Here are the highlights that shaped an unforgettable year.

Daring to Boldly Invent the Future: Florida鈥檚 Next-Generation Preeminent University

麻豆原创 met the 12 metrics required to earn the Preeminent State Research University designation from the Florida Board of Governors, the highest designation for state research universities. This landmark achievement highlights sustained progress in student success, research and more 鈥� affirming 麻豆原创鈥檚 leadership in advancing opportunity and impact in Florida and beyond.

麻豆原创 Opens Dr. Phillips Nursing Pavilion in Lake Nona, Fueling a Talent Pipeline and Healthcare Innovation

麻豆原创 opened the鈥疍r.鈥疨hillips Nursing Pavilion鈥痮n the Academic Health Sciences Campus at Lake Nona 鈥� a 90,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility dedicated to preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals. The pavilion expands immersive simulation technology and interdisciplinary learning spaces, enabling 麻豆原创 to graduate more nurses ready to serve communities across the region.

Pegasus Partners Expand with BNY and Lockheed Martin

This year saw strategic growth of 麻豆原创鈥檚鈥疨egasus Partners鈥痯rogram, with major collaborations forged with global financial services company BNY and aerospace and defense leader Lockheed Martin. The BNY co-located educational innovation hub on 麻豆原创鈥檚 main campus 鈥� the first of its kind in Florida 鈥� brings experiential learning and cybersecurity education directly to students. Additionally, the expanded Lockheed Martin partnership will grow the highly successful College Work Experience Program and expand research in vital areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics and hypersonic technologies.

Elevating Impact Across Space

As America鈥檚 Space University, 麻豆原创 deepened its influence across the space sector this year, highlighted by the inaugural 麻豆原创 Space Week that took place Nov. 3-7. The university-wide celebration showcased all the ways Knight Nation is advancing space research, supporting Florida鈥檚 fast-growing space economy, and preparing the next generation of explorers, engineers, and entrepreneurs. The observance also marked the debut of the SpaceU Awards, which celebrated eight honorees 鈥� two students, three faculty, two organizations and a record-setting astronaut 鈥� for pushing the boundaries of what鈥檚 possible in space development, discovery and exploration.

麻豆原创鈥檚 impact also extended into human health in space. Two internationally known鈥�痚xperts 鈥� William Powers and Jennifer Fogarty 鈥� joined the College of Medicine鈥檚 faculty as part of 麻豆原创鈥檚 new Center for Aerospace and Extreme Environments Medicine that will lead鈥痳esearch and technology development for improving health in extreme environments such as space.

As the top talent provider to the nation鈥檚 aerospace and defense industries, 麻豆原创 also launched a new online space MBA program to meet the expanding needs of the booming space industry on Florida鈥檚 Space Coast and around the world. The 24-month part-time graduate business program focuses on space commercialization, business strategy and innovation, preparing graduates to lead in high-impact roles across the commercial space, aerospace, government, startups and emerging tech industries.

麻豆原创 Launches Institute of Artificial Intelligence to Advance Research, Talent Development Across Disciplines

麻豆原创 launched the Institute of Artificial Intelligence, a new university-wide initiative bringing together top faculty, industry partnerships and cross-campus collaboration to position the university as a national leader in AI. The institute will also support 麻豆原创鈥檚 AI for All Initiative, which integrates AI into teaching and learning across disciplines, ensuring students graduate with the ability to use AI effectively in their careers.

Honoring Excellence on Founders鈥� Day

麻豆原创鈥檚 annual Founders鈥� Day honored the outstanding achievements of the university鈥檚 employees, faculty and students. Hundreds of Knights were recognized for their鈥痚xcellence and impact鈥�� among them鈥�Pegasus Professors鈥疪oger Azevedo, Fevzi Okumus and Yan Solihin; Medal of Societal Impact honoree Mohamed Abdel-Aty; Reach for the Stars honorees鈥疉mrita Ghosh, Leland Nordin, Yogesh Rawat and Kelly Stevens; and 37 Order of Pegasus inductees 鈥� the university鈥檚 highest student honor.

