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When asked about our college’s research and teaching missions, I often explain that our courses and scholarship cover the pursuit of knowledge about Nature, Society, and Humanity. These three terms roughly align with natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, which are traditional “divisions” of a liberal education. These divisions and their departments have often been likened to grain silos, each containing different grains that should never comingle with the others.

I much prefer a different description, one that likens the structure of the college to nesting dolls. The outermost doll is Nature, which contains the cosmos, the Earth, the oceans, and life itself. Inside Nature, we find a Society doll, representing people connected by laws, cultures, traditions, conflict, and cooperation. Inside Society, there is Humanity, wherein humans embody all that makes our species unique. Quite clearly, humans depend on societies, and societies depend on the laws of nature as expressed in our environment and place in the universe.

The heart of our college — and a liberal arts education — lies in the incredible power of interdisciplinarity, where seemingly disparate fields must combine knowledge and creativity to answer the most critical questions about our existence and future.

Inspired by this concept, this issue showcases new synergies that push the boundaries of knowledge. An evolutionary biologist studies the creatures of the deep to advance human dentistry (here). A center for Jewish studies embraces the future, actively engaging in outreach and public engagement (here). UF Astronomy explores creative avenues to see the universe in a new light (here).

You’ll also meet a behavioral psychologist addressing pediatric feeding disorders (here), discover unseen physics governing UF athletics (here), and learn about an exciting partnership broadening pre-law students’ horizons (here).

On the front cover and throughout, the graphic design nods to the power of collaboration forces, where different colored elements combine to produce a striking and unexpected result. To help readers learn more, QR codes for expanded content are available, encouraging deeper engagement.

As in the nesting dolls imagined above, we are tightly connected to each other, society, and nature. This magazine is our connection to you — best wishes for a collaborative 2024.

Sincerely,

David E. Richardson
Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

 
Read more from the Fall/Winter 2023 issue of Ytori magazine.