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Florida Gymnasium

1949 establishments in FloridaBuildings at the University of FloridaDefunct college basketball venues in the United StatesFlorida Gators basketball venuesGuy Fulton buildings
Historic district contributing properties in FloridaIndoor arenas in FloridaNRHP infobox with nocatNational Register of Historic Places in Gainesville, FloridaSports venues completed in 1949Sports venues in FloridaSports venues on the National Register of Historic Places in FloridaUniversity and college buildings completed in 1949University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in FloridaUniversity and college student recreation centers in the United StatesUse mdy dates from August 2023
Florida Gymnasium
Florida Gymnasium

The Florida Gymnasium (commonly known as the "Florida Gym" and formerly nicknamed "Alligator Alley") is a historic building located on the campus of the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville. It opened in 1949 as a 7,000-seat multi-purpose arena and served as the home court of the Florida Gators men's basketball team and other UF indoor sports programs for over thirty years, acquiring the nickname of "Alligator Alley" during that time.The Stephen C. O'Connell Center replaced the Florida Gym as the university's main indoor facility for intercollegiate sports upon its opening in 1980. The old gym was gradually repurposed for use by the University of Florida College of Health and Human Performance (HHP) in the following years, with a series of renovations and rebuilding projects converting most of the interior space into modern classrooms, laboratories, offices, and other educational facilities by the mid-1990s. The center of the gym still features a basketball court which is used for small assemblies and HHP classes and activities.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Florida Gymnasium (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Florida Gymnasium
Stadium Road, Gainesville

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N 29.648888888889 ° E -82.347222222222 °
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Florida Gym (Florida Gymnasium)

Stadium Road 1864
32611 Gainesville
Florida, United States
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Florida Gymnasium
Florida Gymnasium
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Ustler Hall
Ustler Hall

Kathryn Chicone Ustler Hall (formerly known as the Women's Gymnasium and University Gymnasium) is a historic building on the campus of the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville, Florida. It was designed by William Augustus Edwards in the Collegiate Gothic style and opened in 1919 as the University Gymnasium. In that capacity, the building was the first home of the Florida Gators men's basketball team, and it continued to serve as the home court for most of the university's indoor sports programs until the Florida Gymnasium opened in the late 1940s. The university became co-educational at about the same time, and the building was rechristened the Women's Gymnasium and was repurposed as a recreation center for the school's many new female students. On June 27, 1979, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The opening of O'Connell Center in 1980 and new student recreation facilities made the old gym obsolete, and it gradually fell into disuse. The building was slated for demolition in the 1980s but was saved for its historic value, though it was used primarily as a storage facility for several years. A large donation by UF alumnus Kathryn Ulster made it possible to completely transform the interior into modern classrooms, offices, and other educational spaces, and the university's Women's Studies Department moved into the newly renamed Ustler Hall in 2006. It was the first building on the UF campus named to honor a woman, and at its rededication, it was the only freestanding campus building in the United States devoted solely to Women's Studies.

University of Florida Division of Continuing Education

The General Extension Division (GED) at the University of Florida was created by the state legislature in 1919. The General Extension Division was established as the extramural college to represent all of the state institutions of higher learning except in agriculture, home economics, and engineering. The head of extension was initially designated a director, but was later elevated to dean with the responsibility of making recommendations concerning policies, organization, staff, finance, and the development of the program. Originally, the Dean of General Extension reported solely to the President of the University of Florida, but later was accountable to all of the state's university presidents. GED's first and only dean was Bert C. Riley. In 1944, General Extension included the following departments: Extension Teaching, the Public Service Training Center, located at the State College for Women, Department of Women's Activities, Department of Investigations and Research, Department of Information and Service, Department of Visual Instruction, and Department of Citizenship Training. GED's initial focus was towards non-credit, adult education, directed primarily at those without the benefit of a higher education and intended to promote consumer, business, and civic awareness. Gradually, the focus shifted to off-campus professional education. In 1962, GED was abolished and the state legislature created the Florida Institute for Continuing University Studies (FICUS). FICUS had duties and responsibilities comparable to GED, but was independent of any university. FICUS was divided into several centers located in major urban areas of the state. In 1965, the legislature abolished FICUS and each university was allowed to administer its own non-credit program and given specific responsibilities for off-campus credit programs. The University of Florida was also assigned responsibility for Home Study Courses and each university was placed in charge of an off-campus continuing education center. The Division of Continuing Education (DOCE) was created at the University of Florida to administer the University's program. In 1972, the state's continuing education program was reorganized once again. Six of the state's nine state universities were given responsibilities for off-campus credit programs in specific counties. Florida State University, the University of Florida, and Florida A and M University were not assigned regional responsibilities, but were to provide credit courses on a state-wide basis in academic areas which could not be provided by the other universities. In the summer of 2009, the University of Florida created the Office of the Associate Provost for Teaching and Technology to reflect the broadening mission of supporting teaching innovation at UF. Later that year, the Division of Continuing Education was placed under the Office of Teaching and Technology and officially changed its name to Distance & Continuing Education (DCE) to incorporate online education. In 2019, Distance & Continuing Education (DCE) was split into two units, the Office of Distance Learning (ODL), focused on for-credit programs including Flexible Learning, Dual Enrollment, Self-funded programs, and online proctoring; and the Office of Professional and Workforce Development (OPWD), focused on non-credit workforce programs that lead to licensure or certification.