Kapucu, Pegasus Professor of public administration and associate dean of research in the College of Community Innovation and Education, has recently returned from his trip to Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan as part of the Fulbright Specialist Program. This program provides opportunities for academic subject-matter experts to share their experience during short-term trips abroad. While a traditional Fulbright program typically runs for several months over the span of an academic semester, specialist program trips are just three weeks.

Kapucu accomplished three major tasks on his trip. He worked with Nazarbayev University’s academic leaders to enhance their doctoral program, helped increase the university’s research capacity, and delivered lectures on coordinated disaster response and building community resilience.

When it came to enhancing the doctoral program, Kapucu’s previous role as Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s public affairs doctoral program coordinator — along with his tenure as both an executive board member of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) and a member of NASPAA doctoral programs committee — proved instrumental.

“Nazarbayev University is a top-notch institution,” he says. “The students who graduate from the program will be great faculty sources for the universities in Kazakhstan and other countries.”

He also believes Nazarbayev University’s multilingual environment gives it great potential for international involvement.

“The students speak multiple languages, and the lectures are all in English,” he says.

To forge partnership between Â鶹ԭ´´ and Nazarbayev University, Kapucu and the academic leaders discussed potential exchange programs through avenues such as the Bolashak International Scholarship.

“We are also discussing a relationship between Â鶹ԭ´´ and Kazakh National Medical University,” Kapucu says. “They are interested in health informatics, which our college has a school for.”

While these opportunities are still in the planning phase, one event is already set in stone. Kapucu says the Kazakh Science Fund is scheduling a trip to Orlando to learn about Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s research administration, partnerships and relationship with the Central Florida Research Park.

“They want to improve their grant distribution to research institutions and understand how we manage our research programs,” he says. “They will come and meet with us around July.”

While there, Kapucu presented his lectures on disaster response and community resilience, sponsored by the National Academy of Public Administration and Astana Civil Service Hub. He says that pressing events in Kazakhstan — two recent earthquakes in Almaty and a period of countrywide civil unrest in 2022 — led policymakers to address the need for improvement in these areas. He also met with the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the National Security Administration and local law-enforcement agencies to speak about the importance of emergency and crisis management.

He was even invited to lead a train-the-trainer program, in which experts train instructors to pass knowledge and training on to others.

“They want me to go back and do training on these issues,” Kapucu says. “The citizens want to be prepared.”

As Kazakhstan’s government refines its emergency management policies, and its learning institutions seek more doctoral graduates in the field, Kapucu is confident that the ties between Â鶹ԭ´´ and Nazarbayev University and other academic institutions will strengthen.

Kapucu says he made hundreds of new connections on his trip. As he continues to work with Kazakh students and faculty from afar, he hopes to return and involve more directly with the people he met.

“The Fulbright Program isn’t just about research and lectures,” he says. “It’s about building relationships.”

The new curriculum will help students develop skills in policy analysis, program evaluation and quantitative methods, as well as study a range of policy domains including energy, health, urban, housing and global policy.

Â鶹ԭ´´ Downtown provides an opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience in policy analysis and evaluation through interactions with nearby government agencies and nonprofits.

Florida is the third largest state in population but academic programs that focus on the importance of policy analysis and evaluation are limited. With an increased need for public-service leaders who are well-versed in program evaluation and policy analysis, Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s Master of Public Policy will contribute to filling that void.

“The interdisciplinary nature of this program prepares graduates to address the most pressing policy issues for the State of Florida and across the globe,” says Naim Kapucu, a Pegasus professor and director of the .

Ranked as one of the top 100 public administration graduate schools by U.S. News & World Report, the School of Public Administration also offers an 18-credit hour graduate certificate in public policy.

The research-centered program is offered at Â鶹ԭ´´ Downtown, and Abdul-Akeem Sadiq, director of the public policy graduate program and associate professor in the School of Public Administration, says the location provides an opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience in policy analysis and evaluation through interactions with nearby government agencies and nonprofits.

The Pegasus Professor award is the highest academic award a professor can receive at the Â鶹ԭ´´. During an entire career at Â鶹ԭ´´, faculty who are exceptional in every area — teaching, research and service — are recognized for their work. These awards are determined by the president, and recipients receive a $5,000 stipend and a $5,000 research grant.

Josh Colwell, Naim Kapucu, Tison Pugh ˛ą˛Ô»ĺĚýMartine Vanryckeghem have been selected as the 2019 Pegasus Professors who have impacted students, fellow faculty and the community through their research and dedication to education.

