Fish in space? Out-of-this-world faculty and student research | | Sage Cohen processing spaceflight mouse brains (top), and Miguel Zyniewicz (left) and Nathan South (right) with the miniature life support system and microgravity simulator (in article). | | |
No, it’s not a “The Muppet Show” episode—Dr. Sherri Emer’s students research the effects of microgravity on fish and rodent tissues after simulated and actual microgravity exposure in the lab or aboard the ISS. Studying rat brains from a 1985 Challenger mission, student Elizabeth Niles explains, “The presence of immunoreactivity for specific markers in flight rats underscores the potential of these older specimens for unraveling the neurological consequences of spaceflight.”
Elizabeth and fellow students Nathan South, Sage Cohen, and Miguel Znyiewicz will present at the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research Conference, a forum for scientists and engineers who share groundbreaking research with far-reaching impact.
| | "The CAS SELF awards provide experiential learning for students to connect the knowledge learned in their majors to practical, real-world situations." | |
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An FGCU partnership has helped launch them: the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS), Honors College, Office of Scholarly Innovation and Student Research, and Whitaker Institute, along with Travel and Procurement staff Joseph Malu, Demica Mattia, and Brooke Niarchos. Interim Associate Dean and Professor of Chemistry Dr. Greg McManus noted that the CAS Student Experiential Learning Fund (CAS SELF) awards “provide experiential learning for students” to “connect the knowledge learned in their majors to practical, real-world situations.”
Dr. Emer praises these “great resume-building experiences,” calling them “an opportunity to showcase outside-of-the-box approaches to the unique problems of space exploration, strengthen NACE-identified competencies, and have broader impacts that extend beyond this world.”
Visit the CAS SELF and SISR websites to learn more.
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| Have you seen a faculty member or academic team exhibiting academic excellence and going the extra mile for student success? Let us know! Click here to submit your story. | | