The College of Central Florida has received a $302,105 grant from the National Science Foundation to support the growing need for cybersecurity professionals. The funds will be used to increase awareness about careers in cybersecurity, upgrade equipment in existing CF Information Technology classes, and launch a cybersecurity-focused, 30-credit hour College Credit Certificate in fall 2024.

The grant will also fund internship opportunities for CF Information Technology students with local businesses, allowing students to get paid, hands-on experience at no cost to the employer.

As part of its awareness campaign, the grant will include outreach activities that reach high school and adult students, and the larger community. An educational seminar on artificial intelligence and how it will affect future technology careers will take place in spring 2024.

“Cybersecurity is high-demand field, and the local need for skilled IT professionals is only going to grow,” said Dr. Jennifer Fryns, vice president of Workforce Development and Innovation. “This generous investment from the National Science Foundation will allow us to provide CF graduates with cutting-edge skills and strategies, and also support local employers.”

For more information about CF’s Information Technology degrees and certificates, visit CF.edu/IT.

The National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program has been funding innovation at two-year colleges for over twenty years. With a focus on the education of technicians for the high-technology fields that drive our nation’s economy, and strong partnerships between academic institutions and industry, ATE promotes improvement in the education of science and engineering technicians at the undergraduate and secondary school levels.

To learn more about the National Science Foundation, visit NSF.gov.

The College of Central Florida Wind Symphony and Vocal Ensembles will present a free fall concert on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Charles R. Dassance Fine Arts Center at the CF Ocala Campus, 3001 S.W. College Road.

The Patriot Singers will present music relating to beginnings, endings and everything in between, while the Vocal Jazz Ensemble will perform a set of standards and favorites. The Wind Symphony will perform new and contemporary music written in 2023, with a new composition by instructor Joshua Mazur and another by student Michael Crumpton.

” ‘The Desert Shall Bloom as the Rose’ is a solemn, introspective look at the first steps of a long journey,” Mazur said of his composition. “The title references the book of Isaiah 34 and 35:1-2, (“The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.”) as an acknowledgement that, though there is hope and promise of joy and peace, often the road to such bliss is difficult.”

Tickets are not required for this event. For more information or to learn about other Visual and Performing Arts events, visit the CF.edu/VPAEvents or call 352-873-5810

The Appleton Museum of Art, College of Central Florida, welcomes back one of Ocala’s best holiday traditions. On view Nov. 4-Jan. 7, “A Dickens Christmas: The Urban Family’s Holiday Exhibition” features themed trees and much more from the collection of Ocala cardiologist Dr. Paul Urban, his wife, Joyce, and daughters, Katie, Kristie, Kassie and Karlie.

In addition to ornately decorated trees, see the architecture, customs and history of Victorian England come alive in the popular miniature Dickens Village, alongside an extensive collection of nutcrackers from all around the world and much more. The display is different every year.

Adorning the second floor of the museum are trees decorated by community groups and organizations. Participants include Bridge to Hope, CAMPUS USA Credit Union, Hands Up Communications, Hiers-Baxley/Highland Memorial Park, Jack and Jill of America, and Urban Counseling. Outside, the museum’s majestic oaks will shine again with twinkling lights. Additional large-scale decorations will deck the grounds with holiday cheer.

“The fall and winter holidays have a way of bringing the community together, said Appleton Director Jason Steuber. “There’s no better way to spend time with family and friends than visiting the Appleton from November to January to enjoy festive holiday displays and world-class art.”

On Saturday, Dec. 2, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., the annual Holiday Community Day event offers free admission sponsored by the Urban Family. Visit the permanent collection and special exhibitions including “A Dickens Christmas” and “Skylines to Hemlines: Art Deco Design from the Permanent Collection,” make holiday crafts in the Artspace, and have your photo taken with Santa and Mrs. Claus. From 10 a.m.-noon, enjoy Face Painting by Tonya. All activities are free. Food trucks will be onsite throughout the day. Visit AppletonMuseum.org for more details.

If you’re searching for the perfect holiday gift, an Appleton Museum of Art membership is truly the gift that gives all year. A variety of membership levels are offered to fit the needs of every individual, couple or family. Visit AppletonMuseum.org for membership details. We also invite you to visit the Appleton Store any time with no admission fee to find unique gifts for all ages including artist-made jewelry, art books and activities for adults and children, holiday greeting cards, home décor, fine glassware and more.

