CAS Chronicles
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Enhancing mental health services in low-resource settings: A USF anthropologist’s impact
Elena Lesley, an anthropology professor at USF, is researching how digital mental health care—especially telehealth—is transforming access to treatment in Cambodia. Her work explores how digital tools can bridge gaps in mental health services, offering new possibilities for care in post-conflict communities. Through her research, she aims to highlight innovative strategies that could improve mental health care in low-resource settings worldwide.
May 29, 2025Community Engagement, Research
350 poison dart frogs walk into a lab
Stepping into Yang Lab is like stepping into a sauna, thanks to the many temperature-controlled terrariums that line the walls. Inside, frogs glitter like gemstones — ruby, emerald, sapphire — on mossy beds. The frogs' vibrant and diverse colors are what drew Yang to study them in the first place.
Power in partnership: School of Public Affairs presents Gladfelter Award to local nonprofit, Rebuilding Together Greater Florida
Every year, the School of Public Affairs presents the Gladfelter Award to an organization that addresses quality of life issues for the direct benefit of those who live, work and play in greater Tampa Bay.
May 27, 2025Community Engagement
Successful CAS alumni offer time and insight to students
Two CAS graduates and Outstanding Young Alumni recipients answered questions about their academic and career paths, sharing guidance with eager students.
May 27, 2025Alumni
Alumna creates community impact by putting anthropology in action
Aria Garling credits USF for influencing her nonprofit work and helping her design meaningful, intergenerational programs.
May 27, 2025Alumni, Community Engagement
Since December of 2024, the number of partnerships between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local police and sheriffs’ offices, also known as 287(g) agreements, grew at an unprecedented rate, from 139 agreements to 531 as of May 8, 2025, representing a 225% increase. These agreements deputize local police officers to carry out immigration enforcement, traditionally the realm of the federal government. In this episode, we discuss the research on how these agreements affect immigrant communities.
May 27, 2025Podcast
Professor's contributions to the field of biological anthropology earn national honor
Anthropology professor Lorena Madrigal received the Gabriel W. Lasker Service Award for her pioneering work in the field of biological anthropology.
May 19, 2025Accomplishments, Community Engagement, Research
USF to confer more than 7,700 degrees during commencement ceremonies May 8-11
Graduates include a mother and son earning their degrees, a cancer survivor who never gave up on her educational goal and twin sisters who created thriving startups, winning awards along the way to fuel their entrepreneurial journeys.
May 5, 2025Community Engagement
St. Petersburg poet laureate and USF alumna publishes debut novel
In Gloria Muñoz's debut novel, a genre-bending work of young adult climate fiction, Florida is crumbling under the weight of climate disaster, and seventeen-year-old Julieta Villarreal must decide whether to remain on Earth with her friends and family or to leave everything behind and embark on a mission to establish humanity’s first extraterrestrial settlement.
April 29, 2025Accomplishments, Alumni, Events
USF students make directorial debut
When Hilda Sheridan-Hewlett moved from London, England to Tampa, Fla. to study literature and film, she was so swept away by the natural beauty of the local beaches that she decided to write and direct a short film. The final product, “Lost in the Current," has so far been screened at five film festivals.
April 29, 2025Accomplishments, Community Engagement, Events
USF Psychological Services Center filling mental health services gap for community
At the USF Psychological Services Center, anyone in the community has access to evidence-based therapy and assessments on a sliding scale.
April 29, 2025Community Engagement
Anthropology in action: PhD candidate Abby Vidmar helps a town tell its story
Abby Vidmar, an applied environmental anthropology PhD candidate, is documenting the powerful grassroots movement in Port St. Joe, Fla., as residents unite to protect their hometown. Through her work, Vidmar blends research with advocacy, capturing stories of resilience and inspiring efforts to protect communities and ecosystems for generations to come.
April 29, 2025Community Engagement, Research