Bob Graham Center for Public Service

Immigration Initiative
2023-11-30 17:30 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | Pugh Hall Ocora, 296 Buckman Dr, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States
Panelists will be activist Ethan Maia De Needell of the Rural Women’s Health Program, Professor Juan Caballero, director of the the Immigration Law Clinic at the Levin College of Law, and Gainesville attorney Yomayra Vallejo Cortez of the Immigration Law Office of Yomayra Vallejo.
The program will also feature an exhibit regarding personal stories of immigration submitted by UF students. Students may submit stories at https://shorturl.at/kpzD8.

Conflict in the Middle East: A Moderated Conversation on Israel & Gaza
2023-12-07 14:00 - 15:30 | O’Neill Reading Rm, 2nd Floor, Pugh Hall
Conflict in the Middle East is the first in the “Policy Over Pastries” series of civil discourse discussions sponsored by the Gators Vote Civic Engagement Cabinet. The purpose of the series is to pair leaders of campus student organizations with subject-matter experts and foster a productive yet relaxed small-group discussion about today’s most pressing issues.
Refreshments will be served. Seats are limited. We ask that you register before Dec. 5.
RSVP NOW
Facilitators
Dr. Matt Jacobs is an associate professor of U.S. and international history as well as the director of the Bob Graham Center for Public Service. He teaches courses on international politics and history. His research focuses on U.S.-Middle East relations.
Dr. Onursal Erol is the international experiential learning coordinator for the Bob Graham Center and a lecturer focused on the Middle East and North Africa. His research and teaching interests include the Middle East and North Africa, social movements, urban and environmental studies, and gender and sexuality.
Dr. Patricia Sohn is undergraduate coordinator for the Center for Jewish Studies and associate professor of political science at UF. Among her many research interests are micro-level politics; religion and politics, and comparative themes in Israel, Palestinians, Middle East and North Africa, and Jewish and Islamic topics.
The Gators Vote Cabinet is a partnership of civic-minded organizations and campus institutions at the University of Florida committed to developing and promoting a culture of civic engagement on our campus year-round. If you or your student organization would like to become a member, you can sign up at this link.

Mississippi Freedom Project Town Hall
2023-12-07 17:00 - 18:00 | Pugh Hall Ocora, 296 Buckman Dr, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States
Have you ever wondered how researchers collect primary historical evidence? Well at the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program we preserve history by interviewing the people who lived it! Come and see how you can document civil rights history at the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program in 2024.

Explore African Languages Info Session
2023-12-07 17:00 - 18:00 | Smathers Library Rm 100, Gainesville, 32611
The Center for African Studies welcomes all UF students to an info session to learn about funding opportunities, career opportunities, and study abroad in Ghana, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Senegal, Nigeria and South Africa. Pizza served!

King's Mecca: How Atlanta Shaped Martin L. King Jr's Philosophy and Worldview
2024-01-11 17:00 - 18:30 | Smathers Library Rm 100, Gainesville, 32611
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.
Image Gallery

Videos

Application Deadline: Future of Florida Summit
2024-01-13 | Online, FL, United States
Don’t miss this chance to hear from ACSI Labs CEO, UN AI advisor, and IBM Master Inventor Neil Sahota, our 2024 Future of Florida Summit keynote speaker. If you are a student attending any Florida college or university, apply now. This year’s theme is AI.

Read and Register: A Voter Registration Event
2024-01-17 13:00 - 16:00 | University of Florida
Calling all UF students, staff, and faculty!
Election 2024 is coming up, and we want you to be prepared. Join the Bob Graham Center Fellows on Wednesday, January 17 from 1-4 p.m. at Library West, Marston, and Smathers (Library East) to register to vote. Stop by one of our three locations and let us help you update your voter registration to your new address at UF.
Not registered to vote yet? We can help with that, too. And take a moment to enjoy delicious and free cookies on the house.
Image Gallery

Summer ’24 Washington DC Internships Virtual Info Session
2024-01-18 16:00 - 17:00 | Zoom
Make your mark in Washington, DC! The application for the Summer 2024 cohort of the Bob Graham Center Washington Internship Program is now open. If you expect to apply for summer or a future term, please register for this session.

