Ytori - Fall 2022

FALL 2022

THE MAGAZINE FOR THE UNIVERSITY of FLORIDA COLLEGE of LIBERAL ARTS and SCIENCES

“ Look deep, deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” — Albert Einstein

UF alumni Herb Yardley (BA ’55) and Catherine Yardley (BSP ’56) championed a revitalization of the Plaza of the Americas, a space to relax and reflect in the heart of campus. Photo by Brianne Lehan/University of Florida.

Contents

Ytori Magazine FALL 2022 Ytori is published twice a year by the University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“Ytori” means “alligator” in the language of the Timucua, the native inhabitants of north-central and northeastern Florida.

FALL 2022

STAFF DAVID E. RICHARDSON, Dean STEVE EVANS, Executive Director of Advancement MEREDITH PALMBERG, Director of Strategic Engagement AMEY OWEN, Creative Production Manager ANDREW DOERFLER, Editor-in-Chief LAUREN BARNETT, Associate Editor SAMANTHA BAILON & EMMA BARRETT, Editorial Assistants ALI PATTERSON, Proofreader KATHLEEN MARTIN, Art Director KAYLA B. HYPPOLITE & MICHEL THOMAS, Photographers © 2022 by the University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or duplicated without prior permission of the editor. University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is an equal access/equal opportunity university.

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| COVER STORY

Wake-Up Calls Environmental storytellers, advocates and visionaries work to repair humanity’s relationship with a changing world

HAVE A STORY IDEA OR WANT TO GET IN TOUCH? ADDRESS Ytori, University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 2014 Turlington Hall PO Box 117300 Gainesville, FL 32611 EMAIL newsandpublications@clas.ufl.edu WEBSITE news.clas.ufl.edu

@UF.CLAS

@UF_CLAS

@UF_CLAS

ON THE COVER A student’s reflections resonate beyond campus, toward the diverse landscapes captured in this issue. Design

by Kathleen Martin. Central photo Matthew Lester/UF. Outward from center: See pg.

28; See pg. 10; See pg. 36; See pg. 24; See pg. 22; See pg. 6; © brian/Adobe Stock; See pg.

10; © AlenKadr/Adobe Stock.

| QUESTION

6 Research Roundup

A showcase of recent research efforts exploring the natural world

8

Turtle Tracker

A biologist hopes to protect a critically endangered species by exploring its comeback on a remote island

10 Getting the Dirt

24

on Space Plants

To make a lunar discovery, geochemist Stephen M. Elardo brings a research team down to earth

| DISCOVER

18

Beyond Buzzwords

A corporate sustainability expert weighs in on how the business world can step up

20 In All Kinds of Weather

A mobile radar unit exposes the secrets of severe weather events

22 Force of Nature

Pioneering ecologist Robert D. Holt finds the simple truths in the natural world’s complexity

24

Below the Melt

Geological scientists traverse massive ice sheets to explore the causes and consequences of loss

28

| CONNECT

30 Next Thing You Know

Alumna Leandra Merz shows the value in life’s detours

34 Anna Morris Pays the Doubters No Mind

A military leader keeps moving forward when others try to hold her back

36

Healing Across Borders

A study abroad trip to Oaxaca teaches pre-health students invaluable lessons

38 Early to Rise

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A celebration of esteemed young alumni named to 40 Gators Under 40

Disappearing Acts

A biologist investigates the mystery of vanishing Arctic lakes

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| I N EVERY I SSUE

4 40

Dean’s Letter Creative License

New book releases from CLAS faculty and alumni

44 Laurels

Celebrating outstanding achievements of students, staff, faculty and alumni

46

Dean’s Circle

Recognizing the generosity of our giving society

48 Crossword Puzzle

Earth, Sea and Sky

From the

Dean A liberal arts and sciences education can lead to insights and innovations regarding pressing issues for nature, society and humanity. In this issue, we focus on the growing knowledge that a changing climate is altering our relationship with the planet.

CLAS researchers, instructors and students are examining issues like sea level rise, vanishing shorelines and rapidly warming temperatures from an impressive variety of perspectives.

Earlier this fall, Hurricane Ian devastated many of Florida’s southwestern Gulf communities. Our thoughts remain with all those affected by Ian and more recently, Hurricane Nicole. As always, rebuilding provides an opportunity to consider how we might improve the sustainability of the interactions of humans with the natural world.

Photo courtesy of Brian Sandusky/University of Florida.

The climate conversation is a common thread running through many parts of the CLAS curriculum, encompassing humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. This issue of Ytori highlights the exciting work of CLAS environmental humanists, who use public storytelling, relationship-building and deep reflection to imagine new ways to enhance our understanding of the planet (page 12).

Take a deep dive into a pristine marine garden in the Caribbean Sea, where an Archie Carr Center researcher explores the surprising comeback of hawksbill sea turtles (page 8) and meet a geochemist who helped grow plants in lunar soil for the first time (page 10).

Expand your mind with pioneering ecologist Robert Holt as he encourages us to pay closer attention to the natural world (page 22).

We also profile two resilient alumnae in this issue. Get to know Leandra Merz as she imparts lessons learned from a rich array of life experiences (page 30). Hear from Anna Morris, whose personal story reminds us to persevere in the face of adversity (page 34).

Finally, I want to update our readers on the university’s Go Greater capital campaign. The college surpassed its goal because of the support of thousands of our alumni and friends. Thank you! In future issues, we will describe the far-reaching impact of these gifts on the teaching, research and service mission of the college.

So, for one last time, Go Greater! And, of course, Go Gators!

David E. Richardson Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 4|

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWS.CLAS.UFL.EDU

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS In today’s job market, biostatisticians are highly sought after for their ability to decode the world’s most pressing health challenges. A new collaboration between the University of Florida’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Pfizer Inc. will expand opportunities for students to explore this growing field.

The inaugural recipient, second-year PhD candidate STEVEN GOODMAN, is excited to expand his knowledge of biostatistics and statistics in the pharmaceutical industry through the fellowship. The opportunity will allow him to further his research on spatial statistics, with applications in ornithology and tropical meteorology.

Through a recent gift, Pfizer will support a graduate student in the Department of Statistics by covering the recipient’s estimated cost of attendance and extending a generous stipend. The fellowship will also provide chances for the selected student to interact directly with Pfizer through research projects and other experiential learning opportunities. The scholarship is designed to support a student who demonstrates a commitment to breaking down barriers to academic achievement — contributing to a more diverse and welcoming environment.

Looking ahead, the collaboration will provide students an exclusive opportunity to see how the pharmaceutical industry works firsthand, an opportunity that strengthens the department’s ability to recruit top graduate students.

Kannan Natarajan, Senior Vice President and Head of Biometrics and Data Management at Pfizer Inc. noted, “With the growing importance of statistics and other data sciences, the need to foster such partnerships between academia and industry is more critical and palpable than ever before.”

U N I V E R S I T Y of F L O R I D A

YOUR SUPPORT CHANGES STUDENTS’ LIVES. LEARN HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN LASTING IMPACT. Contact alumni@clas.ufl.edu or visit clas.ufl.edu/waystogive.

YTORI FALL 2022 Background image: Pfizer headquarters. Photo by Coolcaesar, Creative Commons. Data Visualization: © arthead/Adobe Stock

|5

QUESTION

UNEARTHING THE WORLD’S FIRST PUSHY PLANT

A Pla Mo a rph

rt/Ad

Compiled by Lauren Barnett

While the challenges of a quickly evolving climate become increasingly pressing, faculty and researchers work to grasp a firmer understanding of the world around us. Here’s a snapshot of recent grants and publication highlights.

INNOVATING A SUSTAINABLE WAY TO PURIFY MOLECULES

Organic chemists can precisely tune the cavities of macrocycles (pictured above), which can align to create porous membranes for chemicals to pass through. Image by Austin Evans.

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An international research team has developed a way to quickly and precisely filter chemicals by developing a nanomembrane with pores they can precisely tune. The findings, published in Nature, could make chemical separation more efficient, costeffective and environmentally friendly for pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Molecular separations, like those used in the development of CBD oils, account for between 45 to

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWS.CLAS.UFL.EDU

55 percent of these sectors’ energy consumption.

“Chemical separations are one of the most energy-intensive things humanity does,” said AUSTIN M. EVANS, assistant professor of chemistry, member of the Butler Polymer Laboratory at the University of Florida and one of the study’s authors. “By building better membranes, we can achieve higher purities, with lower costs, and lower carbon dioxide pollution.”

obe Stock

Roundup

:©

RESEARCH

nt

Story first reported by Catherine Arnold of UF News.

Camille Sicangco works with plants in a lab. Photo by Dylan Taylor.

er st

Plants have a range of remarkable survival techniques that allow them to thrive in harsh conditions. Now we can add one more to the list: Some of them have actual turf wars. If a neighbor encroaches on its space, an aster called the tall elephant’s foot can shove its intruder out of the way.

It’s the plant’s way of saying, “Don’t crowd me.”

Mathematics and botany undergraduate student CAMILLE SICANGCO conducted the research, working with engineers at UF to design and 3D-print a cantilever device to place against the plant’s growing leaves.

When left for 24 hours, Sicangco found a leaf had pushed the lever away. The pushing force roughly matched the force needed to lift a dime.

The revelation that native plants act aggressively against competitors “adds a new dimension to plant biology,” said FRANCIS E. “JACK” PUTZ, UF botany professor and Sicangco’s advisor. Published in Current Biology, the study is the first time interspecies shoving has been documented in botanical literature.

The findings challenge the common view that plants are inert and coexist peacefully.

People and animals at a well in Niger. Photo by Leonardo Villalón.

ASSESSING CLIMATE CHANGE RISK AND RESPONSE As the Sahel belt of West Africa experiences temperature rises 1.5 times faster than the global average, an interdisciplinary team of UF researchers is embarking on a study to examine the impacts of climate change in the area. They’ll explore the influences impacting the resiliency and vulnerability of the vast, semiarid region, which extends from the coastlines of Senegal eastward

to Sudan. The three-year project is funded by the U.S. Secretary of Defense’s Minerva Research Initiative.

“Understanding the factors shaping how the countries of the Sahel will adapt to the effects of climate change is of critical importance for the livelihoods of the people of the region, and it also has major implications for the entire global community in our increasingly interconnected world,”

said LEONARDO A. VILLALÓN, professor of African politics, who leads the study. His collaborators span UF’s Center for African Studies, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, and Department of Environmental & Global Health, along with the United States Air Force Academy.

Story first reported by UF News.

See more of the college’s exciting new research developments:

clas.ufl.edu/researchroundup

HARNESSING THE HEALING POWER OF MOTHER NATURE Peter Adams. Photo by UF/CLAS. Plants on Sand Dune: © ChrisVanLennepPhoto/Adobe Stock.

