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The Graduate Humanities Summer Institute

Summer 2025 | May 5-9 | 9am-5pm

Creating Captivating Conference Presentations

The Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere, in collaboration with the William and Grace Dial Center for Speech and Communication Studies, invited graduate students in the humanities and interpretive social sciences at UF to apply for the 2025 Graduate Humanities Summer Institute.

This year’s Institute, “Creating Captivating Conference Presentations,” focused on strategies for crafting engaging oral presentations, leading roundtable discussions, and handling Q&A sessions with confidence. Participant gained practical tools to convey their ideas persuasively and with poise.

Held from May 5-9, 2025, at the Austin Cary Forest Learning Center, the five-day program featured interactive workshops on voice and body language, storytelling techniques, and audience engagement. The Institute concluded with each participant delivering a 10-minute research presentation, followed by constructive peer feedback. A .pdf version of the past application can be found here.

2025 Participants:

  • CR Dean (English)
  • Barbara Herrera (Anthropology)
  • Angela Hinojosa (Education)
  • Vivian Lantow (English)
  • Md Maniruzzaman Mamun (Political Science)
  • Rodrigo Mezarina(Sociology and Criminology & Law)
  • Toluwani Odedeyi (English)
  • Caylee Weintraub (English)
  • Theresa Whitely (History)

The Graduate Summer Institute is cosponsored by the Rothman Family Chair in the Humanities (Jack Davis), the Dial Center for Speech and Communication Studies, and the UF Graduate School.


View Past Programs