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One of the fantastic things about UCF is the wide range of cultures and ethnicities of our students, staff, and faculty. We come from all over. We’re just as proud of where we are from as we are of where we are now and where we will be heading in future. Diversity Week, an Office of Diversity and Inclusion initiative, is the way we celebrate this.

Between October 14 – 19, UCF will celebrate our diverse community and provide opportunities to explore topics across the broad range of human identity, experience, and interaction. Diversity Week activities are intended to stimulate our campus and move us to a more inclusive culture. The theme for 2019 is Empowering Equity.

As part of the UCF Libraries’ very enthusiastic support of maintaining an inclusive space in the UCF community, we are offering many workshops and activities through the week. The workshops include a

• a bookbinding workshop (limited seating, reservation required)
• a presentation on the Diverse Families Database
• two fiber art activities
• henna art (limited seating, reservation required)
• an open mic
• three film screenings
• Accessible Spirit Splash

The first of our additional activities is just inside the entrance to the library where students can add a sticky note saying what we all can do to Empower Equity for All. The second activity is a map on the 3rd floor where faculty, staff, and students can place a pin in the area where they and their families have lived. The UCF community can also stop by the Curriculum Materials Center library in the Education Complex to view a display on the Diverse Families Bibliography.

For more detailed information about the UCF Libraries Diversity Week events visit: guides.ucf.edu/diversityweek

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What terrors lurk in the heart of humanity? What scary thoughts skulk in the corners of your mind? What dark and spooky words will cross your page?

Can you creep out UCF Libraries staff with a scary story set in one of the UCF Library buildings?

Submit your scary story for the annual Knight Terror Library writing contest by 11:59 pm on October 27, 2019 to see if you can cause the best fright.

• Contest for UCF students only.
• One entry per student.
• 500 words or less.
• Story must be set in one of the UCF Library buildings (John C. Hitt Library, Curriculum Materials Center, Rosen Library, Downtown Library, or one of the Connect campus libraries).
• Stories with explicit sexual content will not be considered for this contest.

Submit your scary short story here

Winners will be announced on October 31, and be immortalized in STARS KnightVerse. First place wins a Libraries coffee mug and construction ducky. Second place wins a UCF Libraries water bottle and Pegasus sticker.

Judges reserve the right to not select a winner due to limited submissions, or lack of exceptional submissions.

Every October UCF celebrates Diversity Week. This year’s dates are October 14 – 18, and the theme is Empowering Equity. University-wide departments and groups champion the breadth and culture within the UCF community, and work to increase acceptance and inclusion for everyone at UCF and the surrounding communities.

One of the fantastic things about UCF is the wide range of cultures and ethnicities of our students, staff, and faculty. We come from all over. We’re just as proud of where we are from as we are of where we are now and where we will be heading in future.

UCF Libraries will be offering a full slate of Diversity Week activities. To learn about the upcoming library events visit: guides.ucf.edu/diversityweek

Join the UCF Libraries as we celebrate diverse voices and subjects with these suggestions. Click on the link below to see the full list, descriptions, and catalog links for the featured UCF Celebrates Diversity titles suggested by UCF Library employees. These 12 books plus many more are also on display on the 2nd (main) floor of the John C. Hitt Library next to the bank of two elevators.

And thank you to every Knight who works to help others feel accepted and included at UCF!

Featured Bookshelf: UCF Celebrates Diversity

A Close Look at Meteorites/Create a Moon Phase Calendar
Wed, October 2, 2019 12pm – 2pm
John C. Hitt Library
Main Floor

A free craft event to celebrate the International Observe the Moon Night festivities at UCF. Join us to view and learn about meteorites brought to you by the Astronomy Society and make your own 2019 Moon Phase Calendar. We will have a table set up on the main floor of the John C. Hitt Library starting at 12:00 noon.

“Looking Forward to the Moon”
Talk by Dr. Kerri Donaldson Hanna
Thurs, October 3, 2019
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
John C. Hitt Library
Rm 223

Join us for a moon talk led by Dr. Kerri Donaldson Hanna to celebrate the 2019 International Observe the Moon Night event at the John C. Hitt LIbrary! Dr. Hanna is a planetary geologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Central Florida (UCF). She received her BS in Space Sciences from Florida Institute of Technology in 1999, her MS in Geological Sciences at Brown University in 2010, and her PhD in Geological Sciences from Brown University in 2013. Dr. Donaldson Hanna was a postdoctoral researcher within the Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Planetary Physics sub-department at the University of Oxford before receiving a UK Space Agency Aurora Research Fellowship to continue her research at Oxford for an additional 3.5 years. While at Oxford, she held a Junior Research Fellowship at Christ Church College and was awarded the early career Winton Capital Geophysics Award from the Royal Astronomical Society.

Knights Under the Stars
International Observe the Moon Event (InOMN)
Saturday, October 5, 2019
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Knights Plaza

Come join us for a fun filled evening full of moon activities for all ages! Earn your InOMN passport by passing through our moon phase hands-on activity/event stations to learn more about the moon! Activities will include cratering, understanding Moon landings from countries around the world, scale models, telescope observing (of the Moon and other celestial objects),  water rockets, robotic mining, moon coloring, and books and resources for checking out from UCF Libraries!

For more information visit:

“Knights Under the Stars” Public Event Schedule – UCF Planetary Sciences Group

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