Nature-based approaches offer a lasting, cost-effective alternative for coastal restoration and protection initiatives. Associate Professor of Geology PETER ADAMS works with a multidisciplinary team at UF’s Center for Coastal Solutions to re-imagine coastal engineering techniques.

They’re moving beyond traditional

manmade infrastructures like seawalls to design natural buffers that offer a front line of defense against coastal erosion.

By weaving natural landscape features into traditional engineering solutions, the researchers hope to develop sustainable solutions that can help withstand the stressors posed by climate change, including sea level rise.

Awarded $3 million in funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the team will examine how restoring vegetative coastal dunes can guard Florida’s battered First Coast against

flooding and protect ecosystems, property and people. Using highresolution GPS and drone photography, Adams documents shifts in the physical landscape to reveal the contributing processes driving changes to the beach and dune ecosystems. Adams, working alongside UF ecologist CHRISTINE ANGELINI and coastal engineer Maitane Olabarrieta, hopes their work will help fragile ecosystems weather escalating storms and unpredictable changes in the climate.

Story first reported by UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.

YTORI FALL 2022

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QUESTION

Turtle Tracker

By Andrew Doerfler

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, a critically endangered species’ population has rebounded, but threats — and questions — remain

T

he origin of the hawksbill turtle’s name is no mystery: The reptile has a narrow, beaklike mouth that, coupled with a powerful jaw, allows it to pry sponges and coral from the nooks and crannies of reefs that comprise its foraging habitats. The turtle’s namesake feature, though, isn’t even its most distinctive.

Across its shell blazes a striking sequence of intermingling gold and brown bursts. The resulting display is the source of — or, more often these days, the inspiration for — the “tortoiseshell” pattern found on glasses frames, combs, jewelry and other products. The eye-catching array has made the hawksbill turtle a prime target for poaching, a leading factor in the severe population declines globally

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that have left the species critically endangered today.

At Buck Island Reef National Monument near St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, though, the story has thankfully changed. Because of a widescale effort by the National Park Service begun in 1988 to eradicate invasive predators and deter poaching, the number of hawksbill turtles showing up on the shores of this small, uninhabited island has drastically increased. Last summer, it was up to University of Florida turtle researcher ALEXANDRA GULICK to find out the extent of the rebound. Along the way, she discovered that there’s still more work to be done.

Gulick, who received her PhD in zoology at UF earlier this year, was a natural fit for the job. Now a

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWS.CLAS.UFL.EDU

postdoctoral researcher at UF’s Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research, Gulick first discovered her passion for sea turtles during an internship at Buck Island Reef National Monument in 2013. After starting graduate school, she returned often to study the monument’s foraging areas for her doctoral dissertation on green sea turtle grazing dynamics in seagrass meadows with the Archie Carr Center.

The National Park Service (NPS) selected Gulick as a 2021 Scientists in Parks Fellow and tasked her with analyzing the data the agency had amassed on Buck Island’s hawksbill turtle population. Gulick had her work cut out for her. The hawksbill bounceback had been monitored through decades of meticulous tracking and tagging by the NPS, producing a massive data set.

“They encounter 99% of females that come up onto the beach during peak nesting season. That’s no small task,” Gulick said. “NPS biologists and interns are out there walking the beach every night for months at a time.”

In an open access paper, Gulick and NPS co-authors found that the hawksbill nesting population at Buck

Island has grown from about 12 females encountered in 1988 to about 60 to 80 in recent years, for an estimated 500 females total in the population. (Not all of them nest yearly, and it takes 30 years for turtles to reach maturity.)

The full picture is more complicated, however. The nesting population at Buck Island over the last 13 years has plateaued. Gulick also found that the body size of the nesting females has significantly declined over the last few decades, as has the number of eggs laid per nest — further indications that the future for these turtles isn’t necessarily secure. One possible culprit: climate change.

Warming temperatures, sea level rise and increased storm frequency can stress the coral reefs that hawksbills rely on for food and habitat, Gulick said. With fewer resources available, the females don’t grow as quickly or become large enough to produce as many eggs as previous generations.

Climate change could also lead to an out-of-balance turtle population: Hawksbills’ sex is determined in the embryo by the temperature of the nest, and warmer temperatures result in more females.

Other factors are likely at play. The stagnant population at Buck Island could mean that many turtles are now nesting more frequently on the nearby island of St. Croix, which is populated by humans, and many of its beaches are unprotected and unmonitored. Part of Gulick’s fellowship involved conducting community outreach workshops on St. Croix about turtle nest monitoring and conservation.

“It gets the public involved and invested in turtles,” she said. “These efforts help give them the tools they need to understand what they’re seeing on local beaches.”

Gulick’s analysis is a starting point for future researchers to untangle what exactly is causing the changes in the hawksbill population. But as she and others look to the future, Gulick is mindful not to take for granted the remarkable work by

the many NPS biologists, interns, visiting scientists, and community members that have contributed to the monitoring program. In particular, she is inspired by Zandy Hillis-Starr, the recently retired NPS Chief of Resource Management at Buck Island who spearheaded the remarkably successful conservation effort.

“So many students and biologists like me have gotten to experience the park and learn from her,” Gulick said.

“Her work is a major reason why park visitors can still experience hawksbill turtles today.”

Learn more about the success of the program by reading Gulick and her co-authors’ full study: clas.ufl.edu/hawksbill

Alexandra Gulick examines hawksbill hatchlings during her early days on Buck Island as an NPS intern. Photo by Tessa Code.

Opposite page: Retired NPS Chief of Resource Management and founder of the Buck Island Sea Turtle Research Program Zandy Hillis-Starr examines a female hawksbill turtle. Photo by Landon Nordeman.

This page: Hawksbill hatchlings make their way to the water’s edge at Buck Island. Photo by Alexandra Gulick.

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Space Plants How geochemist Stephen M. Elardo helped grow plants in the Moon’s soil for the first time

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U

niversity of Florida scientists made a giant leap this year by becoming the first to grow plants in soil from the Moon. Their discovery presents new questions that seem endless: Could lunar farms one day exist? How can plants adapt to a lunar environment?

And what impacts would the plant have, in turn, on the Moon’s soil?

Long before any of those exciting possibilities could even be considered, the researchers had to get the right soil for the job. That’s where STEPHEN M. ELARDO came in. An assistant professor of planetary geochemistry and experimental petrology in the Department of Geological Sciences, Elardo offered insight into how the special characteristics of lunar soil could impact plant growth.

Led by Robert Perl and Anna-Lisa Paul of the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, the team obtained soil from NASA collected decades

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWS.CLAS.UFL.EDU

By Samantha Bailon

Photo by Suzie Israel.

QUESTION

GETTING THE DIRT ON

earlier, during the Apollo 11, 12 and 17 missions. The samples, known as lunar regolith, presented a number of challenges. First, they were only 12 grams in total, or a few teaspoons.

What’s more, the regolith was on loan and would need to be returned.

Through creative problem solving, Ferl, Paul and Elardo were able to find inventive solutions and make several major discoveries. They learned that the maturity of lunar soil played a role in plant growth and that the soil did not disrupt the hormones and signals involved in plant germination. Elardo now turns his attention to the question of whether the soil will become more hospitable to the plants with the addition of water and nutrients.

With this new pursuit on the horizon, Elardo shared his contributions to the stellar discovery and what comes next in their future explorations.

When you first heard about the experiment, what was your initial reaction?

My initial reaction was honestly, “That’s never going to work. They’re not going to grow.” So obviously, the results of the experiments were a surprise to me.

For me, this was a whole new way to think about the Moon. I’ve been looking at the Moon from the perspective of a geologist. Now I’m looking at it from a more of an exploration standpoint — and thinking about plants, which I admittedly know very little about. That was a little daunting, but also really exciting.

What did you see as the purpose of this experiment?

This for me was very much a proof of concept. Is this even possible? Will the plant die and shrivel up and be of no use to anyone? Turns out it did grow.

And from there, that opens up a whole array of other questions: What other changes can we make to lunar soil to make plants grow better? Are there different lunar soils that are better or worse for growing plants?

What stresses on the plants and changes in the soil did you find?

Plants didn’t evolve to grow in materials like that. So, it’s expected that they’re not going to perform to the best of their ability in the soil. To get a plant to grow, you have to add things to the soil. You had the plant itself, obviously.

Rob and Anna-Lisa added a nutrient solution to the soil, and added water — we don’t really have liquid water on the Moon. Those are things that were not present on the Moon when soils are formed, and they’re naturally going to affect the composition of the soil itself.

What will your contributions be moving forward?

We’re going to be looking at the soils after the first round of plant growth.

How did the mineralogy change? Did you see things like oxidation of iron?

I’m going to be characterizing the soil after each plant growth step to understand how the minerals in it are changing.

Do you have any predictions?

I would be surprised if the soils don’t get more hospitable to plants. I think adding water is going to have a positive biologic impact on the soils, and oxidized iron metal could make it more amenable to plant growth. I suspect the plants will grow a little bit better over the next couple of growth cycles.

Were the results of this experiment a stepping stone for sustainable agriculture outside of Earth?

It’s hard for me to look that far in the future. I see this potentially being the first step in a very, very long chain of steps. I think if humans are ever to the point of growing plants to use for food on the Moon, or Mars, it could be hundreds of years from now. This study could turn out to be one of those first steps that were taken.

Interview was condensed and edited for clarity.

A plant is moved to a vial for eventual genetic analysis, UF/IFAS photo by Tyler Jones; Rob Ferl, left, and Anna-Lisa Paul look at plates outfitted with seeds just planted in lunar soil, UF/IFAS photo by Tyler Jones; Stephen M. Elardo, photo

by Kayla B. Hyppolite; Lab equipment, photo by Suzie Israel.

As Elardo exposes tiny samples of lunar minerals onto sandpaper, abstract patterns emerge that mimic the lunarscape. Photos by Suzie Israel.

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COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWS.CLAS.UFL.EDU

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If the climate conversation were set to a tune right now, it might sound like a tragic ballad. Amid the doomsday scenarios playing on loop, the weight of grief hangs heavy in the air. Here in Florida, the discord of a shifting climate has become too loud to ignore: a sizzling sun scorches farmlands, hurricanes thrash coastlines, rushing waters flood streets.

We’ve heard the cries, but it’s often difficult to imagine a path forward. Scientific charts and statistics, tracking the losses in real time, warn us of a perilous tipping point fast approaching — according to some, we’ve already passed it. The unrelenting news and dramatic scenes can cause people to tune out or become mired in bleak questions: Why should we take action when it already seems like a lost cause? How can humans be part of the solution when we’ve caused so much damage? And if we don’t have scientific expertise, how can we really help anyway?