Cuban Footprints: A Journey Back in Time
2024-01-24 17:30 - 18:30 | Pugh Hall Ocora, 296 Buckman Dr, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States
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.
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 56 years.
Embark with Mr. Cartaya on the emotional journey of a Cuban-born American as he returns to Cuba after 56 years, seeking to reclaim lost memories and reunite with the family left behind. It’s a remarkable exploration of identity, reconciliation, and inner peace.
Cartaya was born in 1951 into a middle class family living in Havana, Cuba. Eight years later, as Castro’s Revolution swept over the country, he and his family immigrated to Florida and began the process of adaptation and metamorphosis into the new culture, language, customs, and idiosyncrasies of the U.S.
Cartaya attended the University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning, earning a bachelor of architecture degree in 1974 and a masters in building construction with high honors from UF in 1975.
In 1979 he founded Cartaya and Associates Architects PA , the acclaimed Fort Lauderdale firm he headed for 43 years until his retirement in 2022. The firm’s work can be seen throughout Broward County and south Florida in more than 100 schools and public buildings, including the Fort Lauderdale International Airport and the Broward County Judicial Complex, as well several additions and renovations for many hospitals and health care facilities in the area.
Cartaya served 15 years as chair of Sen. Bob Graham’s Air Force and Naval Academies selection committees, and was appointed by Florida Governor Lawton Chiles to the Broward College District Board of Trustees. He also helped President Bill Clinton in writing his initial Cuba policy, and assisted President Barack Obama with development of his rapprochement visit to Cuba in 2014.
He now resides in Gainesville, Fla., and devotes his creative energies to writing and lecturing.
His talk was sponsored by the Bob Graham Center and the University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning.
Image Gallery

Videos

Annual Climate Communications Summit
2024-01-25 14:00
How do we build trust in science and scale up climate literacy? Join us for UF’s 9th annual Climate Communications Summit for a special program on the state of climate change in Florida, how scientists know what they know, and scaling up public understanding of how extreme weather connects to climate change.

The Washington Center Info Session Lunch
2024-02-05 12:00 - 13:30 | Pugh Hall Rm 160, 296 Buckman Drive
This is a special opportunity to gain insights into The Washington Center, and is invaluable for those considering careers in public service, the arts, international relations, the private sector, politics and more.
TWC offers a unique experience for students and recent graduates of all different majors to participate in an internship program that integrates work experience with professional development and civic engagement. TWC works with students one-on-one to land an internship in the Washington DC metro area that fits their goals and interests.
Through UF’s partnership with TWC, you’ll be able to:

Gain real-world experience with an internship tailored to your interests;
Join a professional network of mentors, advisors and 60,000+ alumni; and
Map your career path and gain the skills you need to launch a career you’ll love.

A complimentary lunch is provided for attendees. Register for the lunch.
We look forward to seeing you there.

How AI is Transforming Business: Planet Money’s Jess Jiang
2024-02-06 16:00 - 17:30 | Pugh Hall Ocora, 296 Buckman Dr, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States
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.
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 reporters in business and economics to campus to share their expertise with students, faculty and staff through class visits, public talks and visits to campus initiatives in their reporting specialty.
The Business Journalist in Residence program is supported by the Warrington College of Business, the College of Journalism and Communications, and the Office of the Provost.
Jess Jiang is a Senior Supervising Editor for Planet Money. Previously, Jiang was a producer for NPR’s podcast Rough Translation. In 2014, she was part of the Planet Money team that won an Emmy for the project documenting how a T-shirt goes from cotton plants to our closets. Jiang earned a degree in economics and environmental studies at Yale University.
Jim Hoover is a Clinical Professor in the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida. He has an extensive background in analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, forecasting, and operations research.
Sriram “Sri” Kalyanaraman is a Professor of Journalism at the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications and director of the Media Effects and Technology Lab, which facilitates research teaching and service initiatives at the intersection of media, technology and psychology.
Brett Posner-Ferfman is a fourth-year undergraduate pursuing a dual degree in political science and journalism. Since September 2023, Brett has worked as a research and data analyst intern for the US Consulate General in Toronto, where he specializes in political mapping and issue polling. Brett has also served as a researcher and data analyst for the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information.
Videos

