The awards are designed to honor elected officials, public-service professionals, nonprofit leaders and volunteers who have demonstrated leadership in and commitment to the field of public service.

鈥淭hese awards recognize some incredible people in our community who have dedicated their lives to making the world a better place for all of us,鈥� said Michael Frumkin, dean of the College of Health & Public Affairs. 鈥淭hey truly embody the college鈥檚 mission of Strengthening Communities: Changing Lives,聽inspiring our students as role models for the future careers.鈥�

Many of the honorees attended a ceremony Wednesday evening at the Morgridge International Reading Center on the main 麻豆原创 campus.

The 2016 winners are:

Exemplary Public Service Lifetime Achievement Award: Nelson

Exemplary Public Service Leadership Award, elected official: Gardiner

Exemplary Public Service Leadership Award, nonelected official: Ajit Lalchandani, Orange County administrator

Exemplary Public Service Organization Award: Central Florida Commission on Homelessness

Public Service Career Achievement Award: Pamela Landwirth, president and CEO of Give Kids the World

Young Public Service Professional Award, Jessica Schwendeman, assistant director of Volunteer Resource Center at Heart of Florida United Way

Several 麻豆原创 graduates also were honored with Alumni Achievement Awards during Wednesday鈥檚 ceremony:

Public Administration, John Titkanich, 鈥�01, city manager鈥� of Cocoa

Nonprofit Management,鈥ˋnna Eskamani, 鈥�12 and 鈥�15,鈥╯enior director of public affairs and field operations, Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida

Urban & Regional Planning, Erin Sterk, 鈥�08 and 鈥�14,鈥╟ity planner III, Osceola County

Research Administration, Winona Ward, 鈥�15,鈥╠irector of research, Management Services, University of California

Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Michelle Cechowski, 鈥�12,鈥╡mergency preparedness manager,鈥‥ast Central Florida Regional Planning Council

The annual recognition is part of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Public Service Recognition Week. 麻豆原创鈥檚 School of Public Administration, the College of Health and Public Affairs alumni chapter, and the Central Florida Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration hosted the celebration.

Getting high school students to dream is not the problem. Getting them excited and ready to start their careers in college is, and that鈥檚 why 麻豆原创 and Evans High School 鈼� A Community School are teaming up at 麻豆原创 Takeover Week Oct. 12-16.

麻豆原创 students, faculty, administrators and volunteers will spend time at Evans this week helping students envision college as part of their future and then showing them the tools and roadmaps to get there.

Organizers are also delivering another message: College can be fun.

Knightro, 麻豆原创鈥檚 mascot, the 麻豆原创 cheerleaders and the band will all perform at Evans as a way to showcase the fun side of college life. More than 30 student organizations will talk to students about the kinds of clubs and activities they can pursue from dance to engineering. Evans students also will get an opportunity to listen to 麻豆原创 admissions and financial aid officers talk about getting ready for college, successfully navigating the admissions process, and payment options.

鈥淭his is about connecting with students and families in our community and making sure they know that higher education can very much be part of their future,鈥� said Michael Frumkin, dean of the 麻豆原创 College of Health and Public Affairs. The college played a major role in organizing the event along with 麻豆原创鈥檚 Student Development and Enrollment Services division. 鈥淲e want all students to know we are here for them and to help them best prepare for a successful journey to college.鈥�

Last year, 15 麻豆原创 students were volunteer mentors to ninth-graders at Evans, offering the teens support and guidance for success in life.聽麻豆原创 Takeover Week is another way to introduce more 麻豆原创 students to Evans. Organizers hope the event will also inspire them and others in the community to become mentors and to continue delivering the message that college is accessible.

And because getting to college isn鈥檛 just up to students, 麻豆原创 is also hosting a parent-information session at Evans from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15.

During the session parents can watch several panel presentations about the admissions process, paying for college, and the benefits of alternative pathways to college, such as ROTC and DirectConnect to 麻豆原创.

