Keith Koons Archives | 麻豆原创 News Central Florida Research, Arts, Technology, Student Life and College News, Stories and More Wed, 03 Jul 2019 16:34:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /wp-content/blogs.dir/20/files/2019/05/cropped-logo-150x150.png Keith Koons Archives | 麻豆原创 News 32 32 International Clarinet Association, 麻豆原创 Partner to Bring ClarinetFest to Orlando /news/international-clarinet-association-ucf-partner-bring-clarinetfest-orlando/ Tue, 27 Jun 2017 15:27:12 +0000 /news/?p=77930 ClarinetFest, the annual conference of the International Clarinet Association, will meet July 26-30 in Orlando in partnership with 麻豆原创鈥檚 School of Performing Arts.

Members of the ICA will hold meetings and presentations during the conference, but several evening concerts 鈥 some of which will be by 麻豆原创 musicians 鈥 are open to the public.

鈥淥ver 1,400 clarinet enthusiasts will be coming to Orlando,鈥 said Keith Koons, professor of clarinet at 麻豆原创 and artistic director of the conference at the DoubleTree聽Hotel, 5780 Major Blvd. 鈥淲e are pleased that the public will have access to conference performances with many impressive international artists.鈥

The 麻豆原创 Percussion Ensemble will perform at 4:30 p.m. July 28, and the 麻豆原创 Jazz Professors combo will perform at 8:30 p.m. July 29 with two nationally known jazz clarinetists, Ken Peplowski and Allan Vach茅. Vach茅 lives in the Orlando area.

Tickets for these and several other concerts listed at are available at the door. General admission tickets are $15.

The ICA also will present a free outreach concert at 3 p.m. July 29 at Dr. Phillips High School. Musicians from the conference will repeat their performances, and there will be two pieces dedicated to the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando.

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President Hitt to Deliver State of the University Address on Tuesday /news/hitt-deliver-state-university-address-tuesday/ Mon, 19 Sep 2016 12:00:44 +0000 /news/?p=74041 麻豆原创鈥檚 annual State of the University address by President John C. Hitt will be presented at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, in the Student Union鈥檚 Pegasus Ballroom.

The university community is invited to hear him discuss the university鈥檚 achievements the past 12 months and the opportunities ahead.

Keith Koons, chair of the Faculty Senate, and Christopher Clemente, president of the Student Government Association, also will address the audience.

Doors will open at 2:30 p.m. A reception will follow the address.

For those unable to attend, viewing access will be available on Facebook at Facebook.com/ucf.

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Hitt to Present State of the University Address /news/hitt-to-present-state-of-the-university-address/ Tue, 01 Sep 2015 08:39:24 +0000 /news/?p=68263 麻豆原创 President John C. Hitt will present his annual State of the University address at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union.

The university community is invited to hear him discuss 麻豆原创鈥檚 opportunities and challenges, along with his vision for the university’s future.

The president鈥檚 address will be followed by remarks from Keith Koons, chair of the Faculty Senate, and Cait Zona, president of the Student Government Association.

Doors for the event will open at 2 p.m. A reception will follow the address.

For those unable to attend, viewing access will be available at oir.ucf.edu/webcast.

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Faculty Honored for Excellence at Founders’ Day Ceremony 2012 /news/faculty-honored-for-excellence-at-founders-day-ceremony-2012/ Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:25:26 +0000 /news/?p=34717 The following honors were awarded to 麻豆原创 faculty members at the annual Founders鈥 Day ceremony. Stories on the winners of the Pegasus Professor Awards, professors who were granted emeritus status, and students who were awarded Founders鈥 Day honors are featured separately.

University Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching: Christopher L. Parkinson, College of Sciences. Parkinson is an associate professor of biology, who is passionate about teaching. He鈥檚 been at 麻豆原创 since 2001. Even though he often teaches the same courses, he prepares each lecture with time and care. An expert in snakes and turtles, and a recipient of grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission among others, Parkinson keeps his work current and challenging for students. He has mentored or directly worked on science research with more than 50 students from high school to graduate school. And he works tirelessly to help encourage all students 鈥 even those in high school 鈥 to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).聽 Aside from active research, teaching and helping students one-on-one, Parkinson also serves on multiple university committees and provides seminars around the world.

