Since joining �鶹ӳ����ý in 1986, Clark became a cornerstone of the university’s history department, known for his engaging lectures, sharp wit and passion for storytelling. Throughout his nearly four decades at �鶹ӳ����ý, Clark taught thousands of students, from large introductory courses to intimate honors seminars.

According to his former department chair John Sacher, “Jim was an excellent colleague and an outstanding teacher. He was passionate about the success of his students, the history department and �鶹ӳ����ý. He was a people-person who genuinely cared about others. And, he did all of the above with an unrivalled sense of humor.”

A scholarship fund has been created in Clark’s name. Make a gift at .

In addition to teaching at �鶹ӳ����ý, Clark spent over 30 years in journalism, including at the Orlando Sentinel and Orlando Magazine. He was also a familiar face on News 6, offering political analysis with characteristic humor and insight. His articles have appeared in The Washington Post, Washington Monthly, The Nation and the Miami Herald. His work has been honored by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, the Florida Magazine Association and the Florida Historical Society.

His face was familiar to many for his work with W�鶹ӳ����ý, where he helped bring Central Florida’s history to life through his contributions to both Central Florida Roadtrip and Florida Road Trip. Clark allowed the community and future generations to see Central Florida through his eyes through his contributions to Central Florida Roadtrip and Florida Road Trip, says Jennifer Cook, executive director of W�鶹ӳ����ý.

“From the very first season of W�鶹ӳ����ý’s Central Florida Roadtrip, Dr. Clark brought history to life with energy and depth that made every story memorable,” Cook says. “Nearly a decade later, his relationship with W�鶹ӳ����ý continued through to the most recent season of Florida Road Trip, where he remained a trusted voice sharing his knowledge on the people and places that shaped our community.”

Clark authored 11 books on Florida history, including Red Pepper and Gorgeous George: Claude Pepper’s Epic Defeat in the 1950 Democratic Primary, A History Lover’s Guide to Florida and, most recently, Lost Attractions. His work made him a popular speaker across the state. In his last few months, he served as the keynote speaker at a Tallahassee celebration of the 125th anniversary of Claude Pepper’s birth, and he had been invited to deliver the main address at the Florida Council for Social Studies. He was also a very popular lecturer for the Florida Humanities Council.

Careers often follow an arc, says Jeff Moore, dean of the �鶹ӳ����ý College of Arts and Humanities, and in Clark’s case, his impact only grew with time. He never lost the spark of engagement or the joy of learning. He was always asking questions, always publishing, always teaching at the highest level.

“He was a people person in every sense of the word, and that translated beautifully into his teaching.” — Jeff Moore, dean of the �鶹ӳ����ý College of Arts and Humanities

“Jim Clark was my friend for over 30 years and a model of what you hope for in a faculty member. His depth of knowledge as a Central Florida historian was extraordinary. But what truly set Jim apart was how that knowledge was rooted in his connection to people. He was a people person in every sense of the word, and that translated beautifully into his teaching. He positively impacted everyone he met, usually with a bit of his trademark humor mixed in.”

�鶹ӳ����ý plans to honor Clark with a campus tribute, inviting his many friends on campus and in the Central Florida community to share memories and reflections. As the university community mourns his loss, it also celebrates the indelible mark he left on Florida’s historical landscape and the hearts of those who knew him.

Celebration of Life

Join us as we celebrate the life and legacy of James C. Clark on Thursday, April 16 from 5–8 p.m. at the Live Oak Event Center on main campus.

A scholarship fund has been created in his name. Make a gift at .

For Zargar, this means furthering his long-term goal of building connections among students and faculty to talk about religion, theology and social issues.

“I hope to make �鶹ӳ����ý a center of discussions—a center of learning where scholars and artists from around the U.S. and the world are heard by a curious and participating campus community,” says Zargar.

Zargar, who joined the �鶹ӳ����ý faculty last fall, has already made moves in advancing �鶹ӳ����ý’s . He hosted two public events in the fall, including a showing of the award-winning Iranian film The Color of Paradise, and is working with the university to create a new certificate in interfaith studies. His long-term goal is to build connections among students and faculty to talk about religion, theology and social issues.

Zargar believes �鶹ӳ����ý is the optimal place for a program in Islamic Studies, which reaches into many disciplines, including religious studies, political science, modern languages and literature and more. “�鶹ӳ����ý is not an ivory-tower sort of university,” says Zargar. “In each of the fields it offers for study, �鶹ӳ����ý has deep connections to the Orlando community. Interdisciplinarity is not scoffed at as being beneath the specialist—rather, it’s encouraged. Change is not seen as de-evolution—rather, it’s embraced.”

