The following honors were awarded to UCF faculty members at the annual Founders’ Day ceremony. Stories on the winners of the Pegasus Professor Awards, professors who were granted emeritus status, and students who were awarded Founders’ Day honors are featured separately.
University Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching: Christopher L. Parkinson, College of Sciences. Parkinson is an associate professor of biology, who is passionate about teaching. He’s been at UCF since 2001. Even though he often teaches the same courses, he prepares each lecture with time and care. An expert in snakes and turtles, and a recipient of grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission among others, Parkinson keeps his work current and challenging for students. He has mentored or directly worked on science research with more than 50 students from high school to graduate school. And he works tirelessly to help encourage all students – even those in high school – to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Aside from active research, teaching and helping students one-on-one, Parkinson also serves on multiple university committees and provides seminars around the world.
Winners from each college were: Patricia B. Angley, Robert Cassanello, Keith Folse and Humberto López Cruz, College of Arts and Humanities; Honghui Chen and Lauryn A. Migenes, College of Business Administration; Gina Gresham and Lee-Anne Trimble Spalding, College of Education; Arup Guha and Seetha Raghavan, College of Engineering and Computer Science; Denise Gammonley and Ross Wolf, College of Health and Public Affairs; Jill Fjelstul, Rosen College of Hospitality Management; Robert A. Borgon, College of Medicine; Vicki Loerzel, College of Nursing; and Costas J. Efthimiou, Terri Susan Fine, Houman A. Sadri and John J. Schultz, College of Sciences.
University Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching: Julia Listengarten, College of Arts and Humanities. Listengarten is an accomplished professor and sought after for her expertise in theatre by schools and centers around the globe. She integrates theory and practice in her teaching philosophy, which results in a high-intensity environment. This in turn leads to impressive student success. Some of students have gone on to work at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., while others are leading children’s programs for large cities across the nation. She also shares what she knows by serving in the college’s Graduate Standards and Research Committee as well as a host of other university-wide projects.
Winners from each college were: Charles Kelliher, College of Business Administration; Haiyan Bai, College of Education; Steven J. Duranceau, College of Engineering and Computer Science; Reid M. Oetjen, College of Health and Public Affairs; Kevin Murphy, Rosen College of Hospitality Management; Steven N. Ebert, College of Medicine; Diane Wink, College of Nursing; Peter J. Delfyett Jr., College of Optics and Photonics; and Liz Grauerholz, College of Sciences.
University Award for Excellence in Research: Mubarak Shah, College of Engineering and Computer Science. Shah is a computer science professor, holds the Agere Chair in Computer Science, and is a leader in his field. During the past five years, Shah has made fundamental contributions in two main areas of computer vision: video surveillance and visual crowd analysis. His group has developed a series of novel methods for detection of humans and vehicles, tracking of those objects and recognition of their behavior in wide-area surveillance videos obtained by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Shah also has started a new area of research — visual analysis of large crowds. His group has developed first-of-its-kind algorithms for segmentation of large crowds using Lagrangian dynamics and tracking of an individual in a high-density crowd. In 2010, he was selected as a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Winners from each college were: Tison Pugh, College of Arts and Humanities; Michael R. Caputo, College of Business Administration; Glenn W. Lambie, College of Education; Thomas A. Bryer, College of Health and Public Affairs; H.G. Parsa, Rosen College of Hospitality Management; Dinender K. Singla, College of Medicine; Aristide Dogariu, College of Optics and Photonics; Joseph Harrington, College of Sciences; and Nazim Muradov, Institutes and Centers.
University Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Faculty Advising: Alice Noblin, College of Health and Public Affairs. Noblin is the program director for the Health Informatics and Information Management Program at the university. She advises and instructs students in this program and helps them get ready for national testing. She is excellent at getting them ready. During the most recent nine-month reporting period, the pass rate on the national certification exam for UCF graduates was 100 percent while the national average pass rate was 74percent. The UCF alum also serves on many advisory committees including Health Informatics and Information Management (HIIM) Program Advisory Committee, RHIT Program Advisory Committee, and the Regional Extension Center Advisory Council. She’s a leader in the field and is respected by the students she serves.
University Award for Excellence in Professional Academic Advising: Dena M. Ford, College of Sciences. Ford is the coordinator of undergraduate academic support services. In her role she advises hundreds of undergraduate students. Having been a first-generation student and transfer student herself, she can relate to those going through the process. That’s one reason she created retention outreach workshops to help ease students’ transition to college academics. She also is responsible for all transfer students and runs their orientation sessions. She has a master’s degree in mental-health counseling and another degree in psychology, which helps her steer students in the right direction based on individual career goals. And she’s conducted research into transfer shock and different populations in higher education.
