April 28, 2025

APPLAUSE

Excellence celebrated: FGCU honors outstanding faculty, staff, and students

Special recognition was given to employees with 30 years of service: Dr. Chuck Lindsey (pictured left to Interim Provost Barringer) and Dr. Myra Mendible (not pictured) from the College of Arts & Sciences.

On Wednesday, April 23, nearly 300 Eagles gathered in the Cohen Student Union Ballroom to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments and triumphs of FGCU faculty and staff at the university's 28th annual Celebration of Excellence Awards Ceremony.

Click to listen to Provost Barringer's message of appreciation to all Eagles. (52-second watch.)

The event opened with Interim Provost Dr. Tony Barringer expressing his gratitude to the FGCU community for their remarkable support and attendance. The ceremony honored outstanding individuals who have gone above and beyond in their contributions to student success and the university's mission. These faculty and staff members were recognized for their exceptional work in advising, librarianship, scholarship, service, and teaching.

Award recipients and nominees

Advising Excellence Awards

• Junior Advisor Excellence Award
• Recipient: Ms. Wheatly Dorsainvil
• Senior Advisor Excellence Award
• Recipient: Ms. Patti Kirk
• Nominees: Ms. Maxine (Mary) Faatz, Ms. Crystal Hill, Ms. Colleen Peters

Librarianship Excellence Awards

• Junior Faculty Librarian Excellence Award
• Recipient: Ms. Traci Mays
• Senior Faculty Librarian Excellence Award
• Recipient: Ms. Rachel Tait-Ripperdan
• Nominee: Mr. Steve Rokusek

Scholarship Excellence Awards

• Junior Faculty Scholarship Excellence Award
• Recipient: Dr. Erica Molinario and Dr. Harry Maisch
• Nominees: Dr. Christina Anaya, Dr. Kimberly James, Dr. Melissa May, Dr. Taehoon Park
• Senior Faculty Scholarship Excellence Award
• Recipient: Dr. Jayanta (Jay) Gupta and Dr. Burhan Ozfidan
• Nominees: Dr. Lan Jiang, Dr. Jase Ramsey, Dr. William Sanders

Service Excellence Awards

• Junior Faculty Individual Service Excellence Award
• Recipients: Dr. Amy Dudley and Dr. Christina Anaya
• Nominees: Dr. Joseph Buhain, Dr. Stefan Carpenter, Dr. Jan DeJarnette, Dr. Carolynne Gischel, Dr. Kelly Goebel, Dr. Levente Pap
• Senior Faculty Individual Service Excellence Award
• Recipient: Dr. Michelle Angeletti
• Nominees: Dr. Anna Koufakou, Dr. Jingshun (Jason) Zhang
• Faculty Team Service Excellence Award
• Recipients: Microsoft TechSpark Florida Team (Dr. Daniel Linares and Julie Rose)
• Nominated Teams: 2024-2025 Faculty Affairs Team, Bridging the Digital Divide in the Global South Team, COACHE Team, Human Identity and Trauma Analysis (HITA) Team, PDFG Committee, School Counseling Program Core Faculty

Teaching Excellence Awards

• Adjunct Faculty Teaching Excellence Award
• Recipients: Dr. Claude Lieber and Dr. Michael Weiss-Holmes
• Nominees: Mr. Patrick Beaudry, Ms. Crystal Hill
• Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award
• Recipients: Dr. Nicola Khalaf and Dr. Bhisnauth Churaman
• Nominees: Dr. James Horn, Dr. Chukwumaobim (Chuma) Nwokwu, Dr. Elizabeth Templeton
• Senior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award
• Recipients: Dr. Daniel Paull and Dr. Adrian Valencia
• Nominees: Dr. George Alexakis, Dr. Dan Bacalzo, Dr. Trent Brown, Dr. Jeanie Darnell, Ms. Tricia Fay, Dr. Shelby Gilbert, Dr. Max J. Stein, Dr. Valerie Weiss
• Junior Instructor Teaching Excellence Award
• Recipients: Ms. Margaret Hood and Mr. Mark Bole
• Nominees: Dr. Lee Ann Frederick, Mr. Anthony Hoffman, Mr. Troy Jones
• Senior Instructor Teaching Excellence Award
• Recipients: Ms. Nicole Legge and Ms. Felicia Goulet-Miller
• Nominees: Ms. Enas Awad, Ms. Jacqueline Conrecode, Dr. Joyce Fassbender, Mr. Reid Lennertz, Dr. Sari Paikoff, Ms. Magdalin (Maggie) Swanson

