The University of Central Florida awards more than 18,000 degrees annually — the most among Florida public universities and among the most nationally — and strives to set the pace for advancing student success in higher education.
Fri May 1
Angelina Leary, a student in UCF’s clinical psychology doctoral program, is one of 15 students at the university named a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. The NSF program recognizes outstanding students who have demonstrated significant achievements in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The students are either in their senior year of college and plan to…
Fri May 1
For her Honors Undergraduate Thesis, Chantelle Garcia Medina ’20BSN sought to make a lasting difference in the lives of underserved patients in Peru – by focusing on the health of the youngest generation. Her work will continue to make an impact after graduation. In 2019, Garcia was part of an interdisciplinary group of UCF students that…
Thu Apr 30
On Saturday, 307 Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences students will get their degrees as part of UCF’s virtual graduation. Celebrating commencement will be 292 undergraduates, 13 M.S. students and 2 Ph.D. candidates. UCF canceled in-person graduation ceremonies in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual college commencement events begin at 8:30 a.m. Saturday on UCF’s Facebook…
Thu Apr 30
UCF’s doctor of physical therapy program rose 44 spots in theâ¯most recent U.S. News and World Report rankings, ranking No. 57 in the nation. This puts UCF in the top 25% of all U.S. graduate physical therapy programs. The report is conducted every 5 years through a survey of program leaders across the nation. “This recognition is another indicator of our program’s quality and continued success…
Wed Apr 29
Typically, the end of the semester finds doctorate students hunkered down in a library or local café wrapping up final papers. Things are different this year for Security Studies Ph.D. student Tad Schnaufer. Schnaufer serves as a captain in the Florida Army National Guard and has been activated for the response to COVID-19 since mid-March.…
Tue Apr 28
Nobel Laureate Donna Strickland will join UCF College of Optics and Photonics graduates for a live online Q&A session Saturday after their virtual commencement ceremony, and the public is invited to watch. Strickland is renowned as one of the world’s leading pioneers in the field of ultra-fast lasers. Her research with French physicist Gérard Mourou…
Tue Apr 28
After she graduates with her degrees in legal studies and political science and a minor in nonprofit management work, Naseeka Dixon will work at Straight Street, a nonprofit that helps care for the poor and homeless in Orlando. Naseeka Dixon remembers grocery shopping at a food pantry, especially one at a local church, with her…
Mon Apr 27
Few of us, if we’re honest, paid full attention to the actions of task forces or crisis and emergency managers — until mid-March. Now, the world practically turns on their every move. At a most coincidental time, UCF is about to graduate its first three students from the Masters of Emergency and Crisis Management (MECM) program.…
Mon Apr 27
Since Andres Acosta’s first day at Seminole County’s Office of Emergency Management, his internship experience has been anything but ordinary. He began in the middle of hurricane season, just as the emergency operation center was activated in preparation for Hurricane Dorian. Now, he’s working full-time as a manager in charge of a team of 10,…
Mon Apr 27
Frances Abderhalden, the first student to graduate from UCF’s doctoral program in criminal justice, wanted to know why suicides in jails were eight times more likely than in the general population and five times more likely than in prisons. So she went straight to inmates and asked them. She hopes to use her findings to reduce…
Fri Apr 24
CAPSTONE WINNERS: Kaitlyn Lambley, Robert Nierenberg, Sam Van Ornam, George SanJuan and Kathleen Shiflett posed for a virtual photo after winning the Spring 2020 Great Capstone Case Competition. Appearing in the photo are Senior Vice President of Finance at Verizon, Monty Garrett; UCF Business Dean Paul Jarley; faculty members Denise Cordova, Paul Gregg, Kenneth Lay…
Fri Apr 24
04/24/20 Update: Due to the Coronavirus, ArtFields announced that they have canceled the in-person Artfields 2020 celebration. Instead, they are sharing the 2020 artists’ submissions virtually on their website. You can see the work from this year’s artists including quite a few of our own students and alumni! For more information, visit: https://www.artfieldssc.org/ CLICK HERE FOR…
Thu Apr 23
Spotlight: Taylor Pryor Taylor Pryor, an English literature major and student at the Burnett Honors College, recently received the one of UCF’s most prestigious honors, Order of the Pegasus. A first-generation college student and woman of color, Taylor finds joy in the fact that she was able to overcome the obstacles in her way. She…
Thu Apr 23
Making modern technology more accessible is the key to unlocking the American dream, says Gustavo Camero, who will graduate during next week’s UCF virtual commencement. Camero plans to dedicate his professional career to closing educational and technological divides across borders. “I want to build bridges for young people in low-income communities, bridges that will lead…
Thu Apr 23
An idea to transform the Orlando Fashion Square Mall into a “lifestyle center” earned first place at the UCF Real Estate Case Competition on April 15. Students Brian Cochrane, Alex Eastwood, Michael McLamb, Amanda Schmidt and Michael Wensinger won the judges’ favor with their comprehensive plan to create a mixed-use development to replace the aging…
Thu Apr 23
UCF interdisciplinary studies major Konya Plummer, who is a member of the Jamaica Women’s National Team and Orlando Pride, is the first in her family to earn a college degree. (Photo by Nick Leyva ’15) During the last 11 months, UCF senior Konya Plummer cemented her name in the history books, saw a statue erected…
Wed Apr 22
There’s more art in science than one might think. Just ask Don Marks ’73, a mathematics instructor turned master wood turner. “I never would have expected myself to become an artist,” chuckled Marks. Prior to enrolling at UCF in 1969, at what was then known as Florida Technical University, Marks stumbled upon his first love…
Mon Apr 20
Frankie Catalfumo ’13 has worked through outbreak responses to cholera in Haiti and Ebola virus disease in the United States, but he says the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is more stressful than any of his other work with controlling infectious diseases. “You see the waves in China and then we started to see it spread across…
Mon Apr 20
The American Advertising Awards, home of the ADDY Award, is one of the industry’s largest creative competitions, with nearly 35,000 professional and student entries each year. The 2020 awards included three UCF students, McKenzie Estes, Gi-ting Chen, Ryan Pesch, and one 2004 alumna, Annika Matos. The ADDYS originated in Florida in 1960 and became a…
Thu Apr 16
Rachel Greenwald, a graphic design student, is the 2020 recipient of the James R. Hopes Scholarship, for her impressive first attempt at a piece made entirely of sheet metal. The annually-awarded scholarship was established in 2010 to help promising visual arts and design students advance their careers. Greenwald, who is pursuing a major in Emerging Media –…