About

Centers and Institutes

CAS is home to numerous Centers and Institutes that bring faculty, students, and community partners together around specific research topics. These Centers and Institutes create a community of scholars and scientists to leverage their expertise and shared interests to solve grand challenges that face our community.

Centers

Center for the Advancement of Food Security and Healthy Communities

Transforming the conversation about hunger and food insecurity and food sovereignty, using research and education, to facilitate social equity that results in healthier communities in Tampa Bay and beyond.

Center for Justice Research & Policy

The Center for Justice Research & Policy (CJRP) applies rigorous research and evaluations to develop a strong and sound evidence-base on criminal justice practices, policies, and public beliefs. Our comprehensive approach at the CJRP emphasizes collaborations across multiple fields, and between scientists and practitioners, to ensure that innovative strategies are developed, tested, and implemented to help reduce crime and incarceration, promote safe communities and equitable justice, and improve outcomes for persons at risk of being involved in the justice system.

Center for Strategic & Diplomatic Studies

The CSDS plays an important role supporting USF as it establishes itself as a globally engaged institution. The Center has become the stage where influential thinkers and dignitaries come to share their visions and enlighten our community about key global challenges.

Coalition for Science Literacy

CSL coordinates accessible and available STEM learning opportunities for educators and students at all levels by tapping into community resources, the university at large, and an extensive and established network of professionals developed through ongoing collaborative relationships.

Im/Migrant Well-Being Research Center

The Center's mission is to foster interdisciplinary collaboration in research among migration and immigrant incorporation scholars and to translate that work into innovative policy solutions that advance the well-being of migrants to the U.S. This research will also inform the contours of community engagement in the Tampa Bay region by determining needs for programs, placing students in the communities as part of their training, and coordinating local stakeholders to meet the needs of local immigrant communities.

Interdisciplinary Center for Hellenic Studies

The Interdisciplinary Center for Hellenic Studies (ICHS) at USF is dedicated to supporting academic work on topics related to Greek culture, history and thought. The Center aims at creating opportunities for fruitful dialogue and collaborations by bringing together faculty members from a variety of fields. The Center also holds an annual conference featuring refereed papers as well as invited lectures.

Urban Food Sovereignty Group

 The Urban Food Sovereignty Group (UFSG) is rooted in the core principles of food sovereignty and food justice. Food sovereignty is about empowering people to produce, choose and consume their own culturally meaningful food. Food Sovereignty is less about feeding people, and more focused on empowering people to nourish themselves and their communities. We are committed to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, and we encourage the free expression of creative ideas and energies. This allows us to promote human rights, human dignity, and our collective ability to live flourishing lives.

Institutes

Institute for the Advanced Study of Culture and the Environment

The mission of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Culture and the Environment is to support transdisciplinary research through the creation of research clusters, hosting thematic workshops, fellowships and visiting scholars, and the promotion of innovative graduate and undergraduate education at USF. We strive for the creation, perpetuation, and enhancement of knowledge among all disciplines that work to transcend the traditional nature of collaboration in academic settings, which has commonly focused on a siloed mentality to the study of human experiences and endeavors. We accomplish this through the promotion of relationships among faculty and students within transdisciplinary departments at the University of South Florida, as well as through the engagement of various research projects undertaken by IASCE.

Institute on Black Life

IBL is a vibrant resource on the history and culture of people of African descent. Through a range of interdisciplinary research projects and programs, a speakers' series, and an annual research conference, the Institute of Black Life maintains its commitment to scholarship and service.

Institute for Digital Exploration

IDEx’s mission is to contribute to the development of digital scholarship and popularize the humanities and social sciences among the student population and a wider global community by tackling major themes in the field such virtual repatriation, memory in the digital age, digital colonialism and digitally enhanced cognition. The Institute applies 3D digital techniques and advanced 3D visualization for the documentation, analysis, interpretation, and online dissemination of global cultural heritage sites and historical and archaeological collections, emphasizing those that are endangered, inaccessible, or underrepresented. The Institute collaborates with local and international partners to foster projects in the fields of remote sensing, digital curation, virtual museums, and digital communication of cultural heritage through the critical use of state-of-the-art technologies and the development of innovative methodologies in digital history and digital archaeological research.

Florida Institute of Government

FIOG provides training and technical assistance to local and state government officials, volunteers, and the general public on a wide range of topics. Since 1995, FIOG has conducted nearly 25,000 workshops throughout Florida and more than 1,000 technical assistance and applied research projects. Its mission is to increase the effectiveness and quality of government in Florida through applied research, training, technical assistance programs, and public service.

Institute of Forensic Anthropology & Applied Science

Forensics is dedicated to working with Florida's law enforcement agencies to solve violent crimes using forensic science, emerging technology, and innovative crime scene methods to help identify missing, endangered, exploited, and unidentified persons.

Humanities Institute

The Humanities Institute encourages important research in the Humanities by providing summer grants for humanities-focused research projects. The Institute fosters a broad and inclusive definition of humanities to include scholarly contributions in language, literature, history, jurisprudence, philosophy, archaeology, religion, ethics, arts, and humanistic social science.

Institute for Russian, European and Eurasian Studies (IREES)

The mission of The Institute for Russian, European and Eurasian Studies (IREES) is to advance knowledge and understanding of Russia in a global, regional and historical context. The Institute is primarily concerned with promoting interdisciplinary research and teaching in three key areas related to global and human security, media and journalism, as well as culture and the arts.

Institute for the Study of Latin America & the Caribbean

ISLAC provides interdisciplinary perspectives and opportunities for scholarly collaboration of faculty and students to study Latin American & Caribbean anthropology, history, government & international affairs, political science, humanities, world language education, economics, arts, global & economic health, business, and many other interdisciplinary interests.

Water Institute

The USF Water Institute brings together faculty, students, and stakeholders to conduct transdisciplinary research, provide innovative educational experiences, and facilitate public outreach efforts that promote science-based solutions to local and global water challenges.

CORE FACILITIES

CAS Research often relies on the use of shared instrumentation for routine and advanced analyses. CAS Core Facilities are designed to help researchers improve the health and wellbeing of people, create healthy and sustainable communities, and explore ways to advance healthy communities through novel and innovative research.