A program that merges artificial intelligence with the medical field will be among the offerings at the University of Florida’s Jacksonville graduate campus, a UF official told a Jacksonville civic organization April 7.
Spencer Moore, director of external affairs in UF’s Office for Strategic Initiatives, said the university’s programs would include a master of AI, biomedical and health science that involves use of the advanced technology to diagnose, treat and prevent illnesses.
“It’s a brand new, unique program that does not exist in the state of Florida,” Moore said during a lunch meeting of the Meninak Club of Jacksonville at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Jacksonville Riverfront.
Other master’s degree programs that will be offered in Jacksonville include business administration; science in management; engineering; computer science and architecture. There also will be an MBA tailored toward working professionals.
Plans further call for a master of studies in law, which Moore described as a legal degree for nonlawyers whose fields heavily involve legal matters, such as human resources and compliance managers.
Moore said the university would seek to add other programs based on market demand and input from educators and students.
Asked about plans for bringing students to the campus, Moore said UF would seek to attract professionals living in Jacksonville and students from other communities.
The campus would open with 20 to 25 students in the architecture program in the fall of 2025, then grow by about 80 when its next program, the MBA, is launched. By fall of 2026, Moore said, there would be hundreds of people on campus.
For its architecture program, which already operates in Downtown Jacksonville at 25 N. Market St., Moore said the university is planning to spend $7 million to renovate and retrofit the Interline Brands Inc. building in LaVilla for classroom use.
The city is seeking to acquire the 801 W. Bay St. property through two separate approaches. The Downtown Investment Authority board and Mayor Donna Deegan support a land swap involving a 1-acre development parcel at Riverfront Plaza, the former site of the Jacksonville Landing, and an option on an adjacent piece of land.
Meanwhile, the Jacksonville City Council voted to set aside up to $8 million for the city to buy the property outright. Council member Ron Salem is leading the effort to purchase the property and forgo the land swap, saying he believes the exchange of riverfront properties for the Interline building is not the best deal for the city.
He says the funding will be replenished when city utility JEA makes its annual contribution to the city, which is likely to include a $40 million one-time payment under a plan being finalized.
Proponents of the swap say it’s a fair deal that allows the city to obtain the property without dipping into operating reserves and promotes the DIA’s mission to put dozens of city-owned parcels in the hands of private developments and generate tax dollars.
The Interline building is owned by Gateway Jax, a partnership between principal Bryan Moll, JWB Real Estate Capital and DLP Capital.