News and Events

• Anthropology student Katherine Kendall Fite won the 2025 Undergraduate Student Library Research Prize for the research she conducted in Dr. Anne Pfister’s Health, Illness & Culture class.

• Dr. Jessica Chandras won the 2025 STARS Best Scholarly Monograph Award.

• Dr. Jacqueline Meier received the 2025 SOARS Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year Award.

• News4Jax featured Dr. David Jaffee on the numbers recently released by Princeton’s Eviction Lab tracking system. 

• Dr. David Jaffee and UNF students Susie Mabry, Louis Catton, Katie Renzie and Marcia Shaw delivered a presentation regarding the Jax Rental Housing Project at the 88^th Annual Meetings of the Southern Sociological Society.

• SASW hosted the 16^th annual Student Research Symposium.  Over 50 students delivered poster and paper presentations!

• Spinnaker covered how the Jax Rental Housing Project, led by sociology professor Dr. David Jaffee, supports student tenants. 

• SASW hosted the second annual Osprey Outdoor Fest.  Over 100 faculty, staff, and students enjoyed an afternoon of ziplining, live music, and food at UNF’s Eco Adventure.

• The Northeast Unit of the Florida Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers recognized Sophia Stewart as the BSW Student of the Year; Laura Bellucia as the MSW Student of the Year; Jaynese Perry with the J.J. Daniel Award for ​Social Work with Children​; and Destiny Basden with the Michael Wilson Award for Social Justice​.

• The Social Work Program hosted a Social Work Month Celebration & Awards Breakfast for students, alumni, and community partners.  Professor Ross McDonough received the inaugural McDonough Award, and Dr. Dan Button received the Outstanding Adjunct Award.

• Dr. Mandi Barringer was selected to participate in the UNF COAS AI in Context Initiative, which aims to integrate discussions on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and/or Generative AI in general education courses. 

• Anthropology student Sarah Boyd was named UNF’s February 2025 Undergraduate Researcher of the Month.

• Dr. Anne Pfister received a UNF COAS Research Enhancement Plan Award.

• Drs. Jessica Chandras and Jenny Stuber received UNF COAS Dean’s Leadership Council Awards.

• Drs. Rosa de Jorio and Jenny Stuber were awarded sabbaticals for the 2025-2026 academic year.

• Under the supervision of Dr. Anne Pfister, DHI Intern Carter Mudgett published “Reporting on Racial Violence: A Content Analysis of Local & National Coverage of Jacksonville, Florida’s Dollar General Shooting” in Pandion.

• Anthropology students attended the American Anthropological Association conference in Tampa, Florida with Drs. Jessica Chandras and Anne Pfister.

• Sociology student Katelyn Renzi and Dr. David Jaffee were featured in a news report about corporate ownership of local apartment complexes.

• Drs. Jessica Chandras, Rosa de Jorio, and Jonathan Grant launched a podcast (with research assistant Kennedy Grier) chronicling their journey uncovering the legacy of Zora Neale Hurston in Jacksonville.

• MSW student Madeline Ray was one of five students selected nationwide to participate on the student advisory council for CSWE's Council on Disability and Persons with Disabilities.

• MSW Students Stacy Delano, Rory Hampson, Michael Burks, and Bonnie Preissler were chosen from a competitive pool of student applicants to compete on interdisciplinary teams (one coached by Dr. Cristy Cummings) to develop an innovative solution to physician burnout as a part of the CSI Innovation Challenge Competition hosted by MedNexus.  Stacy Delano was on the team that won First Place and Audience Favorite!

• Dr. Jaqueline Meier was featured in Inside UNF for her high profile paper “The earliest evidence of large animal fossil collecting in mainland Greece at Bronze Age Mycenae” published in Scientific Reports.

• Bloomberg spoke with Dr. David Jaffee who shared insight about tenant screening apps and their impact on housing accessibility. 

• DHI Intern Susie Mabry was named the Office of Undergraduate Research's September Researcher of the Month for her work with Dr. Anne Pfister on an ethnographic film on edible insects.

• Dr. Keith Ashley was selected as a recipient of the Allen Lastinger Annual Professorship.

• Sociology students Katelyn Renzi (left) and Rachel Reed (right) delivered presentations at the American Sociological Association conference in Montreal.

