Comments for

Comment on Nautilus Shell by Art

Art — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:36:52 +0000

Turns out the Nautilus shell doesn’t correspond with the Fibonacci spiral…although you didn’t say that it did. I find it interesting that with most things in nature that this particularly shell doesn’t match up. My question is can this difference be explained by way of nature or by God?

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/6030/title/Sea_Shell_Spirals
http://www.shallowsky.com/blog/science/fibonautilus.html

Comment on 40th Anniversary Homepage by Cool

Cool — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:25:44 +0000

Nice site! Please update more about Lech Walesa. I have moved by his words, when he talked about Democracy. Thanks!

Comment on Nautilus Shell by Ray Uzwyshyn

Ray Uzwyshyn — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:37:24 +0000

The Nautilus shell is also ingrained in my memory with UWF. When I first arrived in Pensacola with my wife and newborn to take a position at UWF we would go in late summer to Pensacola beach. There we would sit, watch the sunset and Gulf Coast fisherman cast from the pier. We would also find shells for the baby to hold and later take home for her collection.

Later, I noticed the large Nautilus shell delineated at the front drop off and embedded in UWF's stairway spiral architecture for the wellness centre entrance. Coming from U Miami, I was fascinated by the symbolic architecture built into UWF's external environment - there was a synchronicity with U Miami's campus where a labyrinth similarly symbolically adorned the university near the wellness centers. Labyrinths. Shells. Symbols. Metaphors. Shapes and journeys.

A little later, after redesigning the libraries website, the Curriculum Materials Library Director, Jeannie Kamerman came to my office with a few aesthetic recommendations and a copy of H.E. Huntley's "Divine Proportions". Divine Proportions was a former Harvard math prof's work surveying geometric structure in science and the arts. Discussions ranged from biological growth to Pythogorean theory and Fibonacci series. On the cover of Huntley's book was a mathematical schema with the 'divine proportions of the Nautilus, a natural example of a logarithmic spiral. Jeannie's husband was a well known Pensacola sculptor, whose pieces later appropriately adorned the Dean's office. Symbols of Silence. Somehow, with the confluence of memories, I associate UWF and the Nautilus shell - biological/mathematical model of growth, mysterious, hard to penetrate, pragmatic, enduring natural beauty.

Comment on William “Bill” Coker by Daniel E. Miller

Daniel E. Miller — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 18:43:33 +0000

The University of West Florida Department of History hired me in 1990 to teach courses in modern European history as well as the history of East-Central Europe and the Balkans. Bill Coker was the chair of the department of the time, and he literally opened his home to me and my wife until we found an apartment. Over the next few years, he helped me navigate the realities of teaching and campus life at UWF. Through him, I had my first introduction to the history of the Gulf Coast, and I came to admire his dedication to research and his remarkable accomplishment of having assembled for Pace Library thousands upon thousands of documents pertaining to Pensacola’s history. With his passing, many in lost a friend and colleague, and Pensacola lost its first eminent historian.

Daniel E. Miller, Professor of History, University of West Florida

Comment on Joe Patti Lectures by alice

alice — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 05:14:27 +0000

i worked at jps for a number of years. unfortunately, the family, children of joe and anna patti, were so busy running the business that there was little time and effort spent on preserving the history of this operation. the business is very labor intensive and the family went in different directions, probably because of the difficult work required. nonetheless, i am very pleased to see the man that started it all in your archives and visual history celebration. congratulations.

Comment on Rappelling at Library by Nicole Lee

Nicole Lee — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 17:54:06 +0000

The graphics are great and the organization of the overall website is phenomenal! Congratulations on a job well done!

Comment on Duck Family by Ashley

Ashley — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 04:33:04 +0000

I love the ducks

Comment on 2nd Commencement by Elizabeth B. Leggett Moon

Elizabeth B. Leggett Moon — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 04:25:32 +0000

I am in this picture somewhere!!!

Comment on President Cavanaugh by REBECA CHERY

REBECA CHERY — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 22:04:02 +0000

UWF’s 40th Anniversary! UWF’s alumni, undergraduates, and prospective students have all been privileged to attend the campus. The numerous and expanding research opportunities, departments, and diverse student body add to the reason for celebration. Congratulations to the UWF Nursing Department on the new MASTER’S Track beginning in 2008. UWF is fullfilling the healthcare need of communities.

Comment on Lech Walesa by Wesley Akers

Wesley Akers — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 14:58:54 +0000

In history courses, I have learned about facts, dates, and events of the Cold War. I, however, did not fully comprehend or appreciate the impact the Cold War had on the lives of Europe’s people. Lech Walesa’s visit to UWF provided me with the opportunity to expand my understanding of the Cold War by introducing me to the humanistic side of history. Listening to Walesa retell his story of resistance, adversity, and triumph allowed me to make a connection to the past I would not have been able to make through course textbooks and classroom lectures. Events, like Walesa’s visit, provide the UWF and Pensacola community with an education that cannot be achieved in the traditional classroom.