About FGCU
Get to Know Us
Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a big part of Southwest Florida. We are a catalyst for the area's economy and a cultural hub for the community. Our students enjoy a world-class education on a campus that is a living, learning laboratory.
Our Vision
Florida Gulf Coast University will achieve national prominence in offering exceptional value in high-quality educational programs that address regional and statewide needs. Our programs, firmly grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, will employ emerging instructional technologies.
Possessing an entrepreneurial spirit, graduates will be well prepared for productive lives as civically engaged and environmentally conscious citizens with successful careers, ready to pursue further education.
Our Mission
Florida Gulf Coast University, a comprehensive institution of higher education, offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs of strategic importance to Southwest Florida and beyond. FGCU seeks academic excellence in the development of selected programs and centers of distinction in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, health professions, business, and marine and environmental sciences.
Outstanding faculty and staff supported by a strong community of advisors prepare students for gainful employment and successful lives as responsible, productive and engaged citizens. FGCU emphasizes innovative, student-centered teaching and learning, promotes and practices environmental sustainability, embraces diversity, nurtures community partnerships, values public service, encourages civic responsibility, and cultivates habits of lifelong learning and the discovery of new knowledge.
Leadership
Aysegul Timur, Ph.D., was selected to become Florida Gulf Coast University’s fifth president on May 4, 2023, following a unanimous endorsement from the FGCU Board of Trustees. Her presidency was confirmed by the Florida Board of Governors on June 22, 2023.
Timur, an economist by training, is a Naples resident with more than 24 years of experience in higher education. She earned a doctorate from the University of South Florida and her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Istanbul.
Campus Features
With restored or preserved nature making up half of our 800 acres, the FGCU campus is a living laboratory for learning, especially as it pertains to sustainability, one of our guiding principles.
- 300 residential and migratory birds and endangered species
- Natural trails winding through pine flatwoods, cypress swamps and other ecosystems
- 15-acre solar energy field
- Food Forest designed and maintained by students as a permaculture botanical garden
Embracing Diversity at FGCU
Our commitment to excellence revolves around diversity, equity, and inclusion. We cherish and safeguard individuals of all races, ethnicities, genders, religions, abilities, and sexual orientations. Any form of racism, discrimination, intolerance, hate expressions, or disrespect is collectively opposed.
Our values emphasize the utmost levels of respect, integrity, fairness, and honesty at both individual and institutional levels. We believe in our fundamental responsibility to extend education beyond our campus and lead by example in our community.
Our role involves facilitating informed, critical, and respectful conversations that drive social transformation towards diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice.
FGCU Athletics
FGCU Athletics competes in the ASUN Conference in NCAA Division I. The men's basketball program's "Dunk City" moniker was earned during the 2013 NCAA Tournament when FGCU became the first No. 15 seed to advance to the Sweet 16. The women's basketball program owns the single-season NCAA record for 3-pointers and regularly makes NCAA Tournament appearances by "Raining 3s" on opponents.
Nine FGCU programs have been ranked among the nation's Top 25, and student-athletes regularly produce higher GPAs than the FGCU student body as a whole.
Men's Programs: Baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis
Women's Programs: Basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving (competes in the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association), tennis, volleyball
Accreditation
FGCU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and 18 other professional accrediting agencies.
