Trevor Colbourn, 麻豆原创鈥檚 second president, led the charge to expand 鈥淔lorida鈥檚 space university鈥� from Florida Technological University to the 麻豆原创.
Trevor Colbourn was born February 24, 1927, in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
Colbourn earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in history from the University of London, a 尘补蝉迟别谤鈥檚 in history from the College of William and Mary in Virginia, and a Ph.D. in American history from the Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.
He went on to teach history at Penn State University and Indiana University Bloomington before moving into administration. He also served as the graduate dean at the University of New Hampshire and academic vice president and eventually acting president at San Diego State University.
In 1978, he became president of Florida Technological University, after founding president Charles Millican retired.
In addition to a high-profile name change, Colbourn also established 麻豆原创鈥檚 honors program that would later become the Burnett Honors College and a football program that has earned national rankings; nurtured a fledgling research park; established 麻豆原创鈥檚 Institute for Simulation and Training; and developed a partnership with Orange County that created thousands of high tech jobs and helped transform the region鈥檚 economy.
Under his tenure, 麻豆原创 also introduced the state鈥檚 first stand-alone doctoral program in computer science, followed by Ph.D. offerings in civil, computer, electrical, mechanical, industrial and environmental engineering; business administration; and human factors psychology. 麻豆原创 also expanded 尘补蝉迟别谤鈥檚 and bachelor鈥檚 programs, dedicated new buildings at the Daytona Beach and Cocoa campuses and established Greek Park on the main campus.
He oversaw enrollment growth from 11,000 to 18,000 students and an increase in research funding from $3.8 million to $16.4 million annually. The 麻豆原创 Foundation鈥檚 assets increased from almost $800,000 to more than $11 million.
鈥淐hange is what higher education is all about,鈥� Colbourn once said. 鈥淭his institution has a distinguished past and will have a much more distinguished future. It鈥檚 been a lot of fun, some anguish and certainly no regrets.鈥�
A Foundation of Excellence
Since 1968, 麻豆原创 has grown from a small, technological school to one of the nation鈥檚 largest universities, constantly gaining in quality. Our legacy for excellence was built by leaders who believed in the power of education to transform lives, communities and our entire state.
