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December 2003 - January 2004

Teaching sculpture graces new building

Teaching sculpture in front of the new Science and Engineering Building.

The Science and Engineering Building took another step toward completion when a teaching sculpture was installed at the site in early November.

The Haskell Co. made and donated the $20,000 steel structure, which illustrates most of the steel connections used in construction. Duane Ellifritt, a retired University of Florida professor and structural engineer, created the first sculpture in 1986.

The American Institute of Steel Construction Inc. discovered Ellifritt’s teaching tool and obtained the plans for it. UNF has the 121st sculpture to be installed at a U.S. college or technical school, and is the sixth Florida university to have one, according to The Haskell Co.
Haskell will add a plaque to the 4,000-pound sculpture at the building’s grand opening, which is scheduled for late February.

The sculpture and new building come on the heels of two new program accreditations for the College of Computing, Engineering and Construction. The bachelor’s degree programs in civil engineering and information systems recently received accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.
College of Computing, Engineering and Construction Dean Neal Coulter expects to begin moving some lab equipment into the new building in December to make some labs available for use in January. He hopes to have faculty start moving in during January, in time for the building’s grand opening.

The University broke ground on the new building in November 2001, planning to open it for classes in spring 2003. Construction problems, however, delayed those plans.

Once open, the building will include two 150-seat auditoriums, a renewable energy lab, an applied global systems lab, a construction management computer lab and a timber-woodland lab. The FEEDS program also plans to become a source for classes once it moves into its new quarters.