UF in the Community

Office of Community Relations

UF Government and Community Relations

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

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 Health vaccine distribution

David Nelson, MD and Michael Lauzardo, MD outline the UF Health efforts to vaccinate UF and UF Health employees, UF Health patients and the community.

Telephone Town Hall to Discuss Coronavirus – January 25, 7:00 PM

Alachua County Commission Chair Ken Cornell will host a one-hour telephone town hall at 7 p.m. Monday, January 25, 2021, to discuss the safety, efficacy, and distribution of coronavirus vaccines in our community. Joining Chair Cornell will be City of Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe, Florida Department of Health Director Paul Myers, University of Florida Senior Vice President for Health Affairs and President of UF Health Dr. David Nelson, North Florida Regional Medical CEO Eric Lawson, and North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System Director Tom Wisnieski.

The telephone town hall event, and live American Sign Language interpretation, will be live-streamed on the County’s and City’s Facebook pages and websites, and on COX Cable Channel 12.

From UF Health: Should people continue to practice healthy behaviors after they’ve been vaccinated?

How can we protect our community? Ira Longini, PhD, professor of biostatistics in the @UF College of Public Health and Health Professions and UF College of Medicine, says that if enough people get vaccinated, we can eliminate COVID-19.

From HealthStreet at the University of Florida: Conversing COVID-19 Vaccines: Voices from Rural and Urban Communities – January 28th, 5:00 pm

Learn more about the #COVID-19 VACCINE and research being done to keep you and your loved ones protected. UF Health experts will join health leaders from around the country to talk about measures being taken on a national level to ensure dissemination of misinformation, the impact of COVID-19 on rural and urban communities, and initiatives being taken right now to assess health needs and minimize disparity.

Community members everywhere should tune in to Our Community, Our Health on January 28th from 5-6 p.m.

Event Registration

From Business Wire: UF Innovate | Sid Martin Biotech Companies Continue to Receive Record-Breaking Investments and Accelerated Interest During COVID-19

UF Innovate | Sid Martin Biotech announces the City of Alachua’s life sciences industry has raised more than $1 billion in 2020. The life sciences community has accelerated growth with government grants and contracts, mergers and acquisitions, successful financing rounds, and sales revenue.

Learn More

UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering: Bringing AI to automobiles, the Internet, and images for a smarter Internet of Things that impact you and the world around you

Three leading researchers at the Warren B. Nelms Institute for the Connected World are using artificial intelligence (AI) to make the Internet of Things (IoT) more secure and more efficient. They have invited us into their laboratories to take a peek at the leading edge of AI applications.

Learn More

UF College of Veterinary Medicine breaks record in Bread of the Mighty food drive donations

The UF College of Veterinary Medicine’s annual holiday food drive generated a record haul of 1,525 pounds of food and $1,905 in monetary donations for the Bread of the Mighty Food Bank—a cumulative impact of 20,425 meals for the hungry in our community.

For two years in a row, the college has been listed in the food bank’s “Top 10” holiday drives in terms of pounds of food collected.