University of North Florida, History, Academics, Campus

UNF’s campus is near the intersection of I-295 (East Beltway) and SR-202 (J. Turner Butler Boulevard), two major expressways in the Jacksonville area. UNF has 28 major buildings and six housing facilities on campus. Many of the buildings bear the names of individuals who have made significant contributions to the university. These buildings include the Coggin College of Business, the John E. Mathews, Jr. Computer and Information Sciences Building, and J. J. Daniel Hall. In addition, the library bears the name of the university’s first president, Thomas G. Carpenter. The Green is a central open grassy area on the campus popular with students.

The Social Sciences building, which opened in the fall of 2006, became the first Northeast Florida facility to be certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Also the first “green” building on campus, it received the 2007 Award of Excellence for University Building by the Southeast Construction Company for Energy and Environmental Design. There is also a state-protected wildlife and bird sanctuary featuring miles of nature trails and numerous lakes and ponds on and around campus.

The size of the campus has grown to 1,300 acres (5.3 km²). In the fall of 2007, the university began offering a shuttle service between campus locations including the dorms, UNF Hall, the parking lots, Carpenter Library, and the UNF Arena.

A new Biological Sciences building opened in the spring of 2012. A new Student Wellness Center opened in the fall of 2012, replacing the Dottie Dorion Fitness Center. An addition to the College of Education and Human Services was completed in December 2011. A new multi-story dining hall has been completed in the fall of 2012. All four buildings are expected to be LEED-certified.

The Thomas G. Carpenter Library, or building 12, is named after the university’s first president, Thomas G. Carpenter. Groundbreaking began on August 8, 1978, and was completed on October 1, 1980.

Construction to expand the library by adding a four-story addition began in May 2004. This addition added 79,000 square feet (7,300 m²) and increased the capacity of the library from 800 to 2,000, bringing the size of the library to 199,000 square feet (18,500 m²). Costing $22.5 million, the new addition was opened in December 2005.

The library has 328 public workstations, 18 group study rooms, 37 carrels, 19 faculty, 25 support staff, over 1.4 million microform units, over 800 videos, 13,000 electronic journals, over 52,000 electronic books, and over 840,000 volumes. Electronic resources are available off campus for students, faculty and staff. Free wireless Internet is available throughout the building and enrolled students can check out laptops.

The John A. Delaney Student Union, which opened in 2009, contains a two-story bookstore, restaurants, game-room, auditorium, art gallery, ballroom, bank, and amphitheater. It is the home of UNF Student Government, The Spinnaker, Spinnaker Television, Spinnaker Radio, the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life, the LGBT Resource Center, and other student organizations.

The Student Union comprises two buildings, with a covered walkway in between known as “Osprey Plaza”. The structure cost $50 million to construct and is a LEED-certified building. It is also one of the first Gold LEED-certified buildings in Jacksonville.

UNF acquired the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville in 2009 as a cultural resource. The affiliation with the museum allows UNF to improve the facility’s operations and marketing. Credit-bearing art classes and student art shows are planned. The acquisition is expected to improve the museum and UNF’s art and design programs, increase UNF’s downtown presence, and strengthen ties with the city. Coincidentally, UNF’s Downtown Center which operated from 1978 to 1987 was in the building before it became the art museum.

UNF Arena is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida. It is home to the North Florida Ospreys men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball teams. It is also used for other events, such as concerts and graduation ceremonies, and has served as the site of the Orlando Magic franchise’s training camp.

It opened in 1993 and has a capacity of up to 6,300. On March 8, 2015, the UNF Arena attendance record was set as 6,155 fans watched North Florida defeat USC Upstate in the 2015 Atlantic Sun Men’s Basketball Tournament championship game. The previous record was set earlier that year as 5,102 fans watched the Ospreys defeat crosstown rival Jacksonville, 77–50 on February 6, 2015.