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Jacksonville University Raises Funds for Programs, Facilities

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville University’s (JU) ASPIRE campaign recently surpassed $100 million in funding raised towards improving and expanding programs and facilities for students.

“We are grateful for the encouraging support and outstanding rate of contributions in this campaign, and our targeted goal is now only the beginning of our efforts,” said JU President Tim Cost in a statement. “Investment is coming not only from our distinguished major partners, but also from a groundswell of support by many of our individual friends and supporters. They believe strongly in the upward trajectory of JU as it provides the highest-quality education for its students.”

Five key areas at the school to receive funding from ASPIRE include: Advancing Scholarships and Academics, $27 million; creating and expanding the Brooks Rehabilitation College of Healthcare Sciences, $24 million; Campus and Student Life Enhancements, $12 million; Athletics, $17 million; and Financial Vitality, $40 million. Here are programs and facilities completed, under way or planned as a result of ASPIRE:

The Nathan M. Bisk Center for Online Learning: The new online center recognizes the university’s commitment to online learning, particularly with the online nursing programs offered by the Brooks Rehabilitation College of Healthcare Sciences. This new center will help expand centralized, online, flexible learning platforms at the school and will provide the resources needed for planned collaborations between the Brooks Rehabilitation College of Healthcare Sciences and the Davis College of Business. These new initiatives are well positioned in offering key online graduate degrees and certificate programs for professional preparation to enter top health care and business industries.

D.B. Milne Field Upgrades: Investment in the lacrosse and football stadium includes enhancements such as 2,900 permanent seats and a press box as well as new restrooms, an improved sound system and concession stands.

The River House: The River House received $1.5 million in renovations and is now a signature location for student events, studying, socializing, high profile community receptions or just a bite to eat. This dynamic, new 6,000-square-foot gathering place also features a brew pub, meeting rooms, wide-screen TVs and tiered outside decking overlooking the Sand Volleyball complex and riverfront totaling 2,800 square feet.

Nelms Plaza Outdoor Study Space/Nimnicht Fitness Center: The $250,000 Nelms Plaza is a collaborative learning and socializing outdoor space with canopies, cabana seating and smartphone recharging stations in a centralized campus location near the Swisher Science building and Brooks Rehabilitation College of Healthcare Sciences. The Nimnicht Fitness Center is the result of a $300,000 investment in an entirely new space featuring brand-new fitness equipment and a major overall upgrade to the university’s fitness center overlooking the St. Johns River.

Science and Health Sciences Labs: New laboratories have been built and existing ones refreshed in the Swisher, Nelms, Reid Medical and Merritt Penticoff academic buildings and the Brooks Rehabilitation College of Healthcare Sciences. The $2.2 million in improvements bring students studying anatomy, biology, chemistry, physics, kinesiology and other science- and health sciences-related subjects state-of-the-art facilities and equipment to conduct their experiments and observations. Specifically, the university’s fast-growing nursing program in the College of Healthcare Sciences will benefit greatly from the enhancements.

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Q&A: Jacksonville University Undergoes Major Power Conversion

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville University (JU) campus recently completed a $2.5 million electric conversion from its own power plant to being totally reliant on Jacksonville Electricity Authority (JEA) electric service on June 6. �Ӱ�ԭ��ҕ�l spoke with David Fleming, CSI-CDT, construction project manager for the university, about why the conversion was necessary for maintenance and operations of the on-campus facilities.

Q: What was the project’s goal?

Fleming: The project goal was to disconnect the campus from its own 60-plus-year-old, 4160-volt electric vault switchgear circuit breaker distribution system and to disconnect from the two JEA 25000/4160-volt primary transformers (non-standard industry transformers) and to convert over to JEA’s 25000-volt primary service and JEA transformers. The campus’ existing 4160-volt dedicated primary/secondary service cable and conduit distribution system was from four switchgear circuit breakers serving 80 percent of the campus buildings, and the remaining 20 percent of the campus buildings were supplied from JEA’s dedicated primary service, conduit and transformer distribution system as a result from recent construction projects. The project only intercepted the existing campus 208/240-volt secondary cable/conduit system.

Due to the recent construction projects at each end of the campus, supplied from the JEA 25000-volt primary service and JEA transformers, [the project] created a north-end and a south-end single feed. This project utilized the single feed and created a north-end and a south-end dual-feed loop. The JEA primary service enters the campus from two separate directions for each loop and provides a back-up electric service loop if one end of the loop is damaged or severed. The campus is divided equally from each loop. Another benefit is the loop can be expanded when new buildings are brought on line by simply isolating and connecting the primary service between the two transformers.

