Recipients will include this year鈥檚 awardees of some of the highest honors the university bestows, including: Pegasus Professor; the鈥疢edal of Societal Impact; the Reach for the Stars Award; the Big 12 Faculty Member of the Year Award; and the Champion of Student Success and Well-Being.

Also being honored are university excellence award winners; those who recently reached milestone years of service; Faculty Senate service awardees; faculty granted鈥�别尘别谤颈迟耻蝉鈥�辞谤鈥�别尘别谤颈迟补鈥�status; and retired or retiring faculty members.

This year鈥檚 celebration includes recognition of Chuck Dziuban, one of the longest-serving and most trailblazing faculty members in school history. His remarkable 55-year-career includes being 麻豆原创鈥檚 inaugural Pegasus Professor and founding director of the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning.

Starting this year at Founders鈥� Day, the Chuck D. Dziuban Award for Excellence in Online Teaching will be given to underscore the talented faculty behind 麻豆原创鈥檚 nationally renowned reputation as a leader in in online teaching and learning.

Here are this year鈥檚 faculty honorees.

Pegasus Professor Award

Hassan聽Foroosh,聽College of Engineering and Computer Science

Carmen聽Giurgescu, College of Nursing

Annette R. Khaled, College of Medicine

Matthew Marino, College of聽Community Innovation and Education

Reach for the Stars Award

John Bush, College of Business

Ana Carolina聽de Souza Feliciano, Office of Research

Shyam Kattel, College of Sciences

Kevin Moran, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Soyoung Park, College of Community Innovation and Education

Hao Zheng, College of Engineering and Computer Sciences

Medal of Societal Impact Award

Zhihua Qu, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Champion of Student Success and Well-Being Award

Suha Saleh,聽College of Health Professions and Sciences

Big 12 Faculty Member of the Year

Deborah Beidel, College of Sciences

Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

College Awardees

Tanvir Ahmed, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Norine Blanch, College of Community Innovation and Education

Matthew Bryan, College of Arts and Humanities

Peter Delfyett, College of Optics and Photonics

Nyla Dil, College of Medicine

Katia Ferdowsi, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Murat Hancer, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Deborah Horzen, College of Arts and Humanities

Richard Jerousek, College of Sciences

Betsy Kalin, College of Sciences

Evelin Pegoraro, College of Arts and Humanities

Richard Plate, College of Community Innovation and Education

Alfons Schulte, College of Sciences

Nicholas Shrubsole, College of Arts and Humanities

Daniel Stephens, College of Community Innovation and Education

Wei Sun, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Danielle Webster, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Sara Willox, College of Business

Xiaohu Xia, College of Sciences

Widaad Zaman, College of Sciences

University Winner

Norine Blanch, College of Community Innovation and Education

Excellence in Graduate Teaching

College Awardees

Shaurya Agarwal, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Kim Anderson, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Christopher Blackwell, College of Nursing

Shannon Carter, College of Sciences

Sasan Fathpour, College of Optics and Photonics

Murat Hancer, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Dana Joseph, College of Business

Magdalena Pasarica, College of Medicine

Mel Stanfill, College of Arts and Humanities

Vassiliki Zygouris-Coe, College of Community Innovation and Education

University Winner

Christopher Blackwell, College of Nursing

Excellence in Research

College Awardees

Sarah Bush, College of Community Innovation and Education

Zixi (Jack) Cheng, College of Medicine

Enrique Del Barco, College of Sciences

Romain Gaume, College of Optics and Photonics

Nan Hua, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Kevin Mullally, College of Business

Matthew Stock, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Ladda Thiamwong, College of Nursing

Subith Vasu, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Cyrus Zargar, College of Arts and Humanities

University Winner

Enrique Del Barco, College of Sciences

Chuck D. Dziuban Award for Excellence in Online Teaching

Nicole Lapeyrouse, College of Sciences

Excellence in Faculty Academic Advising

Emily Proulx, College of Arts and Humanities

Excellence in Professional Service

Linda Walters, College of Sciences

Excellence in Librarianship

Katy Miller, 麻豆原创 Libraries

Excellence in Instructional Design

Amy Sugar, Division of Digital Learning

University Award for Excellence in Mentoring Doctoral Students

Engineering, Physical Sciences and Life Sciences

Subith Vasu, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Social Science, Humanities, Education, Business, Art and Health

David Boote, College of Community Innovation and Education

University Award for Excellence in Mentoring Postdoctoral Scholars

Kausik Mukhopadhyay, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Thomas Wahl, College of Engineering and Computer Science

20 Years of Service

Haiyan Bai, College of Community Innovation and Education

Brian Barone, College of Arts and Humanities

Aman Behal, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Corinne Bishop, 麻豆原创 Libraries

Joseph Brennan, College of Sciences

Mark Calabrese, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Li-Mei Chen, College of Medicine

Baiyun Chen, Division of Digital Learning

Joshua Colwell, College of Sciences

William Crampton, College of Sciences

Richard Curcio, College of Business

Donovan Dixon, College of Sciences

Martin Dupuis, Burnett Honors College

Michelle Dusseau, College of Sciences

Dorin Dutkay, College of Sciences

Kirk Gay, College of Arts and Humanities

Deborah German, College of Medicine

William Hagedorn, College of Community Innovation and Education

Joseph Harrington, College of Sciences

Fayeza Hasanat, College of Arts and Humanities

Bobby Hoffman, College of Community Innovation and Education

Elizabeth Hoffman, College of Community Innovation and Education

Alisha Janowsky, College of Sciences

Abdelkader Kara, College of Sciences

David Kwun, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Stephen Lambert, College of Medicine

Peter Larson, College of Arts and Humanities

Joseph LaViola Jr., College of Engineering and Computer Science

Edgard Maboudou, College of Sciences

Kevin Mackie, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Iryna Malendevych, College of Community Innovation and Education

Jonathan Matusitz, College of Sciences

Holly McDonald, College of Arts and Humanities

Florin Mihai, College of Arts and Humanities

Olga Molina, College of Health Professions and Sciences

George Musambira, College of Sciences

Nina Orlovskaya, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Talat Rahman, College of Sciences

25 Years of Service

Laura Albers-Biddle, College of Community Innovation and Education

Steven Berman, College of Sciences

Tarek Buhagiar, College of Business

Melissa Dagley, College of Sciences

Sabatino DiBernardo, College of Arts and Humanities

Mark Dickie, College of Business

Ivan Garibay, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Anthony Grajeda, College of Arts and Humanities

Bari Hoffman, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Steven Hornik, College of Business

Anna Jones, College of Arts and Humanities

Mikhail Klimov, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Stefanie Mayfield Garcia, College of Business

Rudy McDaniel, College of Arts and Humanities

Rachel Mulvihill, 麻豆原创 Libraries

Christopher Niess, College of Arts and Humanities

Eugene Paoline, College of Community Innovation and Education

Sumanta Pattanaik, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Tison Pugh, College of Arts and Humanities

Walter Sotero, College of Sciences

Suren Tatulian, College of Sciences

Nizam Uddin, College of Sciences

Lei Wei, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Graham Worthy, College of Sciences

Shin-Tson Wu, College of Optics and Photonics

30 Years of Service

Charlie Abraham, College of Arts and Humanities

Helen Becker, College of Business

James Campbell, College of Arts and Humanities

Karl X. Chai, College of Medicine

Ratna Chakrabarti, College of Medicine

Jill Fjelstul, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Barbara Fritzsche, College of Sciences

Nora Lee Garc铆a, College of Arts and Humanities

Linwood Jones, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Alexander Katsevich, College of Sciences

