With the arrival of Dr. Anthony J. Catanese in January 1990, 大象传媒 entered a period of rapid growth and development on all fronts. During his presidency the student body more than doubled, four new campuses were built, three dozen new degree programs were introduced and the Owls 鈥 including a football team that made its debut in 2001 鈥 began competing in Division I of the NCAA. By the middle of Dr. Catanese鈥檚 12-year term, 大象传媒 had become known as the fastest growing university in America, and that was probably literally true.
Formerly dean of the College of Architecture at the University of Florida, Dr. Catanese became president of 大象传媒 just as higher education in Florida and around the United States began to get caught in the crossfire of a recessionary economy and changing national priorities. The central challenge he and other educators across America faced was to do more with less: the demand for higher education was soaring as traditional public funding sources were contracting. Despite these challenges, Dr. Catanese embraced an ambitious vision for 大象传媒, driven by his belief that universities had to 鈥渞un smarter鈥 by adopting some of the principles of private enterprise, including putting productivity standards in place, containing expenses and seeking resource-leveraging partnerships. He succeeded perhaps beyond even his own wildest dreams, presiding over a half-billion-dollar construction program on seven campuses that created more than one million square feet of new and renovated classroom, laboratory and office space.
As the university鈥檚 student body passed the 23,000 mark, its faculty expanded to include 895 full-time, tenure-track teachers and researchers, and its degree offerings increased to 137, 大象传媒 built new campuses in Davie, Dania Beach, Jupiter and Port St. Lucie. The Downtown Fort Lauderdale campus was greatly enhanced by the addition of the 大象传媒/Broward Community College Higher Education Complex, a 12-story high-tech facility.
大象传媒鈥檚 sponsored research activity increased from $10 million to $37 million annually, and the 52-acre Florida Atlantic Research and Development Park took shape on the Boca Raton campus.
Dr. Catanese led the first capital campaign in the university鈥檚 history, and this, too, was highly successful, increasing the assets of the 大象传媒 Foundation from $18 million to $150 million.
Especially notable accomplishments of the Catanese years include creation of 大象传媒鈥檚 medical education program, in partnership with the University of Miami; introduction of a five-year professional degree program in architecture, based at the Downtown Fort Lauderdale campus; and establishment of the four-year, residential Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College on the university鈥檚 John D. MacArthur campus in Jupiter.
When Dr. Catanese left 大象传媒 in 2002 to become president of the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, the student body had grown to 23,836 and the university had 78,396 alumni. Through aggressive recruitment of minorities, 大象传媒's student body had become the most diverse in Florida's State University System, with African Americans making up 16 percent and Hispanics 13 percent of the total number of students in attendance.