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

A college education should provide lifelong benefits 鈥� not lifelong debt.

At 麻豆原创, that belief extends beyond tuition costs to the often-overlooked costs that add up fast: textbooks, access codes and digital platforms that can cost hundreds of dollars per course.

Faced with those expenses, students make compromises. Buy the materials or pay for essentials. Get the book late 鈥� or not at all. Those choices can jeopardize academic success before classes even begin.

Through the , 麻豆原创 is supporting faculty in replacing those obstacles with free or low-cost instructional materials, ensuring students start each semester prepared to succeed academically.

And the impact is undeniable.

Since 2019, AIM has saved 麻豆原创 students over $50 million in instructional materials costs 鈥� money that can go toward expenses such as housing, groceries and transportation.

A University-Wide Effort

AIM isn鈥檛 the work of a single office or program. It鈥檚 a university-wide collaboration that brings together the Division of Digital Learning, 麻豆原创 Libraries, the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs, the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, the 麻豆原创 Bookstore and other university stakeholders 鈥� all aligned around one shared goal: support faculty so that they can better support students.

In 2025 alone,聽18,878 course sections 鈥� representing聽76.5% of all sections聽offered 鈥� utilized low- or no-cost course materials.

Formally established in 2019 under the provost’s sponsorship, AIM was created to bring structure and cohesion to affordability efforts already happening across campus. What emerged is a strategic, student-centered movement that proves affordability, innovation and academic excellence aren鈥檛 competing priorities, but complementary ones.

鈥淥ur faculty are leading in ways that make access real for students,鈥� says Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs John Buckwalter. 鈥淭he numbers tell one part of the story, but behind every savings figure is a student whose experience is shaped by faculty care, creativity and commitment. That鈥檚 the kind of impact that lasts and is worth investing in.鈥�

At its core, AIM focuses on efforts in four areas: First day, open educational resources, library-sourced materials and affordability counts. Together, these efforts remove blocks to required educational content while giving faculty the flexibility to design courses that are more interactive, accessible and connected to real-world relevance.

In practice, that means more dynamic learning experiences 鈥� curated readings, videos, case studies and instructor-created materials that meet students where they are.

Honoring Faculty Advancing Affordable Learning

That work was celebrated on Feb. 3 during the , which recognized faculty and staff across 麻豆原创 who are聽committed聽to keeping course materials affordable聽for students.

The awards do more than acknowledge past efforts 鈥� they highlight what鈥檚 possible and encourage more faculty to participate. This year,聽1,519 faculty members聽were honored, the most ever recognized in a single calendar year, signaling just how deeply AIM has taken hold across 麻豆原创.

Award nominations are grounded in real outcomes and incorporate student feedback and impact stories. Faculty may be nominated by peers or self-nominate, with categories honoring use of affordable instructional materials for more than two years (Legacy) or fewer than two years (Rising). Students across 麻豆原创 nominate faculty members for the Knights鈥� Choice Award based on their courses and experience, and the nominees are evaluated by officers of the Student Government Association.

Read on to learn more about the outstanding work of this year鈥檚 honorees.

Individual Rising Award

Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies Debaleena Majumdar received recognition for developing EVR 3733: Introduction to Sustainable Design in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, a course that covers topics ranging from the sustainable built environment and ecological design to resilience and decarbonization.鈥�

Majumdar curated a mix of zero-cost resources 鈥� including 14 library eBook chapters, six scholarly articles, 14 videos, and 12 web-based resources 鈥� organized through Leganto, a Canvas tool supported by 麻豆原创 Libraries.

The result: eliminated course material costs across multiple semesters while maintaining high standards for quality, accessibility and engagement. Her course earned both the Affordability Counts medallion and Quality Online course designation within the State University System of Florida.鈥嬄犫��

Beyond her own classroom, Majumdar is helping other faculty adopt similar approaches by presenting her course at the Technology Expo and including her insights in a case study that demonstrates how Leganto can help organize affordable course reading lists.鈥�

Individual Legacy Award

Associate Professor of Engineering Samar Younes was recognized for her innovative use of open educational resources, 麻豆原创 Library resources, first day materials, and instructor-created content across multiple civil, environmental, and construction engineering courses.

