All around the country, universities are moving downtown. Some are expanding existing campuses, but many others are launching new ones. It’s happening in New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Georgia and Pennsylvania. They are representative of a national trend to better position students for job opportunities and universities for industry and community engagement.
Florida is leading the trend:
- Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., plans a new graduate school in downtown West Palm Beach, Fla. The $520 million graduate campus will focus on data science and AI, with initial classes starting in the fall.
- The University of South Florida Taneja College of Pharmacy moved its PharmD program to downtown Tampa in 2024.
- Boston’s Northeastern University opened a campus in Miami in 2023, focusing on technology, health care and finance.
- Jacksonville University opened its new law school downtown in 2024.
- The University of Central Florida opened a downtown campus in Orlando in 2020.
- The University of North Florida operates its Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the historic Barnett Building in Jacksonville.
- Florida State College in Jacksonville has had a downtown campus since 1977, when it opened as a community college, and has recently expanded with new dorms.
And next year, the University of Florida in Gainesville plans to launch a new graduate campus 75 miles north in Jacksonville.
The state’s largest public university will offer graduate programs in Business Administration, Science in Management, AI in Biomedical and Health Sciences, Engineering Management, Computer Science, Studies in Law and Architecture.
In addition, it will open the Florida Semiconductor Institute, anchored by a $45 million Advanced Technology Center. In addition to training workers, the institute will be a hub for research and development with semiconductor companies.
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan calls the institute “a game changer for Jacksonville’s economy.”
“It will accelerate our efforts to create good-paying, cutting-edge jobs and develop a workforce that is prepared for industries of the future,” Deegan says. “The focus on national security research will complement our large military presence and the companies that support that important work.”
Jacksonville is home to Mayport Naval Station, Jacksonville Naval Air Station and the Marine Corps’ Blount Island Command.
City Councilman Jimmy Peluso, whose district includes downtown, says the new UF campus “will be a massive centerpiece” for Jacksonville, which has a large alumni base.
“It’s going to bring a new caliber of industry to the Jacksonville market – fintech, AI, semiconductors,” Peluso says.
He envisions a surge in small businesses and enterprises launched by the new talent coming from the school. He also thinks the Semiconductor Institute will attract federal dollars.
The city of Jacksonville will be investing $100 million in the new venture, in addition to $245 million from the state and private donors.
A role model in Orlando
Shaniqua Rose worked for the City of Orlando several years ago when the University of Central Florida explored the possibility of a downtown campus.
“Only a handful of cities were looking at that when we decided to do it,” says Rose, now the city commissioner for a district that includes part of downtown. “The University of Central Florida downtown campus has had an amazing impact on the community.”
Since opening in 2020, UCF Downtown has graduated more than 10,000 students, including those from Valencia College, a community college that partners with UCF.
The 15-acre campus is part of Orlando’s Creative Village, a 68-acre mixed-use Innovation District that houses UCF’s College of Business, College of Community Innovation and Education and College of Sciences.
Among the offerings is a Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment to prepare students for careers in gaming, and Emergency Management Graduate Programs train people for careers in disaster response.
Rose says that the downtown area includes residential as well, and it’s possible for children to be educated from “cradle to career” within about a mile.
“UCF is one of the biggest in the nation to be in the downtown core,” Rose says. “It shows that we are future-ready to create opportunities to live, work and play.”
Students at the downtown campus also engage in community partnerships, particularly with schools that have included the Book Character Parade and a Halloween trail.
Projects with the city have included evaluating the walkability of downtown, developing strategies for reducing homelessness and creating mobile units that can be deployed during natural disasters.
Rose says she expects UCF to continue expanding as the city’s workforce needs change.
“UCF/Valencia could be modeled across the nation,” Rose said. “We have done the groundwork and the footwork on how to bring a university into the core. We can show how to integrate a university with a residential neighborhood. We are the innovation blueprint.”
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.