The University of North Florida

T I M E L I N E S  O F  H I S T O R Y

MARKING THE FIRST 25 YEARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA

  UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA CITY OF JACKSONVILLE & STATE OF FLORIDA NATIONAL AND WORLD EVENTS

1969

1,000-acre campus site was chosen mid-way between downtown Jacksonville and the beaches. Land was acquired from the city and area landowners.

July 11 - Thomas G. Carpenter is chosen by the Board of Regents (BOR) to become the first president of UNF.

Jacksonville Children's Museum moves to a new location and is renamed the Museum of Science and History.

A rock festival at Woodstock, NY, attracts a crowd of 500,000.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on the moon.

1970

UNF moves its offices to the Florida State Chamber of Commerce building on Arlington Expressway. Reubin Askew elected as Florida Governor. Ohio National Guardsmen kill four Kent State students during an anti-war protest.

1971

650 guests attend UNF groundbreaking including Florida Governor Reubin Askew, BOR Chancellor Robert Mautz, Commissioner of Education Floyd Christian and local Regent J.J. Daniel.

Walt Disney World opens in Orlando.

Hurricane Agnes causes $1.7 billion in damages.

University Hospital dedicates a new 500-bed teaching hospital.

 

1972

UNF opens for the first semester. 2,027 students attend classes. UNF consists of only four major buildings and three colleges: Arts and Sciences, Education and Business Administration.

The library opens with 100,000 catalogued volumes on its shelves.

Hans Tanzler is re-elected Jacksonville's Mayor.

Jacksonville celebrates its sesquicentennial.

Richard Leakey discovers a skull that is 2.6 million years old.

The Watergate Affair begins with the arrest of five burglars at the Democratic Party Headquarters.

1973

The UNF Nature Trails open.

June 10 - First graduation, 35 students receive degrees.

3,169 students register for the Fall Term.

One of the world's finest collections of Oriental porcelain, the Koger Porcelain Collections, opens at the Jacksonville Art Museum. OPEC begins an oil embargo against Europe, U.S. and Japan.

Paris Peace Accords end Vietnam War.

1974

Southern Association of Colleges & Schools grants full academic accreditation to UNF.

Independent Square, a 37-story building on West Bay and Main Street, opens.

President Nixon resigns; Gerald Ford becomes the 38th U.S. President.

1975

  First JSO Oceanside Pops Benefit Concert at the Jacksonville Beach Flag Pavilion, more than 1,200 people attend. U.S. astronauts & Soviet cosmonauts link-up during the Apollo-Soyuz mission.

1976

UNF Alumni Association established. Hubbard House, a shelter for battered women and children, opens its doors.

River Queen, a 200-passenger paddle boat, makes her first run on the St. Johns River.

Jim Henson's Muppet Show debuts on television.

The U.S. celebrates its Bicentennial.

Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci wins three gold medals at the Montreal Olympics.

1977

    Jimmy Carter is inaugurated as the 39th U.S. President.

George Lucas directs the first Star Wars science fiction film.

The first Apple II personal computer is marketed in the U.S.

1978

UNF's original Boathouse is destroyed by fire.

UNF Downtown Center opens for students.

Bob Graham is elected as Florida's Governor. Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain's first female Prime Minister.

Mother Theresa of Calcutta is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Accident at Three-Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant.

The U.S. boycotts the Moscow Olympics to protest the invasion of Afganistan.

1979

  Hospice Northeast opens its doors in Jacksonville.

Jake Goldbold is elected Mayor of Jacksonville.

 

1980

Andrew Robinson becomes the interim president of UNF.

New library opens.

Governor Graham vetoes the UNF-UF merger bill.

The Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament begins.

Florida's population is 9,743,920.

Jacksonville's population is 540,920.

Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington State.

1981

The library is renamed as the Thomas G. Carpenter Library, dedicated on August 15.

UNF theater opens for first production.

 

Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th U.S. President.

Sandra Day O'Connor is appointed the first female on the U.S. Supreme Court.

The first Space Shuttle is launched.

1982

5,500 students are enrolled in UNF.

July 1 - Curtis L. McCray becomes UNF's second president.

  USA Today is launched.

1983

Intercollegiate athletic program begins.

Florida Theater Performing Arts Center, a renovated, 1,978-seat facility, opens in Jacksonville.