Climate change isn’t just an environmental emergency.

It’s also a human emergency. Entering the conversation without sharing the human perspective is like encouraging a choir to sing without any lyrics. This is where the environmental humanities come in.

The emergent field tries to make sense of the human experience in this drastically changing world. It shifts the ecological narrative from a purely scientific center of gravity to apply diverse perspectives from areas like history, literature, and religion — science and art, synchronized in harmony.

Under the oak-lined avenues of the University of Florida’s campus, voices are rising, calling out for communal conversation to protect our planet’s future.

They know that a single note of hope can reverberate far beyond to reach others. Their words are part unifying hymn and part battle cry. And they refuse to fall silent.

© University of Florida/Lyon Duong

Environmental humanities scholars use compassion and connection to strike a chord and inspire collective change.

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DISCOVER

BEYOND

Buzzwords

By Samantha Bailon

Corporations have a role to play in creating a sustainable future Addressing urgent environmental challenges around the world doesn’t only require the work of researchers, activists and governments. To truly make a difference, alumna TAMEKA SAMUELS-JONES (PhD Criminology & Law ’19) has long known, leaders of corporations will need to acknowledge the impacts their businesses can have on communities and ecosystems.

Samuels-Jones saw this firsthand growing up in Jamaica, where multinational corporations largely control the country’s valuable natural resources. She sought to make a difference by working as an investigator at regulatory institutions, but eventually became frustrated by lax enforcement that seemed to have little impact on corporations’ behaviors.

By moving to academia, SamuelsJones hoped to better understand what motivates big companies to behave in ways that would be considered criminal

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COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWS.CLAS.UFL.EDU

if done by an individual person. And, she wondered, why do these businesses often get away with it?

Now an assistant professor of corporate responsibility and sustainability at York University in Toronto, Samuels-Jones has broadened her scope to examine how corporations can positively influence developing countries, small business owners and communities.

The practices, collectively known as corporate environmental responsibility (or CER), can range from wide-scale environmental philanthropic activities such as building wells or funding health and healing outreach to more modest efforts such as tree-planting.

In a recent interview, Samuels-Jones discusses the importance of corporate environmental responsibility and how it can expand.

Tameka Samuel-Jones, PhD. Courtesy photo. Skyscraper Image: © Melinda Nagy/Adobe Stock

What benefits come from corporate environmental responsibility?

There is, as there should be, a profit motive: An increasingly active investor and consumer base is interested in most corporations’ environmental work. They provide the company with the capital needed for the business to survive. Secondly, ensuring that the environment is cared for — from the supplier base through to the end product — protects the availability of future resources for the company and for the benefit of other users of these natural resources.

What challenges stand in the way of corporate environmental responsibility?

Getting the buy-in from some investors and corporate leadership is often one of the biggest challenges. If their priority is profit and their success is based on only short-term pecuniary results, it may make CER initiatives, which are often long-term, difficult to sell. In addition, greenwashing — the misrepresentation of a company as environmentally friendly when it is not — is commonplace. This makes it difficult to gain the attention and trust of potential consumers interested in companies practicing CER initiatives.

Your PhD dissertation focused on how Indigenous cultural beliefs and identities influence compliance in following environmental practices, particularly in Jamaica’s Blue Mountains. What were your biggest takeaways?

What I learned was that respect is far more important than any incentive, monetary or otherwise, for compliance among groups with varying levels of legal autonomy. Once the state, autonomous Indigenous groups and those that fall under state rule respect the legal authority governing each group’s environmental governance structure, this opens the door for collaboration. Few things are more motivating in environmental work than collaboratively designed regulatory practices that incorporate the value systems of the groups under consideration. Then, and only then, are the governance standards likely to be successful and adhered to among all parties.

Why is it more important than ever for organizations and institutions to start thinking about their environmental impact?

In short, it is exceedingly important for organizations to think about their environmental impact because this

is it — we have one Earth. When we have diminished these resources, when enough endangered species have become extinct, we will not have a planet B. One of the most problematic issues is that many in power do not think beyond their lifetime and therefore are not implementing initiatives that will benefit generations after them. This is where new, young scholars come in. It is disheartening that our youth don’t know just how much power they hold.

What do you hope to see in the future?

More research on countries in the Global South whose corporate environmental strategies are governed by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s obligatory requirements.

These obligations may not be best suited or tailored for these countries’ environments but must be followed to maintain funding. My hope is that younger corporate scholars will take the initiative to investigate the root causes of environmental harm in this region, the business practices that enable it, and the millions of people that are being hurt every day as a result.

Interview was condensed and edited for clarity.

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DISCOVER

IN ALL

Kinds of Weather

By Lauren Barnett

MEET RAXPOL. This imposing piece of machinery is the most sophisticated storm chaser out there. Attached to a heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado 5500, it’s one of only 18 operational mobile Doppler weather radar units in the world. With a pedestal rotating 360 degrees within two seconds, RaXPol helps unlock the secrets of severe storms through accurate, high-speed data collection.

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COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWS.CLAS.UFL.EDU

LEARN MORE: CLAS.UFL.EDU/RAXPOL

The state-of-the-art system — whose name is short for “Rapid X-band Polarimetric Radar” — can usually be found hunting tornadoes out in the Great Plains of the central United States. With funding from the National Science Foundation, the unit took a break from twister-chasing to touch down in Florida for a three-week-long visit, coordinated by YIXIN “BERRY” WEN, assistant professor of geography.

With funding from the National Science Foundation, researchers and students from the University of Oklahoma’s Advanced Radar Research Center (ARRC) and UF’s Department of

Geography collaborated to execute field experiments focused on the state’s trademark sea breeze thunderstorms.

Many Floridians don’t realize that their daily deluge of summer storms comes thanks to sea breezes on the opposing Gulf and Atlantic coasts crashing into one another as they move over the peninsular land formation.

As the only state affected by such a collision, Florida has special insight to offer scientists taking a closer look at thunderstorm formation.

Unexpectedly, the UF team was also given the chance to deploy RaXPol in Central Florida and collect

observations from Hurricane Ian’s landfall. With the roughly 30 hours of data collected, the scientists hope to quantify the precipitation, wind structure and evolution of the storm.

Storms are increasing in severity and frequency as climate shifts drive new patterns. Residents of Florida, as well as many agricultural industries, rely on knowledge of precipitation events and suffer from the inaccuracy of storm predictions. The UF researchers are on a mission to improve forecasting, and ultimately protect property and lives, using RaXPol’s data.

Opposite page: A data set collected during Hurricane Ian’s landfall, viewed on RadarHub. Left: A team of researchers and students gather on UF’s campus for a radar demonstration. Right: Yixin “Berry” Wen, assistant professor of geography. Photos by Amey Owen.

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DISCOVER

Force of Nature

By Lauren Barnett

Modern life, for many, is divorced from the natural world. Ecologist Robert D. Holt finds a way to keep it top of mind.

I

f it’s true that you can tell a lot about people by examining their bookshelves, theoretical ecologist ROBERT D. HOLT’s sprawling library speaks volumes. Across several rooms in his campus laboratory, you’ll find collections of Shakespearean sonnets, a slew of travel guides to far-flung destinations, rows of bird identification field books, and nearly every genre of natural history. The varied tomes showcase Holt’s self-described approach as an “intellectual generalist.”

Driven by an insatiable curiosity about the world around him, Holt’s diverse knowledge base has helped establish him as a trailblazer in his field. This year, he joined the ranks of science’s most influential contributors with an election to the prestigious

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National Academy of Sciences. Holt’s groundbreaking work on habitat fragmentation, biodiversity, infectious disease and food chain dynamics has provided a roadmap for more successful environmental resource management, ecological restoration and conservation efforts in the face of climate change.

His interest took hold at a young age.

The foothills of Appalachia and the swamps and fields of west Tennessee set the stage for Holt’s early learning.

Raised in the comfort of a nurturing agricultural family, Holt found himself retreating into a natural world all his own.

A shy boy, Holt found a passion in birdwatching and thrived in the reflective solitude the pastime provided as he wandered deep in the woods. The

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outdoors became Holt’s classroom and has remained so throughout his career.

Growing up, Holt also nurtured a passion for amateur astronomy, aiming his telescope toward the sky with a desire to discover faraway realms.

The hobby informed his educational trajectory: Holt decided he’d pursue a career as a physicist. Although he veered onto a new career path during his undergraduate studies, the tenets of physics remain invaluable to Holt’s academic philosophy. He thanks an early exposure to computers, theoretical frameworks, and a hefty mathematical foundation for much of his success in ecology.

Through physics, Holt also developed his conceptual framework: He learned that to understand the world’s complexities, you must simplify them.

The world is “ alive all around us, although most people go through life with blinders on.

You’ll find that the more you learn and the deeper you get into it, the more interesting it gets.

If you get interested in something, just dive in.

”

Courtesy photo.

— Robert D. Holt

“I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of my career by thinking through problems, boiling them down to a relatively simple scenario that shines light into the real, complicated world we’re living in,” he said.

Holt’s trademark has been his knack for making associations between things that are invisible to others — a critical skill for an ecologist seeking to address big, applied phenomena in nature.

He’s known for his ability to challenge widely regarded and long-held “truths,” turning tenets of knowledge upside down and shaking out any inconsistencies.

Holt’s first published paper, which he authored while still in graduate school, challenged conventional wisdom about predator-prey interactions. He defined the concept of “apparent competition,” an indirect interaction of two species through a shared common predator.

The theory set the stage for an increased appreciation of indirect interactions in ecological communities, upended views on

invasive species management, and continues to echo through conservation efforts today.

Holt’s induction to the National Academy of Sciences this year is a culmination of 40 years of prolific, pioneering efforts to push into new frontiers of ecology.

Holt’s fluency in diverse topics also positioned him to become a connector across the sciences.

As director of the Arthur R. Marshall, Jr., Ecological Sciences Laboratory, Holt leads large-scale landscape studies, including one of the longestrunning field experiments in ecology aimed at understanding the consequences of habitat fragmentation. When faced with the challenges of grasping the overwhelming complexities of Earth’s ecosystems, including the intellectual challenge of fusing ecology with evolutionary biology, Holt’s unifying approach becomes ever more vital.

“Throughout my career, I have enjoyed rewarding intellectual interactions with wonderful colleagues, collaborators and

students across the U.S. and worldwide,” Holt said. “Being named to the National Academy of Sciences reflects not only my own contributions and the importance of my field of ecology in the landscape of science, but also my rich and ongoing engagement with this community of scholars and friends.”

