Bob Graham Center for Public Service

Katie Sanders is a PunditFact staff writer based in St. Petersburg, Fla. Before PunditFact, Sanders  wrote for PolitiFact for the Tallahassee bureau of the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald. Sanders spoke at the Bob Graham Center on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. in the Pugh Hall Ocora before a crowd of nealy 100. …

Standardized testing dominates the discussion surrounding public education. Nathan Crabbe, editorial page editor from the Gainesville Sun, moderated an in-depth and lively panel discussion on this important issue, Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. in the Pugh Hall Ocora. Panelists included: Alachua County Schools Superintendent Owen Roberts, local League of Women Voters President Sue Legg, …

Ted Kury, director of energy studies for the Public Utility Research Center (PURC) at the University of Florida,  and Amy Stein from the Levin College of Law, whose legal focus is on clean energy, climate change and the environment, examined Florida's current energy policy and the need to diversify energy options in order to secure …

Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughter of the late activist Malcolm X, spoke to a standing-room only crowd on Monday, Sept. 28 at 3 p.m. in the Pugh Hall Ocora. The African American Studies Program and the Bob Graham Center for Public Service co-sponsored her visit. Ms. Shabazz discussed her new book, X: A Novel, which is a fictional account …

The United Nations says more than 300,000 migrants have attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea this year. The majority of these refugees are Syrians, but also in the mix are migrants fleeing from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Nigeria and Kosovo. On Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. in the Pugh Hall Ocora a panel of faculty members …

Former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson (R-WY) spoke Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. in the Pugh Hall Ocora. President Obama appointed Sen. Simpson in 2010 as co-chair of the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform along with former President Clinton’s Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles. The commission released a report that was praised for …

The University of Florida commemorated 50 years of the Florida Constitution with two panel discussions focused on constitutional revision. “Florida Constitution at 50 Years: Looking Ahead to the 2017 Revision Commission” was held from 4-7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8 in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom, Room 180, Holland Hall, at UF’s Levin College of …

The Voting Rights Act, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965, aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote under the 15th Amendment. The act significantly widened the franchise and is considered among the most far-reaching pieces of …

While in the U.S. Senate, Tom Harkin was one of the main authors of the landmark 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act as well as the chief Senate sponsor of the legislation. Harkin's older brother, Frank, was deaf. His struggles were behind many of the younger brother's efforts to help the disabled. The act was signed …

This program looked back at the many contributions of UF in support of the archaeological and historic preservation of St. Augustine.  Highlighted projects will included: the opening of First Colonies Exhibit at the Florida Museum of Natural History, an unveiling of the new web application--Unearthing St. Augustine's Colonial Heritage, and University of Florida Historic St. …