Jake Goldbold is re-elected Mayor of Jacksonville.

American zoologist Diane Fossey publishes her book Gorillas in the Mist.

Sally Ride becomes the first female U.S. astronaut.

1984

First year that Freshmen are admitted to UNF.

Metropolitan Park, the first recreational site to be developed along the St. Johns River, opens in Jacksonville.

Geraldine Ferraro becomes the first female vice-presidential candidate in the U.S.

Reverend Desmond Tutu, opponent of Apartheid, is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1985

Osprey Village, first on-campus housing, opens.

  Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the Premier of the U.S.S.R.

President Reagan is inaugurated for his second term as President of the U.S.

1986

Women's Tennis Team wins the NAIA National Championship.

Library's on-line catalog (LUIS) replaces card catalog.

Tampa Skyway Bridge opens.

Bob Martinez is elected Florida Governor.

A major nuclear reactor disaster takes place at Chernobyl in the U.S.S.R.

1987

The Aquatic Center and Olympic size pool opens.

The new Florida State Lottery game is approved.

The Jacksonville Landing, a festival marketplace on the St. Johns River, opens on the North Bank.

The First Coast is designated as a stop on the official World Golf Destination of the PGA Tour.

Tommy Hazouri is elected Mayor of Jacksonville.

Colonel Oliver North testifies at the Iran-Contra Affair hearings.

1988

The College of Health is established.

John E. Mathews Jr. Computer and Information Sciences Building dedicated.

Monique French becomes the first four-year student to graduate with a perfect 4.0 GPA.

Groundbreaking for Andrew A. Robinson Jr. Student Life Center.

The Toll Referendum removes tolls in Jacksonville.

The space shuttle Discovery is the first to be launched after the Challenger disaster.

1989

Adam W. Herbert becomes UNF's third president.

UNF is re-accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Osprey Hall, a $3.7 million, 250-bed residence hall, opens.

Founder's Hall dedicated.

College of Computer and Information Sciences established.

 

George Bush is inaugurated as the 41st U.S. President.

1990

Rich Matteson, professor of music, is inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame.

First doctoral degree program begins.

The population in Florida is 12,937,926.

The population in Jacksonville is 635,230.

Lawton Chiles is elected Governor of Florida.

East and West Germany are united.

The U.S. Hubbell Space Telescope is launched.

Iraq invades Kuwait.

1991

Golf Team wins NAIA National Championship.

J.J. Daniel Hall dedicated.

Ed Austin is elected Mayor of Jacksonville.

President Bush and Premier Gorbachev sign the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

Operation Desert Storm launched.

1992

9,268 students are enrolled during the Fall Term.

College of Education Building named for Frederick H. Schultz.

Hurricane Andrew strikes Florida.

Bill Clinton becomes the 42nd U.S. President.

Johnny Carson retires from NBC's Tonight Show.

U.S.,Canada and Mexico sign the North American Free Trade Agreement.

1993

The UNF Arena opens.

The groundbreaking for College of Health building.

UNF joins NCAA Division 11.

Golf Team wins second NAIA National Championship.

  Russian President Boris Yeltsin survives a power struggle with the Congress of People Deputies.

1994

Osprey Landing, housing 150 students, opens in the Fall.

Women's Tennis Team wins NAIA National Championship.

Jacksonville wins NFL franchise - the Jacksonville Jaguars. Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as president of South Africa after the first all race elections.

1995

More than 10,000 students enroll during Fall registration.

The new College of Health building opens.

Dottie Dorion Fitness Center opens.

Inaugural season of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Sheriff Nat Glover, a 1988 distinguished UNF graduate, is elected the first African American sheriff in recent Florida history.

John Delaney is elected Mayor of Jacksonville.

Aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy arrives in Mayport.

Capt. Scott O'Grady, a U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter pilot, is shot down over Bosnia and Herzegovina and is later rescued.

1996

New College of Business Administration building opens.

11,000 students enroll for Fall classes.

Jacksonville celebrates Millionmania. More than one million people now live in the Jacksonville metropolitan area. "Blizzard of '96" paralyzes the Eastern United States.

Bill Clinton elected to second term as President.

1997

UNF celebrates its 25th anniversary.  

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Modified: Wednesday July 2, 1997