UNF celebrates innovation, excellence and record-breaking achievements in 2024-25

The University of North Florida celebrated the newly named Silverfield College of Education and Human Services, announced a 100 percent experiential learning guarantee for incoming students, hit record student retention levels and continued groundbreaking research during the 2024-25 school year. 

It was another year filled with innovation and excellence and record-breaking achievements, demonstrating UNF’s impact on the lives of its students, faculty and staff, alumni, business partners and the Northeast Florida community. 

Here are highlights from the year: 

STUDENT SUCCESS 

• Experiential learning: UNF guarantees experiential learning for all incoming students. Learn more. 
• Retention: UNF’s first-year retention rate hits record levels, up more than 5 percentage points since 2022.  Learn more. 
• Career Week: More than 1,600 students and alumni attended UNF’s Career Week with a lineup of more than 340 employers. Learn more.    

CAMPUS UPDGRADES 

• Silverfield: UNF celebrated the newly named Silverfield College of Education and Human Services, following a transformational gift from Silverfield family. Learn more. 
• Esports: The City of Jacksonville approved $3 million in support for The Flight Deck, UNF’s innovation arena where technology and learning converge. Learn more. 
• New Dorm: Work is being finalized on a new Honors Residence Hall, which opens this summer and provides about 520 beds for students. It will include a living-learning community for honors students. Learn more.  
• Coggin: UNF broke ground on the extension and updates to the Coggin College of Business, which will provide more classrooms, research labs, offices, conference rooms and study spaces. Learn more. 

BUSINESS COLLABORATIONS 

• VyStar: UNF students recently collaborated with VyStar Credit Union to develop marketing plans for the VyStar Orlando Magic co-branded debit and Visa® credit cards that were recently launched.  Learn more. 
• Miller and JEA: UNF joins forces with JEA and Miller Electric to develop workforce training that builds future skilled leaders and professionals in the clean energy sector.  Learn more. 
• Mayo Clinic: A UNF graduate and Mayo Clinic engineer creates opportunities for students to conduct 3D materials science research. Learn more.  
• JAXPORT: UNF students gain real-world experience helping JAXPORT improve traffic flow and tenant operations. Learn more.  
• HCA: UNF MedNexus and HCA Healthcare partnership offers students a pathway to success. Learn more.  

COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND ENGAGEMENT 

• Giving Day: UNF’s 2025 annual Giving Day raised $2,407,024 from 4,513 donors, marking UNF’s largest single day of fundraising. Learn more. 
• Civil Discourse: The UNF Office of Public Policy Events continued its series of discussions and debates, with conversations this year about clean energy, social media regulation, Supreme Court ethics and immigration. Watch the discussion. 
• TEDxJacksonville: UNF hosted TEDxJacksonville’s “The Overlap,” which included national and local thought leaders talking about a variety of topics. The event was open to the public. Learn more. 

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION 

• Coastal Resilience: National Park Service awards UNF grant to significantly expand Florida and Georgia coastline restoration efforts. Learn more.  
• Muscle Atrophy: Biological sciences professor receives NIH grant to study muscle atrophy. Learn more.  
• Sports Safety: Engineering students develop groundbreaking technology to detect traumatic brain injuries in sports. Learn more.  
• Dark Matter: Researchers awarded NSF grant to advance dark matter detection. Learn more.  
• AI: UNF first in U.S. to enter international consortium on AI and logistics solutions. Learn more.  

RANKINGS 

• UNF landed for the sixth consecutive year on U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Colleges list.  Learn more. 
• Wall Street Journal ranks UNF among Best Colleges in the U.S. to set graduates up for financial success. Learn more. 
• UNF was ranked among the nation’s “Best Online Programs” in 2025 by U.S. News & World Report. Learn more.  
• CEO Magazine ranks UNF among 2025 Best Global MBA Programs. Learn more. 
• UNF ranks among U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Graduate Schools Learn more. 
• UNF earns 2025-26 Military Friendly School designation for 16th consecutive year. Learn more. 

During the Summer 2024, Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 commencement ceremonies, UNF celebrated 4,140 students earning their diplomas, bringing the total Osprey alumni membership to 115,798.