“Cultural study is the best way I can think of to teach empathy, self-awareness and global understanding.” — Jeff Moore, dean of College of Arts and Humanities

�鶹ӳ����ý Provost Elizabeth Dooley and College of Arts and Humanities Dean Jeff Moore presided over the investiture ceremony, which was held on Wednesday, Jan. 16, at the �鶹ӳ����ý FAIRWINDS Alumni Center.

“Cultural study is the best way I can think of to teach empathy, self-awareness and global understanding,” says Moore. “I look forward to the growth of the Islamic Studies program at �鶹ӳ����ý and to watching interfaith understanding and connectedness blossom under Dr. Zargar’s guidance.”

The event was attended by many members of the Islamic Center of Orlando, including Imam Tariq Rasheed. Rasheed, a �鶹ӳ����ý alumnus, led the charge in creating the new position by encouraging the financial support of hundreds of members of the Islamic Center.

“Perhaps what makes this position so distinctive is that it was not founded by one wealthy benefactor, not a government, nor a corporation, but rather by the Islamic Center of Orlando,” says Zargar. “Citizens of Orlando united by their common interest in promoting learning, dialogue, the study of religion, and the de-stigmatization of Islam and Muslims contributed to making their environment richer by giving of themselves.”

The Al-Ghazali Endowed Professorship was started in 2005 and the Islamic Studies program in 2011 with the overall goal of promoting the understanding and appreciation of Islam and Muslim communities.

Learn more about the Islamic Studies program and Zargar at .

The Composium will feature the top three judged orchestral and top three ensemble compositions written by musicians 13 to 18 years old. The selections will be performed and recorded by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and musicians from the �鶹ӳ����ý faculty.

Founded in 2005, the NYCC is a nonprofit charitable organization that promotes the creation of new orchestral music and the next generation of American composers. The purpose of the Composium is to involve and educate the public in the process of music creation in order to build greater understanding and support for symphony orchestras and orchestral music. The Composium is part concert, part rehearsal, part recording session and part seminar.

“The level of sophistication of these orchestral works is mind-blowing,” said Steve Goldman, executive director of the NYCC. “This is an amazing afternoon of excitement, unscripted drama and music. It will be a rare chance for Central Floridians to witness incredible orchestra works by America’s top young composers, discussed, rehearsed and conducted by maestro Christopher Wilkins….Once you have attended a Composium, you will never listen to an orchestra performance in quite the same way again.”

This is the second year the �鶹ӳ����ý has been a sponsor of the event. Jeff Moore, dean of the �鶹ӳ����ý College of Arts & Humanities, said this event not only is good for the young composers, but also the Orlando community.

“The NYCC provides young composers access to professional musicians, and �鶹ӳ����ý is committed to providing access for people to pursue their passions,” said Moore. “The longtime partnership between �鶹ӳ����ý, the Orlando Philharmonic, and now the NYCC demonstrates Central Florida’s commitment to the past, present and future of classical music.”

The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra has partnered with the NYCC for several years. “This opportunity to support the development of our next generation of composers is both exciting for our audiences and essential to the future of music,” said the orchestra’s executive director, Christopher Barton.

The 2017 Composium is presented free and will be held in the Walt Disney Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The event will run 1-5 p.m. and be followed by a public reception. Dress is casual and the entire family is welcome. More information is available at http://www.youngcomposerschallenge.org.

The building is the first phase in a planned complex that eventually will include covered and outdoor practice fields. The facilities will allow practice regardless of weather.

President John C. Hitt and Jeff Moore, dean of the College of Arts & Humanities, welcomed band members, alumni, donors and other guests to the ribbon cutting, and alumnus Bryan Cole recounted the beginnings of the band.

“This building has been a long time coming and is so well deserved,” said Moore. “The Marching Knights have a rich history and many people helped us get to where we are today. If scale times excellence equals impact, the bands are making an enormous impact.”

Second-year band director Tremon Kizer, an assistant professor of music, said he looks forward to using the new building.

“The facility will help recruit new students, maintain healthy enrollment, keep students safe, protect the band equipment, and foster an ongoing relationship with the �鶹ӳ����ý community as a whole,” he said. “With every community that has a college, you hope it has the hometown marching band, and whoever watches the band should walk away feeling energized, motivated and excited to come back to more events.”

Marching Knights band member and mechanical engineering major Sarah Spielman said the new building provides a place of unity and belonging.

