UNF Journal: Spring 2011

The University of North Florida puts its money where its mouth is — by offering a college education to three deserving community members. UNF put its mission to the test when “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” came knocking.

The students of the University of North Florida have adopted a new creed that clearly states the values they hold dear and those they strive to achieve. Written by UNF senior Christopher Warren, the creed’s purpose is to promote school spirit and Osprey pride.

Reynolds Lane Elementary School Principal Todd Simpson heads to the playground, he’s like Gulliver surrounded by a bunch of giggling Lilliputians. He’s not tied and staked to the ground but the 335 children enrolled in his school have certainly captured his heart and soul.

Northeast Florida Litigator Alan Wachs’ luxurious waterfront office may only be 15 miles from the University of North Florida campus, but the award-winning attorney has come a long way since the Constitutional Law class that decided his future.

Trombonist, composer and music educator Vincent Gardner, a 1995 graduate of the UNF Jazz Studies program, is a quiet, humble man who doesn’t like to toot his own horn. But, at just 38, he has already enjoyed a very impressive international music career.

Knowing when to release incarcerated criminals suffering from mental illness is Karolina Christesson Ringby's job. This UNF alum is responsible for evaluating the mental state and predicting the future behavior of patients at a forensic psychiatric clinic in Hassleholm, Sweden.

The University of North Florida has received the prestigious 2010 Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in recognition of the University’s exceptional commitment to community engagement. Only 115 institutions in the country received Carnegie classification this year.

Mahatma Gandhi’s spirit of service lives on at the University of North Florida — through the statue dedicated to him near Founders Hall, through campus organizations sharing his ideals of peace and acceptance and as inspiration for the College of Education and Human Services’ doctoral program in educational leadership.

When New Hampshire internist Boris Golosarsky needed to find a group of top-notch college students to produce a prototype of his heart-rate variability watch he designed to track adverse changes to heart rhythms, he looked no further than the University of North Florida.

It began with a simple pencil drive in 2008 to help students in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. But when members of UNF’s Students in Free Enterprise unearthed a need for computer equipment in the Dominican Republic, they came up with a unique solution that was a win-win for all.

David Stein is one of Jacksonville’s most prominent philanthropists, but he doesn’t seek the spotlight. Stein’s latest gift to the University of North Florida is an example of how he strives to help others — in this case by establishing fellowships for his beloved “Steiners.”

It only takes up a small space on the wall of Alumni Hall’s lobby, but its symbolism is huge. The Donor Honor Wall displays the names of 64 donors whose generosity has helped to change the lives of thousands of UNF students since the University opened in 1972.

Dr. Richard de Raismes Kip is remembered for many things at the University. Some recall how the bow-tie-loving professor walked through UNF buildings and turned off lights in empty classrooms. Others remember how he brought his lunch every day — a yogurt, a banana and a bag of marshmallows.

The grass is green, the sun is shining, the North Florida baseball team has nearly completed another season playing America’s national pastime — and for the first time in program history, the UNF baseball team is under the direction of a new head coach, Raymond “Smoke” Laval.