Florida Universities Aim for Academics after Years of Sports Fame
2022-02-06
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1In January, the University of Georgia defeated the University of Alabama to win the college football championship in the United States.
2It was not a surprise to see the two schools in the final game because they were among the best in the nation.
3What is surprising, however, is that two other famous football teams from the neighboring state of Florida were so far from the best.
4The University of Florida is in the city of Gainesville and Florida State University is in Tallahassee.
5Both are in the northern part of the state, close to Georgia and Alabama.
6The teams lost more times than they won.
7That is different from the recent past, when they were among the best in the nation.
8The last year both schools had a good year was 2016.
9That is about the same time Florida and Florida State started getting national attention for their academic programs.
10The two schools are now seen as top choices for students in the southeastern United States.
11U.S. News and World Report recently rated Florida fifth and Florida State 19th among public universities.
12In the 1990s and early 2000s, Florida, also known as UF, was rated about 50th among all U.S. universities.
13The school is now listed at 28th.
14Other publications, including Forbes and the Wall Street Journal, also gave the schools high ratings on their lists.
15Chris Chouinard is one person who knows about the academic programs at the University of Florida.
16He completed his advanced degree in chemistry there in 2016.
17He is now a professor at Florida Institute of Technology.
18Chouinard said when he was younger, he had a different idea about the big Florida schools.
19"I grew up thinking of a place like the University of Florida as a school that's really good at football and probably really good at partying but not necessarily the best in terms of academics. Well, come to find out that that's not the truth."
20Chouinard said the rise of the academic programs at the University of Florida has been "meteoric."
21He credited President Kent Fuchs with pushing the school to think of itself as one of the best public universities in the nation, alongside the University of California - Berkeley, the University of California - Los Angeles, and the University of Michigan.
22Before coming to Florida, Fuchs was the top academic officer at Cornell University, an Ivy League university.
23Fuchs helped Florida raise money, add more professors, and increase attendance.
24In 2020, the university announced a partnership with technology company NVIDIA to create an artificial intelligence and machine learning center.
25One of the founders of NVIDIA is Chris Malachowsky, a graduate of the University of Florida.
26Chouinard said the university's push to be a leader in machine learning will put it in a leadership position for science and technology education.
27Ayobami Edun, a Nigerian, is working on an advanced degree in electrical engineering at the University of Florida.
28He said he heard about the schools in Florida because his Nigerian university had a relationship with Florida A&M University, another college in Tallahassee.
29Edun said he chose Florida because "I found out UF was the best in Florida."
30"There's a very intense level of research at UF," he said.
31"And whether you're going to go into academia or industry, the classes prepare you."
32At Florida State, former President John Thrasher started an effort to raise $1 billion for the university when he took the job in 2015.
33Part of the money went toward hiring more professors and helping students pay for college costs.
34The new president, Richard McCullough, came from Harvard and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh where he led programs in information science and biology.
35His arrival shows the university will continue to support strong academic programs.
36The school also centers its effort on keeping students and helping them graduate.
37Stephen McDowell is a leader in the university's college of communications.
38He said, "FSU has gotten recognition for the four-year graduation rate.
39That's good for the students (who start their careers sooner) and it also gets attention in the national rankings."
40Between 1993 and 2013, Florida and Florida State combined to have the best college football team six times.
41But now, the schools are struggling in football, the most popular college sport in the U.S.
42David Hale writes about college football for the sports publication ESPN.
43He said when a school can select more top students, it makes it harder for people who are great athletes but not strong students to get into the school.
44Hale said university leaders have a difficult choice.
45"Are they more concerned with investing in academics and getting your U.S. News and World Report rankings higher or are they more invested in making sure athletics is successful and you're packing an 80,000-person stadium every Saturday and you're winning championships?"
46Hale said when investment in academics produces better results than money spent on football, it becomes easier to invest in school programs than new sports buildings or a costly new coach.
47Hale put it this way:
48"You have more investment in your state. And you have higher-achieving workers... And you can attract bigger companies to come there and set up headquarters to create jobs because you have that skilled labor. And all of that stuff has very real, significant, long-term effects that are much more positive than a winning football season is."
49I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Jill Robbins.
1In January, the University of Georgia defeated the University of Alabama to win the college football championship in the United States. 2It was not a surprise to see the two schools in the final game because they were among the best in the nation. What is surprising, however, is that two other famous football teams from the neighboring state of Florida were so far from the best. 3The University of Florida is in the city of Gainesville and Florida State University is in Tallahassee. Both are in the northern part of the state, close to Georgia and Alabama. 4The teams lost more times than they won. That is different from the recent past, when they were among the best in the nation. The last year both schools had a good year was 2016. That is about the same time Florida and Florida State started getting national attention for their academic programs. 5Top choices for strong students 6The two schools are now seen as top choices for students in the southeastern United States. 7U.S. News and World Report recently rated Florida fifth and Florida State 19th among public universities. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Florida, also known as UF, was rated about 50th among all U.S. universities. The school is now listed at 28th. 8Other publications, including Forbes and the Wall Street Journal, also gave the schools high ratings on their lists. 9How did the schools raise the academic bar? 10Chris Chouinard is one person who knows about the academic programs at the University of Florida. He completed his advanced degree in chemistry there in 2016. He is now a professor at Florida Institute of Technology. 11Chouinard said when he was younger, he had a different idea about the big Florida schools. 12"I grew up thinking of a place like the University of Florida as a school that's really good at football and probably really good at partying but not necessarily the best in terms of academics. Well, come to find out that that's not the truth." 13Chouinard said the rise of the academic programs at the University of Florida has been "meteoric." He credited President Kent Fuchs with pushing the school to think of itself as one of the best public universities in the nation, alongside the University of California - Berkeley, the University of California - Los Angeles, and the University of Michigan. 14Before coming to Florida, Fuchs was the top academic officer at Cornell University, an Ivy League university. Fuchs helped Florida raise money, add more professors, and increase attendance. 15In 2020, the university announced a partnership with technology company NVIDIA to create an artificial intelligence and machine learning center. One of the founders of NVIDIA is Chris Malachowsky, a graduate of the University of Florida. 16Chouinard said the university's push to be a leader in machine learning will put it in a leadership position for science and technology education. 17Gaining an international reputation 18Ayobami Edun, a Nigerian, is working on an advanced degree in electrical engineering at the University of Florida. 19He said he heard about the schools in Florida because his Nigerian university had a relationship with Florida A&M University, another college in Tallahassee. Edun said he chose Florida because "I found out UF was the best in Florida." 20"There's a very intense level of research at UF," he said. "And whether you're going to go into academia or industry, the classes prepare you." 21The Florida State story 22At Florida State, former President John Thrasher started an effort to raise $1 billion for the university when he took the job in 2015. Part of the money went toward hiring more professors and helping students pay for college costs. 23The new president, Richard McCullough, came from Harvard and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh where he led programs in information science and biology. His arrival shows the university will continue to support strong academic programs. 24The school also centers its effort on keeping students and helping them graduate. Stephen McDowell is a leader in the university's college of communications. He said, "FSU has gotten recognition for the four-year graduation rate. That's good for the students (who start their careers sooner) and it also gets attention in the national rankings." 25Why have the football teams struggled? 26Between 1993 and 2013, Florida and Florida State combined to have the best college football team six times. But now, the schools are struggling in football, the most popular college sport in the U.S. 27David Hale writes about college football for the sports publication ESPN. He said when a school can select more top students, it makes it harder for people who are great athletes but not strong students to get into the school. Hale said university leaders have a difficult choice. 28"Are they more concerned with investing in academics and getting your U.S. News and World Report rankings higher or are they more invested in making sure athletics is successful and you're packing an 80,000-person stadium every Saturday and you're winning championships?" 29Hale said when investment in academics produces better results than money spent on football, it becomes easier to invest in school programs than new sports buildings or a costly new coach. 30Hale put it this way: 31"You have more investment in your state. And you have higher-achieving workers... And you can attract bigger companies to come there and set up headquarters to create jobs because you have that skilled labor. And all of that stuff has very real, significant, long-term effects that are much more positive than a winning football season is." 32I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Jill Robbins. 33Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. 34Are you more interested in attending school in Florida after reading this story? How will you try to get there? Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 35Words in This Story 36academic - adj. relating to schools and education 37meteoric - adj. very fast or sudden 38artificial intelligence - n. an area of computer science that deals with the ability to give machines the ability to seem like they have human intelligence 39graduate- n. a person who has finished his or her work at a school or university and earned a degree 40pack - v. to fill 41stadium - n. a large place where sports competitions and other events such as concerts are held 42coach - n. the leader of a sports team 43attract - v. to cause someone to be interested in something 44significant - adj. large enough to be noticed or have an effect 45positive - adj. good or useful