“We are the largest and one of the most visible student organizations, and we represent students from over 80 majors,” she said. “Marching Knights foster a sense of family for active members and alumni, and the band building will give us all a permanent home at �鶹ӳ����ý.”

The Marching Knights have been boosting spirit in the �鶹ӳ����ý community since 1980. The members hope to take that same enthusiasm nationwide through a new collaboration with several other marching bands to raise funds and awareness for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The celebration will be filled with many wonderful events, including a multi-media “mini-festival” around John Steinbeck’s classic novel The Grapes of Wrath – in video game form, art exhibit, musical theatre and a book reading – made possible in part with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in support of the .

The NEA and its counterpart, the National Endowment for the Humanities, enrich the lives of communities through access to the arts. Like �鶹ӳ����ý, these agencies are fostering creativity, inspiring future generations, and lifting lives and livelihoods throughout our community.

National programs like the NEA’s “Art Works: Creativity Connects” support partnerships between arts organizations and organizations from non-arts sectors to spark innovative and collaborative ideas. That’s precisely the type of partnerships that thrive at �鶹ӳ����ý, as demonstrated during last year’s Celebrates the Arts collaboration between musician Hans Zimmer, artist Paul Franklin, and physicist Kip Thorne.

The NEH and NEA aren’t large agencies, but they are influential. For �鶹ӳ����ý’s arts and humanities faculty and students, they can provide critical start-up grants needed by researchers to get access to larger sources of funding.

When the NEH and NEA empower state governments to fund the arts and humanities, it creates national impact. By sending less than $50 million to the 50 states in 2016, the NEA leveraged an estimated $368 million in funding from state governments. And since 1977, the NEH has awarded nearly $900 million in Challenge Grants.

If you have taken in an exhibit at a museum, viewed a performance at a theater, visited a historic neighborhood, or checked a book out at a library, you have most likely benefited from projects funded by the NEA and NEH.

At the �鶹ӳ����ý College of Arts & Humanities, we stand behind the important work these governmental agencies do for our community, our faculty, and our students. I hope you will join me in supporting the valuable services the NEA and NEH provide, and in celebrating the beauty, creativity, and cultural relevance of the arts next week at .

Jeff Moore
Dean, �鶹ӳ����ý College of Arts & Humanities

More than 10,200 people attended the April 8-16 event at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, which featured university students, faculty members and some collaborative programs with outside partners at free concerts, presentations, lectures and workshops

Jeff Moore, artistic director of the festival and director of the �鶹ӳ����ý School of Performing Arts, said the attendance jumped from 45 to 60 percent of capacity at the event venues.

“This shows we’re moving in the right direction. The festival grew in impact and grew in feedback,” said Moore, a professor of percussion who joined in one of the premiere events of the festival.

He played drums when faculty and student musicians backed up The Warped Side of the Universe, a multimedia performance joining multi-Grammy winner Hans Zimmer, theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, and visual-effects artist and multi-Academy Award winner Paul Franklin. The part space-age music concert and part lecture was coordinated by the three creative forces behind the blockbuster movie Interstellar.

Zimmer interrupted a European tour to attend this presentation, which was made specifically for �鶹ӳ����ý Celebrates the Arts and debuted at the festival.

“Playing with Zimmer, Thorne and Franklin was unreal,” Moore said. “The music and visual imagery were so powerful.”

Other faculty and students from �鶹ӳ����ý’s School of Performing Arts and School of Visual Arts & Design showcased theatre, dance, orchestra, choirs, big band, chamber music, cabaret, concert bands, opera, visual arts, studio art, gaming, animation, photography and film.

After successfully testing out live-streaming for some of the events, more of the performances may be streamed next year for the festival scheduled April 7-15, said Heather Gibson, marketing director for the School of Performing Arts.

One event already planned for next year will be a presentation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! as a collaboration of the music and theater departments.

The festival, which is all open to the public, will reprise its second season April 8-16 at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando with an extended program of student and faculty presentations and collaborations.

Two more days of events have been added to this year’s festival, which will feature offerings from more than 1,000 university students and 100 faculty members and include some collaborative programs with outside partners.

The festival will showcase the talents of the university’s artists and practitioners in theatre, dance, orchestra, choirs, big band, chamber music, cabaret, concert bands, opera, visual arts, studio art, gaming, animation, photography and film. There’s even a concert that organizers think may be the first of its kind: a presentation geared exclusively for expectant parents. (An ambulance will be on hand if needed to respond to any pregnant women who may go into labor!)

