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.​

As Gators, we are characterized by our resilience and determination to press forward in the face of challenges. We hope you will join us as we care for one another, practice healthy behaviors, and embrace the spirit of learning and discovery that makes UF a leading public university in the country.

As students prepare to return to school, the coronavirus delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to surge. Meanwhile, an internal report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded the delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox and more transmissible than the viruses that cause seasonal flu, the common cold and Ebola.

Sonja A. Rasmussen, M.D., a professor in the departments of pediatrics and epidemiology at the UF College of Medicine and the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions, discusses what parents should know and do to help their children stay well.

Weather forecasting systems today predict ever more accurately where hurricanes will make landfall, but tomorrow they may also predict how much damage the hurricanes will do. Faculty at the UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, are the principal investigators of a multi-organizational project sponsored by the Office of Naval Research. This four-year, $1M project aims to improve capabilities to forecast coastal impacts from land-fall hurricanes, including waves, total water levels, flooding extent and duration, maximum current speeds, sediment transport, damage and losses to structures. The ability to accurately predict the impacts of extreme storms is key for coastal hazard mitigation. 

The PRICE of Pain Podcast is HERE! Listen to Episode 01 - Roger Fillingim, Ph.D., as the first installment of a 4-part series introducing you to the UF Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence (PRICE).

UF faculty earned $861 million in research funding in fiscal year 2021 – the second-highest amount ever – despite the ongoing challenges presented by the pandemic.

This total does not include an additional $77 million in non-research U.S. Department of Education funding that UF received through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The total with that money included was $938 million. Last year, the university received $900.7 million, of which $15.5 million was through CARES.

“Overall, the performance of UF faculty and staff last year was remarkable, particularly considering the constant challenges presented by the COVID pandemic,” said David Norton, UF’s vice president for research.

UF Innovate provides the “Innovation NaviGator” program to assist individuals who want to start businesses by connecting them with the correct information and key support. The NaviGator responds to questions and provides answers that point to the most appropriate local organization to meet the individual’s need.

Part of the NaviGator’s efforts includes offering a Community Calendar for Entrepreneurs. Innovation NaviGator seeks to publish information about local events open to entrepreneurs. The NaviGator encourages event organizers to submit event information through the portal on this page and those interested in attending events to visit the online calendar.

The University of Florida and its Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension stepped in to help our two-shelled friends off the coast of Hernando County.

Some pre-season scallop abundance surveys in 2017 revealed very low numbers of the shellfish in the gulf, and harvesters were having a hard time finding them. To help restore the population, UF/IFAS "scallop-sitters" worked through the fall and winter of 2020.