As Holt continues to advance an understanding of our natural world, he also provides a model for what can be achieved when we develop an emotional commitment to the environment. He pours his daily work and passion into active concern for the welfare and future of all living organisms. While the human relationship with nature becomes increasingly urgent, Holt invites us to answer the call for knowledge.

“The world is alive all around us, although most people go through life with blinders on,” Holt said. “If you get interested in something, just dive in. You’ll find that the more you learn and the deeper you get into it, the more interesting it gets.”

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Below the Melt

By Andrew Doerfler

As ice sheets and glaciers retreat, geological scientists push knowledge and awareness forward

UF students collect water and gas samples from the Akuliarusiarsuup River near a location where water discharges from the Russell Glacier in southwest Greenland.

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J

OHN JAEGER can tell a lot about glaciers and ice sheets from the layers of sediment collecting underneath. The challenge has been getting to them.

For the last 25 years, Jaeger has braved icy regions, boarding research vessels to gather samples that offer a window into the region’s past and future. To reach ice sheets in Western Greenland, ice-reinforced ships must navigate through narrow fjords — and most are too large to do so. In other locations, crews face treacherous conditions: In glacial areas around Alaska, pieces of collapsing icebergs can generate massive waves that could overwhelm the ship. Even in the few vessels with ice-reinforced hulls, Jaeger’s teams have at times had to stay more than 1,000 feet away from glaciers.

“You don’t want to end up like the Titanic,” said Jaeger, an associate professor of geological sciences at UF. Jaeger and his research collaborators, however, now have a new partner who can get an up-close look beneath Greenland’s

glaciers: a remotely controlled underwater robot. Next summer, the team will guide the submersible vehicle, engineered by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, from a nearby support ship. Using sensors and a manipulator arm, the robot will collect data and samples from glacial walls that were previously inaccessible. The project, led by the University of Texas at Austin and funded by the W.M. Keck Foundation, aims to unlock more accurate predictions about sea level rise.

“A vessel of this capability has never been used before in this setting,” Jaeger said.

“This is stuff no one’s ever done before.”

As rapidly rising global temperatures push glaciers and ice sheets into retreat and force sea levels higher, innovative research approaches like this are becoming ever more urgent. At the University of Florida, a corps of faculty members in the Department of Geological Sciences are tackling the challenges from a variety of angles to make sense of the threats the world faces — and inform future solutions.

Robots aren’t the only high-tech way to uncover what’s happening underneath glaciers and ice sheets. EMMA “MICKEY” MACKIE, joined the UF faculty as an assistant professor in 2021 as part of a university-wide effort to bring in experts in artificial intelligence. MacKie spent her undergrad years as a classical geologist examining rocks in the field, but in graduate school became interested in the potential of radar to gather more data about glacial environments from afar. Now an assistant professor at UF, she’s merging those areas of expertise by using machine learning approaches — training computers to make predictions based on data — to better understand the conditions beneath polar regions.

Courtesy photo.

A PARADIGM SHIFT

“We have a good handle on what the topography looks like from radar, but there are still very large gaps — often hundreds of kilometers where we don’t know anything,” MacKie said. To fill these holes in knowledge, she programs models to generate multiple predictions of the likely topographic features. As humanity tries to adapt to climate change, she said, it’s essential to consider the range of possible

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Courtesy photo.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING In the face of the pressing challenges presented by climate change, assistant professor ROB HATFIELD believes that scientists can no longer sit back and expect their data to speak for itself.

“We need to be advocates for our science,” said Hatfield. “Figuring out how to best communicate it to the public is going to be really important.”

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He compares the Earth’s remaining ice sheets to an ice cube taken out of the freezer. “That ice cube doesn’t melt instantly, right? It takes time to become a puddle of water on your kitchen counter,” he said. “That’s essentially where we are. We’ve jacked up the temperature, and we have to figure out what kind of temperature change it takes to fully melt them.”

That’s where historical data — sometimes going back tens or hundreds of thousands of years — comes in.

Hatfield focuses on the magnetic properties of marine sediments, which can be studied non-destructively and measured in seconds. He uses these measurements to identify when melting icesheets delivered sediment to the ocean in the past. When combined with data from microscopic sea creatures in the sediments, which indicate the past climate conditions, this information can tell us what caused earlier periods of glacial retreat.

Next summer, he’ll lead a six-week cruise off the west coast of Greenland to image the subsurface of the ocean floor and collect sediment cores.

Hatfield hopes to reconstruct events 20,000 years ago that led to the ice sheet collapse. Joining the team of 21 scientists will be two UF graduate students. The National Science Foundation-funded project aims to retrieve the kind of samples — 60 to 70-foot tubes of mud — that tell the story of Greenland’s past.

“Not every place will give you the story that you want. The ocean floor is a chaotic place with a lot going on,” he said. “We’re trying to figure out where these records are best preserved.”

Above left: Rob Hatfield enjoys a day working in the field.

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Courtesy photo.

DISCOVER

changes to polar regions that could affect sea level rise.

“If you’re building a nuclear power plant, for example, you want to know with 99% certainty that it will be able to withstand the worst-case scenario,” MacKie said.

She and her team of undergraduates — with majors including geology, computer science and physics — have used the university’s high-powered supercomputer, HiPerGator, to run advanced algorithms. The computerdriven approach, however, doesn’t keep MacKie from heading out into the field to collect data around the glaciers.

“It’s an amazing natural playground,” she said.

Nicole Greco shows off her Gator pride.

MYSTERY IN THE MELT The different approaches in the department help the next generation of geologists push understanding even further. NICOLE GRECO, a graduate student in Jaeger’s lab, is working to decipher the role of meltwater in forming sediments in the water around glaciers and ice sheets in varied environments. MacKie and Hatfield have both lent their expertise to her project, changing its trajectory over the years.

By examining sediments that formed from glacial melt during previous periods of warming thousands of years ago, Greco hopes to uncover clues about the impacts that rising global temperatures will have in the future.

“I think this urgency is what motivates most glaciologists, especially during a time where we’re seeing increased melting in so many regions,” she said. “We’re constantly improving the accuracy in predicting how these changes will affect society.”

AS TIME GOES BY For ELLEN and JON MARTIN, traveling between different landscapes in Greenland is like passing through a time machine.

In an NSF-funded project, with additional support from the UF Water Institute Graduate Fellows program, the two professors of geological sciences compare landscapes that have recently been exposed by glacial retreat to those that were uncovered long ago. “About 10,000 years ago the Greenland Ice Sheet extended to the western margin of the continent and it has been retreating since that time.

That newly exposed land allows us to compare processes that happen after the ice retreats with those occurring today along the margin of the ice sheet,” said Ellen Martin, who is also the department chair.

In part, they hope to understand how these landscapes interact differently with atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). As barren, newly exposed areas turn into tundra-covered regions, photosynthesis from the newly

established vegetation captures CO2, as does the weathering of rocks ground up by the glacier and exposed as the ice retreats.

“Once you have that understanding, you might be able to build predictive models of what’s going to happen in the landscapes as atmospheric CO2 continues to increase,” Jon Martin said.

The researchers have also demonstrated that as glaciers have retreated over thousands of years, the nutrients — such as phosphorus, nitrogen, and carbon — flowing into the ocean from their meltwater have changed. These shifts could work their way up the food chain to affect the fisheries that are the backbone of Greenland’s economy.

Their goal in this project is not only to gather new data, but to open a conversation about retreating ice sheets with a broader audience. In what they call “environmental civics” — spearheaded by their collaborator Cynthia Barnett, the College of Journalism and Communications

Environmental Journalist in Residence at UF — the team is developing environmental science curricula for students.

These efforts are focused on high school students in Greenland, but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed them to redirect much of the work to afterschool programs for elementary and middle schoolers in Gainesville. The students get to look at 3D models that show what Greenland looks like with and without an ice sheet, and they explore the question of what happens to the ice when it melts into the ocean.

“Obviously, the answer is that the sea level rises. That has a direct impact on Florida,” Jon Martin said. “Hopefully, it’ll intrigue some of those kids enough that they’ll want to carry on with learning more about this topic.” After all, the planet’s future may depend on it.

Above left: Jon Martin samples early-season meltwater from a non-glacial stream near Sisimiut, Greenland. Above right: Ellen Martin samples the Akuliarusiarsuup River near its headwaters at the edge of the Greenland Ice Sheet.

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Disappearing Acts

By Lauren Barnett

AS THE EARTH WARMS, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST ELIZABETH WEBB SOUNDS THE ALARM ON VANISHING ARCTIC LAKES

The Arctic is no stranger to loss. As the region warms nearly four times faster than the rest of the world, glaciers collapse, wildlife suffers and habitats continue to disappear at a record pace.

Now, a new threat has become apparent: Arctic lakes are drying up, according to research published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

The study, led by University of Florida Department of Biology postdoctoral researcher ELIZABETH WEBB, flashes a new warning light on the global climate dashboard.

Webb’s research reveals that over the past 20 years, Arctic lakes have shrunk or dried completely across the pan-Arctic, a region spanning the northern parts of Canada, Russia,

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Greenland, Scandinavia and Alaska.

The findings offer clues about why the mass drying is happening and how the loss can be slowed.

The vanishing lakes act as cornerstones of the Arctic ecosystem.

They provide a critical source of fresh water for local Indigenous communities and industries. Threatened and endangered species, including migratory birds and aquatic creatures, also rely on the lake habitats for survival.

The lake decline comes as a surprise.

Scientists had predicted that climate change would initially expand lakes across the tundra, due to land surface changes resulting from melting ground ice, with eventual drying in the

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mid-21st or 22nd century. Instead, it appears that thawing permafrost, the frozen soil that blankets the Arctic, may drain lakes and outweigh this expansion effect, Webb said. The team theorized that thawing permafrost may decrease lake area by creating drainage channels and increasing soil erosion into the lakes.

“Our findings suggest that permafrost thaw is occurring even faster than we as a community had anticipated,” Webb said. “It also indicates that the region is likely on a trajectory toward more landscape-scale drainage in the future.”

In addition to rising temperatures, the study also revealed that increases in autumn rainfall cause permafrost degradation and lake drainage. “It

Above: Elizabeth Webb. Photo by Lauren Barnett.

Left: Aerial view of a large Arctic lake, nearly dry. Photo

by David Swanson/ National Park Service.

might seem counterintuitive that increasing rainfall reduces surface water,” said JEREMY LICHSTEIN, Webb’s advisor and a co-author of the study. “But it turns out the physical explanation was already in the scientific literature: Rainwater carries heat into the soil and accelerates permafrost thaw, which can open up underground channels that drain the surface.”

If accelerated permafrost thaw is to blame, that’s unwelcome news.