Winners from each college were: Patricia B. Angley, Robert Cassanello, Keith Folse and Humberto L贸pez Cruz, College of Arts and Humanities; Honghui Chen and Lauryn A. Migenes, College of Business Administration; Gina Gresham and Lee-Anne Trimble Spalding, College of Education; Arup Guha and Seetha Raghavan, College of Engineering and Computer Science; Denise Gammonley and Ross Wolf, College of Health and Public Affairs; Jill Fjelstul, Rosen College of Hospitality Management; Robert A. Borgon, College of Medicine; Vicki Loerzel, College of Nursing; and Costas J. Efthimiou, Terri Susan Fine, Houman A. Sadri and John J. Schultz, College of Sciences.

University Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching: Julia Listengarten, College of Arts and Humanities. Listengarten is an accomplished professor and sought after for her expertise in theatre by schools and centers around the globe. She integrates theory and practice in her teaching philosophy, which results in a high-intensity environment. This in turn leads to impressive student success. Some of students have gone on to work at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., while others are leading children鈥檚 programs for large cities across the nation. She also shares what she knows by serving in the college鈥檚 Graduate Standards and Research Committee as well as a host of other university-wide projects.

Winners from each college were: Charles Kelliher, College of Business Administration; Haiyan Bai, College of Education; Steven J. Duranceau, College of Engineering and Computer Science; Reid M. Oetjen, College of Health and Public Affairs; Kevin Murphy, Rosen College of Hospitality Management; Steven N. Ebert, College of Medicine; Diane Wink, College of Nursing; Peter J. Delfyett Jr., College of Optics and Photonics; and Liz Grauerholz, College of Sciences.

University Award for Excellence in Research: Mubarak Shah, College of Engineering and Computer Science. Shah is a computer science professor, holds the Agere Chair in Computer Science, and is a leader in his field.聽During the past聽 five years, Shah has made fundamental contributions in two main areas of computer vision: video surveillance and visual crowd analysis. His group has developed a series of novel methods for detection of humans and vehicles, tracking of those objects and recognition of their behavior in wide-area surveillance videos obtained by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Shah also has started a new area of research — visual analysis of large crowds. His group has developed first-of-its-kind algorithms for segmentation of large crowds using Lagrangian dynamics and tracking of an individual in a high-density crowd. In 2010, he was selected as a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Winners from each college were: Tison Pugh, College of Arts and Humanities; Michael R. Caputo, College of Business Administration; Glenn W. Lambie, College of Education; Thomas A. Bryer, College of Health and Public Affairs; H.G. Parsa, Rosen College of Hospitality Management; Dinender K. Singla, College of Medicine; Aristide Dogariu, College of Optics and Photonics; Joseph Harrington, College of Sciences; and Nazim Muradov, Institutes and Centers.

University Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Faculty Advising: Alice Noblin, College of Health and Public Affairs. Noblin is the program director for the Health Informatics and Information Management Program at the university. She advises and instructs students in this program and helps them get ready for national testing. She is excellent at getting them ready. During the most recent nine-month reporting period, the pass rate on the national certification exam for 麻豆原创 graduates was 100 percent while the national average pass rate was 74percent.聽 The 麻豆原创 alum also serves on many advisory committees including Health Informatics and Information Management (HIIM) Program Advisory Committee, RHIT Program Advisory Committee, and the Regional Extension Center Advisory Council. She鈥檚 a leader in the field and is respected by the students she serves.

University Award for Excellence in Professional Academic Advising: Dena M. Ford, College of Sciences. Ford is the coordinator of undergraduate academic support services. In her role she advises hundreds of undergraduate students. Having been a first-generation student and transfer student herself, she can relate to those going through the process. That鈥檚 one reason she created retention outreach workshops to help ease students鈥 transition to college academics. She also is responsible for all transfer students and runs their orientation sessions. She has a master鈥檚 degree in mental-health counseling and another degree in psychology, which helps her steer students in the right direction based on individual career goals. And she鈥檚 conducted research into transfer shock and different populations in higher education.

