The Freedom Tower in downtown Miami, lit up in FIU blue and gold.

Happy 50th, FIU!

September 14, 2022 at 7:07am

Dear FIU family,

Happy 50th, FIU!

Today marks 50 years since Charles Perry, FIU’s founding president, stood at the steps of Primera Casa and officially opened this university – at the time a one-building institution – with great hopes for the future.

Fifty years later, FIU has met and far exceeded expectations and is now among the top research universities in the nation. This university is highly ranked for its contribution to the public good and to the success and prosperity of our students and nearly 300,000 alumni, many of whom live and work in South Florida.

Today, FIU is the model for the 21st-century university. We are diverse, dynamic, and excellent. We have so much to be proud of!

Under the shade of 150 umbrellas — representing the more than 150,000 alumni (more than half of FIU's total 290,000 graduates) who live and work in South Florida — students, faculty and family members came out to South Beach Saturday to celebrate FIU's 50th anniversary and illustrate the real impact Miami's public research university makes in the region.

The university created a special 4-page section for today's Miami Herald.

As we celebrate today, I invite you to take a moment to reach out to your favorite Panthers and congratulate them on being part of this great institution that changes lives every single day through education and the ground-breaking research of our faculty.

As you drive around town this evening, be sure to look for rays of blue and gold, as our community celebrates with us. Buildings on our campuses and throughout our county are lighting up in recognition of FIU’s 50th anniversary. We are thankful to our partners for joining in the celebration of what we have built together. Some of the landmarks donning blue and gold include:

Freedom Tower at 600 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
Miami-Dade County Courthouse at 73 West Flagler Street, Miami
Biltmore Hotel at 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables
Hialeah Entrance Plaza at 399 E. Okeechobee Rd., Hialeah
Miami Beach City Hall at 1700 Convention Ctr Dr., Miami Beach
Miami Beach Police Department at 1100 Washington Ave., Miami Beach
City of Doral Government Center at 8401 NW 53 Ter., Doral
City of Miami City Hall at 3500 Panamerican Dr., Miami
Port of Miami
Miami International Airport

In addition, be on the lookout for billboards throughout Miami-Dade County as well as printed and digital commemorative coverage in several local publications.

On Monday, September 19 we will mark the 50^th anniversary of the first day of classes at FIU. That day, we made national higher education history with the largest opening day enrollment at the time, with 5,667 students. Today, we have approximately ten times more students and are among the Top 5 largest universities in the nation.

Please join me for a toast on Monday at 2 p.m. on the PC steps at MMC. We will have refreshments and sweet treats from Salty Donut to wish the entire FIU community a happy 50^th anniversary.

Throughout the last 50 years, the passion and commitment of our dedicated faculty and staff, our alumni, and our students have ensured FIU remains a place of hope, opportunity and excellence. It is because of them, and you, that today we celebrate this incredible milestone and look ahead to the Next 50.

Go Panthers!

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Kenneth A. Jessell