Epic Universe Launch Provides Immersive Learning Opportunities at 麻豆原创

Universal Orlando Resort鈥檚 highly anticipated new theme park, Epic Universe, opened its gates this spring, and Knights played a role in bringing it to life. Located less than a mile away, 麻豆原创’s 鈥� ranked No. 1 in the world for hospitality education (CEOWORLD magazine) 鈥� turned Epic Universe into a living case study for hands-on learning in hospitality, themed experience, engineering and beyond. While the park attracts millions of guests with its immersive worlds and attractions, it鈥檚 also transforming hospitality education for Rosen College students, building a direct talent pipeline into the park and developing a workforce ready to lead the industry.

Introducing John Buckwalter, 麻豆原创鈥檚 Next Provost鈥�

Following a competitive national search, John Buckwalter was appointed 麻豆原创鈥檚 next provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. He and his wife, Amalia, officially joined Knight Nation on Aug. 1. Buckwalter brings more than 20 years of experience in academia to 麻豆原创. He most recently served as provost at Boise State University, where he led transformative interdisciplinary initiatives and championed student achievement. He succeeds Provost Michael D. Johnson, who retired this summer following 35 years of service to 麻豆原创.

Knights Shine in Athletics

麻豆原创 Athletics delivered unforgettable moments this year 鈥� from the rowing team claiming its first Big 12 Championship in program history, to men’s soccer’s conference title, to men鈥檚 tennis clinching its , to 82-78 victory over Hofstra at Additional Financial Arena that sparked the best start (8-1) in head coach Johnny Dawkins’ tenure.

Together, We Unleashed Impact: Thank You, Knight Nation, for a Transformational Day of Giving 2025

Knights made a collective impact for another record-breaking celebration of all things Black & Gold. raised more than鈥�$14.8鈥�million鈥�� a 63% increase from last year and the most in university history.鈥疻ith鈥�10,472鈥�gifts, inspired donors across the globe rallied together for the community-driven effort 鈥� fueling 麻豆原创鈥檚 academic programs, life-changing scholarships, groundbreaking research and more. These contributions were made across all 50 U.S. states, as well as globally, including Australia, France, Panama and the United Kingdom.

Roger Azevedo is converting psychology theories into life-like models. Fevzi Okumus personifies the meaning of hospitality. Yan Solihin continues to build a force in cybersecurity education and training.

The uncommon drive of these three professors comes from childhoods spent in war-torn Angola, in a small village in Turkey and in one of the poorest areas of Indonesia. Each will receive $5,000 and have his picture displayed in front of the John C. Hitt Library. The 麻豆原创 community is invited to celebrate these professors and additional honorees during the Founder鈥檚 Day Faculty Honors Celebration on Wednesday, April 2, in the Student Union Pegasus Ballroom.

For now, meet the 麻豆原创 Pegasus Professors for 2025:

Roger Azevedo

Professor, School of Modeling Simulation and Training
Lead scientist and co-cluster lead, Learning Sciences faculty cluster initiative
Director, SMART Lab
Few people know: His dream as a kid was to move to Japan and become a ninja. It didn鈥檛 happen, but he did earn a black belt in Shaolin white crane kung fu. 鈥淭he determination I use in physical training is the same determination I use as a scientist,鈥� he says.

It鈥檚 going to be a good April for Roger Azevedo. Three weeks after accepting his honor as a Pegasus Professor, he鈥檒l fly to Denver to be recognized as a fellow with American Educational Research Association.

鈥淚t鈥檚 humbling,鈥� Azevedo says.

Those two words are not a copy and paste acceptance phrase, even for the man who鈥檚 already received prestigious awards from the American Psychological Association and U.S. National Science Foundation for his progress in developing artificial agents that embody psychological principles of learning, reasoning and problem solving to augment human knowledge and skills in K-12, healthcare and workforce development. Azevedo鈥檚 students sense a deep personal meaning every time he uses variations of the word 鈥渉umbling.鈥�

Lead with humility. Stay humble. They fuel his work every day.

