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Community Engagement

See how UCF academics and leaders intersect and collaborate with the community and others in making the world a better place.

UCF Celebrates the Arts 2022 Brings ‘Shrek’, Concerts in Steinmetz Hall and the Return of Visual Art Exhibitions

Every year, UCF brings its best and brightest artists to Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts for a large-scale celebration of the things that make our world more interesting and beautiful. This year, UCF Celebrates the Arts is bigger than ever, with a multi-day production of an award-winning, family-friendly musical, concerts in the new Steinmetz Hall,…

Child in Belgium Receives Go Baby Go Car

Thanks to a collaboration between UCF Go Baby Go! and a university in Belgium, “Baby Pia” now has the chance to play with her friends. Baby Pia became well known throughout Belgium when the country rallied around her because of her spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic disorder that starts in the central nervous system and affects all…

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Alumna Sees Promise, Then Fulfillment of LASER Potential

Thirty-four years later, Canto-Said is now serving as the chief technology officer (CTO) of laser-based solutions company Clark-MXR, Inc. “It’s hard to believe how far laser technology has come since the eighties,” said Canto-Said. “When I first began studying laser applications, we knew as scientists that they had the potential to solve many real-world problems.…

10 UCF Alum, Faculty and Student Artworks Featured on Local Billboards

The next time you find yourself stuck in I-4’s infamous traffic, be sure to look up — you just might have a chance to spot some incredible artwork by UCF artis On Jan. 10, the Downtown Arts District launched The Corridor Project Billboard Exhibition, a sky-high exhibition featuring the artwork of 30 Orlando-based artists on billboards…

Global Health Conference Highlights Need For Healthcare Advocacy

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to highlight racial disparities in healthcare, physicians and other providers play a key role in helping patients overcome barriers to care, an international emergency medicine expert told participants at the 11th annual UCF Global Health Conference Jan. 15. “The pandemic has revealed some less-than-appealing things about our healthcare system, being one…

Knights Do That: Leadership Through Empowerment

In episode 17 — the second of season two of Knights Do That — we speak with Gerald Hector, UCF’s senior vice president for Administration and Finance. He shares his story of personal triumphs, his journey through higher education, how he empowers and motivates people around him through leadership, and how we can all find where our…

UCF Partners with Additional Companies to Offer Tuition Assistance

UCF has been added to the educational program partner list of multiple Fortune 1000 companies to help make obtaining a college degree a little more affordable. If you are a UCF student who is employed by one of these  companies, you may be eligible for tuition assistance depending on your academic major. Companies include: Bon…

UCF Business Incubation Program, StarterStudio Open New Downtown Entrepreneur Hub

To showcase the efforts of two organizations leading the region in diversifying its economy, the UCF Business Incubation Program’s Downtown Innovation District and StarterStudio are moving to the center of Downtown Orlando. On Dec. 1, 2021  the programs will leave their Church Street Exchange space for a storefront property on Orange Avenue between Church Street…

Exciting Leadership Updates To Move UCF Forward

As our campuses and classrooms are re-energized by the start of a new semester, I again thank you for your contributions to ensure a successful start to spring. We are making exciting progress on our next strategic plan; launching Workday, our new, cloud-based ERP system; aligning our HR and finance processes through our service enhancement…

UCF Doubles Impact of $1 Million Gift to Create L.A. Lee Family Endowed Scholarship

Thanks to the generosity of Diane Lee Eriksson ’77, her husband Larry Eriksson and their family, students majoring in elementary education and early childhood development will benefit from the newly created L.A. Lee Family Endowed Scholarship. The Eriksson’s goal is to assist students by allowing them to focus on their education and become the best teachers possible…

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New Habits for the New Year

Happy 2022! At this time of year, many of us are thinking about resolutions for the new year, and these often involve some kind of change. Yet behavioral change is hard, and it’s rarely a “one and done” kind of action. In The Power of Habit, author and Pulitzer-prize winning reporter Charles Duhigg harnesses operant conditioning…

Everything You Need to Know About UCF Transportation and Parking

Navigating campus transportation can sometimes be challenging. To help make it easier, this list covers the transportation rules, practices and tips you need get to class on time and avoid a parking citation. Permits | Parking |  Buses and Shuttles | Alternative Transportation Permits If you do not have a valid permit and are planning to park on campus for Spring…

Flying Horse Editions Exhibition Arrives in the UCF Art Gallery

On January 13, the Flying Horse Editions Exhibition will open at the UCF Art Gallery. The exhibition commemorates the 30th anniversary of the collaborative research studio and publisher of limited-edition prints, artist books and art objects by internationally renowned artists. “Each of the 75 artworks on view vary in subject, conceptual motivation, context and intention, but all…

2022 ZORA! Festival Season Highlights: New Venue, a Year-round Calendar, and a Bold Vision for the Future

As the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities (ZORA! Festival) enters its 33rd season with an expanded, year-round calendar of in-person and virtual events, one can only marvel at the entrepreneurial spirit and future-minded vision of the executive team that leads the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, Inc. (PEC), the organization which presents…

Spring 2022 Classes at UCF Resume Jan. 10

As UCF welcomes back students, faculty and staff for the spring semester, which starts Jan. 10, the university will continue many health and safety protocols to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. UCF is continuing to closely monitor COVID-19, and we encourage you to follow the latest CDC guidance to protect yourself and our campus community. As we…

COVID-19 Testing Site Open at UCF in Partnership with Aventus Biolabs

Garage A remains open for COVID-19 testing for UCF students, faculty and staff, along with members of the community. The site, which is located at located at 12491 University Blvd., is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays — and registration for an appointment is…

UCF’s 33 Best Photos of 2021

Here’s a look back at some of the most capturing images of 2021. The sun rises over the Reflecting Pond a few days before classes begin for Spring 2021. In early January UCF began distributing first does of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to students, faculty and staff. Knights gathered at the Reflecting Pond for a vigil…