UF in the Community

Office of Community Relations

UF Government and Community Relations

Monday, December 7, 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.

From the UF Emerging Pathogens Institute: COVID-19 Vaccine Seminar Series

UF scientists are presenting seminars on the COVID-19 vaccine. These can be viewed live or afterwards as archived recordings:

December 9th at 3:00pm: Dr. Natalie Dean, Assistant Professor – UF College of Public Health and Health Professions

Title: Estimating COVID-19 efficacy

Archived: Dr. Ira Longini, Professor – UF College of Public Health and Health Professions

Title: What to expect from the current and coming COVID-19 phase-III randomized vaccine trials

View these and future seminar dates/speakers at:

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Report from the UF Bureau of Economic and Business Research: Positive COVID-19 vaccine news does not stem consumer sentiment decline in November

Consumer sentiment among Floridians dipped for the second consecutive month in November to 80.9, dropping 3.5 points from a revised figure of 84.4 in October. Among the five components that make up the index, one increased and four decreased.

UF employee roles realign to prevent the spread of COVID 19 on campus and in our community

See how employees across campus are meeting the challenges presented by COVID 19 and how each role fulfills an important need.

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UF Office of Distance Learning and the Gainesville Housing Authority partner to close the digital divide through Tech4Success

The University of Florida and Gainesville Housing Authority joined forces to address the educational gap in lower income families as they launched their pilot program - Tech4Success – that enabled four families to go home with a MacBook and an iPad.

UF Health Shands Transplant Center: From Tragedy to Hope

Moving video tells the story of UF Health patient Maurice (Moe) Ricks. Last year, Moe was wheeled into surgery to prep him to receive a new heart and kidney, which were in transport on a plane to Gainesville, Florida. Fate would intervene as the transport team comes face-to-face with a potential life-or-death situation. In an unlikely twist, talented artists would provide Moe a unique perspective on what it means to hope and persevere in the face of tragedy.

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When Tragedy Strikes: UF Health's transplant team risks their lives for Moe Ricks

Listen to UF’s Unstoppable Minds Podcast - Episode 1: Communicating the Impact of the Honey Bee

Bees pollinate a quarter of the food consumed by humans. With the rapid decline of the honey bee population, our ecosystem is impacted - which results in changes in what we eat. Amy Vu, extension coordinator of the UF/IFAS Honeybee Research and Extension Lab explains why communicating the importance of honeybees to the masses is critical for the survival of the bee species and the continuity of the food chain.

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Learn more about honey bees, the UF Bee Lab and the Master Beekeeper Program:

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UF Music Professor wins Latin Grammy award

University of Florida professor José Valentino Ruiz, Ph.D., who performs as José Valentino, won his second Latin Grammy Nov. 19. After taking home the trophy as audio engineer and flutist on “Todo Pasa,” 2019’s Best Christian Album (Spanish Language), the music business and entrepreneurship professor won for Best Classical Contemporary Composition for the song “Sacre” with co-composer Carlos Fernando López.