Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. The school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonville Junior College until 1958, when it shifted its focus to four-year university degrees and adopted its present name. It is a member of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Its sports teams are known as the Jacksonville Dolphins.
History
The school was founded in 1934 by William J. Porter. Originally known as William J. Porter University, it began as a private two-year college. Since a permanent site had not yet been acquired, classes were held on the third floor of the First Baptist Church Educational Building in downtown Jacksonville. Sixty students were enrolled in Porter University's first year of operation.
The school changed its name to Jacksonville Junior College in 1935. It relocated three times over the next fifteen years, including a period in the Florida Theatre building, but the influx of GI bill students following the end of World War II made it necessary for the school to find a permanent location. In 1947 the administration purchased land in Jacksonville's Arlington neighborhood on which to establish the current campus. The first building was completed in 1950 and classes officially began. The same year the school received full accreditation as a two-year college from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
In 1958 Jacksonville Junior College merged with the Jacksonville College of Music, and the name was changed to Jacksonville University. In 1959 the first four-year class graduated, and in 1962 JU received full accreditation as a four-year school from SACS. The 1960s saw the university grow substantially as enrollment increased, dormitories were built, two new colleges were established and the Swisher Gymnasium was constructed. In 1970 the Jacksonville University Dolphins men's basketball team, under star center Artis Gilmore, went to the NCAA Division I Championship. However, the opening of the public University of North Florida in 1973 eroded JU's enrollment, while the removal of public funding hurt the school financially. In the 1990s Jacksonville University reconfigured itself as primarily a liberal arts college and embarked on a substantial fundraising campaign, which provided for the construction of new buildings and a revision of the campus master plan.
Academics
Jacksonville University offers over 70 majors and programs at the undergraduate level, as well as several Master's programs that include the M.S., M.A., M.A.T., and Master of Business Administration, and doctorates that include the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).
The University is divided into six colleges: The College of Arts and Sciences, which offers a traditional liberal arts education; the College of Fine Arts with its integrated Alexander Brest Museum and Gallery; the Davis College of Business (DCOB), the School of Education, the School of Nursing, and the School of Orthodontics. It is also has a Marine Science Research Center on campus along the bank of the St. Johns River. Jacksonville University has also teamed up with the Florida Coastal School of Law to offer a joint MBA/law degree.
Davis College of Business: JU's Davis College of Business received its AACSB accreditation in January, 2010. The Davis College of Business is the only private AACSB accredited business school in North Florida. DCOB offers MBA and EMBA degrees along with undergraduate business degrees in Accounting, Aviation Management, Aviation Management & Flight Operations, Economics, Finance, International Business, Management and Marketing.
JU has also joined forces with Aerosim Flight Academy, to provide professional flight training to its aviation students.
The JU Flight Team competes in National Intercollegiate Flying Association Regional and National Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (SAFECON) against other universities. The best team performance came in 2007. The program is the third largest in the nation behind Spartan School in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. The JU Flight Team placed 10th in the nation at the National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s. JU also placed 10th overall in Flight Events and eighth in Ground Events. In 2008, the team was awarded the Loening Trophy, which is given to the best collegiate aviation program in the country each year. It is housed and on display in the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.
JU also has a nursing program, a dance program, a marine sciences program, as well as the second-largest Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program in the nation. The Jacksonville University nursing program now offers a Master of Science in Nursing degree through Internet education. The Davis Student Commons center opened October 2006, and the long-dormant Swisher Theatre opened to much fanfare in January 2007. The school has been noted for its faculty-student ratio from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). In addition, apartment-style residence halls have been opened on campus. The school plans to renovate other residence halls on the campus as well.
Athletics
The JU athletic programs participate in NCAA Division I in the Atlantic Sun Conference, with the exception of the football program, which competes in the Division I FCS Pioneer Football League, and the rowing program, which competes in the MAAC Conference (NCAA Division I).