An issue that developed from the former electric vault switchgear circuit breaker system was that if an individual transformer failed or primary cable failed, the whole circuit breaker distribution line had to be shut down for associated repair, which would mean 20 to 30 percent of the campus buildings would be without power. The new dual-feed loop can be isolated for a single transformer failure or a single primary cable failure. The distribution line can be de-energized between two transformers and affect only a single building.

Q: What was the main reason for making the switch?

Fleming: The former electric vault circuit breakers, primary and secondary service cables, transformers, conduits and manholes were owned by JU, and associated repair costs were the university’s responsibility. The new JEA electric service transfers the repair and cost over to JEA for the primary service cables, conduits, manholes and transformers, although the university is still responsible for the existing 208/240-volt secondary cables and conduits.

Q: How will switching to JEA make university operations more efficient?

Fleming: I don’t know if energy efficiency could be stated, but having a reliable and dependable utility company service will make operations more efficient. The operational side benefits are maintenance cost, expedited response from JEA, upgraded electric service and industry-standard transformers.

Q: What does the future of maintenance and operations look like for the university after this conversion?

Fleming: Based on the former electric distribution system with an evaluation of former service company billings from 2008 to 2014, the annual vault switchgear circuit breaker maintenance and associated electric distribution emergency service calls averaged about $30,600 per year. The other side of the equation is the ability to repair antiquated circuit breakers, non-standard industry transformers, special-order or custom-made parts — most of which are not nationally available — which makes the repair and/or annual service maintenance more difficult.

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Jacksonville Debuts New College of Health Sciences Building

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A dedication of the new 30,000-square-foot College of Health Sciences (CHS) building at Jacksonville University was held on Sept. 4. The project is a major part of a larger, $20 million, phased plan to expand the college’s facilities, programs, equipment and faculty to meet growing demand.
Dasher Hurst Architects served as the architect on the project, while Perry-McCall Construction Inc. was the general contractor. Both companies are locally based in Jacksonville. �Ӱ�ԭ��ҕ�l spoke with Glenn Dasher, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, principal for the architecture firm, about what the new facility means for the university.
Q: What was the main goal on the project?
Dasher: The main goal of the project was to provide The College of Health Sciences with the additional space necessary to handle its continued growth and expanding programs. There are currently about 1,900 students in the College of Health Sciences. With Nursing, Speech-Language Pathology and Kinesiology program increases and new degrees, enrollment is projected to rise as much as 30 percent over the next several years.
A primary part of this puzzle was the development of a state-of-the-art Simulation Training and Applied Research (STAR) Center with 14 beds of newborn- to adult-patient mannequins, an Advanced Novel Equipment Workspace (NEW) speech pathology lab and a Physically Active Lifestyles (PAL) lab.
In addition to the School of Nursing, the CHS now includes the School of Applied Health Sciences (Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders; Department of Kinesiology) and the School of Orthodontics. The CHS has added a Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology, and its Masters of Science in Speech-Language Pathology (MS SLP) started this fall. In addition, the CHS is developing and planning to offer several new master’s degree programs that target critically needed areas such as health informatics (anticipated fall 2015). A Masters of Kinesiology and Athletics Training degree programs are also planned.
Q: What were some of the key design elements?
Dasher: The most important design element was the incorporation of a two-story linear atrium that runs the length of the building. It has clerestory windows that run along the top, bringing daylight to the interior offices and corridors and creating a number of positive attributes for the building. It creates a healthier interior environment while reducing the cost of interior lighting and power consumption. It also nourishes the indoor garden located on the first floor, which includes a cascading waterfall feature. The garden acts as a soft buffer from the adjacent corridor and the first floor office, while the surrounding seat wall provides casual areas for students to socialize.
Q: What were the biggest challenges, and how did project team overcome those challenges?
Dasher: The biggest challenge on the design side was created by the requirement that the new building exterior be a close mirror copy of the original Lazzara Health Sciences center building next door, while the interior was a completely new program and layout. All the required spaces and adjacencies were carefully organized to maximize every square foot available while still providing social spaces that were sacrificed in the older building.
For the construction side, the very limited site available and its immediacy to surrounding buildings and student circulation was a challenge. Because the exterior walls were all made of site cast structural concrete panels, finding enough to form and pour them was very challenging for the contractor. To solve the problem, they developed an intricate plan for pouring multiple panels on top of each other, which required a precise schedule and approach for lifting and putting the walls in place. It required extensive coordination and a very skilled superintendent.
Q: What about the project differs from ones you’ve completed in the past?
Dasher: This project cost came in significantly under the projected budget that was based on recently completed similar buildings. We have been under budget on other projects, but were almost 32 percent under, considering some of the nice design features and finishes that made it into the final product. We were very happy to be able to create such a nice new home for the faculty and students that speaks to their own specific mission and ideals.

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