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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.

Ditch of Dreams

The 2009 Samuel Proctor Florida History Lecture Series at the University of Florida began on September 23 with a presentation by two Gainesville historians. Steven Noll, senior lecturer in history at UF, and David Tegeder, history professor at Santa Fe College, presented “Ditch of Dreams: The Cross Florida Barge Canal and the Struggle for Florida’s

Environmentalist Joe Browder discussed the past and future of the Everglades

Joe Browder, an environmental consultant and former conservation director of Friends of the Earth, presented “Everglades Visions, Revisions, and History” on October 8, 2009. Browder emerged from the grassroots in the early 1960s to help save South Florida’s most precious natural wonders from unrestrained forces of growth. Jack Davis, associate professor of history at UF explained

University of Florida historian Bill Link discussed the South’s civil rights movement

The 50th anniversary of the sit-ins that energized the civil rights movement in the South was discussed on December 8, 2009. Panelists for “The 50th Anniversary of the Sit-Ins: From Greensboro to Tallahassee” included history professors Bill Link and Alan Petigny and religion professor Gwendolyn Simmons, discussing the significance of the sit-in movement and its impact on

University of Florida professor Gwendolyn Simmons discussed the South’s civil rights movement

The 50th anniversary of the sit-ins that energized the civil rights movement in the South was discussed on December 8, 2009. Panelists for “The 50th Anniversary of the Sit-Ins: From Greensboro to Tallahassee” included history professors Bill Link and Alan Petigny and religion professor Gwendolyn Simmons, discussing the significance of the sit-in movement and its impact

Economist David Denslow and guests discussed the future of Florida’s economy with the Florida Legislature

Leading economic experts hosted an in-depth discussion on the reasons behind the state’s economic woes for members of the Florida Senate and House of Representatives on January 14, 2010.The James Madison Institute and the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service and Reubin O’D. Askew Institute on Politics and Society hosted the forum,

Editor Greg Ip and guests discussed the future of Florida’s economy with the Florida Legislature

Leading economic experts hosted an in-depth discussion on the reasons behind the state’s economic woes for members of the Florida Senate and House of Representatives on January 14, 2010. The James Madison Institute and the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service and Reubin O’D. Askew Institute on Politics and Society hosted the forum, entitled

Bob Rhodes discussed growth management policies

During a February 10, 2010 forum Bob Rhodes, a leading expert on growth management, described a controversial growth regulation amendment on the 2010 ballot as the "elephant in the growth management policy room." This could radically change the way Florida regulates growth and development. Amendment 4 would require that all local government Comprehensive Plans and plan