Kuotsai Tom Liou, College of Community Innovation and Education

Lisa Logan, College of Arts and Humanities

Humberto L贸pez Cruz, College of Arts and Humanities

Eric Martin, Office of Research

Kevin Meehan, College of Arts and Humanities

Charles H. Reilly, Office of the Provost

Timothy Rotarius, College of Community Innovation and Education

Peter Spyers-Duran, 麻豆原创 Libraries

Alexander Tovbis, College of Sciences

Laurence von Kalm, College of Sciences

Linda Walters, College of Sciences

Bruce Wilson, College of Sciences

Hong Zhang, College of Arts and Humanities

Ying Zhang, 麻豆原创 Libraries

35 Years of Service

Issa Batarseh, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Alain Kassab, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Mansooreh Mollaghasemi, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Robert Peale, College of Sciences

Chung-Ching Wang, College of Sciences

40 Years of Service

Ahmad Elshennawy, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Michael Georgiopoulos, College of Engineering and Computer Science

David Hagan, College of Optics and Photonics

Anna Lillios, College of Arts and Humanities

Mubarak Shah, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Kalpathy Sundaram, College of Engineering and Computer Science

45 Years of Service

Robert Rivers, College of Arts and Humanities

55 Years of Service

Chuck Dziuban, Division of Digital Learning

Faculty Emeritus and Emerita

Lynn Casmier-Paz, College of Arts and Humanities

James Clark, College of Arts and Humanities

Teresa Dorman, College of Sciences

Chuck Dziuban, Division of Digital Learning

Amy Giroux, College of Arts and Humanities

Glenda Gunter, College of Community Innovation and Education

Michael Hampton, College of Sciences

Richard Hofler, College of Business

Robin Kohn, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Piotr Mikusinski, College of Sciences

Ram Mohapatra, College of Sciences

Donna Neff, College of Nursing

Alice Noblin, College of Community Innovation and Education

Robert Peale, College of Sciences

Trey Philpotts, College of Arts and Humanities

Robin Roberts, College of Business

Sherron Killingsworth Roberts, College of Community Innovation and Education

Lisa Roney, College of Arts and Humanities

Sybil St. Claire, College of Arts and Humanities

Terry Ann Thaxton, College of Arts and Humanities

Deborah Weaver, College of Arts and Humanities

Retired Faculty

Ahlam Al-Rawi, College of Sciences

Donna Breit, College of Nursing

Martha Brenckle, College of Arts and Humanities

Chinyen Chuo, Student Success and Well-Being

Therese Coleman, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Robertico Croes, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Juli Dixon, College of Community Innovation and Education

Teresa Dorman, College of Sciences

Chuck Dziuban, Division of Digital Learning

Philip Fairey, Office of Research

John Fauth, College of Sciences

Amy Giroux, College of Arts and Humanities

Glenda Gunter, College of Community Innovation and Education

Michael Hampton, College of Sciences

Roger Handberg, College of Sciences

C. Keith Harrison, College of Business

Randall Hewitt, College of Community Innovation and Education

Rebecca Hines, College of Community Innovation and Education

Richard Hofler, College of Business

Charlie Hughes, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Alvaro Islas, College of Sciences

Mourad Ismail, College of Sciences

David Jenkins, College of Sciences

Michael Johnson, Office of the Provost

Dayle Jones, College of Community Innovation and Education

Denise Kay, College of Medicine

Gary Leavens, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Mary Little, College of Community Innovation and Education

Humberto L贸pez Cruz, College of Arts and Humanities

Michael Macedonia, Office of Research

Wasfy Mikhael, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Piotr Mikusinski, College of Sciences

Roslyn Miller, Division of Digital Learning

Ram Mohapatra, College of Sciences

Vicki Montoya, College of Nursing

Brian Moore, College of Sciences

Donna Felber Neff, College of Nursing

Alice Noblin, College of Community Innovation and Education

Peggy Nuhn, 麻豆原创 Libraries

Joyce Nutta, College of Community Innovation and Education

Jeffrey O鈥橞rien, College of Business

Bendegul Okumus, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Fevzi Okumus, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Robert Peale, College of Sciences

Trey Philpotts, College of Arts and Humanities

Brian Plamondon, Office of Research

Michael Proctor, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Enrique Puig, College of Community Innovation and Education

Pedro Quintana-Ascencio, College of Sciences

Mark Rapport, College of Sciences

Sherron Roberts, College of Community Innovation and Education

Kelly Schaffer, College of Community Innovation and Education

Elzbieta Sikorska, College of Sciences

Jo Smith, Division of Digital Learning

Sybil St. Claire, College of Arts and Humanities

Mark Steiner, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Raymond Surette, College of Community Innovation and Education

Terry Ann Thaxton, College of Arts and Humanities

Patti Thielemann, College of Nursing

Cheryl Van De Mark, College of Community Innovation and Education

Martine Vanryckeghem, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Jane Vaughan, College of Arts and Humanities

Scott Warfield, College of Arts and Humanities

Debbie Weaver, College of Arts and Humanities

Philip Wessel, College of Community Innovation and Education

James Whitworth, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Boguslawa Anna Wolford, College of Community Innovation and Education

Laine Wyatt, College of Arts and Humanities

Cherie Yestrebsky, College of Sciences

Martin Klapheke, College of Medicine

Stephen Lambert, College of Medicine

Olga Molina, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Euripides Montagne, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Darlin’ Neal, College of Arts and Humanities

Michael Pape, College of Business

Tison Pugh, College of Arts and Humanities

David Young, College of Sciences

The university recognized employees who reached milestone years of service, along with those recently retired or about to be. 麻豆原创 also presented a Champion of Student Success and Well-Being Award and excellence awards in recognition of employees who made exceptional contributions to benefit the campus community.

鈥淲e celebrate your service, your dedication, and the impact you make across this university. But behind that recognition is something even more powerful: the daily commitment, the steady work, and the consistency that build momentum over time,鈥� says 麻豆原创 President Alexander N. Cartwright. 鈥淭he future we talk about at 麻豆原创 is not something that begins someday. It is already taking shape in the work you do, in the systems you support, and in the experiences you create for our students.聽Thank you.鈥�

麻豆原创 this year brought a new category of Employee Leadership Excellence Awards, recognizing non-faculty administrative leadership at the director level and above. They joined the expanded Employee Excellence Awards, which highlighted the remarkable contributions of full-time employees up to an associate director level.

The employee event kicked off a Founders鈥� Day celebration that also included faculty and student celebrations. Combined, more than 900 honorees were recognized during the three ceremonies this year.

Here are the honorees from this year鈥檚 Employee Honors Celebration.

Excellence Awards

Employee Excellence Awards for Operational Excellence

Arijeta Kavaja, Public Safety

Cecily McCoy-Fisher, Office of Research

Anna Nye, Office of Risk and Safety

Cindy Prophitt, Facilities and Business Operations

Employee Excellence Awards for Student Success

Cynthia Almanzar, Student Success and Well-Being

Laura Czerkies, Burnett Honors College

Michael McKee, College of Optics and Photonics

Donna Mercado, College of Nursing

Employee Excellence Awards for Community Well-Being

Jodi Reinhart, College of Sciences

Lorna Rodriguez, College of Engineering and Computer Science

David Stoneburner, Office of Institutional Resources

Mykhael Walker, Analytics and Integrated Planning

Employee Excellence Awards for Service and Partnership

Drew Barnes, College of Graduate Studies

Faith DeLorenzo, Digital Learning

Lovelyn Findley, Advancement and Partnerships

Antoine Hart, University Strategic Communications

Employee Excellence Awards Nominees

Sadia Afrin

Cynthia Almanzar

Michelle Anchel

Otto Argibay

Anthony (Joey) Asti

Drew Barnes

Alexandra Barraza-Oliphant

Davalda 鈥淒ee鈥� Bellot

Jim Bennett

Miryana Blesso

Monique Carter

Laura Czerkies

Faith DeLorenzo

Lovelyn Findley

Amanda Greaves

Antoine Hart

Christina Hussey

Alexis Hutchins

Erica Hutton

Kat Jones

Arijeta Kavaja

Marsha Kernica

Melina Kinsey

Keanna Machado

Jay Malcolm

Chuck Mannella

Samantha Mason

Cecily McCoy-Fisher

Michael McKee

Donna Mercado

Traci Mibuta

Anna Nye

Steven Pardo

Diana Perez

Anthony Piazza

Cindy Prophitt

Frances 鈥淔ran鈥� Ragsdale

Matthew Rall

Jodi Reinhart

Lorna Rodriguez

Ashley Samson

William Self

Maricel Soto

Jennifer Stalzer

Emily Stettner

David Stoneburner

Jeremiah Taylor

Rebecca Underhill

Mykhael Walker

Denise Whiteside

Maria Williams

Employee Leadership Excellence Awards

Employee Leadership Excellence Award for Strategic Execution

Andre Watts, Analytics and Integrated Planning

Employee Leadership Excellence Award for People Leadership and Talent Stewardship