Collaborative music performances by �鶹ӳ����ý students will be under the direction of visiting composers Hans Zimmer (The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Dark Knight, and more than 150 other films), and Patrick Doyle (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Sense and Sensibility, Bridget Jones’s Diary, and more than 45 other films, including several movie adaptations of Shakespeare works).

“The festival allows us to show the breadth and depth of �鶹ӳ����ý arts in one location,” said Jeff Moore, director of the �鶹ӳ����ý School of Performing Arts and artistic director of the festival. “Last year someone said to me: ‘We know �鶹ӳ����ý is big, but an event like this brings it home.’ This demonstrates the quality of programs we have at �鶹ӳ����ý.”

The festival also will provide an opportunity for high school arts students to attend workshops led by �鶹ӳ����ý faculty and perform at the new Dr. Phillips Center’s state-of-the-art venue in downtown Orlando.

The schedule for �鶹ӳ����ý Celebrates the Arts is still evolving, but the event will kick off April 8 with a dance concert to showcase about 80 student dancers. Six students were selected in competition to create the choreography of this 10th annual presentation.

Afterward, here are some of the highlighted events:

Events will be scheduled all nine days of �鶹ӳ����ý Celebrates the Arts, and the calendar is still building. All events will be free, but tickets will be required to enter the building.

“We had such positive response last year,” Moore said. “This platform gives us a chance to share with the community all those things we create and are happening at the university.”

This is part of a series of stories about the April 8-16 events at �鶹ӳ����ý Celebrates the Arts 2016. The festival will feature studio art, music, theatre, dance, gaming, animation, photography and film at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave., Orlando.

The Grammy process is in the early stages for the awards to be presented in 2016, and music-industry leaders are now voting on the names that made it to a short ballot to determine which musicians will become official nominees.

Making the short ballot were:

Into the Mystic was released this past summer, and Rupert describes it as a jazz big band album that includes new innovative and repertory works. Songs on the album are classics by Marvin Gaye, Miles Davis, James Brown, Van Morrison, Crosby Stills, Nash & Young, and others.

En Plein Air presents songs inspired by the art of Claude Monet. The Jazz Professors are made up of Rupert on tenor saxophone, Per Danielsson on piano, Richard Drexler on bass, Bobby Koelble on guitar, Michael Wilkinson on trombone, and Marty Morell on drums. A special guest on the album is Mike Mossman.

Both The Flying Horse Big Band and The Jazz Professors record on �鶹ӳ����ý’s Flying Horse Records.

Moore said Greensleeves was released in August and has been getting radio play in New York and Los Angeles. He said the arrangement of the traditional English song has a variety of influences, with predominantly an African and Afro/Cuban-inspired treatment. 

The official Grammy nominations are expected by early January.

“The celebration was designed to showcase the work of the �鶹ӳ����ý and its partners — and, boy, did it,” Orlando Sentinel arts writer Matt Palm said in his review of the April 9-15 event. “Can’t wait for next year’s celebration.”

More than 13,600 free, advance-ticket reservations were made to see the various performances, said Jeff Moore, director of the �鶹ӳ����ý School of Performing Arts and artistic director of the festival, adding that the event exceeded his expectations. Ten of the events were “sold out.”

The festival featured more than 1,000 �鶹ӳ����ý students and faculty members showcasing studio art, music, theatre, dance, gaming, animation, photography and film at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. All the presentations were put on by the School of Performing Arts and the School of Visual Arts & Design, both in the College of Arts & Humanities. Some of the events included community arts partners and K-12 students.

“When you do something the first time, it feels like you need time to ramp up. But this seemed to hit right out of the box,” Moore said.

This was the first time all the university’s artistic presentations could be experienced in one place.

 “There was so much vibrancy,” said Heather Gibson, marketing director for the �鶹ӳ����ý Theatre Department. “We in the arts have never felt this much hum going on.”

She said the biggest audiences of the festival attended Icarus at the Edge of Time and Shakespeare Swings!, both of which had people waiting in line to grab any of the seats left open by no-shows in the 2,500-capacity theatre.

Icarus was a multimedia performance by the �鶹ӳ����ý Symphony Orchestra based on a children’s book by Columbia University physicist Brian Greene and narrated by actress Kate Mulgrew from the Star Trek: Voyager TV series. Shakespeare Swings! featured �鶹ӳ����ý’s Flying Horse Big Band and the Orlando Shakespeare Theater Cabaret Singers.

Moore said he attended every event at the festival and noticed that instead of seeing the same people at each performance, there were different audiences.

“It was meeting everybody on their own turf,” he said. “This was a celebration of the arts, but the arts reach into so many other disciplines. When you walked into the center lobby you were immediately immersed in the arts – and science, mathematics, literature and computers coming together with art.”