During the submission period, her work benefited 1,776 students by providing free or discounted access to course materials and generated approximately $371,061 in cost savings. But what set her nomination apart was how intentionally she redesigned learning itself.鈥�

Younes created a free YouTube instructional channel featuring step-by-step problem-solving videos, LinkedIn Learning micro-courses and artificial intelligence-generated interactive practice tools, giving students multiple ways to master complex engineering concepts without added expense.

鈥淧rofessor Younes is by far one of the best professors I have had the honor of learning under at 麻豆原创,鈥� says a student who took her Construction Equipment and Productivity course during the Spring 2022 semester. 鈥淪he 鈥� does so much to personalize and create her own learning material.鈥澛犫�嬄犫��

As her department鈥檚 accreditation coordinator, Younes champions these practices beyond her own courses through presentations and collaborative leadership, building a culture in which colleagues look to her example to adopt accessible, affordable instructional materials.

Group Legacy Award

The First-Year Composition Program (ENC 1101 and ENC 1102) in the College of Arts and Humanities demonstrated what affordability looks like at scale.

Between Spring 2023 and Fall 2025, the First-Year Composition Program served more than 17,700 students and generated over $2.6 million in cumulative textbook cost savings.

By partnering with 麻豆原创 Libraries, associate instructors Stuart Dees and Lissa Pompos Mansfield, Instructor Meeghan Faulconer, Associate Lecturer Pamela Baker and Associate Professor Shane Wood replaced traditional textbooks with no-cost, accessible materials delivered through Canvas. Their efforts have reduced course material costs to $0 per student.鈥�

To support consistency and quality across the program, faculty also created a shared hub in Canvas where readings aligned with course learning outcomes are available to all instructors, enabling access to high-quality, affordable materials. They also meet regularly with a librarian to curate materials and develop discipline-specific library collections.鈥�

Knights’ Choice Award

Nicholson School of Communication and Media lecturer Joseph Wachowski was nominated by his students for his commitment to providing free, accessible course materials.

During the award ceremony, Shivani Vakharia, academic affairs coordinator for 麻豆原创鈥檚 Student Government Association, highlighted Wachowski鈥檚 forward-thinking approach to course design and the tangible impact his work has had on students.

鈥淧rofessor Joseph Wachowski is being honored for his dedication to developing and supporting affordable course materials, helping remove financial obstacles for students and fostering collaboration across the academic community,鈥� Vakharia says. 鈥淭he university and its students recognize and appreciate his lasting contributions to innovation, equity and student success.鈥�

Together, these awardees represent the heart of AIM: faculty innovation backed by institutional support, all in service of student success.

Faculty interested in learning more about AIM or seeking support can email affordable@ucf.edu.

With that in mind, 麻豆原创 Professor and his team of graduate and postdoctoral researchers set out to the city of Cape Coral, Florida, after Hurricane Ian in September to collect critical impact data.

Their goal was to provide empirical evidence on where exactly hurricane storm surge flood waters reached throughout the city during the storm鈥檚 peak, which is essential data needed when planning for recovery and mitigating future storm impacts.

Cape Coral was one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Ian as it made landfall in Southwest Florida in September.

Emrich鈥檚 team identified the resource gap almost immediately. The U.S. Geological Survey, which was already on-site conducting survey missions to collect data in several areas, was not tasked to collect high-water mark data from communities affected by flooding in the municipality of Cape Coral.

Seeing an opportunity to conduct field research that would be beneficial to the city鈥檚 local officials, Emrich worked directly with 麻豆原创鈥檚 and the city鈥檚 administration to get into the field before flood marks were either washed away or cleaned up by disaster survivors.

