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 28
Often called “the racial conscience of sport,” Richard Lapchick will be honored Super Bowl weekend with the Dan Rooney Lifetime Achievement Award. Lapchick is a human rights activist, pioneer for racial equality, an internationally recognized expert on sports issues, a scholar and author. “Embracing diversity and inclusion is not only the right thing to do…
Tue Jan 28
Department of English faculty member Micah Dean Hicks has been named a 2020 NEA Creative Writing fellow, joining the likes of Anthony Doerr, Louise Erdrich, Tyehimba Jess, Jennifer Egan and English alumnus Jaroslav KalfaÅ â11. Hicks gained critical acclaim with his second novel, Break the Bodies, Haunt the Bones, in 2019. The National Endowment for…
Mon Jan 27
Many people envision computer scientists as individuals who are tech driven and spend most of their time interacting with digital devices—not people, but Assistant Professor Pamela Wisniewski got into the field to help others. “I’m interested in technology because I want to help people.” – Pamela Wisniewski, UCF assistant professor “Within computer science is the intersection of…
Thu Jan 23
The 31st ACM Hypertext conference is coming to UCF in July 2020. Co-chaired by UCF faculty member Anastasia Salter and John Barber of University of Washington, Vancouver, the conference invites research on all aspects of the modern web. Topics include hypertext theory, social media, interactive narrative, hypermedia systems and applications. Last year’s conference, hosted in…
Thu Jan 23
UCF Environmental Health and Safety recently awarded Vasileios Anagnostopoulos, Ph.D, and his team of dedicated researchers the 2019 Safety Champion Award. This award recognizes faculty members that provide support to EHS and adhere to UCF policy and procedure within a research setting. “It is great to know that the effort made to promote safety culture…
Thu Jan 23
Iam extremely grateful for Jana Jasinski stepping in as acting provost during the past week and a half, while also continuing as vice provost for Faculty Excellence. I appreciate her leadership and the stability she provided the Academic Affairs team. Jana was named acting provost after I asked Provost Elizabeth Dooley to temporarily step away…
Thu Jan 23
An ongoing project to boost classroom student engagement through high-impact practices (HIP) recently earned one of UCF’s highest internal awards. Called HIP Coaches, the project uses student coaches to mentor and guide fellow students through high-impact learning experiences, such as collaborative assignments and projects, undergraduate research, cultural competency, community-based learning and internships. The idea is…
Tue Jan 21
Cyrus Zargar is the Endowed Al-Ghazali Distinguished Professor in Islamic Studies, who is currently teaching Medieval Philosophy. The Al-Ghazali Distinguished Professorship was created from the donations of hundreds of members from Central Florida’s Islamic community, with the intent of promoting the understanding and appreciation of Islam and Muslim communities. These funds enabled Zargar to advance…
Tue Jan 21
About 5,000 people a month around the world tune into a space-related podcast launched by three University of Central Florida professors. What started out as conversations while walking to get coffee on campus to perk up the afternoon, turned into the Walkabout the Galaxy podcast in 2014, which this month led to the professors becoming…
Tue Jan 21
UCF associate lecturer Irene Pons ’98 and her legal studies class are striving to help a Central Florida woman revise her birth certificate. Why does Juleigh Mayfield need legal intervention in order to complete such an ordinary task? Because her story isn’t so typical. Neither Male or Female Although Mayfield lived four decades of her…
Fri Jan 17
From conducting the University Chorus and Madrigal Singers to coaching private composition students, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities, Dr. David Brunner, has impacted countless students throughout his 31 years at UCF. Recently, he was distinguished as the College Music Educator of the Year by the Florida Music Educators Association. Previously, Brunner was…
Thu Jan 16
The Center for the Study of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery at UCF has recently recruited the talents of lawyer Shilpa Finnerty to serve as its senior fellow and community advisor. Through Finnerty’s experience in human rights and trafficking advocacy, the center hopes to expand their presence in the Orlando area. “The work that we…
Wed Jan 15
Joseph Trubacz, a 30-year veteran of higher-education leadership, was hired as UCF’s interim chief financial officer beginning this week. “Joe is a pragmatic, creative and effective problem solver known for his integrity and ability to tackle large-scale institutional initiatives.” — Interim President Thad Seymour Jr. Trubacz has 30 years of experience working in finance, planning…
Tue Jan 14
For the third consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report ranked UCF among the top 20 Best Online Bachelor’s programs in the nation. “Over the past 20 years, we’ve learned that online options help our students learn and perform better, and we are proud to offer access to affordable, high-quality degrees.” — Interim President Thad Seymour Jr. UCF’s undergraduate…
Wed Jan 8
When I was an early career academic, I started to hear and read the words “interdisciplinary research” everywhere. As human beings are wont to do, I immediately thought of myself, and wondered how it applied to me and what I was doing. The connections seemed so tenuous and often a little far out (such as…
Mon Jan 6
Kristen Cezat, DPT will be recognized at the 2020 Combined Sections Meeting in Denver, Colorado with the 2019 Award for Clinical Excellence by the Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy Spinal Cord Special Interest Group for helping develop a spinal cord injury rehabilitation program at Orlando Health Rehabilitation Institute. Christine Davidson, DPT and Nanako Barry were…
Thu Jan 2
A newly published book takes a timely look at the intersection of the relations between Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia as U.S. influence and involvement declines in the Middle East. Aspiring Powers, Regional Rivals: Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the new Middle East, co-authored and edited by Gönül Tol and David Dumke, was published in…
Wed Dec 18
Ihear this all the time from former newspaper colleagues who have left as the newsroom has diminished over the years: How dare you teach journalism? Or this version: There are still students who want to be journalists? Really? I could answer that I teach journalism because there still are students who are curious about the…