Andrea Withington, College of Community Innovation and Education

Employee Leadership Excellence Award for Advancing Collaboration and Partnership

Germayne Graham, Student Programs and Outreach

Employee Leadership Excellence Award for Innovation, Improvement, and Bold Action

Kim Smith, Office of Research

Employee Leadership Excellence Awards Nominees

Drew Andrews

Morgan Bauer

Austin Bott

Brian Boyd

David Canova

Megan Carrigan

Shafaq Chaudhry

Sherri Dixon

Madi Dogariu

Michael Duong

Amy Ellis

Gerard Flood

Steven Freund

Andrea Gandy

Delia Garcia

Germayne Graham

Stephanie Heron

Dana Juntunen

Kerlene King

Ashley Longoria

Ayanna Lopez

Carla McCabe

Rudy McDaniel

Amy Perry

Charlie Piper

Candida Richards

Elizabeth Richner

Cesar RiveraCruzado

Rex Roberts

Anastasia Salter

Wendy Sarubbi

Basma Selim

Kim Smith

Meghan Truhett

Suzzette Turner

Michael Wainstein

Tyler Walsh

Andre Watts

Danta White

Andrea Withington

Champion of Student Success and Well-Being Award

Rosemarie Mendoza, Facilities and Business Operations

Emerita Status Awardee

Amy Giroux, College of Arts and Humanities

Employee Service Awards

45 Years of Service

Donna Hickson

35 Years of Service

Tina Maier

Michael Reed

Patricia Trovillion

30 Years of Service

Sharon Bady

Travis Cain

Adrianne Demetry

Francisco Dionisi

Joel Lavoie

Elizabeth Rivera

25 Years of Service

Herlinda Bedoya

Michael Bell

Abdulbaset Benwali

Terri Bigham

Bruce Boutwell

Olivia Bridges

Amy Buford

Cristina Caamano

Carlos Chardon

Keith Coelho

Janny Colon

Elizabeth Costello

Al Davis

Steven Dick

Rafael Durand

Sira Giron

Rebecca Hammond

Jonathan Hanie

Keith Honaker

Davina Hovanec

Latchmin Jaggernauth

Susan Jefferson

Georgia Kent

Michelle Matthews

Andrew O’Mara

Jennifer Opper

Naya Ramirez

Gail Raymond

Brenda Rodrigues

Timothy Ryan

Maria Santiago

Heather Simeon

Carl Truesdell

Meena Turner

Maria Williams

Dela Williams

Andrea Withington

20 Years of Service

Michael Aldarondo-Jeffries

Lindsay Archambault

Gloria Bastidas

Renee Bence

Eric Brewington

Daren Caine

Michael Callahan

Marc Cassidy

Robin Chan

Karen Cox

Kelley Dietrich

Matthew Dunn

Scott Eberle

Cecilia Elias

Samuel Ensenat

Marelis Figueredo Garcia

Matthew Fitzgerald

Scott Freeman

Glenn Gaborko

Tyniesia Gandy

Kelly Gill

Lindana Gomez

Brian Graham

Timothy Haduch

Jenny Hartman

Elizabeth Herrera

Sarah Hunt

Tamara Jomarron

Carreen Krapf

Ellaine Leodones

Marlene Lugo

Carlos Martinez

Deysi Mercedes

Heather Murphy

Uday Nair

Perla Ongy

Robert (Bob) Opdahl

Haresh Patel

Rachel Perry

Omesh Persaud

Sandy Pouliot

Christine Pugh

Luz Quintero

Maria Quintero

Christopher Rains

Tim Reid

Elizabeth Rodriguez

Terrance Rooth

Diana Santiago

Saul Santiago

Kathy Sapp

Basma Selim

Romeo Sibayan

Jeff Smith

George Taylor

Lynda Toussaint

Shreya Trivedi

Reina Vazquez

Tonya Walker

15 Years of Service

Marlene Agostini

Jose Arce

Lucy Bautista

Randy Beck

Aiza Beguez

Miryana Blesso

Carolyn Castro

Silvia Cerro

Lorinda Clark

Patricia Colyer

Theresa Davis

Dani Draper

Jennifer Elliott

Tamara Gabrus

Ernie Gemeinhart

Jessica Glaspie

James Grant

Lisa Haas

Allison Henderson

Maribel Herrera

Jason Kennedy

Ann Kershner

Usha Lal

Dora Laureano

Hank Lewis

Ujjwala Magdum

Jennifer Mark

Jessica Matos

Meghan McCollum

Amanda Miller

Tracey Morrison

Kimberly Nassoiy

Beth Nettles

Hoang Nguyen

Jorge Olmedo

Minh Phan

Rhett Proctor

Elida Prophete

Michael Pugh

Ligia Ramirez

Rebeca Richards

Maria Rodriguez

Daniel Sagendorf

Kimberly Sargent

Wendy Sarubbi

Nick Schenk

Dave Schreier

Lori Shuff

Jacob Skinner

Terri Smith

Suzanne Stalvey

Brian Strickland

Christy Tant

Freddie Tirado Jr.

Joanne Toole

Roger Tripp

Matthew Vaccaro

Tamara Vassallo Soto

Martha Wiggins

Wanda Wint

10 Years of Service

Danielle Adams

Terrell Alexander

Julissa Alicea

Lindsey Anderson

Nadine Arentz

Jose Ayala Torres

Morgan Bauer

Shaun Black

John Boehm

Kate Brinister

Danilo Canlas

Megan Carrigan

Melissa Choinski

Madhavi Chokshi

Lorine Cisch-Taylor

Lisa Clendenning

Shannon Colon

Robert Connors

John Cooke

Todd Coon

Richard Cortez-Satterlee

Joanna Couch

Brandon Couts

Meghan Crowther

Summer Davis

Katherine Del Cid

Vanessa Delgado

Gerald Dillon

Kerri Drylie

Mirvate El Jerdi

Shajira El Masri

Amy Ellis

Jerad Engel

Damian Fagan

Marites Falkenhausen

Sarah Farrell

Jessica Fasano

Ben Fauser

Melissa Fawcett

Janet Feliciano

Valentina Fernandez

Jason Francis

Neftali Garcia

Eileen Garner

Christopher Gase

Kristina Gomez

Agustin Gonzalez

Adriel Gonzalez Gutierrez

Ryan Goodwin

Liz Gordian Olmo

Walter Gordon

Rhonda Granger Gomez

Josh Haupt

George Hayner Jr.

