The University of Florida has a new outpost — right in the backyard of the University of Miami.
UF’s new office at 1 Alhambra Plaza in downtown Coral Gables, which officially opened Monday night, won’t include any classrooms but it will house admissions, alumni outreach and fund-raising staffers just a few miles from the UM campus, where there is no love lost for the Gators — at least on the football field.
UF spokeswoman Margot Winick said the aim was not to compete with UM but to serve the interests of a large alumni and student base that already lives here. South Florida is home to 20,000 UF alumni and 4,000 UF students, including those who take virtual courses, she said. The office also will house UF Online and the College of Education’s Lastinger Center for Learning, which has a partnership with the Miami-Dade school district.
