Electronic calculators were invented when Tina Gurucharri was studying landscape architecture at UF.
"Everyone was really excited to buy it," the 60-year-old said. "It cost $100 to buy a calculator."
Now Gurucharri is the department chair of landscape architecture in the UF College of Design, Construction and Planning.
This week, the college will celebrate its birthday with alumni, faculty and students.
On Saturday, graduating classes from the college will come together for barbecue at the college’s birthday tailgate, stay with each other in the Hilton and visit with faculty at a luncheon.
The alumni will get the chance to walk through their school’s past. The college’s gallery, which shows the school’s development and the programs it’s added, closes today. But it will reopen Saturday for the alumni.
In addition to the changing majors and deans, the building has been updated, too, Gurucharri said.
"For alum that haven’t been back in a while, it’s going to be a radical change," she said.
Despite the changes, Gurucharri said a lot has stayed the same. The college’s classes are still small. The alumni are still close friends.
"There is a tight student culture," she said. "They are a tight-knit family."
The week will also feature open houses to encourage prospective students to join that family, said Christopher Silver, the college’s dean.
The alumni like to come back to see what they’re giving their money to, he said.
"It’s one of the oldest colleges in the university, and we haven’t celebrated its history in a long time, so it seemed like an important time to do it," Silver said.
Gurucharri said the alumni will be excited to see updated studios, windows that open to a courtyard and new technology.
"I think they are going to be excited to see the new learning environment that we have in the college now," she said.
To understand the college’s progress, UF architecture freshman Cesar Lugaro said he’s been attending alumni-presented talks that celebrate the college and have been taking place throughout the term.
"The lectures opened my mind to what architecture can do in the world," the 18-year-old said.
Silver said the alumni like coming back to UF.
That’s why about 300 alumni are expected to tailgate for the Homecoming game.
"This is the largest gathering in many years, certainty since I’ve been here," Silver said. "I’m glad we got a big tent."
Nathalie Canate, a 19-year-old UF architecture sophomore, walks to her Design 3 class in the architecture building Nov. 4, 2015. This week the UF College of Design, Construction and Planning, located in the architecture building, celebrates its 90th birthday.