Rita Higgins

Katherine Hoefer

Elizabeth Hughes

Erica Hutton

Renee Johnston

Nathanael Jones

Megan Kellogg

Brian Kelly

Mike Kilbride

Maureen Landgraf

Daniel Lee

Missy Lesnewski

Ian Levy

Sarojben Limbachia

George Lopez

Ricardo Lopez

Juan Lugo

Karemah Manselle

Kristy McAllister

Justin McGill

Pamela McGlinchey

Oliver McSurley

Rebecca Meadows

Nelson Mendez

Pamela Mills

Mike Minutelli

Eli Mizell

Angela Moreira

Rebecca Mowrer

Lauren Murray-Lemon

David Neese

Lucas Noboa

Loida Olivas

Jeffrey Panter

Steven Pardo

Juana Pasco

Laura Patterson

Deborah Pease

Miguel Pellot

Ryan Pendry

Karen Peterson

Wanda Pruett-Butler

Abner Ramos Pi帽ero

Erica Recktenwald

Samantha Redlund

Elizabeth Richner

Carlos Rivera

Victor Rivera

Lisa Roberts

Jacob Scholtz

Skender Shehu

Mari Sievinen

Kiela Sims

Aaron Smart

Liza Smith

Casey Smith

Esperanza Soto

Calvin Soto

Tenley Sterkel

Timothy Sullivan

Jackson Thevenin

Danielle Traylor

Wanda Tummons

Anna Velocci

Brian Villar

Stephen Villiotis

Paul Werden

Jonathan White

Barbara Wilson

Dylan Yonts

5 Years of Service

Lidya Abdelmalak

Elna Andreeva

Dana Archer

Linnette Aviles

Jessica Banos

Arismir Barreiras Peralta

Kristy Beitler

Summer Bernini

Abby Bertrand

Mayra Bonilla Torres

Melissa Braillard

Drew Bryant

Barbara Busch

Jess Camacho

Alexander N. Cartwright

Maria Ceku

Gianna Cifredo

Wilfredo Cornelio

Mario De Vera

Franco Del Pino

Mark Durbin

David Edgar

Lori Fiandra

Steven Fournier

Amoy Fraser

Raquela Garcia-Valenzuela

Melissa Gilliland

Luis Gonzalez

Marisela Guillen

Kathleen Hawkins

Robert Herr

Donna Jackson

Chase Jicha

Justin Kardach

Jamie Kaynan

Scott Langdon

Sarah Lardizabal

Kristeena LaRoue

Angela Lehman

Lucy Leon

Lawrence Lipe

Alex Lucchi

Marc Maheu

Alli Maiorano

Martha Martin

Reyner Martinez

Kate Mascheri

Angelica Mateo

Stephanie Mederos

Christopher Miller

Sarah Moore

Mindy Mozena

Lisa Myles

Iris Neil

Veronica Pak

Evgenia Pamer

Neelam Patel

Tran Pham

Cat Puckett

Monica Quimbayo

Michael Rivera

Marvecia Robinson

Leslie Rogers

Mary Rush

Luis Sanchez Artavia

Kyle Sindelar

Monica Smith

Yulisney Sotolongo

Garrett Spurlin

Jennifer Stalzer

Kimberly Stangle

Kenneth Steele

Lorenzo Stefko

Shari-Ann Stewart

Jane Stump

Elizabeth Tammaro

Jason Taningco

Raquel Toro-Espinal

Pia Valenciano

Thaina Velez

Danta White

Roksana Zak

Recognition of Retirees

Rafael Abreu

Yousef Ayoub

Pam Barkman

Suzette Batka

Emily Bennett

Richard Berwanger

Jeanne Blank

Patrick Blount

Parri Bolinger

Marcus Bowan

Deborah Bradford

Roanne Brice

Gary Burkhart

Rose Carpenter

Rick Catasus

Edgar Chavez

Willis Chico

Eunice Choi

Diane Claudio

Theresa Collins

Debra Copertino

Laura Crouch

Carol Davella

Karen Dlhosh

Debbie Doyle

Carol Ann Dykes Logue

Larry Eflin

Joseph Finnigan

Perry Fraser

Catherine Gholson

Amy Giroux

Robert Goater

Mariela Gonzalez

Tracy Griffith

Mark Gumble

Tania Gutierrez-Catasus

Martha Hamann

MJ Herbert Fuerst

Bethsy Hernandez

Ana Hernandez

Cherie Herrin

Michael Herring

Cathy Hill

Jane Ingalls

Wayne Jackson

Larry Jaffe

Daniel Kidder

Lee Kirkpatrick

Phyllis Kornegay

Melinda Kramer

Donna Leavitt

Ruben Lopez

Dennis Maddox

Kelli Marini

Janice Matley

Marcia Maukonen

Oscar Mauricio

James 鈥淛im鈥� McCully

Carrie McDowell

Linda Milner

Bruce Mink

Michele Monteith

Abderrahim Mouhassin

Christine Mouton

Jesus Munoz

Chuck Nicholas

Stephen OConnell

Leonardo Pascua

Esther Pennepacker

Rosario Pizarro

Brenda Posey

Michele Pozdoll

Odus Radford

Frances Ragsdale

Cindy Rahrle

Robert Reed

Wayne Regilio

Stella Restrepo

Kayonne Riley

Iris Rios

Charles Roberts

Norma Robles

Aimara Rodriguez

James Roop

Rosalba Ruiz

Eileen Ryan

Judith Samuels

Nicolas Santos

James Schaus

Jeanette Schreiber

Susan Schroen

Alison Schultz

Elena Sequera

Kelly Shilton

Michael Shumack

Shela Siegrist

Liza Smith

Karen Smith

Kathleen Snoeblen

Terry Stein

Peter Stephens

Patty Stroupe

Timothy Sullivan

Randolph Sulter

Jeffrey Ulmer

Lisa Vaughn

Luis Velozo

Rebecca Vilsack

Vicki Vitale

Deborah Walker

Kerry Welch

Maria Jocelyn Wick

Scott Wiles

Elena Wilson

Robert Wong

Our students are groundbreaking national and global scholarship winners, researchers, athletes, teaching assistants, residence assistants and leaders in campus organizations, including Student Government, LEAD Scholars and the President鈥檚 Leadership Council. The honorees include transfer students, those from first-generation and international backgrounds and members of the Burnett Honors College.

Aside from focusing on academics and campus causes, many of the student honorees volunteered at hospitals, schools, parks, food banks, shelters, clinics, youth clubs and with many community service organizations 鈥� at times as organizers and coordinators for support drives and campaigns.

鈥淲hen you look at this group, you see trajectory.鈥� 鈥� John Buckwalter, 麻豆原创’s provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs

鈥淭he students we recognize at our Founders鈥� Day Student Honors Celebration are extraordinary not just for what they鈥檝e achieved, but for how they鈥檝e shaped their time at 麻豆原创. They鈥檝e pursued opportunities, challenged themselves and lifted others along the way,鈥� says John Buckwalter, 麻豆原创’s provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. 鈥淲hen you look at this group, you see trajectory 鈥� students whose experiences here are opening doors in meaningful ways and changing the direction of their futures, the trajectories of their families and the communities they inhabit.鈥�

Student award categories highlight new inductees of the Order of Pegasus, 麻豆原创鈥檚 highest student honor; graduate awards for outstanding master鈥檚 thesis and outstanding dissertation; undergraduate awards for honors thesis; and individual college awardees as chosen by the respective college deans. All honorees earned financial awards.

This year鈥檚 37 inductees into the Order of Pegasus mark the 25^th anniversary class of top-achieving Knights. The average GPA of the 2026 class is 3.912.

The campus community is invited to attend the Student Honors Celebration on Wednesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Student Union鈥檚 Pegasus Ballroom. A brief reception will follow.

Here are the students to be recognized.

