UF URP Hosts End-of-Year Celebration To Close Out Another Successful Year
The University of Florida’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning recently celebrated the end of another successful year at the department’s annual URP Celebration event.
The event, held at Cypress and Grove Brewery in Gainesville, brought together students, faculty, alumni, and friends to celebrate the groundbreaking work accomplished this academic year. It also served as a time to recognize the latest graduates of the MURP program and give out awards to students and faculty.
The URP Advisory Council was also in attendance. The advisory council is made up of various alumni and planning practitioners, and serves to guide the department’s work in fundraising development and professional development. Their efforts not only provide an opportunity for students to refine their professional planning skills, but also help the department continue to grow in new and innovative ways and continue leading the planning field into the future. The department thanks them for their contribution to the betterment of our students’ education and for their overall support of the department.
This year, URP students and faculty delivered an exceptional array of achievements, showcasing innovative research and transformative planning projects. They also travelled to numerous conferences and events, including ACSP Seattle, the 2024 Florida APA Conference, and the APA 2025 National Planning Conference! Beyond showcasing research, these events helped raise awareness of the MURP program and foster meaningful connections between students and planning professionals.
The department also achieved a significant milestone, with 100% of the 23 recent UF MURP graduates passing the AICP exam in the past year!
Click HERE for the full recording of this event.
Check out some photos from the event below.
During the event’s awards ceremony, students and faculty were recognized for their achievements both in and out of the classroom. Find the full list of student award recipients below.
Peter J. Kanavos, Sr. Memorial Award
Renz Torres | Erika Sorenson | Matthew Mullings
Margaret E. Raynal Memorial Fund
Yanghe Liu | Emma Peterson
WRS Infrastructure & Environment, Inc. Award in Memoriam of Mario Ripol
Patrice Marcuson-Minogue | Kaifa Lu
Carl Feiss Urban and Environmental Design Award
Emory Young | Sebastian Reina
Zwick Graduate Student
David Kim | Cenqi Zhu
Beeler Award for Public Service
Jennifer Adams
Rydberg Award for Social Planning
Milo Freese
APA Outstanding Student
Silas Achidago
URP Outstanding Alumnus/a
George Kramer
URP Emerging Professional Alumnus/a
Melissa Ruth
SPA: Student of the Year
Matthew Mullings
SPA: Teacher of the Year
Laura Dedenbach
Outside of the awards given at the ceremony, this year also saw two MURP students become recipients of the American Planning Association’s Foundation Diversity Scholarship. Lauryn Ballard and Kaley Arboleda both received the scholarship, which promotes the advancement of social equity in the field of urban planning and within communities.
Additonally, Dr. Yan Wang, Assistant Professor in the department, received the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award. This honor is one of the NSF’s most competitive awards, recognizing early-career faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars and have the potential to lead advances in research and education. Her groundbreaking research addresses the critical need for innovative spatial planning approaches during long-term disaster recovery and community redevelopment.
Thank you to all of our students, faculty and staff for their hard work and dedication this year, and to our advisory council and corporate sponsors for supporting the department. See you next year!