Josh Colwell

Department of Physics, Florida Space Institute, College of Sciences

Josh Colwell has been interested in space exploration and science since he was a child. His mother likes to joke that he was bit by the space bug when she was eight months pregnant and saw the launch of Gemini 1. His career started in research, but after 17 years at the University of Colorado he came to Â鶹ԭ´´ to pursue his passion for teaching.

“One of my goals is to make science, physics and astronomy more accessible to people. I love seeing that light bulb moment with students.” — Josh Colwell

“One of my goals is to make science, physics and astronomy more accessible to people,” he says. “I love seeing that light bulb moment with students. I’m always looking for new ways to make complicated subject matters relatable and understandable.”

While Colwell loves his students, he’s also known for conducting experiments in what’s sometimes called the vomit comet — a plane that descends rapidly to create weightless conditions. Has he thrown up? Too often to count, but many of his students have fared better on the plane.

His research works to uncover the story of the solar system and the formation of habitable planets like Earth throughout the galaxy. Colwell has been involved in multiple NASA missions, most notably the Cassini mission that orbited Saturn 13 years sending back views of the ringed planet and its dozens of moons never seen before. He also hosts a podcast, Walkabout the Galaxy, which he calls “accidentally educational.”

His advice to students is simple: “Take advantage of the resources at Â鶹ԭ´´. Go see your teachers. They want to be asked questions, and they want to help you understand so you can succeed.”

Naim Kapucu

Director, School of Public Administration, College of Community Innovation and Education

Naim Kapucu came to Â鶹ԭ´´ in 2003 fresh off of his doctoral program at the University of Pittsburgh with his dissertation about emergency and crisis management during 9/11. His father wanted him to become a politician and eventually a governor, but he told his father he would one day become “a professor of governors,” specializing in public administration and policy.

While his work on 9/11 became well-known, Kapucu planned to never touch emergency-management research again, but the opposite happened after his move to Florida.

“My passion is being an academic, scholar leader and having a big vision for our school.” — Naim Kapucu

“I’ve focused on leadership and emergency and crisis management,” Kapucu said. “My passion is being an academic, scholar leader and having a big vision for our school.”

For the past four years, Kapucu has directed the School of Public Administration. He’s led creation of six new degree programs, including the fully online Masters in Research Administration, and has brought top journals in the field to Â鶹ԭ´´. Kapucu’s leadership and relationships put the school’s programs on the map. The school has two U.S. News & World Report nationally ranked graduate degree programs: No. 7 emergency management and No. 8 nonprofit management.

The Emergency Operations Center at Â鶹ԭ´´ was one of the first in the nation at a university – thanks to a grant that Kapucu helped secure.

“Coming to Â鶹ԭ´´ was the best decision I ever made,” he says. “I tell students, faculty and staff to be yourself, know yourself and let other people be themselves. Have a vision with a solid plan to accomplish your goals. But keep in mind: In the world of public administration and policy, a vision without execution is hallucination.”

Tison Pugh

Professor, Department of English, College of Arts and Humanities

Tison Pugh is best known among students for his Harry Potter studies class, but that’s not what he’s most proud of. He arrived at Â鶹ԭ´´ in 2001 after receiving his doctorate in English literature from the University of Oregon, and he has also published 19 books in 17 years.

“Two of the things I’m proud of is the minor in medieval and renaissance studies. And I was the founding faculty editor of the Â鶹ԭ´´ undergraduate research journal, The Pegasus Review,” Pugh says. “These are curricular initiatives that will still be available to students after I’m long gone.”

“I always stress to students that I love literature and that I love to read and study it.” — Tison Pugh

Pugh hopes his enthusiasm and love for literature shines through in his teaching, even for any resistant students. He believes the key to keeping students engaged is to tap into their passions.

“I always stress to students that I love literature and that I love to read and study it,” he says. “I don’t think I would be a good professor if I didn’t do that for my students. When they start reading, they find the hidden humor — and once they find it — they are addicted to it as well.”

Martine Vanryckeghem

Professor, School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Martine Vanryckeghem began her work in fluency disorders in Belgium, which has shaped her international career. A fluency disorder involves the interruption in the flow of speaking, and the most common one is stuttering. Vanryckeghem is an expert in how to diagnose and treat stuttering in children and adults.

Her research in fluency disorders has led her to co-author standardized diagnostic tests for children and adults that investigate the emotional, behavioral and cognitive effects stuttering can have on an individual. Her work has been translated, researched and published in 30 different countries.