Order of Pegasus Inductees

• Fatima Alziyad, College of Health Professions and Sciences and Burnett Honors College
• Andy Ayup, College of Sciences
• Megan Bailey, College of Engineering and Computer Science and Burnett Honors College
• Stacie Becker 鈥�23, College of Arts and Humanities
• Akash Hari Bharath 鈥�25MS, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Swati Bhargava 鈥�25MS, College of Optics and Photonics
• Sanjana Bhatt, College of Medicine and Burnett Honors College
• Griffon Binkowski 鈥�24, College of Sciences and Burnett Honors College
• Ossyris Bury, College of Engineering and Computer Science and Burnett Honors College
• Nico Chen, College of Arts and Humanities and Burnett Honors College
• Kyle Coutray, College of Medicine, College of Engineering and Computer Science and Burnett Honors College
• Allyson Crighton, College of Nursing and Burnett Honors College
• Nyauni Crowelle-Feggins, College of Health Professions and Sciences and Burnett Honors College
• Cameron Cummins, College of Arts and Humanities and Burnett Honors College
• Andrew 鈥淒rew鈥� Hansen 鈥�25, College of Medicine and Burnett Honors College
• Andrea Hernandez Gomez, College of Sciences
• Lindsey Hildebrand, College of Health Professions and Sciences
• Ariana Johnson, College of Medicine
• Sanjan Kumar 鈥�23, College of Medicine
• Kworweinski Lafontant, College of Health Professions and Sciences
• Meera Lakshmanan, College of Medicine and Burnett Honors College
• Abrianna Lalle, College of Nursing
• Ilana Logvinov, College of Nursing
• Hannah Lovejoy, College of Business
• Taiel Lucile, College of Health Professions and Sciences and Burnett Honors College
• Robin Marquez, College of Sciences
• Shanel Moya Aguero, College of Community Innovation and Education and Burnett Honors College
• Gabrielle 鈥淕abby鈥� Murison, College of Sciences
• Varun Nannuri, College of Medicine and Burnett Honors College
• Natalie Otero, College of Business and Burnett Honors College
• Om Pathak, College of Medicine, College of Arts and Humanities and Burnett Honors College
• Pritha Sarkar 鈥�24, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Jacob Vierling, College of Community Innovation and Education
• Janapriya Vijayakumar, College of Medicine and Burnett Honors College
• Ornella Vintimilla, College of Medicine and Burnett Honors College
• Om Vishanagra, College of Medicine, College of Engineering and Computer Science and Burnett Honors College

Undergraduate Student Awards

College Founders鈥� Award

• Liam Pivnichny, Burnett Honors College
• Antonella Bisbal Hernandez, College of Arts and Humanities
• Jordan Nell, College of Business
• Jude Hagan, College of Community Innovation and Education
• Ossyris Bury, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Timothy Horanic, College of Health Professions and Sciences
• Sun Latt, College of Medicine
• Abrianna Lalle, College of Nursing
• Jacob Silver, College of Optics and Photonics
• Emily Willis, College of Sciences
• Fabian Rodriguez Gomez, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Outstanding Honors Undergraduate Thesis

• Edwin Garcia 鈥�25, College of Arts and Humanities, Outstanding Honors Thesis in Arts, Humanities and Creative Inquiry
• Eric Haseman 鈥�25, College of Sciences, Outstanding Honors Undergraduate Thesis in Social Sciences
• Shreya S. Pawar 鈥�25, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Outstanding Honors Undergraduate Thesis in Natural Sciences
• Andrea C. Molero Perez 鈥�25, College of Medicine, Outstanding Honors Undergraduate Thesis in Health Sciences
• Nicholas Rose 鈥�25, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Outstanding Honors Thesis in Engineering and Technology

Graduate Student Awards

Outstanding Dissertation

• Jessica Moon 鈥�25PhD, College of Health Professions and Sciences
• Michael Pierro 鈥�20 鈥�23MS 鈥�25PhD, College of Engineering and Computer Science

麻豆原创鈥檚 faculty are renowned thinkers, doers and creators delivering high-quality education and leading-industry research with purpose. They are the campus culture-setters 鈥� inspiring ingenuity while upholding our mission to change lives and livelihoods.

The most exceptional among them are recognized annually with the distinction of the university鈥檚 highest honor, the Pegasus Professor award. This year, Hassan Foroosh (College of Computer Science and Engineering); Carmen Giurgescu (College of Nursing); Annette Khaled (College of Medicine); and Matthew Marino (College of Community Innovation and Education) become the newest inductees of this esteemed group.

Their work and research have been motivated by a pursuit to positively impact society 鈥� redefining our capabilities with artificial intelligence (AI) systems; improving pre-term birth outcomes for mothers and their babies; curing cancer; and enhancing quality of life for people with disabilities.

Each will be recognized during Founders鈥� Day, which is April 1 this year and receive $5,000.

Meet the 麻豆原创 Pegasus Professors for 2026:

Hassan Foroosh

CAE-Link Professor of computer science
Director of the Computational Imaging Laboratory

One day your research will solve:

My聽goal has always been not to solve one specific聽problem but聽build聽a machine that is聽the聽problem solver.聽I work with explainable AI and efficient or high-performance AI. My goal is to build general-purpose machines, whether in robotics or autonomous driving or data analytics, etc. I have always thought that there is a way to find a general solution to almost any problem. We just then have to specialize the machines and models to solve specific problems.

What motivates you to pursue this line of research?

I was fascinated by sci-fi movies as a kid. Not many people know this, but I鈥檓 a Trekkie. What always fascinated me were the technologies in that world 鈥� tele-transportation, warp speed, and others. I had not even seen a computer as a kid. Because back then, computers fit in rooms five times the size of my office. I was always interested in electronics and building things. In 1992, I moved back to France to do my Ph.D. and my advisor pushed me in the direction of AI and it鈥檚 been that ever since.

What makes 麻豆原创 the right place to do what you do?

When I first came to 麻豆原创 24 years ago, I saw opportunity for growth, and I saw all the industries around here. I saw Kennedy Space Center next door. I like to build partnerships. I like to see my research used in practice. 麻豆原创 has given me the ability to do that throughout my career.

What has been your favorite moment as a professor?

There are many I can think of. But, once I was vacationing with my family in North Carolina about 10 years ago or so. We were in a mall, and this young man ran toward me. I said, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 going on?鈥� He shook my hand and said, 鈥淒r. Foroosh! I wanted to thank you. You affected my life.鈥� Back then I was teaching classes of 200 students every semester, so it wasn鈥檛 easy to build relationships with every student or remember everyone鈥檚 name. It felt humbling to know that he felt that way and that I impacted his life like that. It was a very good moment.

Carmen Giurgescu

Chatlos Foundation Endowed Chair in Nursing聽Associate聽Dean of聽Research聽
Professor of nursing聽

One day your research will:
Reduce the rate of pre-term births. For the past 20 years, my research has been examining how social determinants of health influence maternal health and birth outcomes, including preterm birth. Pre-term infants, born at less than 37-weeks gestation, are more likely to have developmental delays, hearing problems and blindness than infants born at term. Their mothers are more likely to have stress, depression, and anxiety. I am focused on improving the health of mothers and their babies.

What motivates you to take this on?
I鈥檝e always been passionate about obstetrics, even since childhood. One of my aunts was pregnant with my cousin when I was a young child, and she was a physician, so she felt comfortable telling me about fetal development. I came to the United States in 1990, and I started working in a mother-baby unit. I had the opportunity to talk with mothers and provide care for their babies. And that put me on the trajectory and my passion for pregnancy and birth outcomes.

In what ways do your students inspire you?
They聽come聽up聽with聽new, innovative ideas that I never thought of.聽It鈥檚聽not a matter of聽just them聽learning from me, but聽me聽also聽learning from them. When I see their passion for what they are doing and when I see them being successful, it drives me to be more innovative, to keep pursuing opportunities, and be more resilient.

What contributions聽at 麻豆原创 are you most proud of?
I came here in fall of 2019, and back then the College of Nursing had $1.7 million in research funding. In the 2024-25 academic year, we had $3.8 million.聽That鈥檚聽a 124% increase in funding in five years. I am聽really proud聽of聽the聽commitment of our faculty聽and聽the interprofessional collaboration聽that聽has聽increased聽research and聽advanced聽scholarship聽in our college.