鈥淚 will never forget where I came from,鈥� Azevedo says, 鈥渂ecause I鈥檝e learned everything can be taken from you in the blink of an eye.鈥�

Azevedo spent the first eight years of his life in the middle of a civil war in the African nation of Angola. Any remembrances of hobbies were blotted out by memories of the all-day, all-night sounds of mortal shells and bullets. To avoid sniper fire, his family would eat dinner on the floor of their small home with the lights turned off. Uncles, aunts and cousins vanished. Azevedo went to elementary school with the help of armed escorts.

鈥淲e were more concerned about survival than education,鈥� he says.

He vividly remembers his family being ushered to an airport in the middle of the night and landing the next day in Montreal, with just the clothes on their backs.

鈥淲e left everything behind,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut wow, even at that age I was thankful to have a second chance. Being an immigrant was not easy for us. The memory motivates me to be the role model that I didn鈥檛 have for most of my academic life.鈥�

Azevedo鈥檚 mother only completed fourth grade before she had to start working. His father made it through high school. Once in Canada, they eventually scrabbled enough money together to buy World Book Encyclopedias. That鈥檚 when Azevedo discovered his insatiable appetite for learning.

鈥淚 could have thought, 鈥榃ell, I鈥檓 just glad to be alive,鈥� and taken a job in labor. But I wanted to go against the grain. I鈥檓 still like that. While other kids were watching TV, I was reading. My parents said if I wanted to go to college, I鈥檇 have to figure it out, which was fine. I gladly worked three jobs to pay my own way.鈥�

Along that way, Azevedo 聽took an Introduction to Psychology class and fell in love with the study of human behavior. He had an urge, however, to the theories into realms where they鈥檇 never been taken. Through modeling and simulation, he could help students become better learners, clinicians become more accurate diagnosticians, teachers and faculty understand their students鈥� learning needs in real-time, and professionals working in high-stress environments perform to the best of the capabilities. Azevedo鈥檚 curiosity opened doors to universities and conferences around the world until he entered into a conversation while visiting and presenting at 麻豆原创 before the Learning Sciences faculty cluster initiative officially announced openings.

鈥淭he people here weren鈥檛 just talking about using psychology in interdisciplinary research, they embodied the spirit of interdisciplinary research,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o, I accepted a position and started working with learning sciences and psychology students alongside computer scientists and engineers and various stakeholders to create intelligent systems to augment and support human capabilities and test their effectiveness.鈥�

They are now designing generative artificial intelligence-driven pedagogical agents to support learners鈥� thinking about thinking processes (such as metacognitive), 聽building empathetic digital twins to be empathetic, so practitioners will be better equipped to help children and adults coping with end-of-life situations and other health challenges. Azevedo considers every aspect of his work a privilege, which rubs off on his students and postdoctoral scholars.

鈥淲hen they share my excitement, I feel like a blacksmith with pieces of metal. I inject oxygen, fan the flames, delicately and progressively shape the metal, and turn them into swords,鈥� 聽Azevedo says.

He pauses to briefly remind anyone listening, including himself, why he will move mountains for his students.

鈥淕iven my background, this is all a pipedream 鈥� earning a Ph.D. at an Ivy League school such as McGill [University], pursuing postdoctoral studies in cognitive psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, teaching across North America and other places in the world, and turning psychological theories into impactful, intelligent technological systems to benefit humans and society. I鈥檓 still just an immigrant kid who was lucky to survive. That鈥檚 why I鈥檒l do anything in my power to make sure all of my students have whatever they need to be successful, including the love of learning, spirit of innovation, intellectual curiosity, and the desire to use technology to benefit humans and society.鈥�

Fevzi Okumus

Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association Preeminent Chair Professor
Founding chair of the hospitality services department at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management
Editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management
Few People Know: He鈥檚 traveled to more than 60 countries and has a goal of visiting at least 100. His favorite spots? The Maldives for location. The Azores for experiences. The Taj Mahal for human-made wonder. 鈥淏ut Turkey will always be a special place to visit and let my daughters see my humble beginnings,鈥� he says.