“The tests provide an inventory and give a good idea of the different dimensions that surround the person who stutters,” she says. “An individual who stutters typically thinks negatively about him or herself and will use coping mechanisms to not stutter. The tests give the clinician a good assessment of the disorder and how to treat it.”

Vanryckeghem credits her late husband with a lot of her success. They met while he was in Belgium giving a workshop.

“Â鶹ԭ´´ made me an all-around citizen.” — Martine Vanryckeghem

“His high standards and scientific rigor served as a role model for me,” she says. “I have tried to continue to lead by that model and if I can use the Pegasus mythology, he was the wind beneath my wings.”

As for her students, Vanryckeghem hopes to make a small impact on their lives through academic and clinical instruction and research.

“Â鶹ԭ´´ made me an all-around citizen. I don’t see myself as only an academician or researcher, I see myself as a faculty team member and leader – a Â鶹ԭ´´ ambassador around the world,” she says.

The Scroll and The Quill were separate societies in the 1980s at Â鶹ԭ´´; the scroll representing research achievement and the quill representing creative achievements such as published books and plays. In 2015, Faculty Excellence revamped the society, honoring legacy members and welcoming new faculty into this prestigious organization.

More than 60 faculty members and guests attended the Oct. 30 reception at the Burnett House.

“This society is a community of scholars who have continued to advance Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s transformational impact for at least a decade, inspiring students, fellow faculty and the community,” said Jana Jasinski, vice provost for Faculty Excellence.

The 2018 inductees are:

A team of professors examined disaster preparedness in 11 Central Florida counties to identify best practices that could be models for the nation.  Investigators Naim Kapucu and Chris Hawkins of the Â鶹ԭ´´ School of Public Administration and  Fernando I. Rivera of the Department of Sociology led the team, which included several graduate students. They met regularly for 18 months to complete the USDA-funded study.

“What we found is that while there are some plans that make good use of partnerships with an array of agencies, many communities suffer from a lack of resources to execute them whether it be lack of funding or personnel,” Kapucu said.

Some communities have some very good partnerships with nonprofits and other agencies in case of disaster, but sometimes the expectations of partners are not explicit, which could lead to some confusion during an emergency, he added.

The team also created a Community Asset Inventory and Mapping tool, designed to  help rural communities identify  what resources t available ˛ą˛Ô»ĺĚý find where gaps exist so they can be addressed before a disaster.

A series of focus group interviews with citizen groups, faith-based community organizations, business representatives, and emergency management agencies also were held to discuss community resiliency and networks.

The study team is organizing a workshop  a day before the conference on March 30. More preliminary findings will be shared at the conference, which is expected to draw 120 participants. A final report is expected in December.

Frances L. Edwards, the deputy director of the National Transportation Security Center of Excellence at the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University, is the conference keynote speaker. She will discuss the “all hazards approach” and how a community can create resiliency despite current fiscal challenges.

Emergency personnel from 11 Florida counties and national experts will participate in panel discussions. Among the panelists: Dave Freeman, emergency manager, Orange County; David Casto, emergency management director, Sumter County; Christine A. Bevc, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; Ann-Margaret Esnard, Florida Atlantic University; Maureen (Mary) Brown, University of North Carolina Charlotte; Bryan W. Koon, director, Florida Division of Emergency Management; Alan Harris, emergency manager, Seminole County, and Joyce Shanahan, city manager of Ormond Beach and incoming FCCMA president.

Â鶹ԭ´´ professors Rivera, Hawkins and Kapucu will guide the discussions.

Other members of the study team are:  Fatih Demiroz, a Ph.D. student in public affairs;  public affairs; Rebecca Dodson, a graduate student in public administration; and Marc Settembrino, a Ph.D. student in sociology.

The workshop is geared toward scholars and emergency managers, but is open to the public. For information visit .

Of more than 100 campus safety leaders surveyed, Â鶹ԭ´´ Associate Professor Naim Kapucu found that only 13 percent of respondents – a mix of emergency management, public safety and police officials – said they were “very confident” that their campuses would be disaster resilient.

Campus security is an issue of primary concern for colleges and universities, especially since the tragic 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech and other high-profile incidents of campus violence across the nation.

Both the Â鶹ԭ´´ Office of Emergency Management and Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s Center for Public and Nonprofit Management are involved with improving and researching emergency preparedness. Â鶹ԭ´´ received a grant last year from the U.S. Department of Education to improve its disaster and emergency management plans.