Fri Jun 30
For UCF alumna and 2022 Miss Universe Jamaica title winner Toshami Calvin ’19, honoring her Caribbean heritage is fulfilled both on and off the performance stage. Here the Jamaican model and advocate for children explains how her Caribbean heritage has played a pivotal role in her upbringing, the values she exemplifies, the positive impact she aims…
Thu Jun 29
UCF is celebrating the rich and diverse cultures of the Caribbean within our university, local community and around the world in recognition of National Caribbean American Heritage Month — a month founded by Claire Nelson, founder and president of the Institute of Caribbean Studies, and officially declared by President George W. Bush in 2006. Many…
Fri May 26
Ayan Desai was finishing his first full month as a freshman at UCF when he walked into the Pegasus Ballroom on a Friday evening. He’d heard about a cultural event called APAC (Asian Pacific American Coalition) Assembly and, as an Indian American, wanted to see it for himself. It sounded like the kind of college…
Wed May 24
University of Central Florida researcher is part of a team that recently discovered significant insights into the size and surface composition of Dinkinesh, an asteroid that NASA’s Lucy mission will visit in November. Using observations from telescopes in Spain and the U.S., the team found that Dinkinesh is remarkably small, making it the smallest asteroid…
Wed May 3
U.S. News & World Report has once again named Florida the top state in the country for higher education. Florida’s higher education system has held the top ranking since the inception of the rankings in 2017. This achievement can be credited to the collective commitment of elected leaders, the Board of Governors, and the state universities…
Tue Apr 25
In emergency management, every disaster is considered a local disaster. It’s a perspective that underpins the foundation of the field –– even at the nation’s capital, where Lauren Gros ’22MECM brings her experience in local emergency management to the national stage. A native Floridian and Orlando resident during her teenage years, Gros is no stranger to extreme…
Fri Apr 14
UCF Police Department Major Scott Freeman ’11 recently returned from the FBI Academy, a 10-week program featuring advanced communication, leadership, and fitness training for law enforcement executives. This prestigious training, which was held in in Quantico, Virginia, is internationally known for its curriculum and is extremely competitive. Fewer than 1% of officers have the opportunity to attend…
Thu Mar 16
Dr. Swati Kulkarni, Consul General of India (Atlanta), inaugurated the new “India Corner” following a commemorative ribbon-cutting ceremony with members of the consulate, students and community members. With a generous donation from the consulate, the new corner features beautiful posters, as well as decorations and 150 new books about India. Some of the titles include India-US…
Wed Mar 1
What started as an immersive spring break experience in 2020 has turned into an award-winning docuseries and annual experience for one UCF professor and some dedicated legal studies students. Irene Pons ’00, senior lecturer in the Department of Legal Studies, will highlight the next group of Knights heading to the Texas-Mexico border this summer through the…
Tue Feb 28
For Can Aydin, the news that his home country of Turkey had been hit by two earthquakes was shocking. “I was checking the news and saw that a 7.8 earthquake hit Turkey, and I really couldn’t believe it at first,” Aydin said. “I didn’t think it was real because that’s such a large number.” Aydin,…
Fri Feb 17
A University of Central Florida researcher has helped identify a ring around a trans-Neptunian object 4 billion miles away that defies the current understanding of the physics behind ring formation. The trans-Neptunian object, Quaoar, is a large enough candidate to be a dwarf planet. Researchers have found that its ring exceeds the Roche limit, or…
Thu Feb 2
Dr. Verduin, associate dean for students at the College of Medicine and professor of psychiatry, is speaking to international audiences in person and via Zoom about depression, anxiety, PTSD and how to seek help for those conditions. To date, she has reached several thousand people, including members of the clergy, business people, non-profit leaders, medical…
Thu Jan 19
The UCF Puerto Rico Research Hub (PRRH) has been awarded $500,000 in funding to expand its research capabilities to better track key social and economic trends. The funding is part of the FY2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which supports a range of domestic and foreign policy priorities. “There is no better investment than education and research to understand…
Thu Jan 19
For student Daniah Jarrah, studying Arabic holds much more power than bilingualism. Jarrah is studying Arabic in Amman, Jordan, with the Qasid Institute, which teaches both modern standard Arabic and classical Arabic. Jarrah notes that modern standard Arabic is the dialect that is used in the political and academic realm of the Middle East. With…
Thu Jan 12
Growing up, Ashley Cariño was just as likely to watch an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation as she was a Miss Universe pageant. She dreamed of working for NASA and wearing the Miss USA crown. The 27-year-old is now well on her way to achieving both goals. Cariño, an aerospace engineering student at UCF, won the title of Miss…
Thu Jan 12
At 47-years-old, Franklin Perez does not mind being in a classroom setting. University of Central Florida instructors are helping this hard-working father and warehouse manager brush up on English. Despite his lack of proficiency, for the last 15 years, he’s worked at the Rosen Centre Hotel along International Drive. Originally from Dominican Republic, Perez’s limited…
Wed Dec 7
The Arecibo Observatory has named Olga Figueroa Miranda as their new site director. The decision makes Figueroa Miranda the first female director of the observatory, as well as the first female Puerto Rican director. She started the new position this fall. “Olga has a unique inside understanding of the Arecibo Observatory as she has held several positions both…
Thu Oct 7
Harriet Elam-Thomas who directed the Diplomacy program at UCF, is retiring from the university. Some of her career accomplishments include serving as U.S. Ambassador to Senegal from 1999-2003; Chief of Mission to Guinea-Bissau; Acting director of USIA; Cultural attaché at the American Embassy in Athens; Country affairs officer for Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus; Director of…
Wed Jul 8
UCF is proud to be home to students, faculty and staff from more than 150 countries. The new federal guidance for international students has created uncertainty about the upcoming semester, on top of the financial and travel challenges already created by the pandemic. We are writing so that you know UCF is taking steps to…