAU Davie through her personal memories. With this interview, undoubtedly, she was one of the driving forces who enabled FAU to thrive in the midst of adversity. As an alumnus at FAU Boca, I am a proud nontraditional student who earned a degree in higher education under the tutelage of scholars like Dr. Stephens whose goal was to foster the student’s interest in education.