Home in the City: The Art and Science of Urban Living
2024-02-08 17:30 - 19:00 | Pugh Hall Ocora, 296 Buckman Dr, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States
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 were:
Cady Gonzalez was awarded the Bob Graham Center doctoral dissertation completion fellowship for her research into how the government of Ethiopia uses practices of hospitality to clean its rapidly urbanizing capital city. She is now a visiting assistant professor at Rollins College in Florida.
sTo Len, a performance/sound artist based in Queens, New York. During his fellowship as the Public Artist in Residence at the Department of Sanitation in NY, he innovated ways to use art to promote change and appreciation for the work of the city’s trash collectors.
Sherry Dobbin is a cultural and placemaking consultant now based in London. She has more than 35 years experience helping communities embed arts and culture into daily life. From 2012-2016 she served as creative director for Times Square Alliance in New York City.
The panel was moderated by Dr. Brenda Chalfin, a professor of anthropology and African studies at the University of Florida.
Image Gallery
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBdMoE
Videos

Gator Nation Giving Day
2024-02-15
We’re rallying the Bob Graham Center community to support initiatives fostering leadership and civic engagement. Join us as we Stand Up & Holler for a brighter future.

The Barefoot Mailman and Florida’s Post Office Murals
2024-02-20 15:00 - 17:00 | Harn Museum of Art, 3259 Hull Road, Gainesville, FL, United States
Post office murals are visible and enduring symbols of New Deal ideology that provide lasting evidence of governmental art patronage during the Great Depression. Not just for picking up mail or sending packages, post offices offered patrons during the 1930s a place to meet neighbors and catch up on the news. In Florida, 16 new post offices were built between 1937 and 1943, and each was decorated with murals or relief sculptures paid for by the Treasury Department’s Section of Painting and Sculpture. This presentation discusses the West Palm Beach post office’s exciting mural series featuring Florida’s “Barefoot Mail Carrier,” its subject, and how it fits into the Great Depression’s larger mural project.

Keri Watson is the assistant director of the School of Visual Arts and Design and an associate professor of art history at the University of Central Florida. She serves as an executive editor for Panorama: Journal of the Association of Historians of American Art and is the author of Florida’s New Deal Parks and Post Office Murals (forthcoming), This is America: Re-Viewing the Art of the United States (Oxford University Press 2023), and the Routledge Companion to Art and Disability (2022). Dr. Watson’s research has been recognized and supported by a Fulbright Fellowship and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Terra Foundation for American Art, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Presidents’ Day Trivia
2024-02-20 17:30 - 19:30 | Pugh Hall Ocora, 296 Buckman Dr, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States
Back by popular demand! The Bob Graham Center presents the 2nd annual Presidents Day trivia contest. Registration is at capacity. Visitors are welcome to come by and cheer on our competitors.
Image Gallery

