USF College of Arts and Sciences

09/03/2026

Tampa Bay may hold billions of microplastic particles — and our mangroves are quietly collecting them.

USF graduate student Kate McLendon is uncovering how mangrove leaves trap microplastics and how these contaminants move through our coastal ecosystems.

Read the story here: https://www.usf.edu/news/2026/what-mangrove-leaves-reveal-about-microplastic-pollution-in-tampa-bay.aspx

09/02/2026

The Mellon Humanities Internship program is redefining how humanities students prepare for their careers.

Over the next several years, the program will grow to support up to 900 paid internships annually, connecting students with organizations across Tampa Bay and beyond.

For students like Sabrina Karazoun, the impact is personal:
“I worked an hourly job that didn’t connect to my major… Participating in the program allowed me to earn money while focusing on something that would advance my career.”

Learn more: https://ow.ly/yOvu50ZGzCw

09/01/2026

September is packed across the College of Arts and Sciences — from film, music, and humanities conversations to community festivals and campus‑wide celebrations. If you’re looking for ways to learn, connect, and explore, this month delivers.

Here’s what’s happening:
Sept 1–3: USF Department of Humanities, Arts, & Film's Kickoff Series — featuring Jordan Peele’s Nope, an Olivia Rodrigo listening party, and a discussion of Nolan’s The Odyssey.
Sept 19: USF Botanical Gardens’ Native Plant Open House 🌱
Sept 29: USF Humanities Institute's Humanities & Hops: Multispecies Ecologies.
Sept 30: I Belong: USF Week begins. 🤘

Stay up-to-date with CAS events: https://ow.ly/Y6kc50ZGA7N

08/31/2026

As tributes pour in for Dolly Parton, FOX 13 News - Tampa Bay's turned to our USF Department of History professor Dr. Cassie Yacovazzi to help understand the depth of Dolly's influence -- from philanthropy to cultural change.

Watch the interview here:

As tributes to the late Dolly Parton continue to stream in, many reflect on her philanthropist work. Cassie Yacovazzi, Women's History professor at USF, talks about Parton's history-making moves.

08/27/2026

Where can an arts and sciences degree take you? In this issue, the answer ranges from the cover of Time to teaching English in Brazil, digging up ancient ruins in Sicily, and hands‑on science labs transforming Tampa Bay classrooms.

Sabrina Karazoun’s paid Mellon Humanities internship launched her career abroad. Mark Clennon’s photography just appeared on Time’s cover. Students traveled the world. Faculty built new partnerships. And our new Cognitive Science major is asking big questions about human judgment in an AI‑driven world.

Subscribe to the Arts & Sciences newsletter here: https://usf.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6W3HSmvCX5rV3r8

08/26/2026

Rural Costa Rica became a living lab for CAS students this summer.

In the cloud forest region of Monteverde, our USF Department of Anthropology students worked together with USF College of Engineering majors to study how rural communities manage wastewater without centralized systems — interviewing residents, surveying tourists, visiting businesses, and testing water samples in the Monteverde Institute lab.

More on this interdisciplinary field school and other stories abroad coming soon in our newsletter. 🤘

08/25/2026

As CAS continues to grow, our storytelling is evolving with it. Same mission. Same momentum.
 
And now, a new name for our newsletter built for the next chapter: Arts & Sciences. 🤘

It’ll be in your inbox this week — stay tuned!

08/24/2026

Whether you’re starting your first semester or your final one, today is the beginning of something big. Happy first day of fall classes, Bulls! 🤘

Don't forget to tag us in your back-to-campus pictures. 📸

08/24/2026

“You're going to find what fits for you, not what the world thinks fits for you.”

Honors alumni Zita Fletcher and Paul Johannes each came to USF not quite sure where their experience would take them. Fast-forward a decade later, and they've both been awarded the 2026 USF Outstanding Alumni Award after pursuing unconventional paths as a military historian and submarine warfare officer.

Learn how their Honors experience helped them realize they didn’t have to settle in their career journeys, but could lead, push boundaries, and help others while pursuing work that excites them.

08/20/2026

For biomedical sciences major Ria Arora, USF was defined by the people who believed in her and pushed her to explore big ideas.

She credits her advisors and faculty for encouraging her to push boundaries — from bioprinting research to co‑founding PROSTHEX, a student organization supporting amputees through service and innovation.

Her advice to future Bulls: be unapologetically ambitious. Ask for help, chase the unconventional, and lean into the community around you.

This summer, Ria took her passion even further at Biopunk House, the world’s first biotech hacker house and accelerator, and she’ll soon be joining a startup at the intersection of biotechnology, research, and entrepreneurship.

Congratulations, Ria! We can’t wait to see what you’ll do next. 🤘💚