UNF From the Ground Up:
Campus Buildings, Colleges, and Sites
Brooks College of Health / J. Brooks Brown Hall

Groundbreaking: May 20, 1993
Grand Opening: March 22, 1995
Naming of building (J. Brooks Brown Hall): September 30, 1997
Naming of building: Speech by UNF President Dr. Adam Herbert
Naming of College (Brooks College of Health): March 31, 2006
Naming of College (Brooks College of Health): Media coverage, UNF Journal, Spring 2006
Grand opening celebration of new addition: October 10, 2008. Media coverage. Press Release.

Dr. J. Brooks Brown is a retired Jacksonville physician and UNF benefactor who has been a leader in health care education and innovation. Dr. Brown practiced surgery in Jacksonville from 1953 to 1983 and was instrumental in incorporating Memorial Hospital in 1964, serving as its Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer.

In 1995, he was named Chairman and CEO of Genesis Health Inc., the rehabilitation affiliation of Memorial Hospital. Genesis was renamed the Brooks Health System in 1999, and Dr. Brown continued to serve as Chairman until July 1, 2005. He remains a member of the Brooks Rehabilitation Board. The System includes the Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital; a Brooks Rehabilitation Network of outpatient clinics; the University of Florida Brooks Center for Rehabilitation Studies; and the Brooks Health Foundation.

Dr. Brown has had a long-standing relationship with UNF. A donation by Genesis resulted in the establishment of the Genesis Distinguished Professorship, the Genesis Health Scholars and four College of Health research professorships. UNF awarded Dr. Brown an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters on December 10, 1999. He also was a 1999 recipient of the College of Business Prime F. Osborn III Distinguished Business Leaders Award.

The College of Health building was renamed J. Brooks Brown Hall on September 30, 1997. Nine years later, on March 31, 2006, the University announced the renaming of the College, Brooks College of Health. Brooks Rehabilitation donated $3.6 million, a gift matched by the state, resulting in a total donation of $7.2 million. At the College naming ceremony, Dr. Brown also announced an endowed professorship in the College named after Dean Pam Chally.

In 2007, construction started on an addition to the Brooks College of Health. The addition opened on August 25, 2008, with a grand opening celebration held on October 10. The building contains approximately 33,000 gross square feet on four floors. It accommodates teaching classrooms and general administrative office space for the Nursing Program. The second floor is occupied by the Student Health Services which was relocated from Building 14. The Brooks College addition will be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, a private, non-profit group that encourages environmentally responsible buildings. Architectural image of Addition.

For additional University Archival information, please contact us by phone: (904) 620-1533 or email: ebrady@unf.edu