John A. Delaney Student Union
General information
TypeStudent union
LocationJacksonville, Florida, United States
Opened2009
Technical details
Floor count3
Website
http://www.unf.edu/studentunion

The John A. Delaney Student Union is the student activity center at the University of North Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. The first such building in UNF's history, it opened in 2009. It is located on the university's campus across from UNF Arena. The Student Union has been awarded several architectural awards, including the AIA Jacksonville Best Education Building in Florida award (2012), fourth place in AIA Florida's Best Building in Florida in 100 Years rankings (2012), and the AIA Jacksonville Design Award of Merit (2010).[1] It was named in 2018 for former UNF president John A. Delaney.[2]

History

Opened in 2009, the Student Union is the first in the university's history. It succeeds the Robinson Student Life Center as the main recreational facility on campus, but the Robinson Center only included a fraction of the amenities of the current Student Union. Plans for a Student Union go back as far as the 1980s,[3] but the project was finalized in 2007.[4] The Student Union is a central part of UNF's 2006 announcement to spend $170 million on new structures on campus including new housing, a College of Education building, and parking.[5]

In 2018, the facility was named the John A. Delaney Student Union, after John A. Delaney. Delaney, who retired on May 31, 2018, had served as president of the school for 15 years.[2]

Details

Front of Student Union at night

Features

UNF's Student Union consists of two buildings connected by a covered walkway known as Osprey Plaza. The structure includes contains the UNF bookstore, a convenience store, restaurants, a game room, an auditorium, a ballroom, Community First bank branch, an LGBT Resource Center, and an amphitheater. UNF student government is housed there, as is the Spinnaker Media, which includes UNF's student newspaper The Spinnaker, Spinnaker Television, and Spinnaker Radio. The Lufrano Intercultural Gallery of Art and other various student organizations like Fraternity and Sorority Life have their offices in the facility.[6] The Boathouse restaurant is the third variant of the UNF tradition. The food court has an Einstein Bros, Panda Express, and Slice Pizzeria.[7] Market Days are held each Wednesday from 10am-2pm in Osprey Plaza and features vendors from the region.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Awards | Dasher Hurst Architects". www.dasherhurst.com. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  2. ^ a b DuChanois, Colette (April 5, 2018). "UNF Student Union named for John Delaney". www.news4jax.com. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2009-05-28.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "University of North Florida". Archived from the original on 2009-05-30. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  5. ^ Dorsch, Kirstin (2006-12-04). "UNF to spend $170M on major new buildings, parking". American City Business Journals. Archived from the original on 2007-09-14.
  6. ^ "An in-depth look at the student union".
  7. ^ "Dine on Campus".
  8. ^ "Market". Archived from the original on 2009-10-10. Retrieved 2009-12-14.

External links

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