Moore advised marking calendars now for next year’s festival when �鶹ӳ����ý has the arts center reserved April 4-17, 2016. Next year’s festival will run during two weekends and the days between, he said.

He hopes to involve more K-12 students through workshops and performance showcases next year, and create more collaborative partnerships with community arts groups.

“Those were so enjoyable for students and everyone who came,” Moore said.

More than 1,000 �鶹ӳ����ý students and faculty members will participate in the festival of performing and visual arts that will showcase studio art, music, theatre, dance, gaming, animation, photography and film. This is the first time all the �鶹ӳ����ý artistic endeavors can be experienced in one place, and all activities are free and open to the public.

The week also will provide invited high school music and theater students unique access to workshops led by �鶹ӳ����ý faculty members and an opportunity to showcase their talents during select performances at a state-of-the-art venue.

“We’re presenting the depth and breadth of �鶹ӳ����ý’s arts units to Orlando, taking them off campus and presenting them in one of the best spaces in the southeast,” said Jeff Moore, director of the �鶹ӳ����ý School of Performing Arts and artistic director of the festival. “Also, this shows how arts integration across all disciplines happens at �鶹ӳ����ý. This creative environment is necessary to develop community outreach.”

Events are still being added to the �鶹ӳ����ý Celebrates the Arts schedule, but some of the highlights will feature:

*  Icarus at the Edge of Time. The �鶹ӳ����ý Symphony Orchestra will perform the music of composer Phillip Glass with an accompanying movie by Al & Al, based on a children’s book by Columbia University physicist Brian Greene about a boy traveling in outer space who challenges the power of a black hole. Friday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m.

Kate Mulgrew, who portrayed Capt. Katharyn Janeway in the Star Trek: Voyager TV series, will provide live narration for the fable.

The Icarus presentation is part of a National Science Foundation project that seeks to broaden the participation of students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) research activities, and each year �鶹ӳ����ý organizes some STEM activities in an artistic way. This event will be an interdisciplinary arts-and-sciences collaboration involving the School of Performing Arts and the College of Sciences. “It is an excellent example of the integration of science, literature, and the performing and visual arts,” said Debra Reinhart, �鶹ӳ����ý assistant vice president for Research and Commercialization.

*  Several musical collaborations are planned with �鶹ӳ����ý partners. The Flying Horse Big Band will perform a cabaret with the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, themed “Shakespeare in Love” (Saturday, April 11, at 8 p.m.); �鶹ӳ����ý Choirs will provide the vocals for the Orlando Repertory Theatre’s production of Civil War Voices, which uses diaries and letters to tell the true stories of people who lived through the war (several matinee productions throughout the week); and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra will hold a rehearsal for Tosca with an instructional class for voice students following.

*  Theatre �鶹ӳ����ý performances will include scenes from Nine, Hair, class projects, alumni cameos, and scenes from students who have been nominated for Kennedy Center Irene Ryan Acting awards. The Theatre �鶹ӳ����ý Dance showcase will feature a selection of dance pieces choreographed and performed by �鶹ӳ����ý students and faculty members.

*  Music concerts will include performances from the Collide Percussion Music Festival, �鶹ӳ����ý Symphonic Band, �鶹ӳ����ý choruses, and the chamber and wind ensembles.

*  Students in the School of Visual Arts and Design will have works from digital media, film, animations, games and studio arts showcased on every floor at the Dr. Phillips Center. SVAD faculty will present lectures on the arts and will be available for portfolio reviews from high school students. A Game Jam will be held so patrons can watch games being developed during a 24-hour period.

* The Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy also will demonstrate the interactive development process of video-game design. Final products and artwork will be on display showcasing the works of students and professionals.

* Performances will be scheduled for select high school musicians. There also will be clinics and workshops for the participating musicians. Schools that would like to participate can contact Kelly Miller, coordinator of music education, at Kelly.Miller@ucf.edu.

Organizers of the festival hope to expand its length and scope in coming years.

“We are using this opportunity to share the products and performances of our university students and faculty. We want the world to know that �鶹ӳ����ý invests in the arts, and this festival makes that statement,” Moore said. “This celebration is a showcase for �鶹ӳ����ý to share the return on that investment with the city and the entire Central Florida region. We are looking forward to this inaugural event and sharing �鶹ӳ����ý’s arts activities, both on and off campus, with everyone for years to come.”

Visit  for more information and updated scheduling. All events are free, but tickets are required for many of the programs. Tickets will be available on the website later this month.