The Arctic permafrost is a natural warehouse of preserved organic matter and planet-warming gases.

“Permafrost soils store nearly two times as much carbon as the atmosphere,” Webb said. “There’s a

lot of ongoing research suggesting that as permafrost thaws, this carbon is vulnerable to being released to the atmosphere in the form of methane and carbon dioxide.”

There is a silver lining in the researcher’s findings. Previous models of lake dynamics predicted lake expansion, which thaws the surrounding permafrost. But because lakes are drying, permafrost near the lakes is likely not thawing as fast.

“It’s not immediately clear exactly what the trade-offs are, but we do know that lake expansion causes carbon losses orders of magnitude higher than occurs in surrounding regions,” Webb said.

To achieve their results, Webb’s team used satellite data to identify broad trends in surface water change across the Arctic. Known as remote sensing, satellite imagery helps answer broadscale questions, Webb said.

“One of the things that I really like about using remote sensing is that you can answer what seemed like impossibly big questions — we have the ability to answer them now,” Webb said. “It’s only in the past five, 10 years

that we’ve had the computing power and resources to pull this off.”

The research team used a machinelearning approach to examine the climate change mechanisms responsible for lake area change, analyzing decades of data across the Arctic with robust programs that included Google Earth Engine and the Python platform on UF’s HiPerGator supercomputer.

To curtail the lakes’ demise, recent research published in Frontiers in Environmental Science shows that perhaps the best way to save permafrost is by cutting fossil fuel emissions. Reducing carbon emissions could put the planet back on track by limiting global temperature rise.

“The snowball is already rolling,” Webb said, stating that we need to act now to slow these changes. “It’s not going to work to keep on doing what we’re doing.”

Webb led the study with support from UF’s School of Natural Resources and Environment and additional funds from a NASA FINESST fellowship.

Her collaborators included UF undergraduate researcher Jada Cordeiro, UF professor Jeremy Lichstein, as well as researchers from Woodwell Climate Research Center, Colgate University and the University of Connecticut.

Explore Webb’s surface water data for yourself on the Permafrost Discovery Gateway: clas.ufl.edu/arcticlakes

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Next Thing You Know

By Lauren Barnett

TRIPLE-GATOR LEANDRA MERZ FINDS FLEXIBILITY IS KEY WHEN LIFE TAKES NEW, EXCITING DIRECTIONS

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LEANDRA MERZ arrived in rural Zambia as a Peace Corps volunteer in 2009 with an arsenal of skills that seemed to check every box. She was well-versed in issues spanning ecology, agriculture and forestry. She’d studied Swahili and even picked up Bemba, the local Bantu language indigenous to Zambia. Merz stood confident in her ability to communicate, building trust with the villagers she lived and worked alongside. Still, as she led trainings and educational programs to boost food security in the region, a revelation stunned her: She had no idea what she was doing.

“I had a lot of skills,” she said. “But even with those skills, I started asking myself: Who am I to show up and just try to fix things?” A clear picture of the global context of development work and humanitarian aid eluded her. If she wanted to truly make a difference, she knew she’d have to return to school — something Merz had sworn she’d never do again.

Before her time in Africa, Merz thrived academically as an undergraduate wildlife ecology and conservation major at the University of Florida. She was a zealous learner with an aptitude for research. But she was eager to strike out on her own and take action, not sit in a lecture hall taking notes.

As she reflected while on the plane en route back to the United States, Merz could scarcely believe her new mission to return to academia. It was just the first of many surprises over the next few years that often led her back to her alma mater: Merz would soon find herself embracing unexpected roles as a mentor, mother, farmer, nonprofit leader and awardwinning teacher.

“Things that I didn’t plan worked out better than I could’ve planned them.”

Courtesy photos.

While she weighed options for graduate studies, Merz started volunteering at the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society, where she showed her versatility by quickly — and unexpectedly — landing a full-time job as a zookeeper. A lover of animals with a knack for picking up new skills, she savored the job even amid long hours that often required getting up in the middle of the night to bottle feed baby animals. But the pull to return to school, and eventually to Africa, stayed with her.

After two years, she made the leap. Merz selected UF’s Master of Sustainable Development Practice program to gain practical skills in preparation for an eventual return to Africa. Under the supervision of her advisor, geography professor BRIAN CHILD, Merz grasped the deeper contexts of global work, polished her Swahili and completed a practicum in Mozambique.

When Merz moved back to Africa once more in 2014, she returned with a completely different mission: to launch an educational nonprofit.

THE SURPRISING NEXT STEP BEGAN TO TAKE SHAPE after a brief visit back to the village she’d served in the Peace Corps. Joined by her now-husband, also a Peace Corps volunteer, Merz reunited with kids she’d tutored and befriended during her service, many of whom were hoping to attend high school. “They were so excited, but they couldn’t afford to go,” she said. Merz wanted to offer the small savings she had to help, but the scale of need was too great. “I knew I couldn’t do it alone, but I thought maybe I know enough people who would be willing to step in.”

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“You don’t have to give anything up, you don’t even have to wait until you graduate — just do what you love and keep working for it.”

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Merz worked to mobilize funds, first within her personal network and then expanding outward. Before she knew it, she’d founded a full-fledged organization called IIM International.

“Part of me thought, I don’t know that I wanted to do this, but if we’re going to do it, we should do it right,” she said.

Merz and her new husband spent the next three years in Zambia overseeing the construction of a facility and hiring a full staff. They established a home where students, many of them orphans, found lodging, nutritious meals, medical access and security guards — effectively removing each barrier to education the children faced.

“Meanwhile, my advisor [Brian Child] was telling me I should come do a PhD with him, but I kept saying I wanted to stay in Africa and actually do stuff — not just sit there and talk about

doing stuff or read about doing stuff,” Merz said.

Then, Merz’s husband developed a life-threatening illness. Faced with a move back to the United States for his long-term medical treatment, Merz called her advisor and agreed to join him for a PhD program, enrolling in UF’s geography department. She jumped back into research projects and coursework — and stepped into a new role teaching conservation courses.

Merz began to build a new life outside of academia, too. She and her husband bought a 10-acre farm in nearby High Springs, Florida — and, drawing on her zookeeping background, filled it with a menagerie of animals. The couple also became foster parents to a 4-month-old girl, building a family and homestead during the height of the pandemic.

While working to finish up her PhD

program in fall 2021, Merz received a phone call that changed everything — a two-day-old baby also needed foster parents. “I got the phone call and four hours later there was a newborn baby in my house,” she said.

Balancing teaching with her new responsibility was difficult, but Merz had the support of her colleagues, including geography department chair JANE SOUTHWORTH. Merz would stroll her foster baby into Southworth’s office before walking downstairs to teach. “She watched him while I taught for the first part of the semester — as a female chair, she’s there and she’s encouraging others,” she said.

Southworth was one of many colleagues encouraging Merz to follow her dreams. “I’ve been lucky to have so many inspirational women at UF reminding me that I can do this and still have a farm and still have kids and still have a life,” she said. “You don’t have to give anything up, you don’t even have to wait until you graduate — just do what you love and keep working for it.”

Merz herself developed a reputation across campus as a mentor. She frequently offers stories from her diverse life experiences to inspire students to pursue their own passions.

In recognition of her excellence in teaching and mentorship, Merz recently received the Calvin A. VanderWerf Award from the UF Graduate School and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Prior to her graduation this spring, Merz also received the Association for Academic Women’s Emerging Scholar Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to academia and commitment to serving the community.

Merz is moving on to a new adventure now. She’s transitioning from her work in Africa to study a new, unfamiliar territory: the American West. Her postdoctoral research with the University of Michigan will examine the social-ecological systems there on a large scale. Merz plans to take a sweeping look at the stressors impacting humans and wildlife, from climate change to economic issues, to see how it’s all balancing out. And she’ll do it all remotely, using the powers of geospatial AI technologies including remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) to analyze data, completing the study from her High Springs farm. Life just doesn’t lend itself to moving right now — Merz and her husband recently adopted their two foster children.

Looking ahead, Merz hopes to turn her research back to Africa and continue her efforts in teaching, but she has learned that it’s all right not to have life all mapped out. “I try to plan now, but also keep an open mind,” Merz said.

“Maybe something completely different will fall into my lap and I’ll love it.” No matter where life’s path leads next, Merz is confident that she’ll enjoy the journey.

“Things that I didn’t plan worked out better than I could’ve planned them,” she said.

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Anna Morris

PAYS THE DOUBTERS NO MIND

By Andrew Doerfler

A U.S. senior executive and retired colonel embarks on a new mission to support diversity, equity and inclusion at UF

F

resh out of high school in 1986, ANNA M. MORRIS (Political Science ’90) was eager to get to the University of Florida. Even at a young age, she was drawn to the school’s international perspective, which matched her big ambitions to make a global impact. Not wasting any time, she enrolled in courses over the summer.

“I knew by attending UF I was going to be learning from not just the best the United States had to offer, but that the world had to offer,” she said.

Morris would later leverage those opportunities into a 30-year activeduty career in the Air Force, where she reached the rank of Colonel. She is now the Director of Contracting at Hanscom Air Force Base, where she oversees more than $4 billion in annual contract obligations supporting more than 300 programs. With the move, she joins the Senior Executive Service (SES), a corps of civil service leaders in the United States federal government just below the top presidential appointees.

Morris is the first Black female member of the SES in Air Force Contracting since the community’s inception in 1947.

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COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWS.CLAS.UFL.EDU Photo by Linda Labontebritt.

But that first summer at UF, the transition to college initially proved to be an unexpected challenge: Accustomed to excelling in high school, Morris was shocked to find a mediocre grade on her first exam. With encouragement from her mother, she decided to set up a time to talk with the professor about how she could improve.

The conversation did not go as planned. The professor, Morris recalls, began lecturing her about the history of the University of Florida. His rant confused her at first, but Morris soon caught onto the point he was heading toward.

“Young lady, you don’t belong here,” he said. “Go home and have yourself some babies. That’s what you people do.”

Holding her composure, Morris thanked the professor for his time and quickly left his office. She rushed back to her dorm room, determined not to let anyone see her cry. By the time she dialed her mother’s number, though, tears were streaming down her face.

Her mother first instructed her to find a peer who could help her study. But what her mother said next has stuck with Morris the most: “She said, ‘Pay him no mind,’” Morris recalls.

That’s exactly what Morris did — and continued to do throughout her time at UF and career. “Any time I’ve encountered someone else like that in my life — who felt I didn’t belong somewhere because of who I am or what I look like — I’ve paid them no mind,” she said.

Ignoring the skeptics, though, has not meant overlooking the adversity that racism and sexism present. This year, Morris established an endowment through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to support diversity, equity and inclusion, including scholarships for students actively working to break down barriers to success for minorities.