Fevzi Okumus is passionate about teaching, research and working with industry partners. He teaches and works on research in the areas of strategic management, leadership and hospitality management. Okumus was recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher in 2021; 2022; 2023 and 2024 by Clarivate. But he calls himself an 鈥渁cademic entrepreneur鈥� more than a teacher and researcher as he loves working on new initiatives. He can鈥檛 separate the academic whose influence has helped catapult 麻豆原创鈥檚 Rosen College of Hospitality Management to No. 1 in the world for five straight years from the entrepreneur who dreams of opening his own hotel someday.

He personifies hospitality from classrooms to hospitality settings, with a perpetual smile and an innate desire to serve others.

鈥淗ospitality is about making people happy and offering positive memorable experiences,鈥� Okumus says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good fit for me as a teacher, too. I want my students to know the joy of reaching the highest standards of excellence.鈥�

As the founding chair of hospitality services at the Rosen College, Okumus has mentored and worked with more than half of the faculty members. He is very proud that Rosen College has an unheard-of job placement rate of over 90%. Graduates are raising the hospitality bar around the world, with many of them securing management positions within a few years of being hired. Alumni of the Rosen College are also taking research skills to universities around the country and adding to the home-grown faculty talent at 麻豆原创. As if all of this isn鈥檛 enough to fill Okumus鈥檚 calendar, he鈥檚 also the editor-in-chief of three well-known hospitality and tourism journals. He is the founding editor of two of them. In summers, Okumus co-lead hospitality camps to train high school students with disabilities for employment.

His smile never fades. Neither does his purpose.

鈥淣othing is more important to me than serving and making a positive impact. It鈥檚 why I enjoy my work so much.鈥�

Okumus first learned hospitality from growing up in a small village near Bolu, Turkey, where yesterday鈥檚 strangers became today鈥檚 friends over home-cooked meals. As a teenager one summer, he visited Lake Abant and saw something he鈥檇 never seen: tourists. They looked different and were speaking different languages.

鈥淚 wanted to know more about where these people came from, the hotels where they stayed, and what made them happy,鈥� Okumus says.

He enrolled in a vocational high school to learn hospitality concepts and he worked different hotel jobs possible to apply his skills: cooking, bartending, cleaning, running front desks and managing.

鈥淚 found out in every role that you excelled by solving problems and making the guest experience better,鈥� he says.

Okumus thought he would use his growing knowledge that spanned all the way to a doctoral degree. He lived and worked around Europe and Asia working on research projects and teaching future managers at colleges. When he was invited to the Rosen College for a job interview in early 2005, he saw the state-of-the-art campus.

鈥淚t had just opened,鈥� he says, 鈥淚 called my wife in Hong Kong and said, 鈥楾his is where we need to be.鈥� 鈥�

One year after coming to the Rosen College, Okumus was promoted to associate professor and chosen to be the founding chair of the hospitality services department. Today, the college is known worldwide as the template of hospitality training with more than 2,000 undergraduates and 300 graduate students. Okumus becomes the first Rosen College faculty member to earn the Pegasus Professor distinction, in part because he exemplifies his own objective in hospitality.

鈥淟ove and excel what you do and offer memorable experiences through serving,鈥� he says.

Graduates often reconnect with Okumus to thank him for impacting their lives. One, now the manager of a restaurant, told Okumus how his mentorship at 麻豆原创 helped him overcome homelessness.

鈥淵ou never know what types of challenges each student might be facing,鈥� Okumus says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 another reason to have a servant leadership mentality.鈥�

Yan Solihin

Professor and director of the cyber security and privacy program
Charles N. Millican Chair Professor of Computer Science
Few People Know: His past hobbies have ranged from collecting insects around his home to learning how to play guitar. 鈥淢y favorite is listening to Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits play his guitar in Sultans of Swing,鈥� he says.

To this day, Yan Solihin doesn鈥檛 know how his parents were able to buy a computer when he was growing up in Indonesia. He has no doubt, however, that the first time he turned on a PC it began to radically change his future.

鈥淚 remember being astonished at what could be done on that single device,鈥� Solihin says.

