Florida Tech to host fireworks display on campus for 60th anniversary celebration

Rick Neale
Florida Today

MELBOURNE — To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Florida Institute of Technology, university officials are planning a Saturday night fireworks display with free ice cream and other giveaways.

The Founders Day fireworks display takes place at 8 p.m. Sept. 22 at Olin Quad at Florida Tech, 150 W. University Blvd., Melbourne. Admission is free, and the public is invited to attend.

This artist's rendering depicts Florida Tech's 60th anniversary fireworks display at Olin Quad.

Attendees should enter campus using the main entrance at Babcock Street and University Avenue, then follow the signs for parking.

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Florida Tech's first classes took place Sept. 22, 1958, inside rented classrooms at Eau Gallie Jr. High. That's back when the start-up school was named Brevard Engineering College, offering graduate degrees for Cape Canaveral workers.

Mayor Kathy Meehan read a proclamation at a recent Melbourne City Council meeting, recognizing Saturday as Florida Institute of Technology Founders Day.

“Florida Tech’s very proud to call Melbourne our home. Hard to believe it’s been 60 years,” Frank Kinney, Florida Tech’s chief of staff and vice president for government relations told the Melbourne City Council.

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"We're hoping to show off our campus a little bit and thank the community for all that it does to help Florida Tech," he said.

Kinney said the campus fireworks display will be Florida Tech's first.

After this weekend, however, the celebration for the Panthers continues.

Cold War Kids will perform a free concert Oct. 12 in downtown Melbourne during Florida Tech's Homecoming Fest, which will feature a 60th-anniversary theme.

A keepsake is in the works, too.

FIT president Dwayne McCay, jazzed about an alumni book — “60 for 60: Celebrating Sixty Years of Alumni at Florida Institute of Technology” — said it will be released no earlier than January 2019.

For more information, visit fit.edu.

Neale is South Brevard watchdog reporter at FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Neale at 321-242-3638

or rneale@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @RickNeale1

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Florida Tech timeline

1958: Brevard Engineering College holds classes for the first time at Eau Gallie Junior High.

1961: The university moves to its current location off Country Club Drive.

1964: The university wins full accreditation.

1966: Name changes to Florida Institute of Technology.

1975: Run by students, WFIT begins broadcasting as America’s first noncommercial, educational FM radio station.

1997: F.W. Olin Foundation donates $50 million, transforming the university from a regional school to a research institution.

2002: Anthony Catanese becomes Florida Tech's fourth president, and the school's founding president, Jerome Keuper, passes away.

2008: Florida Tech celebrates 50-year anniversary.

2013: Football team plays its first season.