She hopes to build a community

of successful students and alumni supporting the next generation.

“Success doesn’t end with you getting to the pinnacle of your career,” she said. “Your goal from day one should be mentoring and developing those who are coming behind you. True leaders make more leaders, not more followers.

I’m so grateful that the college was willing to partner with me in establishing this endowment, because it will be the gift that keeps on giving.”

“We have a responsibility to help people, not just meet us where we are but to help them understand how we got there.”

For Morris, support came early from her grandmother, Jannie Bagley Jacobs, and her mother, Jeanette H. Jacobs, who shared their experiences with the oppression of Jim Crow and the hard-fought wins of the Civil Rights Movement. She found further encouragement from UF’s Upward Bound program, whose longtime director, G.W. MINGO, was an early mentor.

At UF, courses in African American studies, women’s studies and constitutional law helped to shape Morris’ perception of herself as an American. The late RONALD C. FOREMAN, her African American Studies professor and the program’s director from 1970 to 2000, was instrumental in Morris’ continued pursuit of academic excellence and appreciation for cultural diversity.

“All those things coupled together, I believe, led to my success as someone who has been able to achieve based on

the sacrifices of those who came before me,” she said.

Many of her goals centered around the military. She broke with her father and brother’s Army precedent by joining the Air Force ROTC at UF. There, she found an additional source of support, newfound structure and principles of leadership, integrity and service.

Throughout her military career — from early recruitment positions at colleges to deployment in Iraq — Morris drew upon the skills she developed at UF to address logistical challenges and navigate complex political situations. Perhaps just as meaningfully, she always savored the opportunity to inspire young people from diverse backgrounds to pursue ambitious paths. Many of them, Morris finds, at first assume that because of her high-ranking position, she must not have faced the same challenges they do.

It’s essential, she realized, to share her story and impart how obstacles can be overcome when dedication is matched by support and encouragement from the community, family, and mentors.

More than three decades after her unfortunate meeting with that UF professor, Morris has gone from “not belonging here” to her place among the top ranks of civil service — and a proud UF graduate who waves the Gator banner wherever she goes.

“We have a responsibility to help people, not just meet us where we are,” she said, “but to help them understand how we got there.”

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HEALING

Across Borders

By Andrew Doerfler

On a Beyond120 trip to Oaxaca, pre-health students broaden their perspectives on medical care When JULIA INGRAM first heard about an opportunity to go to Oaxaca, Mexico, to further her pre-health education, she didn’t think it would be a feasible option for her.

The excursion presented a chance to experience a different culture and shadow medical professionals in local clinics. It seemed like a great fit for Ingram, a preprofessional biology major at UF who hopes one day to provide health care to an increasingly diverse population in the United States.

But she assumed the cost would exceed her budget. She had also never traveled outside of the United States before — it was tough to imagine going abroad for the first time, especially without friends or family.

“It just seemed like a faraway thing, like a dream,” Ingram said.

Once she learned more about the excursion, the dream didn’t seem so far off after all. Just over a week long, the trip would be far less financially burdensome than a full semester abroad. Scholarships were available to help cover expenses. And Ingram would be joined by fellow students with similar ambitions, staying with a host family who would introduce them to the local culture. Ingram signed up — today, she couldn’t be happier with her decision.

“It made me a more curious person,” Ingram said. “Now, I seek out opportunities to expand my knowledge and expose myself to different cultures.”

Making immersive study abroad experiences more accessible to students is a key component of Beyond120, the UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ career readiness and experiential learning program, which hosts the Oaxaca excursion annually. These opportunities are especially important for aspiring medical professionals. To provide effective medical care to all patients in their future careers, they will need to be mindful of a wide variety of cultural practices and perspectives.

During their time in Oaxaca in May 2022, Ingram and the nine other students improved their Spanish skills, learned about culturally significant alternative medicine practices, and steeped themselves in the local lifestyle. Embedded in clinics throughout the week, they saw firsthand how health professionals provide vital care in lower-resource communities.

MOMBO NGU, a fourth-year sociology major, shadowed a gynecologist and was struck by the time and attention the doctor gave his patients, sitting with and listening to each one. It’s an approach she hopes to emulate when she becomes a physician.

“Sometimes, within American society, we want to make sure we do things fast and efficiently,” she said.

“But patients are coming to us because

All photos cour tesy of Christin e Richmond.

Above: Beyond120 Global Engagement Coordinator Christine Richmond in the Oaxaca botanical gardens.

Left: A sampling of local cuisine.

An alebrije folk art sculpture, painted by a student.

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COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWS.CLAS.UFL.EDU

Above left: Filomena Selvanik, left, Mombo Ngu, two of the local staff, and Lauren Lambie in the clinic. Right: The group at the Becari Language School. Photo by local director Sandra Rivera.

they’re in pain, or they have something that they are concerned about. I want to make sure that they understand that they are truly cared for and I’m not rushing them out the door.”

Not yet a fluent Spanish speaker herself, Ngu found it challenging at times to follow all that was happening in the busy clinic, especially during her first few days there. But the language barrier didn’t stop her from absorbing the experience, and she found value in moving outside of her comfort zone.

“Being in an environment where you’re just a little bit uncomfortable makes you grow as a person — and it can also help you connect to other people,” Ngu said. For her, it was a reminder of the need for empathy toward patients in the United States who aren’t fluent English speakers.

“Communication is key to the physician-patient relationship,” she said. “I will be there to treat them, but potentially only for a short period.

And I will need to make sure a patient understands how to continue to take care of themselves once they exit the clinic or hospital.” Accomplishing that goes beyond language, Ngu noted — health care providers also need

to consider a patient’s cultural practices or past experiences with different health care systems.

Outside of the shadowing the students further immersed themselves in Oaxacan culture by taking in the beauty of the local sights, learning about traditional artisanal crafts, and enjoying meals with their host families. As the week progressed, the group bonded over the shared joys and challenges.

“Especially in the moment, it's really encouraging to hear from people experiencing the same thing as you,” Ngu said.

For both Ngu and Ingram, the excursion was eye-opening. Ingram is now looking for chances to study abroad again. To those considering a Beyond120 excursion, Ngu’s advice was blunt: “Do it. You should definitely grab the opportunity,” she said, “because who knows when it may come again?”

Beyond120 relies on the expertise and support of the college’s alumni and friends to provide immersive educational experiences for students.

Students Natalie Good, left, and Mombo Ngu, right, enjoy exploring Oaxaca with a new friend, Eva, staying in the same homestay.

Visit clas.ufl.edu/getinvolved for more information.

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CONNECT

Early to Rise THE COLLEGE’S 40 GATORS UNDER 40 HONOREES WASTED NO TIME IN MAKING THEIR MARK The 2022 40 Gators Under 40 were recognized for their achievements on April 16, 2022, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Compiled by Emma Barrett

1. YASER ALI Founder & Managing Attorney, Yaser Ali Law

6. EVAN FERL General Counsel, Poshmark, and children’s book author

Location: Phoenix, Arizona UF Degree: BA Political Science ’08

(see page 41) Location: Redwood City, California UF Degrees: BA Political Science ’07, JD ’10

2. SHEYAN ARMAGHANI Orthopedic Surgeon, Orlando Health Location: Bradenton, Florida UF Degrees: BS Interdisciplinary Studies ’07, MD ’10

3. KENNY BRIGHTON Head of Philanthropy, Chordoma Foundation Location: Gainesville, Florida UF Degrees: BA Political Science ’07; MA Political Science ’09; MS Family, Youth and Community Sciences ’11

4. ERIN COLLINS Executive Director, Florida Alliance to End Human Trafficking Location: Tallahassee, Florida UF Degrees: BA Political Science and BS Telecommunication News ’05

5. JOHN DICKS Partner/Lawyer, Akerman LLP Location: Tampa, Florida UF Degrees: BA Economics ’06, MBA Business Administration and JD ’10

7. CHARLI NICOLE GOODMAN Patrol Captain, Salt Lake City Police Department Location: Salt Lake City, Utah UF Degree: BA French ’04

8. SAMANTHA GREER Director of Government Relations, University of Florida Location: Tallahassee, Florida UF Degrees: BA Political Science and Certificate in International Relations ’11, MA Political Science and Certificate in Political Campaigning ’13

9. ANDREW HOFFMAN Vice President & Senior Counsel, Data Protection & Privacy, Goldman Sachs Location: New York City UF Degrees: BA English and BS Psychology ’06, JD ’09

10. MATT JAEH 2022 Velocity Accelator EIR, Innovation Depot Location: Pelham, Alabama UF Degree: BS Computer and Information Science ’05

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COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWS.CLAS.UFL.EDU

11. DAVE KERNER County Mayor, Palm Beach County Location: West Palm Beach, Florida UF Degrees: BA Political Science ’06, JD ’10

12. DOMINIQUE MCLEGGAN-BROWN Attorney-Advisor, U.S. Economic Development Administration Location: Austin, Texas UF Degrees: BA History ’07, MS Entrepreneurship ’08

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13. ANDREA PIAZZA Director of Virtual Programming, Discovery Behavioral Health Location: West Hollywood, California UF Degrees: BS Psychology and BFA Dance ’17

14. INDIA WHITE National Education Consultant; Co-Author, Big Ideas Learning Location: Tampa, Florida UF Degrees: BS Mathematics ’07, MEd Educational Leadership ’13, EdD Educational Leadership ’20

Learn more about the college’s 2022 40 Gators Under 40 honorees: clas.ufl.edu/earlytorise

All information and photos courtesy of the UF Alumni Association.

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Creative LICENSE

NEW BOOK RELEASES FROM F A C U LT Y AND ALUMNI

By Samantha Bailon & Lauren Barnett

PARTY POLITICS IN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE: ELECTORAL SYSTEM CHANGE IN DIVERGING REGIMES By Bryon Moraski | NYU Press

LEARN MORE

Courtesy photo of Bryon Moraski.

Amid the fog of war, political scientist BRYON MORASKI lifts the veil on current conflicts in Russia and Ukraine by taking readers on a guided tour through the political landscapes of the region. Sweeping reforms occurred simultaneously to the electoral systems in Russia and Ukraine, with vastly different outcomes. Moraski’s close comparison of the changes exposes clashes in the dynamics between the two countries and the struggles they face independently.

By unpacking their divergence, Moraski explores how the political parties in both countries took advantage of changing social conditions to benefit their platforms, with varying degrees of success.