University Award for Excellence in Librarianship: Timothy Bottorff, Rosen College of Hospitality Management. Bottorff has been with the Universal Orlando Foundation Library at Rosen since its inception in 2004, first as reference librarian and then as head librarian from mid-2007 to the present. Bottorff oversees all functions of the Rosen College library, including administration, reference, library instruction, collection development, website design, marketing, circulation and other services. He is also active in the Florida Library Association and in a variety of other service, research and professional development activities within the library field.
University Awards for Excellence in Professional Service: Keith Koons, College of Arts and Humanities, and Linda Walters, College of Sciences.
Koons is a professor in the music department. His service to the university and the world of music has been outstanding. Koons was the driving force behind the creation of the music department’s Master of Arts degree and he continues to guide the program as graduate coordinator. He has served as chair of several search committees and is a long time chair of the department’s promotion and tenure committee. He has served in the Faculty Senate for years helping to shape many of the policies that have improved conditions on the campus and in the curriculum. He’s done all this while actively contributing to the International Clarinet Association. Recognizing his abilities and dedication, the association named Koons president in 2008 for a term that concludes in 2012. He also serves on many other local and national organizations related to music including the Advisory Board for A Gift for Music. The nonprofit organization provides stringed-instrument instruction to more than 450 Orange County third-, fourth- and fifth-graders who normally could not afford to be involved in a stringed-instrument program.
Walters is a professor of biology who has dedicated her career to teaching, research and service. She’s been awarded more than 50 awards specifically tied to service to the community with an estimated value of $3.1 million. Her community-based oyster reef restoration project in Volusia and Brevard counties has led to 50 reefs being restored in four years with the help of 21,936 volunteers that she organized. She’s also planned and executed 27 workshops or training sessions for educators in marine conservation in the past five years. That’s in addition to a whale watch program she ran, which benefited 615 UCF students. She’s worked with more than six local groups to provide information and education about marine biology. In addition to mentoring new faculty, she provides her expertise to the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, where she is a fellow. This year she also is serving as the interim director of the UCF Women’s Research Center in addition to her teaching duties and her continuing research and oyster restoration work.
Recognition of Service to the University, 40 Years of Service: Richard C. Crepeau and Donald E. Jones, College of Arts & Humanities; Tom Mullin, College of Health and Public Affairs; John (Jeff) Butler and Roger B. Handberg and Jack M. McGuire, College of Sciences.
Recognition of Service to the University, 30 Years of Service: Lee Anne Kirkpatrick, Philip H. Pollock III, James R. Schott and Susan C. Schott, College of Sciences; Sheri Dressler, Office of Undergraduate Studies; David Beal and Betsy L. Gray and John L. Harrison, Division of Research and Commercialization.
Recognition of Service to the University, 20 Years of Service: Donald W. Seay, College of Arts & Humanities; Jeffrey S. Kaplan and Barbara A. Murray, College of Education; Haitham M. Al-Deek, Ruey-Hung Chen, Niels da Vitoria Lobo, Ronald F. DeMara and Pamela McCauley Bush, College of Engineering and Computer Science; Carol M. Bast, College of Health and Public Affairs; Weili Luo, College of Sciences; and Thomas O’Neal and Lawrence E. Ziock, Division of Research and Commercialization.
Retired and Retiring Faculty :
Jagdish J. Chavda and Ronnie Z. Hawkins, College of Arts & Humanities; Robert C. Ford, Warren McHone, Linda Beats Putchinski and William Weaver, College of Business Administration; Lawrence Mione, Jennifer Platt, Mary K. Romjue and Mary Starzynski, College of Education; Lesia L. Crumpton-Young, College of Engineering and Computer Science; Patricia Bishop, College of Graduate Studies; David Fabianic and Steve Shideler, College of Health and Public Affairs; Susan Scott Ricci, College of Nursing; Glenn D. Boreman and James E. Harvey, College of Optics and Photonics; Carol C. Bledsoe, Constance E. Cutchins, Joe Hall, Ronnie F. Smith, Brian P. Tonner and Carrie Whitcomb, College of Sciences; Thomas L. Clarke and James C. Huggins, Division of Research and Commercialization; Evelyn S. Case and Carole Hinshaw, Information Technologies and Resources; and Mary D. Bozeman and Helen Y. Hill, Regional Campuses.