Name, Image and Blackness: Race and College Football
2024-02-22 08:00 - 17:00
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.
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, those same fans are now demanding that their favorite school pay whatever salary is necessary to recruit the best players.
Leonard N. Moore is the George Littlefield Professor of American History and a former vice president at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Moore has authored four books on black politics, including Carl B. Stokes and the Rise of Black Political Power, Black Rage in New Orleans, The Defeat of Black Power, and Teaching Black History to White People. Dr. Moore teaches more than 1,000 undergraduate students in the fall semester in his two classes: History of The Black Power Movement and Black Southerners in the Age of Jim Crow. Dr. Moore also directs summer programs in Beijing, China, Cape Town, South Africa, and Dubai. In the Austin community, he serves as Board Chair of the Austin Area Urban League.
He delivered the talk on Feb. 15, 2024 at 4 pm in Smathers Library Rm. 100. It was the second in the 2023-2024 Speaker Series: Scales of Belonging, sponsored by the UF Center for Humanities in the Public Sphere, (Rothman Endowment), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, UF Research, George A. Smathers Libraries, A. Quinn Jones Museum and Cultural Center, African American Studies Program, Bob Graham Center for Public Service, Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship, Department of Anthropology, Department of Geography, Department of History, and the Department of Political Science.
Image Gallery
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBejgm
Videos
https://youtu.be/lK0dHiVVRjU

Balancing First Amendment Rights with Misinformation on Social Media
2024-03-07 14:00 - 15:15 | O’Neill Reading Rm, 2nd Floor, Pugh Hall
Balancing First Amendment Rights with Misinformation on Social Media is the second in the “Policy Over Pastries” series of civil discourse discussions sponsored by the Gators Vote Civic Engagement Cabinet. The purpose of the series is to pair leaders of campus student organizations with subject-matter experts and foster a productive yet relaxed small-group discussion about today’s most pressing issues.
Refreshments will be served. Seats are limited. We ask that you register before March 6.

Register to Attend
Facilitators
Dr. Matt Jacobs is an associate professor of U.S. and international history as well as the director of the Bob Graham Center for Public Service. He teaches courses on international politics and history. His research focuses on U.S.-Middle East relations.
Hubert “Hub” Brown serves as Dean of the College of Journalism and Communications. Brown has more than 15 years experience in reporting, producing and anchoring, for commercial local news and in public television.
Professor Janet Coats serve as the Managing Director of the Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology. With leadership roles in news organizations and as a Pulitzer Prize juror, she’s recognized for expertise in disinformation, media entrepreneurship, and ethics.

Primer on Primaries: How the Primary Process Affects America Today
2024-03-19 18:00 - 19:00 | Pugh Hall Ocora, 296 Buckman Dr, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States
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.
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 electoral process, and what to expect from the future of presidential nominations. Viewers will take a deep dive into the political strategies within primaries and the role the media plays in covering these contests.
Image Gallery

Videos

2024 Joan S. Forrest Women in Leadership Forum
2024-03-21 18:00 - 19:00 | Pugh Hall Ocora, 296 Buckman Dr, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States
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.
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 professor at Northwestern, she shares her expertise through writing, speaking engagements, and her popular book, The Mirrored Door.
Mary Kate Flynn, UF Health Operations Manager, has spearheaded groundbreaking initiatives like Florida’s first mobile stroke treatment unit. With a background in project coordination and executive support, she brings strategic vision to her role, actively contributing to her community through board memberships and volunteering.
Reina Saco, City of Gainesville Commissioner, earned her J.D. from UF Law in 2017, and began her legal career as an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Florida Legal Services, Inc. She was first elected to the Gainesville City Commission in 2020. In addition to her seat on the City Commission, she currently serves on the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council.
Trysh Travis, Ph.D., Associate Dean at UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is a cultural and literary historian, focusing on the gendered history of medicine. With a Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University, she focuses on the culture of addiction and recovery. She has authored The Language of the Heart: Twelve-Step Recovery from Alcoholics Anonymous to Oprah Winfrey and co-edited Rethinking Therapeutic Culture.
The program was moderated by UF student and Graham Center fellow Amelia Packham.
Image Gallery

Videos

From Campus to Community: Harnessing Civic Engagement for Climate Action
2024-03-25 12:00 - 15:00 | O’Neill Reading Room, 2nd floor, Pugh Hall
Join the movement for change! The Thompson Earth Systems Institute and the Bob Graham Center invite UF students, faculty and staff to an inspiring workshop featuring leading experts at the forefront of environmental education, civic engagement and climate action. If you want to gain valuable insights and practical strategies for addressing climate change, then join us and make a difference that matters.
Lunch is served to those who register in advance. Register today!
Agenda

Noon-12:30 pm
Lunch served. Welcome and introductions, Bob Graham Center.