Annette Khaled

Professor of Medicine Cancer Division Head
Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs聽

One day your research will solve:
Cancer. Today, even if you聽treat聽it, the patient聽isn鈥檛聽sure if it will come back. Cancer diagnosis is聽almost like聽a lifetime death threat. I want to get to a place where, much like when we have a cold and take an antibiotic, I want people to be able to say, 鈥淚 have cancer, take my medicine,聽I鈥檓聽done.聽It鈥檚聽not going to come back.聽It鈥檚聽not going to kill me.鈥�

What motivates you to take this on?
I grew up in California, and my grandparents visited us when I was a teenager. I remember my grandfather asked, 鈥淲hat do you want to do?鈥� And I told him, 鈥淚 want to cure cancer.鈥� I think for some reason my whole life聽I鈥檝e聽been aware of this deadly disease. I want to help people. I want to make a difference.

What聽are you most proud of聽during your tenure at 麻豆原创?
I think the resiliency. We are a young college and have struggled with the ups and downs that the world throws at you. Sometimes you won鈥檛 have funding, sometimes you will have tons of funding. Sometimes things go your way with your studies, but this might be after 20 years of doing experiments that 诲颈诲苍鈥檛听work.聽So聽I think what聽I鈥檓聽most proud of is that I聽haven鈥檛聽given up,聽and I still see that聽there鈥檚聽an optimistic future.

奥丑补迟鈥檚听苍别虫迟?
Cancer is a聽really difficult聽disease because everybody鈥檚 cancer is different.聽But personalized drug therapies 鈥� although good in theory 鈥� is聽very hard聽to implement because you would have to have 100聽different聽drugs for each person.聽That鈥檚聽how complicated it is. Our research and method take聽a different聽track.

We鈥檝e聽found that all cancer cells share something in common, a protein-folding complex. With this insight we developed a drug that聽we鈥檙e聽partnering with the Orlando VA聽Healthcare System, thanks to the generous support of Orlando Sports Foundation and聽Alan Gooch聽鈥�84聽鈥�89MA,聽聽to test with patient聽specimens. We have a lot more to聽do聽鈥� this is very preliminary. But I am so pleased with the data. I want to eventually get this into clinical trials and get this into the hands of people.

Matthew Marino

Professor of聽Exceptional聽Student聽Education
Director of the Toni Jennings Exceptional Education Institute聽(TJEEI)

One day your research will:
Empower independence for people living with disabilities. People with disabilities struggle to find and maintain employment. A recent study by the U.S. Department of Labor noted a workforce participation rate of just 42% for people with disabilities, compared to 78% for those without. This lack of employment leads to downstream effects such as the inability to live independently. Our dynamic team is utilizing an interdisciplinary approach to leverage emerging technologies in a way that enhances the lives of people with disabilities across our community.

What motivates you to take this problem on?
When I was in college, I suffered a severe spinal cord injury while playing rugby. I had no idea what a disability was prior to that event, but when you are confined to a聽wheelchair,聽you quickly learn how challenging life can be. It took me years of rehabilitation to recover from the injury. I have been working to improve the lives of people with disabilities who are less fortunate than me ever since.聽My goal is to help them find聽the tools聽to open the doors of employment.

What makes 麻豆原创 the right place to do what you do?
The work we do at TJEEI is based on interdisciplinary partnerships and efficient, effective teamwork.聽I have traveled to universities throughout the country and have not found an institution where there is more ambition to change the world for the better, technology resources to make the change,聽and collaborative vigor to make it happen than there is at 麻豆原创. We are truly blessed to work in this environment.

奥丑补迟鈥檚听苍别虫迟?
When we published聽our聽first article on聽 no one was talking about the impact it would have on education. AI has tremendous potential for people with disabilities, which is something we are actively exploring at the National Center on Innovation, Design, and Digital Learning, where I am a co-principle investigator. I鈥檓 not sure where it will take us, but I am extremely optimistic that it can enhance the lives of people with disabilities while improving employment and independent living outcomes.

Few researchers have recharged and revitalized the electric power industry as Pegasus Professor Zhihua Qu has. Through his efforts, the energy systems that power our everyday lives are smarter, cleaner and more resilient.

In recognition of his influence, 麻豆原创 will award Qu with the Medal of Societal Impact. This honor is bestowed upon faculty whose research in science, engineering or medicine has significantly impacted humankind. Recipients are selected by an external committee of members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Qu will receive the award during the Founders鈥� Day event on April 1.

鈥� This award represents what we should be doing as researchers 鈥� contributing to society, teaching younger engineers and making an impact through research.鈥�

鈥淚 feel very honored,鈥� Qu says. 鈥淚 appreciate the recognition. This award represents what we should be doing as researchers 鈥� contributing to society, teaching younger engineers and making an impact through research.鈥�

Qu鈥檚 research spans the areas of power system stability, self-organizing microgrids and advanced control of distributed energy resources. His goal is to make power systems more efficient, reliable and secure. In 2017, he partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) to create a plug-and-play grid platform that controls large distributed energy networks and enables utilities to add new components like EV stations and solar farms without the need for a power grid redesign. He also led a DoE team that developed smart inverters to stabilize power grids that run on renewable energy.

His most recent research has focused on making power infrastructure resilient against cybersecurity attacks and extreme weather events. Looking ahead, Qu plans to address the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and the large amounts of energy they consume. He says that using his expertise to solve societal problems is a duty, and one that all research faculty should fulfill.

鈥淎s engineers, as research faculty, as instructors of students, we have the obligation to solve real-world problems,鈥� Qu says. 鈥淭hrough our research, we can improve people鈥檚 lives and enhance economic competitiveness.鈥�

Decades of Industry Impact

鈥淓xternal researchers and engineers come to 麻豆原创 to conduct their experiments here. Without this kind of infrastructure, we can鈥檛 do the state-of-the-art research that we鈥檙e required to do.鈥�

During the decades that Qu has spent working with industry partners such as Siemens, Florida Power & Light (FPL), and General Electric (GE), he鈥檚 found that they want power engineers capable of developing viable solutions to their challenges, not just academic papers or presentations. By bringing those industry partners to 麻豆原创, he鈥檚 strengthened their ties to researchers and students who can develop the technologies they need.

In 2016, 麻豆原创 opened the Siemens Digital Grid Lab to train students on the software and hardware used to manage smart grids and assets such as solar power and autonomous vehicles. The software donated was worth $68 million and was the largest grant awarded in university history.

Just five years later, GE Digital and FPL launched the Microgrid Control Lab, which is used to conduct workforce training and research on advanced distribution management systems and grid resilience.

鈥淚鈥檓 proud of the fact that we鈥檝e built modern facilities for students,鈥� Qu says. 鈥淓xternal researchers and engineers come to 麻豆原创 to conduct their experiments here. Without this kind of infrastructure, we can鈥檛 do the state-of-the-art research that we鈥檙e required to do.鈥�

Impacting the Next Generation

Qu鈥檚 impact doesn鈥檛 just extend to the industry 鈥� he鈥檚 also built a legacy through the next generation of engineers. The labs that Qu has developed at 麻豆原创 have become a training ground for students, a place to prepare for their careers.

Graduate students can work on federally funded projects alongside faculty mentors and develop novel solutions to real-world problems. Qu says he enjoys the excited responses from students who see the resulting benefits of their work.

鈥� When [students] see the impact of their work, the more they study and the more effort they put into their work.鈥�

鈥淚t helps students feel more attached, more inspired,鈥� Qu says. 鈥淚t creates a positive feedback loop. When they see the impact of their work, the more they study and the more effort they put into their work.鈥�

Qu also has the opportunity to mentor and guide junior faculty through the Resilient, Intelligent and Sustainable Energy Systems (RISES) center, composed of an interdisciplinary group of researchers from across the university who work together to address challenges within the energy sector.

Under Qu鈥檚 leadership, RISES has grown from a faculty cluster to a center that boasts a $14 million research portfolio.

