Key Points
- The University of Florida is launching a $200 million three-phase expansion and renovation of its College of Dentistry's Dental Science Building to be completed by 2030.
- The new facility will include a 100,000-square-foot building for dental education and patient care, featuring advanced tech for immersive learning and digital dentistry.
There were lots of smiling faces at the University of Florida’s College of Dentistry Thursday evening, as faculty and staff gathered with UF dignitaries and state leaders to break ground on a significant addition and renovation project for the college’s Dental Science Building.
“When our college opened in 1972, we taught research and care for patients in temporary structures that were scattered all over the UF campus,” said Isabel Garcia, dean of UF’s College of Dentistry, while giving remarks.
After four years of operating across various locations on campus, the college’s Dental Science Building opened in 1976, uniting faculty, staff, students and residents under one roof for the first time ever.
“When the [Dental Science] Building was completed in 1976, that really became the cornerstone of our success,” Garcia said. “Inside the brick walls, we built the foundation for everything that we have achieved. But now, it’s time for the next chapter.”
The project, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2030, will be done in three phases. It includes refurbishment and repair of the exterior of the current Dental Science Building, followed by the addition of a 100,000-square-foot, three-story facility that will house dental education and patient care spaces. The project will conclude with renovations of the existing space in the original dental science building.
“This space where we are today will become a hub for immersive learning, for advanced patient care and cutting-edge research,” Garcia said. “Our new simulation lab will integrate pre-clinical, clinical and digital workflows into one seamless learning ecosystem, and our classrooms will feature the most advanced educational technologies…solidifying our leadership in dental education, in AI and in digital dentistry.”
While giving remarks, UF Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini said, “We are not simply breaking ground on a building. We are breaking ground on a new era.”
Hosseini added that the project being celebrated on Thursday “represents a $200 million investment from the state of Florida – the largest ever made in a medical sciences building at any state university in Florida history. It sets a new benchmark for what is possible when Florida’s leaders believe in an institution’s mission, its impact and its future.”
Interim UF President Donald Landry described dentistry as “one of the most refined areas of healing art.”
He said patients deserve a building that “puts them at ease.”
“The doctors deserve a practical space that is going to allow them to focus on that patient,” Landry added.
The ceremony concluded with Landry, Hosseini and Garcia taking part in a ceremonial groundbreaking for the project.
Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.
