UCF in the News

John Buckwalter, a 20-year veteran in the field of academia, has been named the next provost at the University of Central Florida. Buckwalter, who also will serve as executive vice president, most recently served as provost at Boise State University, where he led interdisciplinary initiatives and student achievement, according to a UCF release. He begins his position with the university on Aug. 1 and succeeds Provost Michael D. Johnson, who will retire this summer after serving 35 years with UCF as a faculty member and dean before taking on the provost role.

The Walt Disney Company and Universal, two of the biggest names in theme parks, are both undertaking historic expansions to their experiences businesses. Universal Orlando Resort in May opened the gates to Epic Universe, its fourth theme park at its flagship resort. Epic cost an estimated $7 billion to build, according to numbers provided by the University of Central Florida. Brian Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Universal parent company Comcast, called it the “single-largest investment Comcast NBCUniversal has made in its theme park business”. “If you’re uncertain how the economy is going to develop, then you’re going to try to be more cautious in your spending,” said Jorge Ridderstaat, associate professor at UCF’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management.

I just returned from the third annual Teaching and Learning with AI conference, hosted by the University of Central Florida. And, as I did last year, I wanted to share some of what I heard and observed. This year’s conference drew nearly 1,000 attendees and included more than 250 presentations. So there’s plenty to talk about. What became immediately clear, after sitting in on the first few presentations, is that people are hungry for practical information on how to understand AI and its relationships to learning.

Knights shine brightly at Universal Epic Universe. Students at the University of Central Florida gained firsthand experience through the development of Universal Orlando's newest theme park. Only WESH 2 was invited to witness how Central Florida's newest theme park helped share students' future. The first class we visited was at UCF's Rosen College of Hospitality Management. Dr. Carissa Baker leads the undergraduate theme park and attractions management class. "We just started our program in fall of 2023, and it was just perfect timing. We swear it wasn't on purpose to coincide with the opening of Universal Epic Universe, but it started with our students brand new in this program and then seeing a dirt lot across the street," she said. Many of Baker's students are already working at Epic, while others, like UCF senior Elisa Saldias-Leon, are still pursuing their dreams. "People are like, 'Oh, my dreams are, like, in my hands.' And my dream is within like a minute, like two-minute walk that way. I'm like, what is that? It's insane," Saldias-Leon said. Saldias-Leon aims to further her education through the themed experience graduate program at UCF's main campus, led by Professor Peter Weishar. Students in this program also get to partake in the UCF/Universal Creative Lab, where they work directly with Universal Creative’s show producers, engineers and designers, gaining rare access to behind-the-scenes development processes. WESH 2 was there as current students presented their attraction ideas directly to Universal Creative executives. "It's so exciting to see these people have a dream of creating memorable themed experiences, really impacting lives, and they come here to Orlando, the epicenter of the themed entertainment industry and the first new major park in their lives, and they're part of it," Weishar said.

Even for good students, it’s simply too tempting to use AI to “do the work” for you as opposed to assisting you. At this point, educators need to refactor courses with the assumption that students are using AI. The only exception on essays would be courses that specifically focus on writing, such as English Composition. Even then, great care needs to be taken in planning coursework not performed in a classroom or proctored setting. An interesting side note is that a UCF survey showed that students want human feedback, not AI grading or comments. If we flip the script and call this out to students, it can perhaps better illustrate how instructors also want student’s actual thoughts versus those of an AI.

Florida is known for its gorgeous skies, but — let's be honest — the daytime scenery kind of steals the spotlight. Thanks to its cerulean afternoons and bright winters, Florida has earned the name "The Sunshine State." In fact, contrary to what some visitors believe, the Sunshine State boasts some truly stunning spots for appreciating nature and stargazing. Observing the night sky is one thing, but studying it is something else altogether. Folks who are interested in taking a deep dive into all things celestial should definitely stop by the Robinson Observatory at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Despite its location in a big city, this structure provides fantastic views of the night sky. Thanks to its high-powered telescopes, visitors can view stars that aren't necessarily visible to the naked eye. The best part is that the observatory organizes educational stargazing events for the public. Grab a light sweater, a blanket, and your learning cap. Robinson Observatory is one of the best places in Florida to stargaze and learn. According to the amateur astronomers who have attended these events in the past, the experience provides a fantastic view of the skies. As one visitor gushed on Google, "UCF astronomy team had multiple telescopes set up to observe. Big close-up view of the moon – very high resolution. One telescope on Venus, another on Mars, and the Orion Cluster." A second Google reviewer recommended the events fully, sharing, "If you are a [stargazer] plan on attending their public events. We have been twice since we found it a few months ago and had a great time."

The theme park rivalry in Orlando, Fla. is heating up. This week, Universal will open its latest park, Epic Universe, a reportedly $7 billion bet for the Comcast-owned company and the newest salvo in its ongoing push to expand its tourism and entertainment empire. That puts pressure on Walt Disney Co., whose Walt Disney World Resort has long dominated the Orlando vacation landscape, but is now seeing increased competition, particularly from Universal. “Disney has been pretty steady and consistent, but Universal is very rapidly expanding,” said Carissa Baker, an assistant professor of theme park and attraction management at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. “They’re highly encouraging their theme park sector right now.”

The University of Central Florida is ready to deploy a mobile trailer across the state to help first responders and victims in hurricanes, mass shootings and other emergencies. “Today marks a significant step forward in mental health care for first responders and trauma survivors,” said UCF President Alexander Cartwright in a statement. The mobile trailer is equipped with quiet spaces and therapy rooms to help first responders deal with the horrors of their jobs, and to assist the victims they’re helping. The space has a TV and necessities like socks or toothbrushes. “The command center, unveiled at UCF’s Memory Mall, marks a national first: the launch of a mobile, trauma care-specific command center — built with purpose, backed by state and corporate partners, and ready to serve those who lay their lives on the line for Florida’s communities,” the school said in a press release this week. The idea for such a mobile unit developed at UCF after the Surfside condo collapse in 2021.

The only consistent thing about NASA’s VIPER lunar rover is that the road to the moon has been a rocky one. And now the space agency has nixed its attempt to find a commercial partner to launch VIPER moonward, leaving the nearly complete little space vehicle in a continued state of limbo. VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Explorer Rover) was intended to launch this year to explore the lunar south pole in search of buried ice and other chemical compounds. But NASA canceled it in July 2024 after delays led to cost overruns. This is the second time NASA has nixed a lunar rover mission in recent years, says Philip Metzger, a planetary physicist at the University of Central Florida (UCF). In 2018 NASA axed the Resource Prospector rover, which would have done similar exploration. VIPER could also answer basic science questions about the origin of the water on the moon, says UCF’s Metzger. It may have been part of the lunar core from the moment of its formation, or the water could have arrived with planetary dust or large impactors over time, among other possibilities. “Understanding those processes is crucial for understanding our solar system,” Metzger says. The answers could reveal more about how common water-rich bodies are in the galaxy and how many planets or moons might host life.