The University of North Florida approved a $35 million expansion of the Student Health Center and Counseling Center, adding a new “Wellness Complex” to be constructed next to the current Recreation and Wellness facilities, according to the Director of Campus Planning, Design and Construction at UNF, Chris Wainwright.
The UNF 2025-2035 Master Plan projects moving the current Student Health Center from the Brooks College of Health into a new space with the Counseling Center, as well as a possible on-campus pharmacy.
The Student Health Center has served UNF students since the university’s founding in 1972, relocating twice as the student population has grown from 17,000 to 25,000 students.
Dr. Valarie Morrison, the senior director of Student Health Services, said the Student Health Center will “once again outgrow its space” in Building 39A.
“We anticipate with the growing student population that we will have an increased need,” said Dr. Vanessa Riegert-Johnson, chief medical officer and medical director of the clinic.
“Wellness Phase Two”: Rec and Wellness
With “Wellness Phase Two’s” approval, the project is now searching for an architect, according to Wainwright.
“We’ll find an architect that has done Student Health as well as recreation in the same building,” Wainwright said.
Once hired, the architect’s first job will be programming, meeting with Student Health staff, recreation staff and students to nail down what actually goes into the building, Wainwright said.
The recreation side of the project will add six new multi-purpose indoor courts for basketball, volleyball and pickleball, Wainwright said. The courts will be split with curtain partitions so they can accommodate multiple groups of students, he said.
“It won’t be soundproof or anything, but it would be partitioned so that you could have some things going on differently in between those,” Wainwright said.
The new courts will replace the current Field House, a three-court building on the site of a former pool facility, Wainwright said.
The new building will go up right behind the existing Student Wellness Complex, in a tight footprint between the pool, softball fields and the tennis and pickleball courts. Wainwright said the building will likely run two to three stories.
Activities Center and Osprey Cafe construction, 1980. (Courtesy of the UNF Library Special Commons)
The Student Health Clinic could also include a new on-campus pharmacy, “so that you’ll be able to get some antibiotics without having to leave and go to a CVS or Walgreens,” Wainwright said.
The Counseling Center and Mental Health wing will likely get its own separate entrance too, Wainwright said, to give students more privacy and help reduce social stigma.
A Future with the Mayo Clinic
UNF’s Student Health Center already partners with Mayo Clinic, supplying internal medicine residents to work at the clinic for their specialty medical school rotations, according to Morrison.
The Mayo Clinic has continued to partner with the university, becoming the official health provider of UNF Athletics on May 11, 2026, according to Spinnaker.
Wainwright said it isn’t yet confirmed how involved Mayo will be in designing the new building. He said Mayo could earn a larger role in planning, and possibly become a funding partner, particularly if student internships with the clinic continue.
“They would definitely have a seat at the table if they want to come out and say, hey, we’re willing to donate,” Wainwright said.
Balancing Students’ Needs
Student opinion is also being considered in the planned expansion and the broader campus master plan, according to Wainwright.
According to the 2025-2026 Campus Master Plan, student engagement surveys were conducted around campus. The survey was distributed to “UNF students, faculty, and staff, received 1,500+ responses, including a wide variety of majors and departments, and a mix of resident and commuter students.”
As the university student population grows, certain academic and campus programs work with the clinic to fulfill registration requirements, “like physicals, vaccines, and TB tests,” which has led to increased usage, Morrison said.
Despite partnering with programs like UNF athletics, the clinic ensures it balances “programmatic needs” with students coming in for illness, Morrison said.
“We make sure that [we] have access for people who have acute illnesses, but also access enough to manage the students who need physical exams as well,” Morrison said.
Students can find more information on the Student Health Center webpage or via the Student Health Center Instagram and Facebook.
From Student to Director
As a UNF alumna, Morrison saw firsthand the expansion of student health services, recalling a much smaller Student Health Center.
After graduating from UNF in 1991, Morrison returned in 2020 and has served as the senior director of Student Health Services for the past six years.
Student Health moved in 2009 from Building 14B, the current UNF Housing and Residence Life Office adjacent to the Osprey Dining Hall.
“There were maybe three exam rooms, and we had a school nurse, but nothing like now,” Morrison said.
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