The following stories gained great interest throughout the year. They are ranked by page views from Jan. 1 through Dec. 6.
20. Announcing UCF’s New Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Andrea Guzmán, a first-generation graduate and Detroit native born to Puerto Rican parents, comes to UCF from Florida Atlantic University, where she led efforts to provide a campus climate that supports diversity and inclusion, student success, personal development, and integrated student learning experiences.
19. UCF Alum Urges Public to Get Vaccinated After COVID Story Makes Headlines
Terry Greear ’02 contracted COVID in January before he was eligible to get the vaccine and nearly died during his 72-day stay in the hospital. Greear’s story has since appeared in CNN, WESH, the Orlando Sentinel and many other news outlets.
18. 30 UCF Graduate Programs Rank Among the Best in the Nation
U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 Best Graduate Schools rankings once again reflects UCF’s excellence in emergency and crisis management, engineering, public administration, and other disciplines.
UCF is one of only three universities to improve its overall national ranking each of the last five years with most recent rankings as the top public university in Florida for innovation and No. 52 for social mobility nationwide.
16. UCF Summer 2021 Commencement Speakers, Schedule and Class of 2020 Makeup Ceremony
As Summer 2021 graduates prepared for Grad Walk and three in-person ceremonies in August, Class of 2020 alums would finally get their chance to cross the commencement stage on Nov. 5.
15. 23 Students to Receive UCF’s Highest Honor
The 2021 Order of Pegasus recipients include 15 Burnett Honors College students, six LEAD Scholars, six Student Government leaders, three President’s Leadership Council members, one Greek member, one student-athlete and three transfer students.
14. 13 Outdoor Adventures Worth Exploring in Florida
As people continued to search for outdoor activities during the pandemic, experts from UCF’s Outdoor Adventure program share insider tips to experiencing some of the state’s best nature spots.
13. 7 Knights Heading to Tokyo’s Summer Olympics, Paralympics
From beach volleyball to paratriathlon, meet the Olympic participants who represented UCF in addition to their home countries.
12. UCF Names 30 Under 30 Alumni Award Winners
From nursing to event management grads, the accomplished alums were chosen for their great professional success, commitment to helping others, and track record of giving back to UCF and their local community.
11. UCF Invited to Join Big 12 Conference
The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to accept an invitation for UCF to join the Big 12 Conference, a move that will raise the university’s national profile and expand opportunities for our student-athletes to compete at the highest level.
10. Getting to Know Miss USA Finalist: UCF’s Ashley Cariño
The aerospace engineering student was crowned Miss Florida in July during her first pageant competition of her life and recently earned third place in the Miss USA competition.
9. UCF Homecoming Week Returns for Spring 2021 with Spirit Splash, Campus Events and More
For the first time, UCF hosted Spring Splash — the second Homecoming Week in an academic year — providing double the spirited events, including a modified Spirit Splash, while still upholding COVID safety measures.
8. Does it Matter Which COVID-19 Vaccine I Get?
This story, which included a video featuring faculty experts from UCF’s College of Medicine, aims to inform individuals about the differences between each COVID-19 vaccine approved for distribution in the United States.
7. Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott Makes $40 Million Transformational Investment in UCF
Philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott and her husband, Dan Jewett, provided the largest gift in the university’s history, which will strengthen proven pathways to opportunity, fueling student success, academic excellence, and faculty research for generations.
6. Why Do We Celebrate Pride Month in June and LGBT History Month in October?
Writing and Rhetoric Professor Martha Brenckle, serves as the treasurer for the LGBTQ History Museum of Central Florida, shares a brief history of the recognitions in the United States, and why representation matters.
5. How Fake News Affects U.S. Elections
In this 2020 story, UCF Lecturer Chrysalis Wright, who was appointed to the UN’s Communications Coordination Committee, shares insight on one of the threats to our democracy.
4. UCF Study Shows Masks, Ventilation Stop COVID Spread Better than Social Distancing
The results, which were published in the journal Fluid of Physics, indicate masks and proper ventilation may be key to allowing more capacity in schools, businesses, and other indoor areas.
3. Universal Knights Returns for 2021 with Access to 2 Parks
With COVID-19 precautions in place, the annual event — which last took place in 2019 — provided 11,000 Knights free, exclusive after-hours access to both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios instead of one park, which is traditional to the gathering.
2. Flying at Speeds up to Mach 17 Could Become Reality with UCF’s Developing Propulsion System
The UCF-developed propulsion system could allow for flight speeds of Mach 6 to 17 (more than 4,600 to 13,000 mph) and would have applications in air and space travel.
1. ADHD Kids Can Be Still – If They’re Not Straining Their Brains
This 2017 story based on Psychology Professor Mark Rapport’s research on cognitively demanding tasks triggering ADHD symptoms went viral during ADHD Awareness Month, which takes place in October.
