04/30/2022
Hello, Florida Tech Southern Maryland followers. 2022 marks a major milestone as our 50th year serving the local community with quality graduate programs in engineering, management, and business. We are very grateful for the opportunity to assist so many local students. More than 1,500 degrees have been conferred during this time.
This accomplishment is bittersweet because our local office is closing in one month. As of May 31, 2022 we will no longer offer local classroom instruction. Students may apply to our many online programs, but our local presence will be no more. This is the case for all our offsite locations in Maryland, Virginia, Alabama, and outside of central Florida.
We are also very grateful to the many local organizations that have been part of our and our students' success. First and foremost, NAS Patuxent River and NAWCAD/NAVAIR (originally NATC) for inviting us in 1972 to offer the M.S. in Electrical Engineering. This program list eventually grew to more than twenty to accommodate changes in need. Our most recent new program, the M.S. and Graduate Certificate in Flight Test Engineering, was co-developed with NAWCAD/USNTPS, and is the only one of its kind in the country. More than half our local students are enrolled in Flight Test Engineering programs.
We thank the Navy for providing office and classroom space for so long. Without this, none of this would be possible. For about 10 years we leased space off-base in Lexington Park, and thank Millison Management Co. for this. Most recently, we’ve been a university partner at University of Maryland at Southern Maryland (USMSM), and been part of its transition from the independent Southern Maryland Higher Education Center (SMHEC), founded 25 years ago and fulfilling a similar mission as ours: highly-skilled workforce development.
Many thanks to St. Mary's County Chamber of Commerce, The Patuxent Partnership, Southern Maryland Navy Alliance, Lexington Park Rotary, and other community organizations where we were members. The College of Southern Maryland, St. Mary's College of Maryland, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where we held articulation agreements, or where many of our students matriculated. Also, Defense Acquisition University (DAU) for the long-standing articulation agreement for transfer credits of most of our students from the base. To St. Mary’s County Public Schools and the local private and parochial schools where we supported programs including our faculty participating in science fairs and other STEM-related events. Also, to local employers – from the Navy to numerous defense contractors to MedStar, SMECO, and the many small businesses – by providing tuition assistance and entrusting us to advance their employees both professionally and personally.
Finally, to the local faculty and staff, too many to mention, who made this all possible. I follow the lead of former directors who paved the way. Anene Nnolim, Norm Chlosta, Chris Shaw, and more before them provided the stability and were the face of FIT. Thank you all.
For anyone interested, we are hosting a final graduation ceremony - our 69th - in 3 weeks. If you'd like to attend, or simply reconnect, please let me know. Best regards, Dr. Bob [email protected] 240-577-1697
Congratulations to Florida Tech Graduates from Southern Maryland, Aberdeen (APG), and National Capital Region (MCB Quantico)!
