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of higher learning operating in this country on a sparetime
basis.”
From its onset, the school has looked to the skies for
students, faculty and programs.
“Brevard Engineering College was the offspring of
America’s space program,” Patterson added.
“It was aimed at techs who wanted to become engineers
and engineers who wanted to move up the ladder. These
people saw education as the way to get ahead.”
During the frantic time of the country’s first foray into
space, educational opportunities for the stream of
scientists and engineers pouring onto the Space Coast
were slim and Keuper sought to fill that void.
The story goes that while shooting the breeze at the old
Pelican Inn on A1A in Indian Harbour Beach, Keuper told
his bar buddies about his plan to create an educational
institution for the engineers enticed to the area with the
prospect of swamp pay.
A friend supposedly slapped the 37 cents in his pocket on
the bar, saying “here’s your first donation, Jerry. Now, go
build that college.”
With those 37 cents, and two-thirds of the PhDs in the
area working under him at the cape, plus three classrooms
he cajoled at what is now West Shore Junior/Senior High
School, Keuper did just that.
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With plenty of vision and perseverance Keuper launched the precursor to
Florida Institute of Technology.
Early ads for the school touted evening classes for working students.
Florida Tech’s sprawling campus grew from a couple of modest buildings.
Cutting-edge flight
simulators at Florida
Tech’s Center for
Aeronautics and
Innovation are a critical
part of training and
education programs.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
CELEBRATES 60 YEARS