Using the designation 麻豆原创 Emergency Management Research Initiative, Emrich assembled students and postdoctoral scholars from 麻豆原创鈥檚 Sustainable Coastal System鈥檚 Cluster (one of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Faculty Cluster Initiatives) 鈥� including Gene Longenecker, the former Federal Emergency Management Agency鈥檚 Modeling Task Force lead.

鈥淲e need to know empirically 鈥撯�� scientifically 鈥撯�� where the water was, because it鈥檚 a critical step for planning,鈥� Emrich says. 鈥淭o find this data, we had to get creative.鈥�

Emrich says collecting this data is also time-sensitive because of residents鈥� desire to clean up immediately after a storm and future rain events can erase the evidence they are looking for.

Starting with data on Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance requests already summarized by FEMA at the U.S. standard 1-kilometer national grid level, the team鈥檚 mission focused on identifying areas of flood damage and existing gaps in high water mark collection by other agencies and entities.

Over the course of six days, the team traveled across Cape Coral identifying debris lines, seed lines and other clues on mostly public and vacant land to flag and measure high water marks throughout the city. Emrich鈥檚 team flagged more than 150 high water marks using direct measurements.

Emergency management professionals are already reaping the benefits of the team鈥檚 labor, as their data will become part of the official USGS database for immediate access by anyone interested in undertaking flooding, hydrology or storm surge modeling.

Surveyors from the city of Cape Coral revisited flagged high water-mark data collection sites to provide survey grade measurements, a step which Emrich says is critical to ensuring the team鈥檚 data can be used by the most people 鈥� from emergency managers to hydrologists and others interested in improving storm surge models.

鈥淲e want to see how our perishable situational data compares to scientifically measured survey grade data,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f the data we collect are accurate enough for local professionals to use in future planning, it means the data we can collect quickly in future disasters become that much more useful.鈥�

Emrich says he aims to continue building on the success of the mission in Cape Coral to create a standing, deployable team that government at all levels can call upon to conduct rapid data collection missions anywhere in Florida.

鈥淎fter every tornado, the National Weather Service sends out a team to conduct a survey,鈥� Emrich says. 鈥淲e want to be the team that can do that for every flooding event in Florida. Somebody needs to measure the qualitative and quantitative impacts that would otherwise be lost after those events. We cannot create effective, efficient and accurate plans for disaster recovery without baseline information on hazard exposure.鈥�

He adds that the initiative is about more than simply collecting data.

鈥淲e want to take the information we collect and use it to answer tough scientific questions that we can turn into wisdom for emergency management professionals,鈥� Emrich says. 鈥淲hen people look at the impact of a disaster, they first look at the amount of federal aid distributed. For various reasons, federal datasets only tell part of the story, even from a financial perspective. We want to help paint the full picture so the professionals in the field can make the best decisions for their communities as they move from response to recovery.鈥�

Emrich received his doctoral degree in geography from the University of South Carolina and joined 麻豆原创鈥檚 School of Public Administration, part of the聽, in 2016. Emrich also leads 麻豆原创鈥檚 Sustainable Coastal Systems research cluster and co-leads 麻豆原创鈥檚聽.

The portal allows faculty and students to see what kind of research and creative works their fellow colleagues are working on. You can search by individual faculty name or by topic.

鈥淭he true power of this portal comes for the ability to search topics or themes,鈥� says Elizabeth Klonoff, vice president for Research. 鈥淲e hope faculty and students will use it to find potential collaborators and synergies across disciplines to enhance research capacity. This is one of the tools we can use to help build interdisciplinary teams to tackle challenges that don鈥檛 lend themselves to one-discipline solutions.鈥�

Jana Jasinski, vice provost for Faculty Excellence, says the portal aligns with President Alexander N. Cartwright鈥檚 vision of becoming the world鈥檚 leading public metropolitan research university.

