CAS Chronicles

Stories

Heide Castañeda (second from left) poses with the Amazigh flag on a recent trip to Morocco

New book on immigration and belonging will illuminate indigenous peoples and languages of North Africa

When Heide Castañeda, a professor of anthropology at the University of South Florida, travels to Morocco it isn’t to visit Africa’s largest mosque or one of the historical kasbahs. Castañeda, a migration scholar, is there to study and understand the experience of the indigenous Amazigh people — the focal point of her new book, forthcoming from New York University Press.

November 25, 2024Accomplishments, Research

Natalie Scenters-Zapico

English professor featured in 'Best American Poetry'

Natalie Scenters-Zapico, an award-winning poet and assistant professor in the Department of English, is gaining global recognition. Scenters-Zapico, who shapes the local literary community as director of the Michael Kuperman Memorial Poetry Library, has a poem in the prestigious “Best American Poetry” anthology, cementing her work as essential reading at USF and for audiences across the country.

November 22, 2024Accomplishments

Olivia Cosentino, an assistant professor in the Department of Humanities and Cultural Studies, received the Early Career Award 2024 for her outstanding scholarship on Mexican cinema.

Latin American Film Studies scholar wins prestigious early career award

The Latin American Studies Association awarded Olivia Cosentino, an assistant professor of film and new media studies in the Department of Humanities and Cultural Studies, the Early Career Award 2024 for her outstanding scholarship on Mexican cinema.

November 21, 2024Accomplishments, Research

Gabi Merlo

‘Once you’re in it, you’re in it for life.’ Aspiring surgeon receives wraparound support from Women in Leadership & Philanthropy program

The Women in Leadership & Philanthropy program has invested thousands of dedicated mentoring hours and more than $4 million in grants, scholarships and programmatic funding to more than 700 scholars like Merlo, who received $1,000 to support her studies this year.

November 21, 2024Accomplishments, Alumni, Community Engagement

Dr. Christian Wells at the University Area CDC’s Award Ceremony with his newly received Advocate Award. Photo courtesy of Christian Wells.

Anthropology professor honored for transformative work in University Area Community

Dr. Christian Wells from the Department of Anthropology has recently earned the University Area Community Development Corporation (UACDC) Advocate Award for the eight years of impactful community work he and his students have conducted.

November 21, 2024Accomplishments

Dougherty (left) and Kaila Witkowski, an assistant professor at Florida Atlantic University, at the black sand beach with Maui Strong sweatshirts that they purchased from Brown Kross Hui (BKH), a grassroots organization. The funds from these shirts go directly to support BKH's efforts to get displaced families’ furnishings in the homes they have been able to obtain. (Photo courtesy of Ratna B. Dougherty)

Fellowship allows School of Public Affairs’ Ratna Dougherty to share Maui wildfire research at national public policy and management conference

The Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management has awarded Ratna B. Dougherty, an assistant professor in the School of Public Affairs, with a competitive national fellowship allowing her to highlight her work with socially vulnerable populations affected by wildfires in Maui.

November 21, 2024Accomplishments, Community Engagement, Research

The CAS winners of the Outstanding Thesis and Dissertation Award and the Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award (left to right): Janine DeBiasi, Noah Schulz, Alexandria Choate, Patrice Buzzanell and Travis Bell.

CAS sweeps Outstanding Graduate Faculty Mentor and Outstanding Thesis & Dissertation awards

The College of Arts and Sciences is home not only to this year’s Outstanding Faculty Mentor and an honorable mention, but to three out of the four Outstanding Thesis and Dissertation Award recipients as well.

November 20, 2024Accomplishments, Research

Dr. Loni Hagen receiving her Fulbright Award in Kyoto, Japan. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Loni Hagen)

Dr. Loni Hagen’s Fulbright Award will foster research and international, academic relationships

Loni Hagen, an associate professor in the School of Information, received the Fulbright Study/Research Award, a grant that allows her to develop new research projects and collaborative opportunities between the University of Tsukuba and the University of South Florida.

November 20, 2024Accomplishments

Student worker Abigail Pal refills pipette tip boxes by hand instead of buying replacement racks, greatly reducing the lab’s plastic waste. (Photo courtesy of Victoria Ramiez)

Going green: Teaching lab earns certification for sustainability efforts

The USF Sarasota Manatee teaching lab has earned My Green Lab Certification, joining a growing community of laboratories certified for implementing more sustainable practices to dramatically reduce environmental impact.

November 20, 2024Accomplishments, Community Engagement, Featured

Associate Professor Erin Kimmerle speaks to media at the

Professor Kimmerle honored by AHA for distinguished contributions to public history

Erin Kimmerle, executive director of the Florida Institute for Forensic Anthropology & Applied Science at the University of South Florida, will be recognized for her multi-year interdisciplinary research investigation into unmarked burial grounds in Hillsborough County.

October 31, 2024Accomplishments, Community Engagement

Anabela Villach Vaquer at the special meeting of the Permanent Council that addressed the results of the electoral process in Venezuela held in the Liberator Simón Bolívar Room, House of the Americas at the Organization of American States in Washington, DC. (Photo courtesy of Anabela Villach Vaquer)

Graduate student’s participation in ISLAC leads to internship opportunity focused on migratory experiences across the Americas

Anabela Villach Vaquer, a master’s student in the Master in Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies program in the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, participated in a unique internship experience with the Organization of American States—a Washington, DC based organization focused on fostering regional democracy, human rights, security, and development.

October 29, 2024Accomplishments, Community Engagement

Team member Margaret Amsler scouts the diverse and abundant Antarctic sea floor for interesting marine organisms to collect. (Photo courtesy of Bill Baker)

Dr. Bill Baker's career of merging the world of marine organisms and medicine

USF College of Arts and Sciences professor Dr. Bill Baker has dedicated his research career to the creation of live-saving human therapeutics using marine invertebrates.

October 29, 2024Accomplishments, Community Engagement, Research

About CAS Chronicles

CAS Chronicles is the monthly newsletter for the University of South Florida's College of Arts and Sciences, your source for the latest news, research, and events at CAS.