University of Miami

both in Tallahassee. Like most private universities of the time, the University of Miami was founded as a coeducational institution but not yet open to Black students.
In 1925, George E. Merrick, founder of Coral Gables, granted 160 acres (0.6 km2) and nearly $5,000,000 ($89.6 million, adjusted for current inflation) for the university's founding. The contributions included land contracts and mortgages on real estate that had been sold in the city. The university was formally chartered April 8, 1925 by the Circuit Court for Dade County. But by 1926, as the first class of 372 students enrolled at the new university, the land boom had collapsed and hopes for a speedy recovery were dashed by the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926. For the next 15 years, the university struggled financially, bordering on insolvency. The first building on campus, now known as the Merrick Building, was left half built for over two decades due to the economic difficulties, requiring that classes be held off-campus at the nearby Anastasia …