With the unexpected introduction to technology, Solihin wrote his first program at the age of 10 鈥� a game where the computer generated random numbers for players to guess. The game piqued his curiosity about how a computer could possibly generate random numbers and if they really were random at all. Those questions pulled him into cryptography, an area where computer science and math converge, and computer security. After nearly two decades of teaching and researching (including time with the U.S. National Science Foundation), Solihin came to 麻豆原创 in 2018, where he鈥檚 launched two labs while guiding the university鈥檚 growth into a prominent hub of cyber security and privacy research and education.

The latest recipient of the Pegasus Professor honor has never stopped marveling at the power of computing. It鈥檚 just that the stakes are higher today than when he was typing words and creating games as a curious boy.

鈥淲e have a long way to go to meet the need for more cybersecurity professionals,鈥� he says. 鈥淲itness the frequency of cyberattacks. Many organizations are short staffed to handle them. That鈥檚 why I came to 麻豆原创 with its young spirit and open attitude to new ideas. Our goal since I arrived is to be one of the best places in the world for cybersecurity and privacy research and education.鈥�

Solihin has overseen a quadrupling in the number of faculty members specializing in cyber security, with more than 150 students now enrolled in the master鈥檚 in cyber security and privacy and 100 enrolled in the master鈥檚 in digital forensics.

鈥淭he most exciting aspect of my job is mentoring and teaching. I feel like I鈥檓 taking students through a journey of exploration and discovery. It鈥檚 deeply fulfilling to instill a sense of awe,鈥� Solihin says.

Their awe connects him back to Indonesia, to his childhood home reachable only by foot or bicycle, where water had to be drawn from a well with a bucket and the walls were made of thin bamboo weaves. Solihin will never forget where his future began or the wisdom of his father, who sacrificed so much for that first computer: 鈥淓ducation is the only means out of poverty.鈥�

鈥淚t took time for those words to sink in,鈥� Solihin says, 鈥渂ut they have guided everything I鈥檝e done in my professional life.鈥�

With this backdrop, you can understand why Solihin believes students with the same kind of drive can provide the energy to grow 鈥渁 national powerhouse鈥� in cyber security and privacy education at 麻豆原创. You also realize why he says three factors motivate him whenever he wakes up.

鈥淔or one, I believe in stewardship 鈥� leaving whomever or whatever I am entrusted in a better place. I also consider it a blessing that I鈥檓 paid to do what I really like because not everyone can say that. And finally, the adventure of identifying problems and thinking of solutions makes every day exciting. To come from my childhood to where I am now, it still gives me a sense of amazement.鈥�

鈥淓ver since Mbombela had a taste of tourism with the World Cup, they鈥檝e wanted to figure out how create a sustainable plan for it,鈥� said Dr. Abraham Pizam, dean of Rosen College. 鈥淲e wanted to show them how we do that, so we invited Mbombela officials to Orlando.鈥�

During their September visit to Orlando, Mbombela officials toured theme parks and the Orange County Convention Center, where Pizam explained how similar attractions could help complement Mbombela鈥檚 relatively new soccer stadium and Kruger National Park 鈥� one of the largest wildlife parks in the world.

The visit resulted in an invitation for Rosen College administrators to speak at the 2012 Local Economic Development Summit, held Jan. 26-27 in Mbombela. In addition to Pizam, others who spoke on how to attract tourists were Fevzi Okumus, the department chair, Professor Ron Logan, and Orlando hotelier Harris Rosen, the college鈥檚 chief benefactor.

At the end of the summit, Pizam signed a memorandum of understanding that Rosen College will help with the conceptual planning of a convention center and tourist attraction in Mbombela.

In addition to helping with the development plan, Rosen College will also work with Tshwane University of Technology to exchange ideas and information that will benefit both schools.

The delegation plans to build a convention center, hotels and attractions in their region and hopes to collaborate with Rosen College on these and other tourism planning, education and research initiatives.

