The William R. Maples Center for Forensic Medicine is a joint initiative of the Colleges of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, and Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Florida. It was created in 1999 by the Board of Regents to honor the memory of Dr. William R. Maples, an internationally recognized pioneer in the field of forensic anthropology.
The Maples Center for Forensic Medicine partners with several organizations to enhance instruction of the forensic sciences, and to offer state-of-the-art training to course participants and academic students. These partner organizations include, Florida Emergency Mortuary Operations Response System (FEMORS), the C. A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory, the Office of the Medical Examiner (Florida District Eight), and UF PathLabs.
Mission
The mission of Maples Center is fourfold – Education, Research, Service, and Outreach. The Center utilizes its extensive expertise in forensic medicine to provide comprehensive services and innovative programs that relate to medicolegal death investigation. Multidisciplinary integration of services, technologies, training, and research address contemporary forensic issues. The Center has the responsibility of maintaining central laboratories for diagnostic anthropology and toxicology including the examination and diagnosis of forensic cases for local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, medical examiners, and attorneys. Educational programs are provided to law enforcement, medical examiners, and other healthcare professionals throughout the state.
Rationale
Forensic sciences at the University of Florida had been distributed between the Colleges of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and Liberal Arts and Sciences. These colleges and their various sub-units have been integrated into the Maples Center resulting in several advantages. The Maples Center for Forensic Medicine is the first center in the State University System focused on Forensic Medicine. It uniquely provides medicolegal capabilities for education, research, service and outreach for the benefit of university students and faculty, forensic science professionals, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, and citizens of the State of Florida. The Maples Center for Forensic Medicine works cooperatively with other programs to integrate cross-disciplinary knowledge in all areas of the forensic sciences.
Academics
The William R. Maples Center for Forensic Medicine is a joint initiative of the Colleges of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, and Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Florida. The Maples Center offers graduate degrees and/or certificates in Forensic Medicine, Veterinary Forensic Sciences, Wildlife Forensic Sciences, and Shelter Medicine as well as continuing education credits via the Maples Center’s continuing education program. The continuing education program offers in-person and online education opportunities.