Additional Recognition

• John Herman Award for Excellence in General Education
• Recipient: Dr. Daniel Paull
• Nominees: Dr. Nicola Khalaf, Ms. Nicole Legge, Dr. Sushmita Sinha Roy
• Chair Excellence Award
• Recipient: Dr. Charles (Billy) Gunnels
• Nominees: Dr. Khaled Aboulnasr, Dr. Thomas P. Felke, Dr. Fernando Gonzalez, Dr. Felix Jose, Dr. Pamella Seay, Dr. Rob Sillevis
• Grant-in-Aid Educational Leave Award Program
• Recipients: Kelly Liu, Zachry Gelow, Julie Gleason
• Nominees: Collin Noel, Jori Remington, Jennifer Targia, Julieta Wenk
• President's Award for Exemplary Online Teaching
• Recipient: Conan Griffin
• Student Success Champion Awards - Faculty
• Recipients: Ms. Magdalin (Maggie) Swanson, Dr. Daniel Acheampong, Ms. Crystal Hill
• Nominees: Dr. Khaled Aboulnasr, Ms. Maxine (Mary) Faatz, Dr. Jen Fulwider, Ms. Nicole Legge, Dr. Minh Nguyen, Ms. Courtney Satkoski, Mr. Roger Smithson
• Student Success Champion Awards - Staff
• Recipients: Joe Arledge, Valerie Garcia-Rea, Kelsey O'Brien
• Nominees: Joe Arledge, Dean Batchelder, Bruce Battey, Autumn Bradley, Kelly Cosgrove, Lianet Escandell Rodriguez, Kelsey Fischell, Evan Flechsig, Jenny Fritcha, Valerie Garcia-Rea, Timothy Gjini, Julie Gleason, Michelle Gonzalez, Dodie Jeter, Nikki Kirdahy, Mary Larkin, Santiago Luaces, Gillian Mayglothling, Jessica Meza, Kelsey O'Brien, Claire Rudeen, Jazzmine Santiago, Caroline Vives-Vietri
• FGCU Excellence in Mentoring Awards
• Student Category
• Recipients: Aitallia Allen, Gustavo Hernandez, Jamese Sims
• Staff Category
• Recipient: Lisa Caldwell
• Faculty Category
• Recipient: Dr. Katie Johnson
• Nominees: Sofia Barrios-Grock, Ashley Adamusik, George Buss, Skylar Small, Elizabeth Mays, Lena McCullers, Alexis Barr, Ayden Coppola

Outstanding Staff Awards

• Outstanding Support Personnel Staff Award
• Recipient: Kaye Straley
• Nominees: Angel Grgurich, Catherine Horgan, Christal Neimeyer, Cyndi Pasma, Jennifer Taylor, Megan Newman, Patti Krupp, Lori Zallie
• Outstanding Administrative & Professional Staff Award
• Recipient: Michelle Foo
• Nominees: Cadence Bakker, Kelly Boyd, Andi Clemons, Evan Flechsig, Catherine Hoggs-Perez, Merri Incitti, Christina Kreiger, Collin Noel, Julie Rose, Sharon VanDevander
• Gabor Staff Champion Award
• Recipient: Allison Jedinak
• Nominees: Christina Kreiger, Jeremy Blake-Johnson

“These awards are more than just honors,” said Faculty Senate President Lyndsay Rhodes. “They spotlight faculty members who go above and beyond in teaching, research, and service—those making a difference and embodying FGCU's commitment to academic excellence and student success.” 

The Office of the Provost and Faculty Senate congratulate all award recipients and nominees and thank everyone who participated in the nomination process. Your recognition of excellence helps inspire all Eagles across campus. 

The impressive turnout at this year's ceremony is a demonstration of the strong culture of appreciation and recognition we foster at FGCU. The Cohen Ballroom packed with colleagues eager to celebrate each other's achievements is a true testimony of the Eagle spirit. 