The associate professor of political science has long investigated

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COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWS.CLAS.UFL.EDU

the political environment that has taken hold in Russia. The Regional Roots of Russia’s Political Regime, his 2017 book co-authored by William M. Reisinger of the University of Iowa, looks at at the country’s resurgence of authoritarianism. Elections by Design in 2006 focuses on subnational electoral systems in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Through a timeline of election outcomes, party nominations and other data included in the book, Moraski’s latest release launches an illuminating discussion of the rise and fall of authoritarian regimes. As Vladimir Putin looks to expand his rule, the book offers timely insight into the rise of authoritarian leaders and the tactics they use to strengthen their own legitimacy.

In March 2022, the college hosted a panel with Moraski and other experts to make sense of the Russia-Ukraine war as it began to unfold. Revisit their insights: clas.ufl.edu/ukrainepanel

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1 | POLITICAL BLACK GIRL MAGIC: THE ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE OF BLACK FEMALE MAYORS Edited by Sharon D. Wright Austin Temple University Press While Black women continue to be underrepresented in the United States’ political system, a dramatic rise in their recent involvement indicates a growing force in the shifting political landscape. In a new book to be released June 2023, political science professor SHARON D. WRIGHT AUSTIN unpacks the power unleashed in “political Black girl magic.”

Austin looks deeper at the wave of Black female mayors elected to office in the past few years, highlighting the unique obstacles these leaders face in their quests to advance social causes.

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2 | MAX’S BIG DAY

By Evan Ferl Independently Published In his first children’s book, EVAN FERL (BA ’07, JD ’10) captures a day in the life of a beloved family member: his grey-and-white cat, Max. Ferl is inspired by the secret life of Max, chronicling the imagined adventures the feline gets into when the family leaves him home alone. With a series of playful illustrations, Ferl captures the humor of pets by confronting the age-old question: What do they do when we’re not around? Ferl partnered with UF Health Shands Arts in Medicine to donate all proceeds and match funds in support of their commitment to advancing arts in health research, education and practice.

3 | UNDESIRABLE IMMIGRANTS: WHY RACISM PERSISTS IN INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION

By Andrew S. Rosenberg Princeton University Press With a shifting climate and escalating geopolitical tensions, the challenges of international migration are intensifying — offering a valuable opportunity to closely trace the roots and development of immigration law. Racial biases were written into the early migration policies of states worldwide, and continue to perpetuate prejudices today, according to political scientist ANDREW S. ROSENBERG. Although the Anglo-European world attempted to rid their immigration laws of openly discriminatory language by the 1980s, Rosenberg posits that these racial inequalities, remnants of colonialism, persist today.

4 | METHODS, MOUNDS, AND MISSIONS: NEW CONTRIBUTIONS TO FLORIDA ARCHAEOLOGY Co-edited by Ann S. Cordell and Jeffrey M. Mitchem University Press of Florida Florida Museum Courtesy Research Scientist ANN S. CORDELL (BA ’76, MA ’83, BS ’93) and JEFFREY M. MITCHEM (BA ’77, PhD ’89) offer a fresh look at Florida's pre-Columbian historical periods. Through the compelling contributions of leading archeologists, this volume includes topics like pottery design and production, social interaction in mound-building societies and early 19th century Seminole settlements. With novel ways of looking at older data and compelling new information, Cordell and Mitchem provide new insight into Florida’s history and development.

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Creative L I C E N S E

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5 | LA DEMOCRATIZACIÓN A TRAVÉS DE LAS INSTITUCIONES

By Leslie E. Anderson Prometeo Libros Professor of Political Science LESLIE E. ANDERSON’s volume confronts political scientist Robert Putnam’s thesis that “democracy requires high levels of social capital.”

In the new Spanish language translation of her book, originally published in 2016, she compares the similarities between American and Argentinean institutional structures. She closely examines the advantages and faults of their government. Through this scope, she works to understand how the Argentine state's actions respond to citizens and its role in lifting the country.

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6 | MAKING THE MARVELOUS: MARIECATHERINE D’AULNOY, HENRIETTE-JULIE DE MURAT, AND THE LITERARY REPRESENTATION OF THE DECORATIVE ARTS

By Rori Bloom Nebraska Press During France’s rise to prominence in the production of furniture and fashion, the fairy tales of authors MarieCatherine d’Aulnoy and Henriette-Julie de Murat provided a sense of pride and escapism. Professor of French and Francophone Studies RORI BLOOM examines the positive feminine influence this genre had on the arts in Old Regime France. Bloom chronicles the authors’ ability to spin usual rags-to-riches fairy tale magic into a more intentional acknowledgment of the skillful artistic practice that enables raw materials to be transformed into elaborate works of art.

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWS.CLAS.UFL.EDU

7 | IF THERE IS NO STRUGGLE THERE IS NO PROGRESS: BLACK POLITICS IN TWENTIETHCENTURY PHILADELPHIA Edited by James Wolfinger, featuring David A. Canton Temple University Press UF Director of African American Studies and Associate Professor of History DAVID A. CANTON contributes to a conversation about the city of Philadelphia and its development as a hub for Black political activism.

The new book charts the rise of Philadelphia’s Black political identity, chronicling from the Great Migration onward over the next century. Canton’s chapter, “Building Black Philadelphia,” follows the city’s transition from a solidly Republican metropolis to a Democratic one in the early 1930s, cataloging the political power struggles and racial discrimination that predicated the shift.

8 | NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO PANIC

By Kevin Wilson Harper Collins Misfit teenager Zeke plans to suffer through yet another long, hot summer in her small town of Coalfield, Tennessee — that is, until she crosses paths with newcomer Frankie. Energized

by Frankie’s creativity, Zeke suddenly finds herself at the center of an escalating artistic movement that changes her life forever. KEVIN WILSON (MFA ’04) weaves a quirky, complex coming-of-age novel with a twist — by fast-forwarding 20 years to give glimpses of Frankie and Zeke’s adult lives, Wilson explores the power of the past and the repercussions of actions made long ago.

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9 | THE SCARY DINOSAUR

By James Adkins Independently Published In his first children’s book, alumnus JAMES ADKINS (BA ’21) teams up with international illustrator Elissa Yoko to introduce Deeno the Dino.

Deeno has always looked and felt different from the rest of his friends. With sharp teeth and a mighty roar, he feels too “scary” to fit in with the others.

When his friends don’t want to play with him anymore, Deeno struggles to feel good about himself. The search for a new friend sets Deeno on a path to finding the inner strength to embrace his differences.

10 | FROM PANDEMIC TO INSURRECTION: VOTING IN THE 2020 US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

By Michael P. McDonald De Gruyter Political science professor MICHAEL P. MCDONALD examines the effects of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Through the chaos and confusion, McDonald sorts through the challenges voters faced in the awakening of an international pandemic to the refusal of President Donald Trump to acknowledge his loss. Through a blend of storytelling and analysis, McDonald invites readers to comb through the effects of a complex time for voters, politicians and the government itself.

11 | MODERN POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS: HOW PROFESSIONALISM, TECHNOLOGY, AND SPEED HAVE REVOLUTIONIZED ELECTIONS

By Michael D. Cohen Rowman & Littlefield Political Science alumnus MICHAEL D. COHEN (BS ’92, MA ’94, PhD, ’96) explores how technology and its speed have revolutionized elections and motivated voters in the United States. Through academic research and interviews, Cohen investigates aspects of campaign planning and management, including the methods experts use to win voters’ affections. From political parties to campaign planning and fundraising, Modern Political Campaigns gives a peek into the behindthe-scenes realities of political campaign operations leading up to election days.

12 | ORIGIN AND ESTABLISHMENT OF QUANG NAM DIALECT

By Andrea Hoa Pham Da Nang Publishing House Associate Professor of Vietnamese Language and Linguistics ANDREA HOA PHAM plunges into the history of the sounds and rhymes that form the present Cantonese language. She deciphers the mysterious origins of the peculiar phonemic inventory of the Quang Nam dialect, which diverges from those of immediate neighbors and shares traits with more geographically removed dialects. Through extensive linguistic research and an ethnographic account, readers can explore how the language’s two most fundamental dialects developed, taking a step closer to understanding the rich history of Vietnam.

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LAURELS JEANNETT SLESNICK (Geography ’72) was recognized as Rotary Club of Coral Gables Martin Hughes Citizen of the Year.

JENNIFER SLONE TOBIN (Political Science ’92) has been elected to the Executive Committee of Shutts & Bowen, a fullservice law firm.

In recognition of a lifetime achievement toward understanding the geography of Latin America, JOSEPH L. SCARPACI (PhD Geography and Certificate Latin American Studies ’85) was awarded the Preston E. James Eminent Latin Americanist Career Award by the Conference of Latin American Geography.

GREGORY A. CLEMONS (PhD Romance Languages ’96) has accepted the position of director of humanities at St. Augustine College in Chicago, Illinois.

Previously, he was professor of Spanish at Mars Hill University near Asheville, North Carolina.

JULIANE DANNBERG, assistant professor in the Department of Geological Sciences, has been named a Distinguished Speaker

by Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics. She will introduce concepts of computational earth science to diverse populations that are underrepresented in the field.

ADANIA FLEMMING, a doctoral candidate in the UF Department of Biology, received the annual Dr. J. Michael Rollo Diversity Impact Award for promoting diversity within her community.

CONNIE J. MULLIGAN, professor of anthropology, is a recipient of the University of Florida Graduate School’s 202122 Faculty Doctoral Mentoring Award for her support given to students completing their dissertations.

PAUL ORTIZ, professor in the Department of History and director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, was named a National Archives Distinguished Scholars Fellow for 2022-23 by the National Archives and Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research.

Xiao-Xiao Zhang

Dana Bartosova

BRITTANY GRUBBSHODGES, a lecturer in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the assistant director of experiential learning for the Beyond120 program, received a 2022 Career Influencer Award from UF’s Career Connections Center for her work in preparing students for life after college.

Adam Ginsburg

AMY WILLIAMS, assistant professor of geology at the University of Florida, received a Spring 2022 UF Excellence Award for Assistant Professors that supports her researchrelated expenses.

XIAO-XIAO ZHANG, assistant professor of physics; DANA BARTOSOVA, assistant professor of mathematics; and ADAM GINSBURG, assistant professor of astronomy received Early Career Development awards from the National Science Foundation, recognizing rising leaders in research and education.

RECOGNIZING Joseph L. Scarpaci

THE ACHIEVEMENTS

Adania Flemming

OF STUDENTS, STAFF, FACULTY AND ALUMNI OF THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND Amy Williams

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Paul Ortiz

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWS.CLAS.UFL.EDU

Juliane Dannberg

SCIENCES

AWARDS SHOWCASE

Postdoctoral researcher JIAMIN HOU has received a Marie Curie Global Fellowship from the European Union, supporting her research in the large-scale structure of the universe and cosmic evolution history.

