Thu Nov 3
As a boy growing up in West Virginia, UCF history instructor Robert Clarke would spend his free time outside. In soil of the Ohio Valley, he’d use his fingers to pull stones from the ground. Some of them were little treasures: arrowheads. “I thought they were the coolest things ever,” Clarke says. The discovery of…
Wed Nov 2
Six faculty members were lauded for being leaders and making impacts in their fields during UCF’s annual Luminary Awards on Tuesday at Leu Gardens in Orlando. The Luminary Awards are designed to recognize some of UCF’s brightest stars who shine a positive light on UCF and on their respective fields, as well as illuminate a…
Tue Nov 1
The word “history” often recalls images of documents, museums and artifacts from times long past. But students and instructors in UCF’s history department will tell you that history is housed in the memories and expertise of the people walking among us. Just look at the last five letters of the word — it’s a story…
Tue Nov 1
UCF has been selected for two, five-year U.S. Department of Education (ED) Title V grants totaling $5.7 million to reduce barriers for Hispanic/Latino/a/x students earning undergraduate and graduate degrees, while enriching learning experiences for their development of career and cultural competencies — aligning with the university’s priority to support student success and well-being. Title V…
Tue Nov 1
Longtime professor and renowned modern artist Walter Gaudnek died Sunday, Oct. 23, at the age of 91. Gaudnek taught in the art department at UCF for 50 years before retiring in 2020. Throughout his extensive professional career, he received worldwide acclaim as one of the main representatives of pop art that uses religious imagery. Gaudnek…
Thu Oct 27
Did you play an instrument as a child? Metro World News reports recently published research in the journal Psychological Science finds that playing in instrument in adolescence is associated with improved cognitive abilities at older ages. Professor of violin Ayako Yonetani and neuroscientist Kiminobu Sugaya teach “Music and the Brain” at UCF and report a number of…
Tue Oct 25
Since 2018, UCF’s Limbitless Solutions and 343 Industries, an American video game developer, have worked together to bring Halo-themed designs to prosthetics. The designs used for the prosthetics are created by students and faculty from UCF’s School of Visual Arts and Design. As a result of their continued partnership, two new sleeves are joining the collection…
Tue Oct 25
located across from the UCF Student Union is the John C. Hitt Libraries’ new state-of-the-art, climate-controlled facility built to store much of UCF Libraries’ holdings. Called the Automated Retrieval Center (ARC), this facility is ideal for housing rarely seen mementos and stories from Central Floridians who spent years waiting for someone with good intentions to…
Tue Oct 25
Since the UCF Veterans Legacy Program (VLP) began in 2017, Associate Professor of History Amelia Lyons has witnessed the program’s meaningful impact on students. Established through the National Cemetery Administration (NCA), between 2017 and 2019, VLP harnessed UCF student research efforts to create biographies of veterans buried in national cemeteries in Florida. In piecing together…
Fri Oct 21
Universal Creative, the team that designs, develops, and delivers attractions, shows, hotels, restaurants, and resorts across the globe for Universal Parks & Resorts, has selected UCF as a preferred partner for a unique and immersive learning experience launching in Spring 2023. Called the UCF/Universal Creative Lab, the offering provides students with specially designed coursework and on-site…
Thu Oct 20
UCF art major Stacie Becker, a medical tattoo artist who specializes in 3D areola nipple tattoos, is changing the lives of cancer survivors post surgery. “One of my favorite things is giving women some control back,” Becker said. “The best part about tattooing is that the choice is totally theirs. What I love to tell…
Thu Oct 20
Do you consider yourself a writer? If the answer is no, look at the number of emails, homework assignments, social media posts or text messages you write each day. Whether we realize it or not, writing is a part of our lives — it’s what gives a voice to our thoughts and feelings, how we communicate and…
Tue Oct 18
History professors Robert Cassanello and Jim Clark recently discussed Ron DeSantis’ impact on higher education and his current success in midterm election polls. “It’s having a really far-reaching effect on the stifling of speech from what I hear from the colleagues who are consulting with me,” says Robert Cassanello to Politco on one of DeSantis’ pieces of…
Tue Oct 18
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” This is a question we’re asked from a young age, ingraining the idea that a person’s profession defines who they are. But for many people, our relationship to “what we do” is much more complicated. Theatre UCF’s production of Working explores the meaning we find in our…
Wed Oct 12
unrest continues to erupt across Iran following the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman, who died after being arrested and reportedly beaten by Iran’s morality police. The Iranian force took Mahsa (Zhina) Amini into detention on Sept. 16, 2022, for not wearing her hijab according to the rules. As of Oct. 10, at least 185…
Wed Oct 12
The University of Central Florida is among six schools selected by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Gulf Research Program (GRP) for its second funded cohort of the Gulf Scholars Program (GSP). This initiative will engage undergraduate students from any major on campus in addressing the most critical problems facing the Gulf of…
Thu Oct 6
With an international population of over 3,000, many UCF students are familiar with the cultural challenges faced after moving to the United States. More have parents who made a similar journey. But the feeling this creates of being between cultures, and often between identities, isn’t always openly discussed. Mär Martinez ’20, Leo Cordovi ’19 and MJ…
Thu Oct 6
in UCF’s themed experience graduate programs, strange new worlds are imagined every day. But it’s not every day that students get to explore them with Meow Wolf, a world leader in the creation of mind-bending, interactive art environments. During the Fall 2022 semester, Meow Wolf is partnering with UCF’s themed experience master’s programs for the UCF/Meow Wolf…
Wed Oct 5
Victor Davila is an illustrator and designer from the Orlando area who teaches illustration and design as an associate professor at UCF’s School of Visual Arts and Design. He has worked on everything from character designs and storyboards for animation to editorial illustrations, interactive games, and children’s books. Davila is also the founder of the…
Thu Sep 22
Three Theatre UCF alumni are working together to realize their shared goal. With the help of a partnership with Orlando Repertory Theatre, their goal of seeing more on-stage diversity is coming to fruition. The Orlando Sentinel discusses how the group has learned so much since their first production. The MAC Boys, the presenting group formed by UCF…