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.
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…
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…
Thu Oct 27
The UCF College of Nursing is mourning the loss of a one of its founding faculty members. Professor Emerita Frances Blackwell Smith, who was a faculty member for nearly three decades, has passed away. Smith, a psychiatric/mental health nurse, joined UCF’s nursing program in its first semester of Fall 1979. “The Class of 1981 was truly…
Tue Oct 25
Jacqueline LaManna ’13PhD, associate professor at UCF College of Nursing, has been recognized by the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence (NHCGNE) as a Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing. She is among 15 nurse educators from around the world in the Class of 2022 who were honored during the NHCGNE annual leadership conference this…
Tue Oct 25
Season three of Knights Do That, UCF’s official podcast, returns with its sixth guest, Bethany Backes, an assistant professor in the Violence Against Women faculty cluster and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Criminal Justice and School of Social Work. Backes worked for more than 10 years as a social science analyst for…
Tue Oct 18
History professors Robert Cassanello and Jim Clark recently discussed Ron DeSantis’ impact on higher education and his current success in midterm election polls. “It’s having a really far-reaching effect on the stifling of speech from what I hear from the colleagues who are consulting with me,” says Robert Cassanello to Politco on one of DeSantis’ pieces of…
Tue Oct 18
The UCF Office of Civil Discourse and Engagementâs Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration Reception honored Olga Molina, associate professor at the School of Social Work, for her contributions to research and clinical experience focused on Latino/a/x mental healthcare for over thirty years. During the event, Molina also participated in a panel moderated by UCF’s Latino Faculty and Staff Association…
Tue Oct 18
UCF School of Social Work faculty Iradly Roche organized an event to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month on September 23 by scheduling a panel of four speakers who explored social work perspectives and Puerto Rican intersectionality. Each panelist discussed the importance of culturally competent social work by discussing the history, culture and shared experiences of the Puerto Rican-American identity. Panelists…
Thu Oct 13
recognizing her sustained contributions to the field of healthcare simulation, Associate Professor Desiree A. DÃaz has been named a Fellow of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare Academy. DÃaz is one of only 10 experts worldwide honored in the Class of 2023 Fellows. The class will be inducted in January 2023 at the International Meeting…
Wed Oct 12
Last fall, Shane Wiggan was just beginning his journey as a National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Master Teaching Fellow. He recently kicked off his second year of the program by participating on a National Science Foundation panel during which he shared his experience as a budding teacher-leader. Wiggan, an eighth-grade teacher at Freedom Middle…
Wed Oct 12
The University of Central Florida is among six schools selected by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Gulf Research Program (GRP) for its second funded cohort of the Gulf Scholars Program (GSP). This initiative will engage undergraduate students from any major on campus in addressing the most critical problems facing the Gulf of…
Wed Oct 12
Season three of Knights Do That, UCF’s official podcast, returns with its fifth guest, double Knight Gulnora Hundley ’04MA ’08PhD, an associate lecturer in UCF’s Department of Counselor Education and School Psychology. As an Uzbekistan native who speaks Russian and is a mental health counselor with nearly 40 years of experience, Hundley has stepped up…
Wed Oct 5
Victor Davila is an illustrator and designer from the Orlando area who teaches illustration and design as an associate professor at UCF’s School of Visual Arts and Design. He has worked on everything from character designs and storyboards for animation to editorial illustrations, interactive games, and children’s books. Davila is also the founder of the…
Tue Oct 4
Mary Van Hook, an Emerita faculty from the UCF School of Social Work, believed in demonstrating goodwill through her actions. While at UCF, she published many journal articles and books as she educated students to become social work professionals. Though she retired from UCF in 2006 , Van Hook continued to volunteer in the community until…
Thu Sep 22
Tyler Fisher, associate professor of modern languages and literatures and Burnett Honors College Faculty Fellow, penned this memory in his journal during his first year living in England to attend Oxford University. He and other Rhodes Scholars met Queen Elizabeth II (and a surprise visitor!) in October 2003. He reflects on his encounter: “The Queen…
Tue Sep 20
When Queen Elizabeth II died Sept. 8, it marked the end of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. At the time of her coronation in 1953, she ruled over seven independent countries, which grew to 32 nations during 70-year reign. At the time of her death, Queen Elizabeth II ruled over 15 countries in the Commonwealth and 14…
Tue Sep 20
Staci Zavattaro, a professor with the UCF School of Public Administration, was named a Richard P. Nathan Public Policy Fellow by the State University of New York’s Rockefeller Institute of Government for the 2022-23 term. Zavattaro is one of six researchers from around the country selected for this year’s Nathan fellowship cohort, which aims to select…