Terry Alexander, the most successful coach in Jacksonville's baseball history with 631 wins, enters his 31st year at Jacksonville and his 20th year as the program’s head coach. He has led the program to nine NCAA regional appearances, won six conference championships (1995, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009) and has completed five 40-win seasons. He has also coached 10 All-America honorees, 50 all-conference selections and helped 44 players get drafted by Major League Baseball organizations.
The basketball program has produced professional basketball players such as Artis Gilmore, Otis Smith, Pembrook Burrows III and Rex Morgan. In 1970, Jacksonville University became the second smallest school (behind St. Bonaventure) to make it to the NCAA Final Four and the national championship game. The team was led by head coach Joe Williams. After defeating the St. Bonaventure team in the tournament semi-finals, the Dolphins lost to the UCLA Bruins in the national championship. The following season, Jacksonville became the first college basketball team to average 100+ points per game, at a time when there was no three-point shot and no shot clock in college basketball. In 2009, Jacksonville won the regular season Atlantic Sun Conference title in men's basketball, but fell to East Tennessee State in the conference tournament title game. The Dolphins were invited to the National Invitation Tournament, the school's first post-season tournament since 1986, but lost in the first round to the University of Florida Gators.
The football program won its first PFL title in 2008.
JU is also noted for its rowing program after taking the overall FIRA Cup (Florida Intercollegiate Rowing Association) in 2007 and again in 2014. The women's rowing team won their first MAAC Championship in 2014 and won an automatic bid to the NCAA Div I National Championship (JU Website). Recently, JU has expanded its rowing program with the addition of the Negaard Rowing Center. The JU rowing program has had over 50 years of success around the world and has competed in locations such as the Nile River and England's Henley Royal Regatta.
The school added men's and women's lacrosse programs during the 2009-2010 academic year.
Greek and student life
The school's Greek system, consisting by some estimates of 15% of the school, includes Kappa Alpha Psi, Sigma Chi, Alpha Phi Alpha, Phi Delta Theta, and Sigma Nu fraternities and the Delta Sigma Theta, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Delta Delta, Alpha Epsilon Phi, Alpha Delta Pi, and Gamma Phi Beta sororities.
53 percent of all students live on campus in one of three different residential halls and eight different apartment-style housing facilities. Most residence halls provide academic and social events as well as host programs that acclimate incoming students to the college experience.
While Greeks do offer some social events, many residence halls host their own events, though alcohol policies are strictly enforced.
The student center of the University (the Davis Student Commons Building) includes a fitness center overlooking the St. Johns River, a sports-themed dining facility named Nellie's (after the school mascot), a Chick-Fil-A, a game room for all campus community members, while serving as a focal point for campus life. The facility opened in October 2006.
Student life at Jacksonville University includes opportunities in a diverse range of activities and organizations. Besides fraternities and sororities, there are multicultural groups, arts groups, political and social action groups, service and professional groups, religious groups, sports and recreation groups, academic and professional groups, and special interest groups.
There are also a variety of campus ministries on campus. In 2011, yet another campus ministry, Campus to City Wesley Foundation, started meeting at JU.
Campus media organizations include the student newspaper (The Navigator), the campus radio station (JU108), the literary and arts magazine (The Aquarian), the student run broadcasting station (Dolphin Channel), and the yearbook (The Riparian). The Jacksonville University Student Alliance serves the needs of the student body as a whole by electing representatives from the university's student organizations, residential communities and colleges. In addition, the Florida Leader magazine ranked JU as the third-best positive student life experience out of the 28 private colleges and universities in the state, citing the small campus size, peer and faculty relationships, and the close-knit campus community that JU has to offer.
Notable alumni
- List of Jacksonville University Alumni
See also
- Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida
References
Media related to Jacksonville University at Wikimedia Commons
External links
- Official website
- Foreign Languages and Literatures
- US News Colleges Ranking
- Official Athletics website
- Jacksonville University Online
- Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association
- Federal Chair Ben Bernanke Speaks at JU
- JU Doctorate Degree, in Nursing.
- Virtual Tour
- Jacksonville University plans new football stadium, athletics practice facilities
- 1010XL Host Richard Miller Selected "Voice of JU Football" 2013
- JU Webcam
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