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.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Jacksonville graduate campus is UF\u2019s 12 education or research center<\/a> outside Gainesville.<\/p>\n The renovation, announced in April, cost<\/a> an estimated $4.6 million. It\u2019s the first project part of the $287.5 million<\/a> project to build a new UF campus in Jacksonville, with construction beginning in 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n The new building\u2019s purpose, according to UF in Jacksonville<\/a>, is to allow graduate students to complete research in a national security lab.<\/p>\n The expansion also paves<\/a> opportunities for students working full-time to continue attending school by offering weekend classes and part-time enrollment, according to UF.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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\u2019s plans and schedule helped streamline the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis building has a pretty small footprint, but the legacy that it’s going to leave is going to far outlive what this building does,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A lively ceremony<\/p>\n Held in downtown Jacksonville\u2019s historical LaVilla district, the event attracted attendees ranging from Florida and U.S. House Representatives to UF faculty and staff.\u00a0<\/p>\n UF President Stuart Bell spoke at the ceremony alongside Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan. UF\u2019s campus expansion arrives in Jacksonville that has seen drastic economic and industrial growth over the past several years, Bell said.\u00a0 The university is proud to be part of Jacksonville\u2019s future, Bell said. UF aims to connect people through education, he said, and the new UF building will help further its mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We’re beginning with central level programs, to upscale and reskill….those workers, those employees or those companies here today,\u201d Bell said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n Enjoy what you’re reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n UF Board of Trustees Chairman Mori Hosseini spoke at the ceremony,\u00a0 highlighting UF\u2019s goal of creating a UF-driven Jacksonville for future generations.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We are building an engine, an engine for innovation, growth and prosperity,\u201d Hosseini said. \u201cThe work here will create new companies, new careers and new solutions to some of the most important challenges facing our country.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Looking ahead<\/p>\n The graduate school\u2019s Jacksonville sector currently offers eight graduate-level programs<\/a>, with others to be added as the campus grows. An official student start date hasn\u2019t yet been announced.<\/p>\n New master\u2019s programs on artificial intelligence are being introduced with the expansion, including the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence in Biomedical and Health Sciences<\/a>, under which students can learn to apply AI in medical research.<\/p>\n Nicole Stedman, the associate provost and dean of the UF graduate school, said she\u2019s excited about the\u00a0 new access point the expansion creates, which will allow students to connect among campuses.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is such a really wonderful opportunity to grow and expand the footprint of the University of Florida across our great state,\u201d Stedman said. \u201cThis 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.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n