Faculty
University of Central Florida faculty members are the foundation of the university. They energize students, academic programs, research and service through academic excellence and innovation.
Tue Jan 24
The University of Central Florida unleashes the potential of its students with high-quality degrees, faculty with strong academic and industry expertise, and multiple educational pathways that best position students for success while advancing Florida’s workforce needs. Online programs are a vital pathway for the approximately 73% of students enrolled in college who are considered nontraditional students.…
Thu Jan 19
stereotype about the Middle Ages is that medieval people were obsessed with hell: manuscript images are full of demons torturing naked souls, and visions, like Dante’s Inferno from the Divine Comedy, remain enduringly popular to this day. Why were medieval people so fixated on hell? Stephen Hopkins, assistant professor of English, argues that it’s because hell was a…
Tue Jan 17
Patients at a free College of Medicine clinic for Orlando’s disadvantaged are getting nutritional counseling, thanks to the expertise of registered dietician/nutritionist Steven Burroughs, a faculty member in UCF’s College of Health Professions and Sciences. Burroughs leads nutritional patient education consultations at the student-run KNIGHTS Clinic at Orlando’s Grace Medical Home. The clinic is staffed…
Thu Jan 12
University of Central Florida researchers are starting a new $1.25 million project to address a critical shortage of special education teachers and school psychologists in the state of Florida. The project, Connecting Enhanced Networks to Reach All Learners (CENTRAL), is funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and will help educators…
Tue Jan 10
Once again in 2023, a time of new beginnings is upon us as the Lunar New Year begins Jan. 22, kicking off the Year of the Rabbit. A solar year — the time it takes Earth to orbit the sun — lasts around 365 days, while a lunar year, or 12 full cycles of the…
Tue Jan 10
Whether it’s solving the world’s biggest problems or investigating the potential of novel discoveries, researchers at UCF are on the edge of scientific breakthroughs that aim to make an impact. Through the Research in 60 Seconds series, student and faculty researchers condense their complex studies into bite-sized summaries so you can know how and why Knights…
Thu Jan 5
Season three of Knights Do That, UCF’s official podcast, returns with its final episode with Gregg Buckingham ’02EdD, an associate lecturer in the School of Public Administration. Buckingham spent his professional career at NASA, working at both NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., and at the Kennedy Space Center before joining UCF. Here Buckingham shares insight into…
Fri Dec 9
University of Central Florida researcher has received NASA funding to create aerospace engineering opportunities for high schoolers from underserved and underrepresented communities to encourage them to think about space. “Novel Experience Geared to NASA Engineering Design Challenges,” or NEXTGEN-EDC, seeks to ignite local high school students’ interest in STEM through engineering projects, professional development workshops…
Wed Nov 30
Teams of School of Social Work faculty and alumni presented their research at two national conferences in November, sharing presentations that addressed the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, suicide risk among adults and discrimination among Muslim refugees. The Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) Annual Program Meeting (APM), held by the social work education accrediting body, consists…
Mon Nov 21
Peter Weishar, director of UCF’s themed experience graduate programs, received a Peter Chernak Distinguished Service Award from the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) for his educational and volunteer service to the themed experience industry. Weishar is one of 20 recipients from around the world to receive a 29th annual award from the TEA, announced on Nov. 15 at…
Mon Nov 21
Ann Gleig, associate professor of Religion and Cultural Studies at UCF, has been selected as McGill University’s Numata Visiting Professor for the Fall 2023 term. This fellowship is awarded annually to distinguished Buddhist Studies professors around the world. Gleig sets a new precedent as the first professor who researches Buddhism in the U.S. to be…
Wed Nov 16
Music is often referred to as a “universal language,” and for Latin American-European duo Kithaulos, this is more true than ever. Last month, UCF flute professor Dr. Nora Lee Garcia and Stetson University guitar professor Dr. Sam Desmet held their first concert. The two musicians hail from countries oceans apart; Garcia is from Puerto Rico,…
Mon Nov 14
November is recognized as National Diabetes Awareness Month, and in this Q&A, faculty member Dr. Saleh discusses her research on diabetic eye disease and her passion for educating. What led you to begin researching eye disorders and diabetes? Learning about diabetes and related vision loss was an interest of mine from a young age. I…
Tue Nov 8
Season three of Knights Do That, UCF’s official podcast, returns with its seventh guest, Stella Sung, a renowned composer, Pegasus Professor, trustee chair professor, and director of the Center for Research and Education in Arts, Technology and Entertainment (CREATE) at UCF. Sung started her career at UCF as a music professor and now teaches in the School of…
Tue Nov 8
With quality teachers in high demand, the partnership between UCF’s School of Teacher Education and Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) is an increasingly valuable and innovative resource for enhancing teacher recruitment, development and preparation. According to the Florida Department of Education, there were nearly 4,500 teacher vacancies for the 2021-22 school year. Such information is collected from each…
Thu Nov 3
UCF has once again been named one of the world’s top 25 universities for optics, recognizing CREOL, The College of Optics and Photonics, for excellence in research, international collaboration, and contributions to scientific literature. In U.S. News & World Report rankings released this week, UCF’s optics program ranks No. 24 among worldwide universities — positioning UCF among…
Wed Nov 2
With quality teachers in high demand, the partnership between UCF’s School of Teacher Education and Orange County Public Schools (OCPS is an increasingly valuable and innovative resource for enhancing teacher recruitment, development and preparation. According to the Florida Department of Education, there were nearly 4,500 teacher vacancies for the 2021-22 school year. Such information is collected from each…
Wed Nov 2
Six faculty members were lauded for being leaders and making impacts in their fields during UCF’s annual Luminary Awards on Tuesday at Leu Gardens in Orlando. The Luminary Awards are designed to recognize some of UCF’s brightest stars who shine a positive light on UCF and on their respective fields, as well as illuminate a…
Tue Nov 1
Longtime professor and renowned modern artist Walter Gaudnek died Sunday, Oct. 23, at the age of 91. Gaudnek taught in the art department at UCF for 50 years before retiring in 2020. Throughout his extensive professional career, he received worldwide acclaim as one of the main representatives of pop art that uses religious imagery. Gaudnek…
Tue Nov 1
The athletic training accreditation entity, Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE), honored UCF College of Health Professions and Sciences Dean Christopher Ingersoll with the 2022 Pete Koehneke Award. Recipients of this award symbolize “an outstanding leader who has made significant, ongoing contributions of exceptional value to athletic training education and accreditation over a sustained period of…