鈥淚 want to thank the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the university and the Office of Research for supporting RISES,鈥� Qu says. 鈥淚 think the center sets the stage for the continued success of our faculty and students.鈥�

Nicole Lapeyrouse 鈥�16MS 鈥�18PhD never knows when and where she might be recognized. Students and their significant others who have never met her in person will come up to her in stores and along sidewalks to say, 鈥淓xcuse me, but aren鈥檛 you 鈥�?鈥�

Yes, it鈥檚 her.

The chemistry and geology instructor recently walked into a coffee shop on campus and heard the barista casually singing a familiar tune: Chemsi-Tea time, Ohh-Ohh-Ohh. Flattered, Lapeyrouse said, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 my jingle. You must be in my online course.鈥�

Random encounters around the community make it clear that students are engaging with the videos Lapeyrouse produces for her classes. They learn about concepts like plate tectonics and viscosity, while also getting to know the person teaching it 鈥� she likes drinking tea, for example 鈥� and that鈥檚 the point.

鈥淚 design the classes this way because I love doing it,鈥� Lapeyrouse says. 鈥淏ut most importantly, it鈥檚 effective. That鈥檚 the end goal.鈥�

On Founder鈥檚 Day, Lapeyrouse will be recognized in public again, this time by peers who have selected her to receive the Chuck D. Dziuban Award for excellence in online teaching. The award, in its 13^th year, is named for 麻豆原创鈥檚 first Pegasus Professor and an international pioneer in online learning. Dziuban will be presenting Lapeyrouse with the award at Founders Day, where he will also be honored for his 55 years of service to 麻豆原创.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a tremendous honor because Dr. Dziuban鈥檚 name is synonymous with the pillars of good online teaching,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 heard about him when I was developing my first course. At that time, I wanted to do something different, but I had no idea where it would lead.鈥�

Merging Science with a Hidden Talent

Awards were not on Lapeyrouse鈥檚 mind when she designed her proof of concept in 2017 as a better way for one instructor to connect Chemistry Fundamentals to a class of 475 students.

鈥淭o teach the material well to that many students, I needed to be creative,鈥� she says of the flipped class that eventually supported a fully online class. Students had known Lapeyrouse as an authority on math and science, with a doctorate in chemistry from 麻豆原创 to back it up. They were not aware of her love for art.

The large enrollment class, oddly enough, allowed her to apply all her interests in a flipped classroom format. Instead of developing a standard educational video with the typical PowerPoint slides and voiceover, Lapeyrouse personalized her course. She turned her garage into a studio, borrowed her sister鈥檚 camera and, after dozens of takes and hours of editing, debuted ChemisTea Time, complete with the introductory jingle.

鈥淗onestly, I just hoped it wouldn鈥檛 bomb,鈥� she says.

It didn鈥檛 bomb, although interest in her classes did explode. Feedback was so positive that she used the same video format for her geology course, which has grown from 30 students to as many as 125.

Within the videos, Lapeyrouse enters discussion boards to embed questions and scavenger hunts, and make sure students understand the material. It鈥檚 working, as evidenced by pre-test scores climbing from an average of 25% to a post-test average of 83%.

Over the years, Lapeyrouse has integrated better technology to elevate the production value and engagement of her videos. She created a teleprompter and a lightboard so she can write directly on the screen and maintain eye contact with her invisible audience.

What the students do not see is the time Lapeyrouse puts into each video: 10 hours for one 10-minute video.

鈥淲hen I see how engaged the students are,鈥� she says, 鈥渢hat makes it all worthwhile.鈥�

Our entire 麻豆原创 community was invited to join us at these special events, held April 1in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union, as we recognize fellow Knights for their pursuit of excellence and impact.

Employee Honors Celebration
9 a.m.-noon

During the morning ceremony, staff employees will be honored for their excellence and service.

Faculty Honors Celebration
3-5 p.m.

During the afternoon ceremony, faculty will be honored for their outstanding contributions to research and academia.

Student Honors Celebration
6:30-8 p.m.

During the evening ceremony, students will be recognized for their impact in areas like academics, research and community.

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.

The celebration honored recipients of the鈥�Pegasus Professor Award, 麻豆原创鈥檚 highest faculty honor; the鈥�Reach for the Stars Award; the recipient of the鈥�Medal of Societal Impact award; the inaugural Big 12 Faculty Member of the Year Award, university excellence award winners; those who recently reached 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 years of service; a Faculty Senate service award; faculty granted鈥�别尘别谤颈迟耻蝉鈥�辞谤鈥�别尘别谤颈迟补鈥�status; and retired faculty members.

The event also included the announcement of this year鈥檚 faculty Champion of Student Success and Well-Being Award, which went to Manoj Chopra, professor and associate dean of Undergraduate Affairs in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and a special presentation of provost emeritus status to Michael D. Johnson, 麻豆原创鈥檚 provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. Johnson, 麻豆原创鈥檚 provost since 2020, will retire this summer after 35 years at 麻豆原创 in various teaching and leadership roles.

The faculty event was part of a Founders鈥� Day Celebration鈥痶hat also included separate employee and staff recognition ceremonies. Here are the faculty honorees.

Pegasus Professor Award

Roger Azevedo, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Fevzi Okumus, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Yan Solihin, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Reach for the Stars Award

Amrita Ghosh, College of Arts and Humanities

Leland Nordin, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Yogesh Rawat, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Kelly Stevens, College of Community Innovation and Education

Societal Medal of Impact Award

Mohamed Abdel-Aty, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Champion of Student Success and Well-Being Award

Manoj Chopra, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Big 12 Faculty Member of the Year

Shin-Tson Wu, College of Optics and Photonics

Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

College Awardees

Robert Borgon, College of Medicine

Karin Chumbimuni Torres, College of Sciences

Stacey DiLiberto, College of Arts and Humanities

Archana Dubey, College of Sciences

Leah Gaines, College of Undergraduate Studies

Christine Hanlon, College of Sciences

Gail Humiston, College of Community Innovation and Education

Ethan Hill, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Haidar Khezri, College of Arts and Humanities

Kelly Kibler, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Eunkyung Lee, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Michael Mousseau, College of Sciences

Brian Reese, College of Arts and Humanities

Jeffrey Reinking, College of Business Administration

Meredith Robertson, College of Community Innovation and Education

Sandra Sousa, College of Arts and Humanities

Dawn Turnage, College of Nursing

Rani Vajravelu, College of Sciences

Konstantin Vodopyanov, College of Optics and Photonics

Amanda Walden, College of Community Innovation and Education

Wei Wei, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

University Winner

Christine Hanlon, College of Sciences

Excellence in Graduate Teaching

College Awardees

Tuhin Das, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Melissa Frye, College of Business Administration

Erica Hoyt, College of Nursing

Pieter Kik, College of Optics and Photonics

Jihyun Kim, College of Sciences

Christine Kolaya, College of Arts and Humanities

Sheila Moore, College of Community Innovation and Education

Ahmet Ozturk, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Carey Rothschild, College of Health Professions and Sciences

University Winner

Erica Hoyt, College of Nursing

Excellence in Research

College Awardees

Barbara Andraka-Christou, College of Community Innovation and Education

Desiree D铆az, College of Nursing

Naveen Eluru, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Xin He, College of Business Administration

Emily Johnson, College of Arts and Humanities

Guifang Li, College of Optics and Photonics

Humberto Lopez Castillo, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Michal Masternak, College of Medicine

Richard Plate, College of Undergraduate Studies

Wei Wei, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Xiaohu Xia, College of Sciences

University Winner

Barbara Andraka-Christou, College of Community Innovation and Education

Excellence in Faculty Academic Advising

Chen Chen, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Excellence in Professional Service

Jessica Wickey, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Excellence in Librarianship

Sai Deng, 麻豆原创 Libraries

Excellence in Instructional Design

Amanda Major, Digital Learning

University Award for Excellence in Mentoring Doctoral Students

Engineering, Physical Sciences and Life Sciences

David Mohaisen, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Social Science, Humanities, Education, Business, Art and Health