• Susie Mabry (top), Charlotte Arechederra, and Kennedy Grier (bottom) presented their research at the 2024 Advancements in Research, Inquiry and Scholarship Exhibition.

• Dr. Jeff Will and UNF’s Center for Community Initiatives was awarded a research grant by Three Rivers Legal Services.

• News4Jax reported that Dr. David Jaffee’s JAX Rental Housing Project study found that corporations are behind most of the eviction filings in Duval County. Action News Jax also featured the study in an article about the Beaches Habitat for Humanity’s project to address the housing crisis.  

• MSW student Teleauba Revels received the Delores Auzenne Fellowship.

• News4Jax and WOKV spoke with sociologist Dr. David Jaffee and sociology and political science student Katelyn Renzi about the Jax Rental Housing Project Study. 

• First Coast Connect hosted Dr. David Jaffee and Katelyn Renzi, sociology and political science student, to discuss local housing patterns.

• First Coast Connect hosted Dr. David Jaffee and Katelyn Renzi, sociology and political science student, to discuss local housing patterns.

• Dr. Jenny Stuber, Dr. Mandi Barringer, Dr. Cristy Cummings, and Professor Jennifer Barr were among the Top Ten COAS faculty most frequently recognized in the UNF Graduating Student Survey.

• Dr. Cristy Cummings was recognized as the Social Work Educator of the Year by the Northeast Unit of the Florida Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
• Dr. Jasmine Haynes was selected to participate in UNF’s 2024-2025 Community Engagement Research Faculty Fellowship Program.
• Susie Mabry (Dr. Anne Pfister), Charlotte Arechederra (Dr. Jenny Stuber), and Kennedy Grier (Dr. Jonathan Grant) received UNF College of Arts and Sciences SURF grants to support summer research projects.
• The Cummer Family Foundation awarded Dr. Keith Ashley’s Will Cummer Archaeology Internship program $3,400 for the upcoming academic year.
• Dr. Jennifer Spaulding-Givens received a $2,000 Eisen Experiential Learning Award for the 2024-2025 academic year.
• Katelyn Renzi, an undergraduate Sociology/Political Science/Interdisciplinary Studies major, presented a paper “Ownership of Multifamily Housing and its Outcomes on Tenants” at the annual conference of the Southern Sociological Society.
• Dr. Mandi Barringer was honored with an Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award.
• Dr. Audrey Sprenger was recognized with an Outstanding Adjunct Teaching Award.

• SASW hosted the first annual Osprey Outdoor Fest.  This event was supported with funds donated during 2023 Giving Day in memory of Dr. Mandi Barringer’s sister to support community-building and student success. 

• The Social Work Program hosted a Social Work Month Celebration for alumni and students. 

• BSW student Teleauba Revels was featured in the Osprey Profile in Inside UNF. 
• Dr. Jenny Stuber was honored with the Florida Undergraduate Research Association's state-wide Mentor of the Year Award. 
• Anthropology students Vic Hayes, Amelia King, and Kaia Lacey delivered presentations at the Timucuan Science and History Symposium. 
• Sociology student Charlotte Arechederra was recognized as the Undergrad Researcher of the Month by the Office of Undergraduate Research. 
• Sociology students Kai Santos (left) and Charlotte Arechederra (right) presented at the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference. 

• Anthropology student Vic Hayes was featured in the Osprey Profile in Inside UNF. 

• UNF BSW and MSW students traveled to the State Capitol to participate in Legislative Education & Advocacy Day.  This event was sponsored in part by the Eisen Experiential Learning Grant awarded to Dr.  Yolanda Machado-Escudero.

• BSW student Teleauba Revels (left) was recognized with the Albert D. Ernest Jr. Caring Award, and MSW student Destiny Basden (right) was among four finalists. 

  
• Educational Linguistics published research by anthropologist Dr. Jessica Chandras on using conditional language and hypotheticals in the classroom.  
• Dr. Jessica Chandras was featured in the UNF Spotlight.
• Jacksonville Today shared sociologist Dr. David Jaffee’s expertise on the affordable housing crisis. 
• Drs. Jessica Chandras, Rosa de Jorio, and Jonathan Grant were awarded a UNF Academic Technology grant.
• Dr. Rick Phillips participated in a UNF panel on the integration and implications of Generative AI in academia. 
• Dr. Yolanda Machado-Escudero was featured in a podcast interview with Changemaker Foundation.
• MSW student Kyaa McClennon was featured in Inside UNF.
• Drs. Jasmine Haynes and Jonathan Grant participated in a Hip Hop panel discussion—one of several events organized by Dr. Grant and co-sponsored by SASW to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Hip Hop.