Missed the celebration? Click below to watch the recording and be part of the exciting moments!

Access past editions of the Academic Affairs newsletter: Academic Affairs Event

Faculty Spotlight. Are you a FGCU faculty member who has achieved a recent milestone or an accolade? Email us: academicaffairs@fgcu.edu

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Notice of Hanover Grant Academy 2025-2026



The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (OSRP) is soliciting nominations for the Hanover Grant Academy. The goal is for eight faculty to undergo an intensive proposal development plan over a one-year time frame. The Academy consists of approximately 4-6 in-person meetings during the year and one-on-one meetings with the Hanover experts. The requested information for application is listed below. A key factor in selection will be the goal of submitting a proposal for extramural funding. Hanover will provide grantsmanship training, proposal critique, guidance on project and alignment with grant opportunities, and proposal revision assistance. Faculty selected are expected to submit a proposal for extramural funding at the completion of the grant academy. Faculty are permitted to apply for an additional round of intensive proposal development assistance provided an application for extramural funding was submitted during their previous participation. 

The deadline is September 15, 2025, by 5 PM. Please submit  the application as a single pdf to Dr. Rosemary Higgins (rhiggins@fgcu.edu). Questions can be referred to Dr. Higgins. 

Dendritic Summer Academy on AI and Data Science

Learn about the present and future of AI and Data Science at our Summer Academy. This innovative program combines trainings, workshops, and webinars to provide a flexible and thorough learning experience for both academic and industry participants.

2025 Registration Now Open!

Click below to view Calendar and register. Seats are limited. You can register for one or more activities.

FGCU Outbound Mobility

2026 Faculty-Led Study Abroad Program Proposals - Due June 2, 2025

Faculty interested in leading a study abroad program during Spring Break, Summer or Fall 2026 may request a proposal packet by e-mailing the Study Abroad Office at studyabroad@fgcu.edu.  

Faculty proposing new programs or who have not previously led a program at FGCU should also schedule a meeting with Dr. Dechen Albero (dalbero@fgcu.edu) or Dr. Michael McDonald (mmcdonal@fgcu.edu) to discuss their plans.

Proposals and supporting documents are due via e-mail to studyabroad@fgcu.edu by June 2, 2025.

The Lucas Center

The Lucas Center for Faculty Development invites you to register for our Summer Programs!

For more information on each workshop/academy and to secure your spot, visit: www.fgcu.edu/lucascenter/programs#Academies

*All programs take place in the Lucas Center (LIB-221)*

Please note that programs may fill up prior to the indicated registration deadline!

UPCOMING EVENTS

University Library

The Student Research Summit is open to the entire Eagle community. Faculty, staff, and students are welcome.

Calling all FGCU SP/A&P Staff!

It’s a Nacho Fiesta Party! This is the last event of the season being hosted by the SAC, Special Events Committee and we hope to see you there! See the flyer below for details, and feel free to forward this invitation to other SP/A&P staff members in your areas.

We hope to see you there!

Office of Research & Sponsored Programs (ORSP) Announcements

FGCU continues to use our negotiated Federal Rate Agreement

The indirect rates continue to be 43% for on-campus activities and 19% for off-campus activities. ORSP staff will work with faculty to ensure proper rates are applied.

Please reach out to ORSP if you have questions.

Animal Research Survey

The FGCU Task Force for United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulated research on birds and mammals is in the process of collecting information to guide the needs for animal research for FGCU faculty. A survey has been developed to assess the interests of faculty for animal research.

Please fill out the survey so that the task force can inform their recommendations with this much needed data. SURVEY LINK

Opportunities for Your Students

Foundation Scholarships

Please encourage your students to apply for Foundation Scholarships for the 2025-2026 Academic Year! If questions arise regarding the application please reach out to esc@fgcu.edu

Submission requests must be sent to academicaffairs@fgcu.edu by end of business on the Wednesday of the prior week. Submissions received after this deadline will not be shared until the following newsletter.

Please send attachments as either a .PNG or .JPEG file 250kb or less.

.PDFs are NOT accepted.

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and content expressed in these programs, events, and materials are those of the author(s)/presenter(s) and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views, positions, or endorsements of Florida Gulf Coast University's Academic Affairs Division.