As a vigorous summer of courses and learning concludes at UCF, the influence of our faculty and students resonates throughout the world.
Whether through our service, research or teaching, UCF’s impact extends beyond our community in significant ways. And remarkable results happen when our faculty and students collaborate with fellow Knights in other colleges and disciplines.
A recent example is the UCF Global Health Trip to Yantalo, Peru, a small agriculture community surrounded by jungle. Led by our College of Medicine and joined by the College of Nursing and the College of Health Professions and Sciences, a team of 66 faculty members, community physicians, medical students, nursing students, physical therapy students and social work students volunteered at a local clinic for five days.
Together, with clinic staff, counselors and volunteers from other universities, our team saw 437 patients of all ages (more than 80 patients a day!) and performed 26 surgeries. Some patients traveled six hours for care not normally available in internal medicine, physical therapy, urology and pediatrics. UCF’s team also took 800 pounds of donated equipment and medications.
For the third year in a row, this trip — coordinated by Dr. Judy Simms-Cendan, a professor and practicing physician at our College of Medicine — enhanced lives. It also allowed our UCF team members to apply classroom teaching to meet needs in a real-world setting, all while relying on one another to provide the best patient care. That’s a life-changing experience, just one of many this summer for our faculty and students throughout the world. For instance:
- A group of engineering students is doing research at the German Aerospace Center in Cologne, under the guidance of Seetha Raghavan, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science
- Tameca Harris-Jackson, a lecturer and coordinator in the social work program in the College of Health Professions and Sciences, is directing students on a trip in Bangkok, Thailand, for a course that examines the influence of culture, policies and values on the needs of the LGBTQ+ community in that country
- The UCF Trombone Choir, under the direction of Luis F. Fred, assistant professor in the College of Arts and Humanities, recently attended the Festival International Trombones de Costa Rica. Fred is a member of the Costa Rica chamber group.
These activities enrich the college experience and help our students gain global perspectives that are increasingly attractive in the work place. Through UCF’s High Impact Practices initiative, we encourage our undergraduate students to engage in a high-impact experience beyond the classroom, whether it be through study abroad, internships, co-ops, service learning or participating in research and living in a learning community.
Such experiences add value to course work and help cultivate the well-rounded graduates that employers desire.
Faculty Excellence Recognized
UCF’s impact is also being felt across the globe through faculty research and excellence.
Progress by Associate Professor Subith Vasu and a team of researchers in unlocking secrets behind the destruction of chemical weapons recently made the cover of the Journal of Physical Chemistry. And, Sudipta Seal, a Pegasus professor and chair of UCF’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has been named a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, which honors researchers who have made a significant impact in a field related to chemical sciences.
As the world recognizes the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, it’s exciting to see how UCF’s prominence in space exploration and planetary sciences is growing. NASA recently awarded $7.5 million to UCF’s Center for Lunar and Asteroid Surface Science, and UCF is ideally positioned to help fuel America’s space mission and our state’s thriving aerospace industry.
Thank you to our faculty, staff, students and community stakeholders who make summer a special time for personal growth and development at UCF. And congratulations to the 4,000 or so students and their families whose lives are being energized this summer through earning a degree. I look forward to applauding their achievements during our three commencement ceremonies on Saturday, Aug. 3.
As we approach the start of fall classes Aug. 26, I am tremendously excited about our 2019-20 academic year, especially the opening of UCF Downtown. It’s a great time to be a Knight!
