CAS Chronicles
2025 Stories
New translation brings south Indian literature to English audiences for first time
Written in a mixture of verse and prose, Harihara’s stories are remarkably accessible to contemporary readers due to their short, linear plots. What makes them so compelling, according to Gil Ben-Herut, a professor in the Department of Religious Studies, is their focus on “regular people in regular settings.”
October 29, 2025Honors & Awards, Research & Innovation
Florida Humanities designates USF professor emeritus first ever inductee to hall of fame
The honor celebrates significant contributions to the humanities by Mormino, who has written for the St. Petersburg Times, the Orlando Sentinel, the Miami Herald and the Tampa Tribune and whose book “Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: A Social History of Modern Florida” is considered a germinal study in state history.
October 29, 2025Honors & Awards
Professor earns top honor for inspiring next generation of ecologists
Luanna Prevost, an associate professor in the Department of Integrative Biology, has received the Ecological Society of American’s 2025 Odum Award for Excellence in Ecology Education.
October 28, 2025Honors & Awards
Urban planning alum and U.S. military veteran leads growth in Pasco County
William Vermillion, a recent graduate from the Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) program in the School of Public Affairs, has a passion for community that has driven his success as the senior planner for Pasco County.
October 28, 2025Alumni
Internship program prepares humanities students for early-career success
Bustinza’s internship with the Make-A-Wish Foundation is one of many made possible by a five-year, $4.8 million grant from the Mellon Foundation that will support up to 900 students each year in otherwise unpaid internships.
October 20, 2025Community Engagement, Research & Innovation
When anthropology meets engineering: A fresh solution to wastewater
Nancy Romero-Daza and David Himmelgreen completed an interdisciplinary project that trains anthropology and engineering students in anthropological and environmental engineering methods in Costa Rica.
September 29, 2025Community Engagement, Research & Innovation
Society of Wetland Scientists Professional Certification Program streamlines certification for USF grads
The new agreement serves as a guarantee from the Society for Wetland Scientists Professional Certification Program that the suite of classes commonly taken by environmental science and policy majors at USF meets industry standards.
September 29, 2025Alumni, Research & Innovation
From Classrooms to Coastlines: CAS undergraduates apply learning as NOAA Hollings Scholars
Three USF College of Arts and Sciences undergraduates were named NOAA Ernest F. Hollings Scholars, a prestigious national recognition earning paid internships at NOAA facilities where they applied classroom learning to research and policy projects with NOAA scientists.
September 26, 2025Honors & Awards, Research & Innovation
Crafting the past: USF’s Archaeology + Art camp empowers the future generation of storytellers
This summer, Laura Harrison, Director of USF’s Access 3D Lab, collaborated with the USF Office of Youth Services and Project CLAY to inspire a new form of creativity in middle school students from across Tampa Bay. At the annual USF Archaeology + Art Camp, Harrison led hands-on activities that demonstrated how artifacts, digital tools and a creative lens can uncover compelling stories from the past.
September 24, 2025Community Engagement
Two College of Arts and Sciences alumni earn ‘Distinguished Alumni’ status
Of this year’s three Distinguished Alumni recipients, two of them hail from the College of Arts and Sciences.
September 24, 2025Alumni, Honors & Awards
A year after Helene and Milton, USF app is leading the way in flood tracking technology
One year after hurricanes Helene and Milton brought historic flooding to the Tampa Bay region, the CRIS-HAZARD app has become a critical tool in helping local communities monitor and respond to extreme storms.
September 23, 2025Community Engagement, Research & Innovation
USF climbs to its highest position ever in U.S. News rankings
The University of South Florida has reached an all-time high in U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of the best colleges. USF is No. 88 overall among all public or private universities in America, up from No. 91 last year. USF also rose to No. 43 among public universities, up two spots from last year, and inside the top 50 for the seventh year in a row.
September 23, 2025Honors & Awards