HEATHER VRANA, assistant professor of history, has received a Stanford Humanities Center External Fellowship for the 202223 academic year for “Guerilla Medicine and Disability in Cold War Central America.”

HOLLY RAYNARD, associate instructional professor and undergraduate coordinator in the Center for European Studies, launhed a beginning Czech language online sequence this fall.

RICK YOST, professor of chemistry, was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors for his spirit of innovation in creating and facilitating inventions that have made an impact on the quality of life, economic development and welfare of society.

EVENING OF EXCELLENCE The Evening of Excellence is the annual awards celebration for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, showcasing the outstanding achievements and service exhibited by our community.

The 2022 ceremony was held Thursday, April 20. The following awardees were recognized for their sustained excellence and notable commitment to improving their field and society.

Faculty Achievement Award Distinguished Professor Karen Bjorndal, Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research

Superior Staff Award Deborah Hendrix, Samuel Proctor Oral History Program

Student Excellence Award Bridgette Gifford, Physics Samantha Gildea, International Studies and Russian Studies Sparsha Muralidhara, Linguistics and Psychology

Brittany Grubbs-Hodges

Jiamin Hou

The 2020 Evening of Excellence was canceled due to the pandemic, but many of the year’s outstanding college leaders were honored at the 2022 ceremony.

Civic Champion Robin Gibson, BA ’59, LLB ’62

CLAS Champion Gregory A. Clemons

Heather Vrana

Photo credits: Adam Ginsburg by Daniela Huppenkothen. Brittany Grubbs-Hodges by the UF Career Connections Center. Paul Ortiz by Deborah Hendrix. Amy Williams by Townson University. Other photos

by UF/CLAS or courtesy of the subjects.

Jim (Bachelor of Building Construction ‘63) and Alexis Pugh

Faculty Achievement Award

Horizon Award Liana Guerra, BA Economics and BA Political Science ’15, MBA ’20

Lifetime Achievement Award Dorothy (BA ’69, MA English ’71) and Terry Smiljanich (BA ’69, JD ’72)

Outstanding Alumna Anne Stokes, BA Anthropology ’86, MA ’91, PhD ’98

Superior Staff Award Margaret Somers, Department of Mathematics

Volunteer of the Year Mike Wachholz, BA Economics ’91, JD ’95 DEI LEADERSHIP AWARDS The University of Florida recognizes members of The Gator Nation who have had substantial impact on diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging and/or justice efforts within their local communities, industry or UF. Presented by the UF Alumni Association, the Inaugural LeaDErshIp Awards honored the following CLAS honorees.

Young Alumni Award Alicia Williams, BA History ’08

Industry Achievement Award Mahogani Chery, BS Mass Communications and Cultural Anthropology ’07

University Community Award Adania Flemming, MS Zoology ’18, PhD candidate in biology

Professor Natalie Ebner, Department of Psychology Professor Emeritus Peter Waylen, Department of Geography YTORI FALL 2022

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UNIVERSITY of FLORIDA COLLEGE of LIBERAL ARTS and SCIENCES

“

So much of what is accomplished in our college,

and beyond the walls of campus, would not be possible without the generosity of alumni and friends who stand behind our mission.

”

­— Dean David E. Richardson

The Dean’s Circle recognizes

the extraordinary generosity of alumni, friends, faculty and staff who make annual gifts of $500 or more to the Dean’s Fund for Excellence. As a member of the Dean’s Circle, your investment will help the college meet the educational needs of our students, take advantage of extraordinary opportunities, and meet new challenges in teaching, research and service.

Through the Dean’s Circle, alumni and friends have provided:

• Funding for promising undergraduate and graduate students.

• Faculty seed grants for pursuing new research interests and other academic endeavors.

• Scholarships and awards to students for travel abroad experiences.

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COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWS.CLAS.UFL.EDU

• New computer hardware and software for research and teaching.

TENURED | $50,000+ Robert & Laurel Kincart DIRECTOR | $10,000 - $24,999 William & Melodie Douglas Thomas & Cheryl Elligett Robert Fowler David & Bernadette Williams Lawrence Winner ADVISOR | $5,000 - $9,999 Michael & Michele Fishman Amy Galloway Elsbeth Geiger James & Marie Harper Carol & Robert March Kevin McHale Amy & Jeffrey Rubin Dorothy & Terry Smiljanich Julie & Kevin Wilkinson ASSOCIATE | $2,500 - $4,999 David & Randi Blum Frank Bracco Susan Cook & Drew Fine Richard Coughlin Richard & Nancy Leslie Kevin Mayeux Manuel & Linda Menendez Pepper & Dave Natonski Ann Regan Rebecca Shultz Feng Tian & Honglin Liu Reverdy Wright FELLOW | $1,000 - $2,499 Glenda Anthony Michael & Ami Baron Thomas & Elizabeth Bishop James & Vikki Black Thomas Blankenship Bob Bowser Karen & Michael Brisch Stanley Crews Dan & Susan Fabrick Margaret & Michael Fields Margaret & Michael French Eric Frisch Joshua & Nancy Gillon David Griggs Daniel & Angela Hackman Tara Hamer Gill & Robert Gill Stephen & Brianna Hicks

Thomas & Linda Holmes Jeanine Keating Melody Bridgman Kohl Leslie & Charles Layton Grant & Ann Morehead Mary Jane Morrison David Neel David Pharies & Mary Ginway Michael & Sheila Rokeach Joan Dial Ruffier Michael & Ann Savelle David & Masako Semaya Clayton & Jamie Smith Debbie Snyder Li Tao Marjorie Turnbull SCHOLAR | $500 - $999 Juliet Anderson George Avery Patrick & Kristine Bates Rachel Bozin Linda Clayton Camille Coke Michael & Mary Corn Lizette & David Dunay Bazil Duncan William Elebash John Fleming Francis & Debra Gaimari Joseph Ganey & Kim Ganey-West Michael Geary Lander & Kari Gold Bill Graham & Shelley Hill James & Dawn Granese Suzanne & Ken Green Jerome Guilford Dennis Hays Grant & Lori Heslep James Hoover Mark & Avis Jason Alexis Jesup & Jason Buckley David & Catherine Kasriel Pamela & John Kelly Yu-Chin & Pi-Ching Lai M. Jill Lockwood & Gregory Schmidt Hugh & Maricela Mazzei Mary McDaniel Darrell & Megan Murray John & Nancy Ossiff Stewart & Suzy Perlman Norman & Margaret Portillo Bill Pikounis & Nicole Sakowitz

David Robson & Patricia Carey Harold Saxton Craig Singer & George Garmer Angela Thomas John Vreeland EMERITUS Anonymous Robert & Leah Adams Charles Byrd Christy Wilson Delk Thomas & Cheryl Elligett Mitchell & Bridget Gordon James Hoover James & Elizabeth Kalamaras Ashish Karve Martin Leach Thomas & Sheryl Moore Stewart & Suzanna Perlman Michael & Margo Rosenthal Sam & Valerie Stephens Robert & Arleene Westman Jewel White

The Dean’s Circle and the Dean’s Fund for Excellence To join the Dean’s Circle, please visit clas.ufl.edu/deanscircle or contact STEVE EVANS

Executive Director of Advancement

352-273-3704 | sevans3@ufl.edu

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8

Earth, Sea

&

Sky

By Andrew Doerfler

ACROSS 1 Site of UF astrobiologist Amy Williams’ work with the Perseverance Rover 5 Where you'll find Jaguars but not Panthers (abbr.)

8 One of about 20 on a guitar 9 UF's largest college, for short 11 Ret. Col. Morris, ’90, whose gift supports diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives (page 34) 12 Benicio del 13 Earth-friendly prefix 15 Le Soleil (Louis XIV) 16 Buck Island Reef turtle species threatened by climate change (page 8) 19 Greek cheer 20 Lexicological record that contains over 600,000 words (abbr.)

21 Brain quarter 23 Daffy Duck’s trademark 26 Poker slip 27 Arctic feature that’s quickly vanishing, UF researchers found (page 28) 28 Senate president pro 29 Shorten sharply

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Adobe Stock Photo Credit: © Destina/Adobe Stock

DOWN 1 Degree for 17-down 2 Prince Valiant’s son 3 Like solar or wind energy 4 Assemble vertically, like chemist Austin Evans' macrocycles (page 6) 5 “Think globally, locally” 6 Shared quality for environmentalists Marjory Stoneman Douglas and Marjorie Harris Carr 7 Yuletide hymn 10 Lunar sample that can support plant life, UF scientists found (page 10)

14 Grizzly or panda for the Department of Spanish 16 UF ecologist Robert recently elected to National Academy of Sciences (page 22) 17 “I’m and didn't know it” 18 Nautical time units 22 Sapling sort planted by UF’s Terry Harpold and crew (page 17) 24 Hit the slopes 25 Gusto

For answers to puzzle, visit clas.ufl.edu/fall22crossword COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWS.CLAS.UFL.EDU

o t e m o c l We SCOTT FAMILY HALL The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ state-of-the-art chemistry building has a new name, recognizing a significant gift from a Boca Raton doctor with strong ties to the University of Florida.

A former chair of the University of Florida Board of Trustees and the parent of three UF alumni, DR. STEVE SCOTT and his wife REBECCA have committed $10 million for research and graduate education in the Department of Chemistry.

“Chemistry is the heart of almost everything,” said Scott, founder, CEO and chairman of the medical investment company Scott Holdings, LLC. “If we’re going to meet the big challenges of our time — from climate change to health care to renewable energy — we need to look deeper into the science of chemistry to find solutions.”

The building officially became Scott Family Hall during a dedication ceremony in September, with remarks from UF PRESIDENT KENT FUCHS and DEAN DAVID E. RICHARDSON of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The 110,000-square-foot complex, which features some of the university’s most advanced classrooms and labs, first opened in spring 2017.

“Dr. Scott’s investment in the Department of Chemistry is nothing short of transformational,” Richardson said.

“Outstanding research universities have outstanding chemistry departments. Now, with Dr. Scott’s help, UF will rise to an even higher level of excellence as it trains the next generation of chemical scientists.”

U N I V E R S I T Y of F L O R I D A

INVEST IN THE FUTURE BY SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS AND RESEARCHERS TODAY. Contact alumni@clas.ufl.edu or visit clas.ufl.edu/waystogive.

Pictured, left to right: Dean David E. Richardson, Rebecca Scott, Steven M. Scott, MD, Crow Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemistry Lisa McElwee-White, UF President Kent Fuchs. Photo by University of Florida/Aaron Daye.

NONPROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID GAINESVILLE, FL PERMIT NO. 94

University of Florida PO Box 110009 Gainesville FL 32611

FALL 2022