Students and parents also will get the opportunity to see some of the innovative things students at 麻豆原创 are doing, including designing computer games, engineering devices that help the disabled, and much more.

A schedule of events:

Monday

11-12:30 p.m.: Kickoff with performances by Knightro, 麻豆原创 cheerleaders and dance team

2:30-4:45 p.m.: Cultural fair featuring 12 麻豆原创 clubs including Black Student Union, Colombian Student Association and Giving Back Evans Alumni.

Tuesday

11-12:30 p.m.: Outreach and mentoring of students

2:30-4:45 p.m.: Nine different sessions on everything from undergraduate admissions to academic resources at 麻豆原创

Thursday

11-12:30 p.m.: Greek organizations

5-7 p.m.: Parent information session

Friday

11-12:30 p.m.: Student leadership opportunities at 麻豆原创 and performance by 麻豆原创 Band.

Leaders from the center and聽College of Health and Public Affairs recognized Simmons at聽the Sept. 25 board meeting聽of the聽Children’s Home Society of Florida in Orlando. CHSF and 麻豆原创聽partnered to help聽establish Evans High School in聽Pine Hills聽as the first community school of its kind the state.

Center Director David Bundy, former president of聽CHSF,聽thanked Simmons for his聽support of proposals in 2014 and 2015聽to establish the center and award the state’s聽first聽community-school planning grants. The Legislature聽funded聽.

Simmons’ interest聽in community schools grew聽out of a聽2013 meeting with Bundy and college Dean Michael Frumkin.聽After their meeting the senator聽requested a聽binder filled with聽information about community schools to review.

“The聽community-school concept was very much in keeping with his educational philosophy,”聽said Bundy. “He聽liked that community schools are an efficient use of resources and聽that聽they bring people together and remove barriers to student success.”

At the Sept. 25 meeting, Simmons聽received a black and gold recognition plate from Marklyne Joachim, an Evans’ graduate who聽benefitted from聽the community school programs. She is now a sophomore at 麻豆原创.

Simmons later wrote of his joy in working with the partners and appreciation of the recognition. He also made note of his pleasure in meeting Joachim.

“Marklyne did such a great job sharing,”聽he wrote.聽“[It] made it聽really special that she was there too.”

In addition to being recognized by the center, Simmons was honored as Legislator of the Year by CHSF.

PHOTO (Left to right) Rob Matschner (CHSF-CF Board), Tara Hormell (CHSF), Charles Cromer (CHSF Board), Amy Ellis (麻豆原创), Michael Frumkin (麻豆原创), David Simmons, Marklyne Joachim (麻豆原创), David Bundy (麻豆原创), Jarvis Wheeler (Evans) and Summer Pfeiffer (CHSF)

Orlando鈥檚 WDBO FM will broadcast the debate from 7 to 8 p.m. from the Morgridge International Reading Center on the main campus. The debate is free and open to the public.

Mel Robbins, a trial lawyer and national radio news commentator, will moderate the student debate, and Dick Batchelor, founder of the Dick Batchelor Management Group and a former member of the Florida House of Representatives, will join the discussion panel. Michael Frumkin, dean of 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Health and Public Affairs, will provide the opening remarks.

The students speaking on the side of聽limited reform are: Kyle Ross, Todd Foster, Jack Flanary and Jessica Sirianni. Arguing for more reform are: Taylor Koshak, Chris Chambers, Brittany Hollenbacher and Justine Poteau.

鈥淲e appreciate the opportunity to explore important topics with the students and with the community,鈥� Frumkin said.聽

The debate will be broadcast on FM 96.5.

Three additional graduate programs from the university鈥檚 College of Health & Public聽Affairs were ranked near the top: Criminology (Criminal Justice at 麻豆原创) was ranked 26th in its category, Healthcare Management (Health Services Administration) was ranked 46th, and Public Affairs (Public Administration)聽was listed at 59th.

All four of the COHPA programs moved up in their rankings this year.

