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COSmic Knight Exposes Injustice
This week’s COSmic Knight aspires to do work that really matters to people. With a double major in political science and journalism, Sam Schiffer is a force to be reckoned with. His interest in how government operates began in his high school career. He was excelling in government and civics classes when he realized the importance of understanding government dictates the […]
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Introducing 13 New Ph.D. Graduates
In a reception hosted by Dean Michael Johnson, Ph.D., the College of Sciences celebrated its new Ph.D. graduates in the Physical Sciences building. Thirteen students were recognized with family members and faculty advisors by their side. Associate Dean Teresa Dorman, Ph.D., honored each student by presenting their research and dissertation. A champagne toast followed to celebrate the students’ […]
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COSmic Knight Took a Risk That Paid $5K
Funding your college career may be difficult, but Cristobal Reyes-Rios took a chance that won himself a scholarship. With a double major in journalism and political science, Reyes has a lot on his plate. He became interested in journalism in ninth grade when he took a journalism class and showed promise in news writing. He […]
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A View From Capitol Hill
University of Central Florida Political Science alumnus David Feinman shows that taking a chance can really pay off. Feinman graduated from UCF in 2011 but his experience was far from the norm. Most students work while in school but not many have had the opportunity to work out of state while getting their degree. Feinman […]
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10 Alumni Honored With 30 Under 30 Award
The 2017 University of Central Florida Alumni 30 under 30 class has been announced. These young professionals were chosen due to their outstanding contributions to the community and UCF alike. These alumni still live their lives by the UCF creed and exemplify excellence in either professional success, community involvement or university impact. The 30 Under […]
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Student Finds UCF Connection in Texas
By Jenna Marina Nearly four years ago, UCF alumna Shelby Shankin ’13 found herself in Austin, Texas, for the first time in her life to work on mega festival South by Southwest. Justin Tejada is a current first-generation student majoring in advertising-public relations and minoring in political science. He has made it his mission to […]
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From Victimhood to Empowerment
The already highly precarious existence of Yazidi Kurds, a religious minority with long history of persecution, in Iraq took an ominous turn with the rise of the self-styled Islamic State in the summer of 2014. The IS assault against the Yazidi communities in the Sinjar area located in northwestern Iraq in August 2014 led to […]
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Undergrad Published in Prominent Political Violence Blog
Sam Schiffer, an undergraduate student pursuing a dual-degree in Political Science and Journalism, has had his piece “The Political Motives Behind Bangladesh’s Abuse of Rohingya Refugees” accepted by a prominent political science blog, Political Violence at a Glance. Appearing on Political Violence at a Glance, Sam’s piece discussed the influx of Rohingya refugees into neighboring Bangladesh […]
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A Typical Day like No Other
University of Central Florida political science alumnus Mike Nichola ’11 MA goes to work every day to make a difference. Nichola works as a legislative director for Congressman Darren Soto in his Washington, D.C., office, but his journey started with an entirely different major at UCF. “I was originally going to go to UCF for a […]
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Security Studies Students Win Best Paper Award
Christopher Faulkner and Joshua Lambert, both a part of the Security Studies Ph.D. program, won the 2017 Florida Political Science Association’s (FPSA) Best Graduate Paper Award for their paper titled, “Sign on the Dotted Line: Contracting Private Military and Security Companies in African Civil Wars.” Christopher and Joshua presented their paper at the 2017 FPSA Annual Meeting […]
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Fall 2017 IC CAE Study Abroad Scholarship
The Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence (IC CAE) is offering a study abroad scholarship for Fall 2017. The IC CAE is a grant-funded program that is housed in the political science department. Its main goal is to prepare students for careers in intelligence and national security by enhancing critical skills and knowledge deemed essential by the […]
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Jammin’ Knight Takes on Circuit Court
University of Central Florida political science alumnus Matthew Baker has been busy since his graduation in May 2009. His journey has taken him all over Florida, but some of his fondest experiences were here at UCF. “I played trombone in the Marching Knights from 2006-2008 and was on Student Staff in 2007 and 2008,” Baker […]
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UCF Alumna Harvard Bound after Earning Nearly Perfect Score on LSAT
Story by Rachel Williams Years ago, Rebecca Fate’s vision of her future never included college. Neither of her parents earned college degrees, and growing up in a single-parent household meant there was little to no extra money to send her to school, she said. But when her fifth-grade teacher opened Fate’s eyes to her […]
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Knight of all Trades
Chris Lombardo ’80, always has something to keep him busy. From being an attorney to a fire commissioner and more in between, the University of Central Florida Department of Political Science graduate is a man of many talents. Lombardo is now a partner at his own firm, Woodward, Pires and Lombardo in Naples, Fla. He’s […]
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Faculty Recognition: Research and Teaching Effectiveness
RIA Awardees The University of Central Florida Research Incentive Awards (RIA) program supports outstanding research, scholarly and creative activity that advances the body of knowledge in a particular field, including interdisciplinary research and collaborations. The below faculty members were recognized for their contributions to UCF’s key goal of achieving international prominence in research and creative activities. […]
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Bacon and Bots