About the Urban Family Collection

Joyce Urban’s love of Christmas began when she was a child in the city of Philadelphia. Every year, she would go see the elaborate decorations at the department stores that were set up along the path she walked as she went to see Santa. This wonder of Christmas has stayed with her through the years. She began publicly displaying her collection in 1989 because she wanted to provide a place for children of all ages to experience the holiday magic she enjoyed as a child. Over the years, her Christmas Tour has raised money for many local charities including Harvest International, Interfaith, Pilot Club, Women’s Pregnancy Center and the Counseling Resource Center, where she once worked as a counselor. In 2012, Joyce opened Urban Counseling where she continues her legacy of helping others.

The Appleton Museum, Artspace and store are open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, noon-5 p.m. A campus of the College of Central Florida, the Appleton Museum of Art is located at 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala, east of downtown on SR 40 (exit 352 east off I-75 or exit 268 west off I-95). Parking is free. For more information, call 352-291-4455 or visit AppletonMuseum.org.

 

The Appleton Museum of Art, College of Central Florida, will host a Master Class workshop in figure drawing, led by visiting artist Anthony Ackrill. The Master Class series of workshops is designed for adults who wish to advance their skills, or try their hand at something a little more challenging.

Ackrill’s three-part figure drawing workshop is scheduled on Saturdays, Nov. 4, 11 and 18 from 1-4 p.m.  The artist will teach participants how to establish a solid rendition of the model and train the brain, eyes and hand to work together to see and record more, with greater accuracy.

The Gainesville-based artist trained as a student at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy for five years before becoming an instructor there, teaching anatomy, figure painting and figure drawing. In his own work, Ackrill’s figure paintings are realistic and literal. Those who have visited the Appleton might recognize “Reaper,” a visitor-favorite painted by Ackrill.

The workshop is $210 for Appleton members; $245 for nonmembers. Advance registration is required; registrations are being accepted at AppletonMuseum.org. Email questions to AppletonEducation@cf.edu.

The Appleton Museum, Artspace and Store are open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, noon-5 p.m. A campus of the College of Central Florida, the Appleton Museum of Art is located at 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala, east of downtown on SR 40 (exit 352 east off I-75 or exit 268 west off I-95). Parking is free. For more information, call 352-291-4455 or visit AppletonMuseum.org.

The College of Central Florida Ira Holmes International Film Series will feature “Utama” on Tuesday, Oct. 10.

In the arid Bolivian highlands, a couple has been living a tranquil life for years. While he takes their small herd of llamas out to graze, she keeps house and walks for miles with the other local women to fetch precious water. When an uncommonly long drought threatens everything, they know, Virginio and Sisa must decide whether to stay and maintain their traditional way of life or admit defeat and move in with family members in the city. The 2022 film from Bolivia and Uruguay is 87 minutes and is not rated.

Screenings begin at 2 p.m. at the Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., and at 7 p.m. at the CF Ocala Campus, 3001 S.W. College Road, Building 8, Room 110. Films at the Ocala Campus are free and open to the public. Films at the Appleton are free to all museum and film series members; nonmembers pay museum admission. Films may contain mature content.

 

For more details, visit CF.edu/FilmSeries.

The College of Central Florida Communications Department will host a reading with award-winning poet and memoirist Brian Turner. A book signing and Q&A session will follow the reading, which begins at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 18, in Building 8 at the Ocala Campus, 3001 S.W. College Road.

Turner is the author of five collections of poetry, most recently “The Wild Delight of Wild Things” (2023), “The Goodbye World Poem” (2023), and “The Dead Peasant’s Handbook” (2023), all forthcoming with Alice James Books. The trilogy traverses the landscape of loss, sitting quietly in the grief of afterwards before allowing oneself to gravitate again toward delight and wonder.

His other collections include “Here, Bullet” (2005), winner of the 2005 Beatrice Hawley Award, the New York Times “Editor’s Choice” selection, the 2006 PEN Center USA “Best in the West” award, and the 2007 Poets Prize; and “Phantom Noise” (2010). He is also the author of the memoir “My Life as a Foreign Country,” which made Powell’s Best Nonfiction of 2014 list.

His poems and essays have been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, National Geographic and Harper’s, among other journals. He was featured in the documentary film “Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience,” which was nominated for an Academy Award.

The Debra Vazquez Memorial Poetry Series honors CF English and creative writing professor Debra Vazquez, who died as a result of domestic violence in 2004. Funds for this event are provided by the Debra A. Vazquez Endowed Chair in Poetry.

For additional information, contact CF Senior Professor Sandra Cooper, 352-873-5800, ext. 1361. To learn more about CF, visit www.CF.edu.