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.​

An anticancer drug developed by researchers from the University of Florida College of Pharmacy has become the first drug of its kind allowed to proceed to clinical trial by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The drug, DT2216, targets leukemia, lymphoma, and breast and lung cancers. The researchers expect it will be available for patients, in a clinical trial setting, in April or May this year.

With its flagship hospital already ranked the best in Florida, University of Florida Health has earned two more distinctions: It is No. 12 on Forbes’ list of the state’s best places to work and No. 50 in the nation for female workers.

On the Florida list, UF Health ranked higher than some of the state’s largest and best-known workplaces as well as national and international companies with a substantial Florida presence.

Doing Business with UF! is a workshop series intended to offer suppliers insight and knowledge on how to do business with the institution. Every month, we’re inviting UF departments to discuss key information about their projects to help small businesses learn how to contract with them.

A white strawberry? Not red? Yes, you “read” that right. And it smells a little like a pineapple. It’s also novel in that it’s the first white strawberry to go to market in the United States.

Just in time for the west-central Florida strawberry harvesting season, which runs from now until the end of March, UF/IFAS is releasing not one, but two new varieties – and the white strawberry is one of them.

UFCD DMD students, joined by Dr. Micaela Gibbs and Dr. Jaana Gold, are volunteering for house-to-house COVID vaccine access and info for 65+ people in East Gainesville.

This valuable community service was organized by the Rotary Club of Gainesville

Recently, a UF team, including Associate Professor Nam-Kyu Park of the College of Design, Construction & Planning examined a series of research studies on older adults’ visual and nonvisual performance and lighting in its relationship with sleep quality as part of a comprehensive literature review.

Results indicated that light may have a bigger influence over us than we once thought.

According to Dr. Park, light not only affects our vision to see fine details, but also controls non-visual effects on circadian rhythms, sleep, and mood.

Students from the University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning and the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering teamed up to participate in the annual Witters Competition and clinched the $3,500 grand prize. 

Though this year’s competition was held virtually, it still proved successful and impactful for both DCP students and the Gainesville community. Twelve teams were challenged to think about “innovative, sustainable and community-centric solutions” for the site redevelopment of the decommissioned Fire Station #1 located in downtown Gainesville. 

See details about their winning design: 

More about the Witters Competition: https://dcp.ufl.edu/witters

The Gator Advocates organization aims to advance UF’s educational and land grant mission through advocacy, education and communication. Members include alumni, faculty, students, staff and friends. As part of their work, members educate elected and appointed officials, state and community leaders, and other Floridians on UF’s economic, cultural and societal impact. Faculty and staff interested in joining Gator Advocates may submit a form via the website or by email at gfhe@ufl.edu.