12:30-1:15 pm
Professor Dr. Andrea Möller and Veronika Winter
Preparing students for an uncertain future: Why we need a hopeful and resilient perspective in climate change education and what we can learn from environmental education research
How a student initiative contributed to anchor climate education in Austrian teacher training

1:15-1:30 pm
Break

1:30-2:30 pm
Dr. Megan Ennes
Civic engagement for the environment

2:30-3 pm
Dr. Martha Monroe
Guidelines for educators on climate action and justice

About Our Panelists
Dr. Andrea Möller, Austrian Educational Competence Center Biology, University of Vienna is a full professor in biology education at the University of Vienna and heads the Austrian Educational Competence Center for Biology. There she trains about 70% of Austria’s future biology teachers and researches how to successfully teach environmental and climate change education. As an expert in ‘bee didactics’ and former Fulbright Scholar to the USA, she also runs the cross-national and award-winning environmental education project ‘Bee.ed’.
Veronika Winter, MEd, Austrian Educational Competence Center Biology, University of Vienna is a PhD candidate in climate change education research. Her engagement in the Austrian climate movement has led her to focus on teacher education for climate action.
Dr. Megan Ennes is professor and assistant curator of museum education in the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida, as well as the director of the Thompson Earth Systems Institute. A former museum educator, her research focuses on how museums can support the science interests and career aspirations of youth through family programming, civic engagement, and scientist outreach.
Dr. Martha Monroe is a former president of the North American Association for Environmental Education and has been an environmental educator for over 40 years. She is a member of the NAAEE Guidelines Writing Team. She is dedicated to using education to help move individuals and communities toward pro-environmental and sustainable decisions. Her work in climate change education has received national awards.

Careers in Public Service Lunch: Milan Vrbovský, Consul General
2024-03-26 12:00 - 13:00 | O’Neill Reading Room, 2nd floor, Pugh Hall
Interested in a career in the diplomatic service? Or still trying to get some clarity about your future plans at home or abroad after graduation?
Discover the pathways available in public service and gain valuable insights from a seasoned professional at the next luncheon in our Careers in Public Service series. The Center for European Studies and the Graham Center are delighted to welcome to Mr. Milan Vrbovský, the Consul General of the Slovak Republic.
Mr. Vrbovský earned a doctoral degree in philosophy at Trnava University in Slovakia, then worked at the Human Rights and Minorities Department of the Government Office of the Slovak Republic for several years. In 2012 he joined his nation’s foreign service and was named consul general to the United States in 2021.
Attending our lunch will provide you with valuable insights and networking opportunities as you navigate your career journey. You’ll have the chance to ask our speaker questions and make connections with like-minded fellow students.
The lunch and talk will be in the O’Neill Reading Rm on the 2nd floor of Pugh Hall. Reserve a lunch spot today.
About Our Speaker
Milan Vrbovský was named a consul general of the Slovak Republic in New York City in August 2021. His previous posting was at the Slovak Embassy in Ottawa, where he served as the deputy head of mission and consul.
After earning a doctoral degree in Philosophy at Trnava University, he worked at the Human Rights and Minorities Department of the Government Office of the Slovak Republic (2006-2012).
In 2012 he joined the Slovak Foreign Service, where he worked at the Human Rights Unit (2012-2013), Legal and Consular Section (2013-2015) and as a member of the Cabinet of Foreign Ministers Miroslav Lajčák and Ivan Korčok (2019-2021).
He is married to Zuzana Vrbovska and has three children.

