UF in the Community

Office of Community Relations

UF Government and Community Relations

Monday, October 19, 2020

Across the University of Florida, our 16 colleges, numerous institutes and health care facilities embrace our shared mission of outreach and service to improve and enrich our community, nation and the world. UF in the Community spotlights the impact of UF in our region.

Although UF has students and employees throughout the state, North Central Florida is home to much of our faculty and staff and to our 50,000+ students. Like all area residents, we want a vibrant, safe, healthy and equitable place in which to live and thrive. Here are some of the ways in which we are enhancing our shared community.

UF COVID-19 update from Michael Lauzardo, MD – UF Health

Preparing for Spring Semester 2021 UF and COVID-19

UF EDGE - the distance learning program of the UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering – offers Crisis Leadership course featuring Craig Fugate – former FEMA Administrator

Disasters and manmade societal threats create crisis conditions requiring effective leadership from those in engineering and technology-centric organizations to stabilize, manage and mitigate impacts.

Crisis Leadership prepares and assists students in developing and applying a complex, interdependent system-level of thought required to predict and plan for crises, as well as lead teams and organizations, under crisis conditions, that can effectively implement appropriate, effective responses. Students will experience best practice applications through lecture, readings, peer and expert discussions, evaluation of seminal case studies, and through hands-on involvement in a hypothetical emergency response team scenario.

Course Start Date: 11/2/2020

Course End Date: 12/20/2020

Registration End Date: 11/05/2020

Learn More

Discovery by UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences researchers could help predict flooding events

A newly discovered pattern in sunny-day flooding related to sea level rise could help coastal communities predict and plan for future high-water events.

By comparing a century of sea-level data with records of solar and lunar activity also identified in tree rings, scientists at the University of Florida found a link between sunspots, the moon’s orbit and high sea levels in the Gulf of Mexico and the U.S. Atlantic seaboard.

Using the pattern to forecast into the future, the researchers predict anomalously high sea levels in the Southeastern United States for periods around 2028-29, 2052, 2064, 2072, and 2098.

UF Implements License Plate Recognition Technology to Bolster Campus Security

The University of Florida today announced the implementation of license plate readers as part of the Security and Safety Plan that aims to standardize and enhance security across campus.

License plate readers, known as LPRs, are cameras that quickly and efficiently capture vehicle tag numbers, which are then run through national and state systems that flag stolen or wanted vehicles; search for license or tag expirations or suspensions; or alert for individuals with criminal investigative interest. LPRs will be strategically placed at key locations near and around campus.

UF continues study at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School examining effect of pandemic on children and households

UF researchers affiliated with UF’s College of Public Health and Health Professions, College of Medicine and College of Education are analyzing the social effects of the pandemic on local school-aged children and their families across time, alongside infection rates. The study also digs into connections between beliefs about COVID-19 and actions people take to protect themselves.

Five UF Warrington College of Business graduate programs earn top five ranking among public universities for the 2nd year

Master’s degree programs across the Hough Graduate School of Business at the University of Florida Warrington College of Business remained in the top five among public institutions for the second consecutive year in the 2019 edition of Eduniversal’s Best Master’s Ranking.

UF Health provides lifesaving AEDs to East Gainesville organizations

The UF Health Chest Pain Center, in coordination with the UF Health PulsePoint task force, has donated a pair of automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, to two organizations in East Gainesville, an area of the city with a significant shortage in the lifesaving devices. In addition to the AEDs, Alliance Credit Union and the after-school program for at-risk youth Reichert House also received training in how to operate the AEDs and perform CPR.

UF Archer Family Health Care is offering expanded services for children

UF Archer Family Health Care is offering expanded services for children ages 6-18 years old living in Alachua County through a grant from the Children’s Trust of Alachua County. The services include 50 free sports physicals (valid for one year), screenings for depression in adolescents and an immunization history check.