Juli Dixon, College of Community Innovation and Education

University Award for Excellence in Mentoring Postdoctoral Scholars

Ghaith Rabadi, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Faculty Senate Service Awards

10 Years of Service

Karol Lucken, College of Community Innovation and Education

Service Awards

20 Years of Service

Ni-bin Chang, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Zixi Cheng, College of Medicine

Max Croft, College of Sciences

Leslee Damato-Kubiet, College of Nursing

Kenneth Fedorka, College of Sciences

Yanga Fernandez, College of Sciences

Amy Foster, College of Arts and Humanities

Martha Garcia, College of Arts and Humanities

Vladimir Gatchev, College of Business Administration

Andre Gesquiere, Office of Research

Xun Gong, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Constance Goodman, College of Community Innovation and Education

Ali Gordon, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Richard Hall, College of Sciences

William Hanney, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Tadayuki Hara, Rosen, College of Hospitality Management

Sally Hastings, College of Sciences

Eric Hoffman, College of Sciences

Jeremy Hunt, College of Arts and Humanities

Qun Huo, Office of Research

Hyung Jung, Rosen, College of Hospitality Management

Saiful Khondaker, Office of Research

Jacqueline Lamanna, College of Nursing

Glenn Lambie, College of Community Innovation and Education

Connie Lester, College of Arts and Humanities

Michael Leuenberger Office of Research

Amelia Lyons, College of Arts and Humanities

Carolyn Massiah, College of Business Administration

Daniel Novatnak, College of Sciences

Fevzi Okumus, Rosen, College of Hospitality Management

Thomas Potter, College of Arts and Humanities

Fernando Rivera, College of Sciences

Sean Robb, College of Business Administration

John Rotolo, College of Sciences

Swadeshmukul Santra, Office of Research

Zixia Song, College of Sciences

Judit Szente, College of Community Innovation and Education

Alexandru Tamasan, College of Sciences

Scott Waring, College of Community Innovation and Education

Ronald Weaver, College of Sciences

Harry Weger, College of Sciences

Margaret Zaho, College of Arts and Humanities

Lei Zhai, Office of Research

Changchun Zou, College of Engineering and Computer Science

25 Years of Service

Sue Bauer, Digital Learning

Aniket Bhattacharya, College of Sciences

David Boote, College of Community Innovation and Education

Shawn Burke, College of Graduate Studies

Juli Dixon, College of Community Innovation and Education

Patricia Farless, College of Arts and Humanities

Deguang Han, College of Sciences

Peter Hancock, College of Sciences

Christine Hanlon, College of Sciences

Rae Hanson, College of Graduate Studies

Robin Kohn, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Jaydeep Mukherjee, Office of Research

Carla Poindexter, College of Arts and Humanities

Luis Rabelo, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Dean Reed, College of Graduate Studies

Kimberly Renk, College of Sciences

Kirk Scammon, College of Engineering and Computer Science

David Scrogin, College of Business Administration

Stephen Sivo, College of Community Innovation and Education

Yongho Sohn, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Nancy Swenson, Digital Learning

Terry Thaxton, College of Arts and Humanities

Pamela Thomas, College of Sciences

Kristina Tollefson, College of Arts and Humanities

Rajan Vaidyanathan, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Mark Winton, College of Community Innovation and Education

Ross Wolf, 麻豆原创 Downtown

Ronnie Zimmerman, College of Community Innovation and Education

30 Years of Service聽

Hadi Abbas, College of Arts and Humanities

Mohamed Abdel-Aty, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Debopam Chakrabarti, College of Medicine

David Chasar, Office of Research

Leslie Connell, College of Business Administration

Dina Fabery, College of Arts and Humanities

Cristina Fernandez-Valle, College of Medicine

Kevin Haran, College of Arts and Humanities

James Helsinger, College of Arts and Humanities

Athena Hoeppner, 麻豆原创 Libraries

Aubrey Jewett, College of Sciences

Timothy Kotnour, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Heath Martin, College of Sciences

Janet McIlvaine, Office of Research

Lisa Nalbone, College of Arts and Humanities

Saleh Naser, College of Medicine

Marianna Pensky, College of Sciences

Otto Phanstiel, College of Medicine

Jeanne Piascik, 麻豆原创 Libraries

Jeffrey Rupert, College of Arts and Humanities

Raymond Surette, College of Community Innovation and Education

John Weishampel, College of Graduate Studies

35 Years of Service

Kien Hua, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Zhihua Qu, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Clint Bowers, College of Sciences

Lyman Brodie, College of Arts and Humanities

Sudipto Choudhury, College of Sciences

Shelley Park, College of Arts and Humanities

Alfons Schulte, College of Sciences

40 Years of Service

Karen Biraimah, College of Community Innovation and Education

Gene Lee, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Piotr Mikusinski, College of Sciences

Ady Milman, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Bhimsen Shivamoggi, College of Sciences

45 Years of Service

Charles Hughes, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Faculty Emeritus and Emerita

Gregg A. Buckingham, College of Community Innovation and Education

Robertico Croes, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Joseph DiNapoli, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Juli Dixon, College of Community Innovation and Education

Denise Gammonley, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Roger Handberg, College of Sciences

Charles E. Hughes, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Joe Hutchinson, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

David Jenkins, College of Sciences

Michael D. Johnson, Office of the Provost

Elizabeth A. Klonoff, College of Sciences

Gary Leavens, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Joyce Nutta, College of Community Innovation and Education

Pedro Francisco Quintana-Ascencio, College of Sciences

Abraham Pizam, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Melvin Rogers, College of Community Innovation and Education

Linda Rosa-Lugo, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Maria Cristina Santana-Rogers, College of Arts and Humanities

Michael Sigman, College of Sciences

Mary Lou Sole, College of Nursing

Martine Vanryckeghem, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Cherie Yestrebsky, College of Sciences

Retired Faculty

Richard Ajayi, College of Business Administration

Kelly Allred, College of Nursing

Maureen Ambrose, College of Business Administration

Blaise Bossy, College of Medicine

Ella Bossy-Wetzel, College of Medicine

Gregg Buckingham, College of Community Innovation and Education

Scott Bukstein, College of Business Administration

Carol Burgunder, College of Nursing

Angeline Bushy, College of Nursing

Lynn Casmier-Paz, College of Arts and Humanities

Kevin Coffey, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Maureen Covelli, College of Nursing

Barry Edwards, College of Sciences

Azza Fahim, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Lynette Feder, College of Community Innovation and Education

Denise Gammonley, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Leonid Glebov, College of Optics and Photonics

Paul Goldwater, College of Business Administration

Lixing Gu, Office of Research

Shari Hodgson, College of Sciences

Joe Hutchinson, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Frances Iacobellis, College of Nursing

Steve Jex, College of Sciences

Eric Johnson, Office of Research

Mark Kerlin, 麻豆原创 Global

Joo Kim, College of Arts and Humanities

Barbara Kinsey, College of Sciences

Elizabeth Klonoff, College of Graduate Studies

Keith Koons, College of Arts and Humanities

Alice Korosy, College of Arts and Humanities

Judith Levin, College of Community Innovation and Education

Michael McManus, College of Community Innovation and Education

Zuhair Nashed, College of Sciences

Pedro Patino Marin, College of Sciences

Abraham Pizam, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Robert Reedy, College of Arts and Humanities

Bahaa Saleh, College of Optics and Photonics

Maria Cristina Santana-Rogers, College of Arts and Humanities

Melvin Rogers, College of Community Innovation and Education

Marshall Schminke, College of Business Administration

Janice Seabrooks-Blackmore聽 College of Community Innovation and Education

Timothy Sellnow, College of Sciences

Michael Sigman, College of Sciences

Verner Smith, College of Business Administration

Janan Smither, College of Sciences

Ula Stoeckl, College of Sciences

Joseph Vasquez, College of Sciences

Lewis Worrell, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Xin Yan, College of Sciences

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