The university was founded in 1969 after midway between downtown Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Beaches were set aside for the campus, of which were donated by the Skinner family of Jacksonville. Until this time, the only publicly funded institution of higher learning was Florida Community College at Jacksonville. Construction on classrooms and buildings began in 1971 and UNF opened in the fall of 1972 with an initial enrollment of 2,027 juniors, seniors and graduate students, supported by 117 faculty and more than 150 staff. Originally, like the other Florida state institutions opened around this time, UNF was designated as a "senior" college, meaning it would enroll only upperclassmen and graduate students.