• Drs. Jacqueline Meier and Keith Ashley were awarded a 2023-24 Jim Van Vleck Teaching Excellence Award.
• The Florida Times-Union highlighted Drs. Denise Bossy and Keith Ashley’s incredible work on compiling the story of the indigenous Mocama tribe of Northeast Florida.
• News4Jax featured sociologist Dr. David Jaffee discussing a housing discrimination lawsuit. 
• Drs. Denise I. Bossy and Keith Ashley were awarded a three-year $250,000 Collaborative Research Grant funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities to write the first comprehensive Indigenous history of Northeast Florida from 13,000 years ago to the present.
• Drs. Denise Bossy and Keith Ashley were awarded a UNF Foundation Grant for their project “Visualizing Indigenous History Northeast Florida.”
• Professor Jennifer Barr was appointed to the Council on Social Work Education's Council on Disability and Persons with Disabilities.

• Action News Jax featured Anthropology student Victoria Hayes’ grant from the Timucuan Parks Foundation and the National Park Service’s Timucuan Ecological Historic Preserve.
• The Florida Times-Union featured Dr. David Jaffee’s expertise on the rental crisis.
• Florida Today shared the UNF Archaeology Lab’s new findings.
• The UNF Archaeology Lab is unveiling a lost Indigenous town at Big Talbot Island State Park. Learn more about what the lab has uncovered during their dig.
• Action News Jax featured UNF’s Archaeology Lab’s efforts to unveil new finds about the lost indigenous town of Sarabay.
• First Coast News and InterNewsCast wrote a feature on the rental housing crisis, and how sociologist David Jaffee is spearheading the Jax Rental Housing Project to develop affordable homes.
• Rachel Paul, a Sociology minor, was named among 154 student civic leaders in the U.S. and Mexico to the 2023 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows by Campus Compact. Learn more about what makes Rachel a student civic leader and about the Newman Civic Fellowship.
• Maria Encinosa, an Anthropology minor and UNF graduate, gets a scholarship to Harvard!
• Smithsonian Magazine wrote a feature that included Drs. Denise Bossy and Keith Ashley as having a part in deciphering a lost native language.
• The Florida Times-Union published a guest column written by sociologist Dr. David Jaffee on pending legislation.

• Popular Science and Science Daily highlighted how archaeologist Dr. Jackie Meier is uncovering clues on how the people in Greece’s Mycenaean civilization lived.
• UNF celebrates National Social Work Month
• News4JAX and WJCT News shared analysis from sociologistDr. David Jaffee who examined the impacts of corporate investors on the local housing market.
• Dr. Jessica Chandras was awarded a NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship Award.
• Drs. Jessica Chandras and Jasmine Haynes were selected to participate in the UNF Center for Community-Based Learning’s 2023-2024 Community Scholars Program.
• Drs. Jessica Chandras, Rosa de Jorio, and Jonathan Grant were awarded a 2023-2024 Community Engagement Research Fellowship by the UNF Center for Community-Based Learning.
• Sydney Chatani was recognized as the Outstanding Sociology Student of 2022-2023.
• Magdalynne A. Alley was recognized as the Outstanding Anthropology Student of 2022-2023.
• Khelsea Boyd (Social Work) and Katie Jones (Sociology) received Spring 2023 Osprey Community Engagement Medallions.
• Drs. Keith Ashley and Denise Bossy received a 2023-2024 UNF Foundation Grant for their project Visualizing Indigenous History Northeast Florida.
• The Northeast Unit of the National Association of Social Workers-Florida Chapter honored UNF students at the 2023 Social Work Month Celebration. Paul Buchanan was recognized as BSW Student of the Year; Ryan Rish was recognized as MSW Student of the Year; and Alana Rollins received the Michael J. Wilson Award for Social Justice.

From left to right: Dr. Yolanda Machado-Escudero, Dr. Paul Clark, Professor Ross McDonough, BSW Student Paul Buchanan, MSW Student Ryan Rish, MSW Student Alana Rollins, Dr. Jasmine Haynes, and Dr. Cristy Cummings.