The visit was organized by Rosen College鈥檚 Dr. Fevzi Okumus, and during their stay, the guests toured the Orange County Convention Center, Visit Orlando and several area convention hotels and theme parks.聽 Hotelier Harris Rosen and Professors Dr. Abraham Pizam, Dr. Tad Hara, Dr. Robertico Croes, Dr. Ady Milman and Mr. Ron Logan also had the pleasure of meeting with the delegation.

Rosen College is proud of its global partnerships and continues to develop international outreach initiatives.

麻豆原创 researchers in the areas of hospitality management, economics, sociology and civil/environmental engineering connected and were encouraged to collaborate on new research initiatives.

The luncheon promoted faculty scholarship while ideas of mutual interest that could lead to the development of competitive research proposals were discussed.

Rosen College faculty in attendance included: Dr. Po-Ju Chen; Dr. Robertico Croes; Dr. Duncan Dickson; Mr. Ron Logan; Dr. Kevin Murphy; Dr. Kal Nusair; Dr. Fevzi Okumus; Dr. H.G. Parsa; Dr. Manuel Rivera; Dr. Cheyenne Ro; Dr. Paul Rompf; Dr. Dipendra Singh and Mr. Scott Smith.

In addition to Rosen College faculty, other researchers included: Dr. Sarah Barber, Anthropology Department; Dr. James Wright, Sociology Department; Dr. Dingbao Wang, Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering Department; Dr. David M. Nickerson, Statistics Department; Dr. Jose Maunez-Cuadra, Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies; Dr. Tom O鈥橬eal, ORC; Dr. Amit Joshi, Marketing Department; Dr. Patrick Bohlen, Biology Department.

The purpose of the ORC is to foster new research activities among 麻豆原创 faculty. For more, please . The DPI is dedicated to increasing the benefits of tourism through research, public awareness and education. For more information, please visit the or e-mail dpi@ucf.edu.

Faculty and staff delighted in tropical cuisine such as tostones, tropical mango salsa, coconut crusted chicken breast, tropical fruit skewers, and — of course — 聽Key Lime Mousse Shooters.

The attendees wet their whistles with delicious mocktails including the Island Cooler and Fruit Loop while enjoying a photo station, Wii video games, coconut bowling and a Spinwheel of Fun.

Dr. Wilfried Iskat called the event 鈥渁 well planned and executed affair.鈥� Faculty members Dr. Deborah Breiter and Dr. Fevzi Okumus were naturals at bowling and staff member Jackie Toops couldn鈥檛 get enough of the photo station.

A slideshow acknowledging faculty and staff鈥檚 recent awards played throughout the reception. Raymond plans to incorporate a 鈥渢raditions鈥� theme again for next year鈥檚 event.

In addition to fun, food and recognition, faculty and staff won prizes including stays at White Lodging Hotels and gift cards to restaurants including Chili鈥檚, TGI Fridays, Tijuana Flats, Starbucks and more.

Raymond thanks faculty and staff for making the event a success.

Dr. Okumus is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Hospitality Services Department at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the 麻豆原创.

He has extensive research expertise, and his teaching areas include strategic management, leadership development, strategic human resources management, strategic marketing and international hospitality management. In addition to his work as editor of the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management (IJCHM), he has written over 110 academic publications (refereed journal articles, book chapters, book reviews and conference presentations) and serves on the editorial board of ten international journals.

Emerald Research described Dr. Okumus as an excellent editor who works tirelessly to develop and promote the journal. 鈥淗is ambition and energy have helped IJCHM achieve status as a tier one journal in the field of tourism and hospitality.鈥�

Among Emerald’s 225 journals, IJCHM has been ranked third since 2007 in terms of downloaded articles. In 2009, a total of 476, 471 articles were downloaded, which equates to an average monthly download of 39,706 articles.聽 鈥淭he journal’s acceptance into the Thomson Reuters Social Science Citation Index (SSCI, formerly ISI) is a testament to his hard work and dedication, and his primary concern is how we can continue to improve the journal for both readers and authors.鈥� Dr. Okumus also works closely with guest editors to publish a range of high quality special issues.

Emerald is a leading independent publisher of global research with impact in business, society, public policy and education.聽 For more, please visit www.emeraldinsight.com.