Palm Coast City Council approved transferring a $1 million forgivable loan and a $1.5 million grant to Jacksonville University to help establish an education center in Palm Coast.
The Palm Coast Observer, a Jacksonville Daily Record sister publication, reported the approval was made March 2.
The university will build-out a 6,000-square-foot space in an existing building to create classrooms, labs and office space.
The grant and loan also will be used to provide for 20-30 staff members at an average annual salary of $67,000; technology resources; and marketing and recruitment support.
The Flagler County site will be the first campus outside Jacksonville in the institution’s 86-year history.
Beginning in the fall, JU will offer classes at Palm Coast’s Town Center leading to undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing, speech pathology and clinical mental health counseling.
Students will be recruited for the degree programs from Palm Coast schools and may receive part of their training in hospitals there and in Daytona Beach. JU anticipates the program will have an enrollment of at least 100 students after two years and plans to expand the campus as enrollment increases.
Florida State College at Jacksonville is offering a webinar at 8:30 a.m. March 25 about the evolving role of education in preparing students for the economy of the future.
The panel includes FSCJ President John Avendano, Division of Career and Adult Education Chancellor Henry Mack, professor Johnny Bowman Jr. and Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Diana Greene.
Visit https://www.fscj.edu/business-speakers to register for the free event.
Kenneth Laali, University of North Florida Presidential Professor of Chemistry, received a U.S. patent on March 2 for developing a new way to treat cancer tumors.
His patent on “Novel ‘Curcuminoid-Inspired’ Synthetic Compounds as Anti-tumor Agents” outlines the synthesis and characterization of new compounds and reports on their value in chemotherapy against a range of cancer types.
Patent rights are assigned by the UNF board of trustees.
The patent is the culmination of more than five years of research at UNF with contributions by undergraduate students, master’s level research interns and visiting scientists, the university said in a news release.