鈥淧eer rankings such as these reflect our faculty鈥檚 dedication and commitment to offering the highest quality graduate programs,鈥� said Michael Frumkin, dean of the College of Health & Public Affairs. 鈥淚鈥檓 extraordinarily proud of our growing national reputation.鈥�

The College of Education also had two programs ranked in the top 25. Its graduate counselor education program ranked 11th and its special education graduate program ranked 14th. The College of Optics and Photonics (CREOL) also had a program listed at number 13.

Others from 麻豆原创 in the top 100 of their specific fields were: Industrial Engineering (48), Computer Engineering (57), Electrical Engineering (62), Environmental Engineering (68), Best Engineering School (72), Materials Engineering (74), Speech-Language Pathology [Communication Sciences and Disorders] (73), Nursing (79), Social Work (89), Civil Engineering (81), Physical Therapy (99) and Best Education School (100).

More than 1,200 programs were reviewed for the magazine鈥檚 annual graduate-school guide. The scores are based on expert opinions about programs and a variety of statistical indicators that gauge the quality of faculty, researchers and students at each institution.

Highlights of the rankings will be on sale in the Best Graduate Schools book at newsstands beginning April 3.

View the full list of 麻豆原创鈥檚 rankings.

Provost and Executive Vice President Tony Waldrop informed the university鈥檚 Board of Trustees of the new designation on Wednesday.

Public Administration offers 22 graduate and undergraduate programs and serves nearly 1,000 students. The school鈥檚 areas of focus include nonprofit management, urban planning and emergency management.

The school鈥檚 Center for Public and Nonprofit Management has earned about $4 million in external funds and helped more than 200 nonprofit organizations.

鈥淭his is an amazingly innovative department,鈥� College of Health and Public Affairs Dean Michael Frumkin told the trustees.

Public Administration is one of eight 麻豆原创 graduate programs nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report.

Also at Wednesday鈥檚 Board of Trustees meeting:

— President Hitt expressed 鈥済reat sadness鈥� that Nancy Burnett, a longtime friend and benefactor of the 麻豆原创, passed away last week.

Nancy and Al Burnett have donated $15.5 million over more than 30 years to support 麻豆原创 students and programs. The Burnett Honors College and Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences are named in their honor, as is the president鈥檚 on-campus home.

鈥淭heir gifts have benefitted thousands of students in our classrooms, in our research labs and on our athletic fields, and their generosity will continue to benefit Central Floridians for many years to come,鈥� Hitt said. 鈥淧lease keep Nancy鈥檚 family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.鈥�

— Board members approved Chairman Emeritus status for Rick Walsh and Vice Chairman Emeritus status for Tom Yochum. Yochum attended the meeting, accepted a plaque and said he was thankful for the opportunity to serve the university for 10 years.

— The board welcomed newly appointed trustee Robert Garvy, chair and CEO of INTECH.

— The board heard an update on the university鈥檚 progress on developing a new policy governing academic integrity and misconduct. The Academic Integrity Task Force is in the process of receiving feedback from the university community.

— The board learned about a proposal to attach a large screen to the outside of the 麻豆原创 Arena that could be used to showcase movies, away sporting events and university programs along with advertisements. Additional feedback about the concept will be accepted.

— Joel Hartman, vice provost for Information Technologies, was lauded for his selection as the 2011 Sloan Consortium鈥檚 A. Frank Maydas Leadership Award winner. The award acknowledges and celebrates leadership in online education.

— The board recognized Professor Linda Walters for being named one of the best biology professors in the country by The Coastal and Estuarine Research Foundation. She also earned the 2011 Florida Campus Compact Service-Learning Faculty Award for her excellence in linking 麻豆原创 courses with community needs.

— Associate Professor H.G. Parza of the Rosen College of Hospitality Management was applauded for earning the John Wiley and Sons Lifetime Research Achievement Award from the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education.

— The board lauded the volleyball team for earning the 2010-11 Team Academic Award from the American Volleyball Coaches Association. The award honors teams that have matched their dedication to the sport of volleyball with excellence in the classroom.