Presidential Historian Douglas Brinkley: Silent Spring Revolution
2024-03-27 18:00 - 20:00 | Cade Museum for Creativity & Invention, 811 S Main St, Gainesville, FL, United States
Join New York Times bestselling-author Douglas Brinkley for his talk “Silent Spring Revolution” about author Rachel Carson and other courageous women and men who helped influence presidents and other powerful insiders to spark an ecological revolution half a century ago.

As Florida and the nation grapple with climate change and resource exhaustion, what can we learn from the rise of environmental activism from 1960-1973 and the generation that helped save America’s environment under the leadership of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon?
Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Book sales, signing and a reception will follow the event.
Sponsored by the University of Florida’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Rothman Family Chair in the Humanities; Bob Graham Center for Public Service; and College of Journalism and Communications.
Image Gallery

Research Justice: A Workshop On Collaboration
2024-03-28 10:00 - 11:00 | A. Quinn Jones Museum and Cultural Center, 1013 NW 7th Ave, Gainesville, FL, United States
This workshop will reflect on strategies for creating equitable research collaborations, generating shared research questions for university-based researchers and community organizations. This is the third event in the Center for Humanities and the Public Sphere’s 2023-2024 Speaker Series: Scales of Belonging.

This workshop will reflect on strategies for creating equitable research collaborations, generating shared research questions for university-based researchers and community organizations. We will discuss “research justice:” research that supports the self-determination of marginalized people and produces knowledge with and for social movements. Research in this framework may include ethnographic, archival, spatial, and multi-modal approaches, including radio and mapping exercises. The workshop will build on ongoing collaborative research on environmental violence at migrant detention facilities in South Florida, including the recent report “The Toxic Truth.”
The event is organized in collaboration with the A. Quinn Jones Museum and Cultural Center.
Emma Shaw Crane is a postdoctoral fellow in the Society of Fellows in the Humanities at Columbia University in the City of New York, where she is affiliated with the Department of Anthropology and the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race. She received her PhD in American Studies from New York University in 2021. She is co-editor, with Ananya Roy, of Territories of Poverty: Rethinking North and South (University of Georgia Press 2015) and her work has been published in Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, Public Culture, and Antipode. She researches and writes with a coalition of community organizations fighting for migrant and environmental justice in South Florida.
Scales of Belonging: Speaker Series 2023-24
Recent years have given life an experimental feel. As interlocked and unpredictable sources of upheaval become the norm, we ask: how and where do we belong? Exiles and refugees may never belong where they make homes. Migrants may never feel at home where they belong. While some choices we make, others are made for us. People move—as much as they are moved by nature and politics. In another key, we are moved by things that affect us: literature, sports, the lives of others. If shared worlds make life meaningful, then what forces repair and rupture the possibility of community? From football fields and detention centers to the planet itself, the Center’s 2023-24 Speaker Series investigates our myriad Scales of Belonging.

Race, Detention, and Indigeneity in South Florida
2024-03-28 16:00 - 17:00 | Smathers Library Rm 100, Gainesville, 32611
Discover the intertwining narratives of migration and militarization at the heart of South Florida’s Homestead Temporary Shelter. Emma Shaw Crane of Columbia University illuminates the Homestead shelter’s connection to a nearby military base, challenging perceptions of detention as exceptions. This is the third and final event in the Center for Humanities and the Public Sphere’s 2023-2024 Speaker Series: Scales of Belonging.

Reporting on Food Policy Amid a Journalism Implosion
2024-04-03 16:00 - 17:00 | Pugh Hall Ocora, 296 Buckman Dr, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States
Join us for a conversation with UF’s spring Science Journalist in Residence Helena Bottemiller Evich, the founder and editor-in-chief of Food Fix. A reception will follow the talk.

