UF inaugurated its new graduate campus in Jacksonville Wednesday evening, holding a ribbon cutting ceremony outside of the newly renovated building for one hundred attendees.
The former Interlines Brand building was built in 1998 to house a maintenance and repair part distributor. The renovated UF building is now a modernized learning space with several tiered seating lecture halls, study spaces and conference rooms.
The Jacksonville graduate campus is UF’s 12 education or research center outside Gainesville.
The renovation, announced in April, cost an estimated $4.6 million. It’s the first project part of the $287.5 million project to build a new UF campus in Jacksonville, with construction beginning in 2027.
The new building’s purpose, according to UF in Jacksonville, is to allow graduate students to complete research in a national security lab.
The expansion also paves opportunities for students working full-time to continue attending school by offering weekend classes and part-time enrollment, according to UF.
Matt Layton, a field manager for Scorpio Construction, worked on the renovation to bring the building back to life. The age of the building introduced challenges in the beginning, he said, but UF’s plans and schedule helped streamline the process.
“This building has a pretty small footprint, but the legacy that it's going to leave is going to far outlive what this building does,” he said.
A lively ceremony
Held in downtown Jacksonville’s historical LaVilla district, the event attracted attendees ranging from Florida and U.S. House Representatives to UF faculty and staff.
UF President Stuart Bell spoke at the ceremony alongside Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan. UF’s campus expansion arrives in Jacksonville that has seen drastic economic and industrial growth over the past several years, Bell said. The university is proud to be part of Jacksonville’s future, Bell said. UF aims to connect people through education, he said, and the new UF building will help further its mission.
"We're beginning with central level programs, to upscale and reskill....those workers, those employees or those companies here today,” Bell said.
As soon as the ribbon was cut, attendees cheered, hurrying to the entrance for a tour of the building which provided a brief relief from the Florida heat and an introduction to the future of UF in Jacksonville.
UF Board of Trustees Chairman Mori Hosseini spoke at the ceremony, highlighting UF’s goal of creating a UF-driven Jacksonville for future generations.
The campus opening marks a big step in attracting students to the city, Hosseini said, and it demonstrates potential for UF students to grow personally and professionally outside Gainesville.
"We are building an engine, an engine for innovation, growth and prosperity,” Hosseini said. “The work here will create new companies, new careers and new solutions to some of the most important challenges facing our country."
Looking ahead
The graduate school’s Jacksonville sector currently offers eight graduate-level programs, with others to be added as the campus grows. An official student start date hasn’t yet been announced.
New master’s programs on artificial intelligence are being introduced with the expansion, including the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence in Biomedical and Health Sciences, under which students can learn to apply AI in medical research.
Nicole Stedman, the associate provost and dean of the UF graduate school, said she’s excited about the new access point the expansion creates, which will allow students to connect among campuses.
“This is such a really wonderful opportunity to grow and expand the footprint of the University of Florida across our great state,” Stedman said. “This is really going to be a remarkable impact, not just for the people of Jacksonville, but for those of us who are connected to the University of Florida.”
Contact Lilyanna Collado at lcollado@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @lilyannacollado.
Lilyanna Collado is a junior journalism student and this is her first semester at The Alligator! This semester she is the Santa Fe reporter. When she's not writing she either reading, going to theme parks and spending time with her four dogs.
