The Bob Graham Center for Public Service provides a wide variety of programs for students and the larger public on topics related to public service, public leadership and civic engagement.
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October 2023
Hallow-green Social: Environmental Leaders Network
Calling all environmental enthusiasts! Are you ready for a ghoulishly good time? If you’re a UF undergrad interested in learning more about how you can use your skills to shape a greener future, join us for the UF Thompson Earth Systems Institute Environmental Leaders Network “Hallow-green” Welcome Meeting. Here’s what’s in store for you: Connect with like-minded environmental leaders from diverse majors and academic backgrounds. Discover your unique leadership style and learn more about how to use it for positive…
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Impacts of Florida’s Expansion of the Death Penalty
Given the recent changes in the state legislature regarding Florida’s capital sentencing laws, UF’s Mock Trial Team partnered with the Bob Graham Center for a public program on the impacts on the justice system, including the reactivity challenge in the Florida Supreme Court. The program was held Oct. 26, 2023. The panel of experts was moderated by Esha Bhat, a third-year political science major and Mock Trial Vice President. Watch the live stream of the event. Speakers Brian Kramer is…
Find out more »November 2023
Careers in International Public Service
View the Recording of the Event Three Bob Graham Center alumni living and working abroad participated in our “Careers in Public Service” series on November 14, 2023. Panelists were Vasilios Kosmakos, a Peace Corp Volunteer in Paraguay; Huter Hales, a proposal development office for the government of Belize, and Elizabeth Pantaleon, a US foreign service officer in Guatemala. VASILIOS KOSMAKOS PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER, PARAGUAY Vasilios Kosmakos grew up in Treasure Island, Fla., and attended the University of Florida where he…
Find out more »January 2024
King’s Mecca: How Atlanta Shaped Martin L. King Jr’s Philosophy and Worldview
This lecture by Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar, a professor of history and the founding director of the Center for the Study of Popular Music at the University of Connecticut, was sponsored by the African American Studies Program, the Bob Graham Center for Public Service, and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program. View the recording
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Cuban Footprints: A Journey Back in Time
This captivating program, recorded at the Bob Graham Center in Pugh Hall, features double-Gator and renowned Florida architect Mario Cartaya as he explores the intricate relationship between Cuba and the United States, delving into the lives of Island Cubans and Cuban-Americans caught in the crossfire. View the recording. He is the author of "Journey Back Into The Vault. In Search of My Faded Cuban Childhood Footprints" (2022), an account of his return visit to Cuba for the first time in…
Find out more »February 2024
How AI is Transforming Business: Planet Money’s Jess Jiang
NPR’s Jess Jiang, an Emmy-winning journalist and Senior Supervising Editor of the economics podcast Planet Money, led a panel discussion on AI disruption, virtual reality, and the future of work featuring UF Professor of Journalism Sriram Kalyanaraman and UF Professor of Business Jim Hoover. View the recording of the panel. The panel was moderated by fourth-year political science and journalism student Brett Posner-Ferdman. Jess Jiang is this semester’s Business Journalist in Residence. UF’s Business Journalist in Residence program invites leading…
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Home in the City: The Art and Science of Urban Living
What makes a city feel inviting, a place to call home? We were joined on Feb. 8 at 5:30 in the Ocora by three dynamic professionals from anthropology, art, and cultural placemaking who addressed urban design and its civic challenges. Our speakers share a commitment to addressing environmental and social issues through design. Explore the nexus of art, environment, and societal well-being, and learn how city beautification and hospitality practices can enrich our culture and foster community belonging. Our panelists…
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Name, Image and Blackness: Race and College Football
This lecture by Dr. Leonard Moore looked at the racial dynamics of college football in the South in light of recent developments: the transfer portal, NIL, conference realignment, anti-DEI legislation, and the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision that outlawed affirmative action in college admissions. Watch the recording. The most dynamic of these developments has been Name, Image, and Likeness. Ironically, just several years ago college football fans said that they would never support a team that pays its players. However,…
Find out more »March 2024
Primer on Primaries: How the Primary Process Affects America Today
Ever wondered how party primaries began? Curious about how the primary process affects America today? The Bob Graham Center hosted a dynamic panel discussion on U.S. presidential preference primaries and the current political contest featuring experts in elections, journalism, and history on March 19, 2024. Watch the recording of the event at this link. Panelists were Matt Jacobs, Ph.D., Myiah Hutchens, Ph.D., and Suzanne Robbins, Ph.D. They discussed how primaries first began, how they’ve changed over time and changed the…
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2024 Joan S. Forrest Women in Leadership Forum
In honor of Women’s History Month, the Bob Graham Center Student Fellows joined with the Bob Graham Center for Public Service to host the 2024 Joan S. Forrest Women in Leadership Forum on March 21, 2024 at 6 pm in the Pugh Hall Ocora. Watch the event recording at this link. Panelists were: Ellen Connelly Taaffe, Women’s Leadership Director at Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, has a distinguished career spanning Fortune 500 companies and independent board directorships. Now a…
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