Food Fix is a new, in-depth publication about food policy in Washington and beyond. Evich, an award-winning reporter who previously led food coverage at Politico, launched Food Fix to be the go-to source for food policy news and analysis for insiders and consumers alike. She has made appearances on various prominent platforms including CNN, MSNBC, CBS, BBC and NPR.
Evich will also be speaking at IFAS’s Future of Food Forum on April 3.
UF’s Science Journalist in Residence Program brings leading science writers to the UF campus in Gainesville each semester to interact with faculty and students. SJRs give public talks, speak in classes, visit laboratories and meet with one-on-one with students interested in science stories.
Image Gallery
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBp4d7
Videos

CES Career Speaker Series: Edouard Coppieters
2024-04-04 12:00 - 13:00 | Turlington Hall Room 3310, 330 Newell Dr
Join CES for a conversation with Edouard Coppieters, Policy Advisor, American Chamber of Commerce to the EU.
Interested in a career abroad? Then join CES for lunch and conversation about the work of AMCHAM, its advocacy for US business in Europe, and tips on how to pursue a career abroad.

Careers in Public Service: Coffee Chat with Dr. Kayser Enneking
2024-04-05 14:00 - 15:00 | O’Neill Reading Rm, 2nd Floor, Pugh Hall
Our featured speaker for our career chat is Dr. Kayser Enneking, a professor of anesthesiology and orthopedics in UF’s College of Medicine. She will give a short presentation about Medicaid expansion and some relevant medical legislative initiatives at the state and federal levels.
Please sign up in advance.
Last year Dr. Enneking was honored by the College with its Lifetime Achievement Award for her service at the university and contributions to the field of medicine. Additionally, Dr. Enneking was celebrated with a Diamond Award last November by UF Women in Medicine and Science, a faculty group in the College of Medicine that supports professional development and community for female faculty.
Dr. Enneking received her MD from the University of Florida in 1986 and joined the faculty as an assistant professor in 1991.
Refreshments are provided. Please register in advance so we can plan to have enough coffee and refreshments on hand.
Image Gallery
https://www.flickr.com/gp/50552401@N05/h3q8Zf26hf

2024 Undergraduate Research Symposium
2024-04-13 08:30 - 12:30 | Pugh Hall Ocora, 296 Buckman Dr, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, United States
The Bob Graham Center’s Undergraduate Research Symposium runs from 9 am to 12:30 pm, and will feature panel-style research presentations followed by a discussion at the end of each session.
Student presenters and invited guests are asked to RSVP at this link.
Students involved with the Center’s Civic Scholars program, the Askew Research Fellows, and the International Studies major will be presenting results of their research projects.
Doors will open at 8:30 am. The event is open to the public but a limited number of seats are available during each session.
Image Gallery

UF Gulf Scholars Faculty Info Session
2024-04-15 12:00 - 13:00 | O’Neill Reading Rm, 2nd Floor, Pugh Hall
UF Gulf Scholars aims to prepare students from diverse academic backgrounds with the knowledge, skills, and mindset necessary to address the complex and dynamic challenges facing Gulf of Mexico communities.
With a focus on civic engagement, public service, and leadership, students will explore the environmental, social, economic, historical, and cultural dimensions of the Gulf. Through their participation in the program, students will be better equipped to promote stewardship, resilience, and innovation as they step into the workforce.
The Bob Graham Center for Public Service is excited to welcome faculty from across UF to help make this exciting new program a reality by teaching Gulf-related courses, hosting experiential learning opportunities, and mentoring students on Gulf Impact Projects. As the program kicks off, we invite faculty applications for the UF Gulf Scholars Course Development Grant.
If you would like to learn more about UF Gulf Scholars or have specific questions about your grant application, attend our info session on April 16, 2024, from 12-1 p.m. in the Pugh Hall O’Neill reading room. Lunch will be served. RSVP at the following link: Gulf Scholars Faculty Info Session
