The University of Florida During World War II

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The University of Florida in 1946.

Photo Credit: Florida State Archives

How one of Florida's oldest universities adapted to the war period.

The University of Florida at Gainesville is one of the two oldest institutions of higher education in Florida. With the adoption of the military draft in 1940, and after U.S. entry into the war in December 1941, many students and faculty of the then all-male institution left for military service.

Over 10,000 University of Florida alumni served in the military.

Freshmen classes and overall enrollment declined sharply during the war. Over 10,000 University of Florida alumni served in the military. More than 400 are known to have died in the war, including two former student body presidents. Perhaps the most famous University of Florida alumnus was Paul Tibbets, pilot of the Enola Gay, which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

To compensate for the dwindling number of students, the college administration entered into agreements with the U.S. government to train enlistees on campus, including an officer’s candidate school and aircrew training program. Faculty members and graduate students took part in government research projects, including one that developed an electronic proximity fuse for bombs and artillery projectiles. In 1947, the Florida Legislature passed a law making the University of Florida coeducational.