By Jenna Marina With a name like Exploding Bacon, it’s hard to believe that the moniker was the second choice for a local youth robotics team led by UCF alumna Elise Cronin-Hurley ’90 ’94 MPA. Organized Chaos was voted as the winner – conceptualized by a random name generator – but when the mother of the lead […]
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Student Recognized for Russian Studies
University of Central Florida student Michael Martinez just won an award for his commitment to learning the Russian language and culture. Martinez is UCF’s 2017 Post Secondary Russian Scholar Laureate. The American Council of Teachers of Russian only presents the award to one student per university every year. This year’s award winner is an international […]
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A Student’s Journey From Prison to Law School
Angel Sanchez has spent much of his college career helping those who, like him, yearned for a second chance. He’s mentored previously incarcerated students, and through his position as president of Moot Court at UCF, an organization that gives pre-law students practice at arguing cases, he helped collect more than 300 books to donate to […]
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New Program Teaches Students Civics
Middle school students across the state of Florida and all over the United States are learning civics through a program developed by the University of Central Florida’s Lou Frey Institute. Civics360 is an interactive civics review website provided by the Lou Frey Institute’s Florida Joint Center for Citizenship. It evolved from the Escambia County Civics […]
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UCF Student Prepares for Chinese Adventure
A University of Central Florida student just received a $17,200 scholarship to study abroad in China for all of his sophomore year. Department of Political Science student Philip Balikowski will be spending fall of 2017 and spring of 2018 studying at Southwest Minzu University in Chengdu, China through the Boren Scholarship Program. His particular curriculum […]
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COS Undergrads Shine at Showcase
Every year, the UCF Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence, presented by the Division of Teaching and Learning, celebrates undergraduate research and creativity across the curriculum. The showcase gave University of Central Florida undergraduate students the opportunity to present their research and creative projects to the university community. Students from all fields and disciplines gathered at […]
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COS Faculty Join Elite Society
Eight University of Central Florida College of Sciences faculty were inducted into the Scroll and Quill Society on April 13, 2017. The society honors faculty members who have brought positive national and/or international attention to the university through their scholarly work. The faculty who were recognized have demonstrated sustained scholarly contributions over a period of […]
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UCF Fosters Future Generations with Political Symposium
The Lou Frey Institute and Global Perspectives at the University of Central Florida hosted ‘The First 100 Days: Policy Initiatives and Approaches for the New Administration’ on March 30, 2017. The symposium hosted AP and honors high school students from across the Orlando area. In the morning, important issues regarding President Trump’s first 100 days […]
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UCF Political Science Student’s Research Wins Big
Jennifer Hudson, a University of Central Florida Department of Political Science graduate student, won the Miami-Florida Jean Monnet Center of Excellence Best Paper Award for graduate students. Hudson is pursuing her master’s degree in political science. She was selected for the award for her paper on “Wage-Setting Institutions and Wage Inequality in the OECD: An […]
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COS Students Shine at Graduate Research Forum
The UCF Pegasus Ballroom was packed Tuesday, April 5 with graduate students sharing their innovative, original research and creative projects at 14th Annual Graduate Research Forum. More than 200 students and 80 faculty judges participated in the event and over $16,000 in awards was presented for Best in Category presentations. Additionally, first place winners are […]
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Founders’ Day Honors Top Faculty, Staff, Students
University of Central Florida’s Founders’ Day Honors Convocation recognizes faculty, staff members and students for outstanding teaching, research, professional service and years of dedication to the university. Awards included the Pegasus Professor Award presented to College of Sciences Associate Dean Jana Jasinski, Ph.D., the UCF Reach for the Stars Award presented to UCF Biology Assistant […]
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Meet the 2017 COS Order of Pegasus Recipients
UCF has named 21 students as recipients of the Order of Pegasus, the university’s most prestigious student award. Eleven of these recipients are students of the UCF College of Sciences. Get to know them below. CHRISTOPHER CLEMENTE: Tampa, FL About: Christopher Clemente, College of Arts and Humanities and College of Sciences, is majoring in history and […]
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Diverse Audiences & Cultural Understanding Highlight ICRCC
Story by Nicholson News When your conference theme focuses on “Megacrises,” you can be sure you’re going to be looking at the big picture. But one of the key takeaways from the seventh annual International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference was to also look at individuals and how they process megacrises differently from one another. […]
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Alumna Makes Impact on Higher Education
University of Central Florida alumna Mary Anderson, Ph.D., ’94 ’96 liked being in college so much that she decided to teach at one. The Department of Political Science graduate received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from UCF. She initially chose to attend because of the campus. “UCF’s campus was filled with […]
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UCF Student’s Unique Influence on Florida’s Constitution
Nicholas Maier, a political science and environmental engineering student at the University of Central Florida, was one of the UCF students chosen to attend the 2017 Future of Florida Summit at the University of Florida. The event, which was held Feb. 10-12, focused on the upcoming 2017-18 Florida Constitution Revision Commission. Commissioned every 20 years, […]