The Florida Board of Control (1905-1965) was the statewide governing body for the State University System of Florida

State University System of Florida

The State University System of Florida is a system of eleven public universities in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2011, over 320,000 students were enrolled in Florida's state universities...

, which included all public universities in the state of Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. It was replaced by the Florida Board of Regents

Florida Board of Regents

The Florida Board of Regents was from 1965 to 2001 the governing body for the State University System of Florida, which includes all public universities in the state of Florida, United States. It was created to replace a predecessor body called the Florida Board of Control, which had existed from...

 in 1965.

History

The Florida Board of Control was created by the 1905 legislation known as the Buckman Act. This legislation reorganized higher education into three institutions, segregated

Racial segregation

Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...

 by race and gender, as follows:

• State Normal College for Colored Students (now known as Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University) for African Americans
• Florida State College for Women
  Florida State University
  The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
  
   (now known as Florida State University) for Caucasian
  Caucasian race
  The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
  
   women
• University of the State of Florida
  University of Florida
  The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
  
   (now known as the University of Florida) for Caucasian men

The gender separation aspect of the Buckman Act was overturned by the Florida Legislature

Florida Legislature

The Florida State Legislature is the term often used to refer to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The Florida Constitution states that "The legislative power of the state shall be vested in a legislature of the State of Florida," composed of a Senate...

 in 1947 when Florida State University

Florida State University

The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...

 was returned to coeducational status and the University of Florida was made coeducational. The Legislature also felt it was a necessity to make room for the World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 veterans who wished to use the GI Bill of Rights to pursue their educational endeavors. The racial segregation aspect of the Buckman Act was overturned by the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...

, however the University of Florida had already become fully integrated in 1958, and Florida State University followed suit in 1962. The State Normal College for Colored Students changed their name to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes in 1909, and in 1953 the name was again changed to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.

Institutions founded

• University of South Florida
  University of South Florida
  The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
  
   (1956)
• Florida Atlantic University
  Florida Atlantic University
  Florida Atlantic University, also referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a public, coeducational, research university located in , United States. The university has six satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and in Fort...
  
   (1961)
• Florida Technological University
  University of Central Florida
  The University of Central Florida, commonly referred to as UCF, is a metropolitan public research university located in Orlando, Florida, United States...
  
   (1963)
• University of West Florida
  University of West Florida
  The University of West Florida, also known as West Florida and UWF, is a mid-sized public university located in Pensacola, Florida, United States. UWF is a member institution of the State University System of Florida. The University of West Florida is a Research University, which specializes in...
  
  (1963)