UCF’s College of Nursing will receive a generous $250,000 gift from the Martin Andersen-Gracia Andersen Foundation to support nursing students at the new Dr. Phillips Nursing Pavilion.

Located on the first floor of the new 90,000-square-foot facility, the Martin Andersen-Gracia Andersen Foundation Study Cafe will provide a retreat for students to rest and regroup between classes and labs.

Studies have shown cafes at universities are an important part of campus life, serving as a hub for learning and socialization.

Given the rigorous pace of UCF’s nationally ranked nursing programs, a space to support study groups and self-care is critical to supporting student success and mental health.

Located on the Collaboration Concourse, the 300-square-feet Martin Andersen-Gracia Andersen Foundation Study Cafe will include a kitchen, eating area and comfortable sitting area.

The Orlando-based nonprofit is a longtime supporter and partner of UCF. The foundation’s founders helped secure the land for UCF’s main campus in the 1960s. In recent years, the foundation supported UCF’s College of Medicine as a founding donor and established a much-needed skills laboratory for graduate nursing students in the current College of Nursing building in Research Park.

“We are thankful for the Martin Andersen-Gracia Andersen Foundation’s continued support,” says Mary Lou Sole, dean of UCF’s College of Nursing. “For more than a decade, their previous gift has prepared future nurse practitioners for practice. In our new facility, their generosity will continue to support student success and fuel future Knight nurses at all levels.”

The Dr. Phillips Nursing Pavilion is currently under construction at UCF’s Academic Health Sciences Campus in Lake Nona. The new state-of-the-art facility will enable UCF to address the nursing shortage, meet demand for more nursing educators, leaders and scientists, and solve healthcare’s greatest challenges through innovative and collaborative research.