鈥淎t 麻豆原创 we recruit top scholars and researchers, and this is one way of showing our community the impact of what our faculty do,鈥� says Jasinski. 鈥淭his portal also provides an easy place to access their accomplishments for award and grant applications.鈥�

The portal also gives users a quick snapshot of 麻豆原创鈥檚 overall research related numbers. Other data reported:

• Books published
• Conference proceedings
• Book chapters
• Clinical trials
• Select awards
• Patents

The academic information comes from daily web crawls generated by the vendor 鈥� Academic Analytics. The information will update every seven days.

Any questions about the academic data should be Jana Jasinski at jana.jasinski@ucf.edu . Questions about the platform or to report problems accessing the site, please contact Jason Kuhns at Jason.Kuhns@ucf.edu

Last September, the two offices launched a pilot $1 million seed funding program to help enhance the visibility and recognition of faculty members and help them be more competitive in attracting external funding.

More than 140 teams of interdisciplinary faculty competed for the funds that are divided into two categories: Exploratory Research and Interdisciplinary Research. Twenty-nine principal investigators and teams were awarded funding in December.

Instructions for applying and details can be found here. Applications must be submitted through the portal.

Past recipients of the Seed Program are not eligible. There are several deadlines depending on the type of award. The first deadline is Oct. 1.

Exploratory Research Awards are intended to fund 麻豆原创 researchers to initiate new high-risk, high-reward activities, which will strengthen faculty credentials and make them more competitive by allowing them to prepare preliminary data for submission of external grant-funding applications appropriate to their discipline. The awards are also available for principal investigators to apply for time on shared-research facility equipment to gather preliminary data for proposals, editorial review comments, or test feasibility of partnerships with industry.

Interdisciplinary Research Awards focus on new or expanding teams to engage in convergence activities that lead to externally funded grants requiring preliminary data and proof of established multi-PI engagement. This program will promote research that can only be achieved through collaboration.

Reinhart, will lead a virtual Q&A session about the program at 10 a.m. Oct. 15. To register and get access to the zoom session, visit bit.ly/35X9S7c. For questions not answered in the website, email Reinhart at debra.reinhart@ucf.edu .

The moves include 麻豆原创鈥檚 national-model DirectConnect to 麻豆原创 program and 麻豆原创 Global, which among other responsibilities, manages international student recruitment, English language programs for students and the community, and international partnerships in education, research and business.

Other aspects of the realignment involve units that impact online student services, faculty training and development, and continuing education for working professionals.

鈥淎t 麻豆原创, we strive for constant improvement,鈥� Johnson says. 鈥淭hese changes allow us to continue our focus on student success and the student experience.鈥�

The reorganization by the Division of Academic Affairs will unfold throughout September with the following units and offices:

• DirectConnect to 麻豆原创 and the 麻豆原创 Connect Centers move to the Division of Student Learning and Academic Success, reporting to Theodorea Regina Berry, vice provost of Student Learning and Academic Success and dean of the College of Undergraduate Studies;
• 麻豆原创 Global moves to the Office of the Provost, reporting to Tim Letzring, senior associate provost for Academic Affairs;
• 麻豆原创 Online Connect Center and 麻豆原创 Continuing Education move to the Division of Digital Learning, reporting to Tom Cavanagh, vice provost for Digital Learning;
• Office of Instructional Resources Classroom Support, Engineering, Programming and Project Management teams move to 麻豆原创 Information Technology, reporting to Michael Sink, interim vice president and CIO.

The transitions for DirectConnect to 麻豆原创, the 麻豆原创 Connect Centers and 麻豆原创 Global coincide with the Oct. 1 retirement of Jeff Jones, vice provost for 麻豆原创 Connect and 麻豆原创 Global. Johnson praised Jones for his impactful work during his seven years at 麻豆原创 and for his suggestions and insights regarding the overall realignment.

鈥淭he possibilities for this reimagining are exciting,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淎s we move forward, success relies on the creativity and collaboration of our staff, faculty and partners.鈥