University Award for Excellence in Librarianship: Timothy Bottorff, Rosen College of Hospitality Management. Bottorff has been with the Universal Orlando Foundation Library at Rosen since its inception in 2004, first as reference librarian and then as head librarian from mid-2007 to the present. Bottorff oversees all functions of the Rosen College library, including administration, reference, library instruction, collection development, website design, marketing, circulation and other services. He is also active in the Florida Library Association and in a variety of other service, research and professional development activities within the library field.

University Awards for Excellence in Professional Service: Keith Koons, College of Arts and Humanities, and Linda Walters, College of Sciences.

Koons is a professor in the music department. His service to the university and the world of music has been outstanding. Koons was the driving force behind the creation of the music department’s Master of Arts degree and he continues to guide the program as graduate coordinator. He has served as chair of several search committees and is a long time chair of the department’s promotion and tenure committee. He has served in the Faculty Senate for years helping to shape many of the policies that have improved conditions on the campus and in the curriculum. He鈥檚 done all this while actively contributing to the International Clarinet Association. Recognizing his abilities and dedication, the association named Koons president in 2008 for a term that concludes in 2012. He also serves on many other local and national organizations related to music including the Advisory Board for A Gift for Music. The nonprofit organization provides stringed-instrument instruction to more than 450 Orange County third-, fourth- and fifth-graders who normally could not afford to be involved in a stringed-instrument program.

Walters is a professor of biology who has dedicated her career to teaching, research and service. She鈥檚 been awarded more than 50 awards specifically tied to service to the community with an estimated value of $3.1 million. Her community-based oyster reef restoration project in Volusia and Brevard counties has led to 50 reefs being restored in four years with the help of 21,936 volunteers that she organized. She鈥檚 also planned and executed 27 workshops or training sessions for educators in marine conservation in the past five years. That鈥檚 in addition to a whale watch program she ran, which benefited 615 麻豆原创 students. She鈥檚 worked with more than six local groups to provide information and education about marine biology. In addition to mentoring new faculty, she provides her expertise to the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, where she is a fellow. This year she also is serving as the interim director of the 麻豆原创 Women鈥檚 Research Center in addition to her teaching duties and her continuing research and oyster restoration work.

Recognition of Service to the University, 40 Years of Service: Richard C. Crepeau and Donald E. Jones, College of Arts & Humanities; Tom Mullin, College of Health and Public Affairs; John (Jeff) Butler and Roger B. Handberg and Jack M. McGuire, College of Sciences.

Recognition of Service to the University, 30 Years of Service: Lee Anne Kirkpatrick, Philip H. Pollock III, James R. Schott and Susan C. Schott, College of Sciences; Sheri Dressler, Office of Undergraduate Studies; David Beal and Betsy L. Gray and John L. Harrison, Division of Research and Commercialization.

Recognition of Service to the University, 20 Years of Service: Donald W. Seay, College of Arts & Humanities; Jeffrey S. Kaplan and Barbara A. Murray, College of Education; Haitham M. Al-Deek, Ruey-Hung Chen, Niels da Vitoria Lobo, Ronald F. DeMara and Pamela McCauley Bush, College of Engineering and Computer Science; Carol M. Bast, College of Health and Public Affairs; Weili Luo, College of Sciences; and Thomas O鈥橬eal and Lawrence E. Ziock, Division of Research and Commercialization.

Retired and Retiring Faculty :

Jagdish J. Chavda and Ronnie Z. Hawkins, College of Arts & Humanities; Robert C. Ford, Warren McHone, Linda Beats Putchinski and William Weaver, College of Business Administration; Lawrence Mione, Jennifer Platt, Mary K. Romjue and Mary Starzynski, College of Education; Lesia L. Crumpton-Young, College of Engineering and Computer Science; Patricia Bishop, College of Graduate Studies; David Fabianic and Steve Shideler, College of Health and Public Affairs; Susan Scott Ricci, College of Nursing; Glenn D. Boreman and James E. Harvey, College of Optics and Photonics; Carol C. Bledsoe, Constance E. Cutchins, Joe Hall, Ronnie F. Smith, Brian P. Tonner and Carrie Whitcomb, College of Sciences; Thomas L. Clarke and James C. Huggins, Division of Research and Commercialization; Evelyn S. Case and Carole Hinshaw, Information Technologies and Resources; and Mary D. Bozeman and Helen Y. Hill, Regional Campuses.

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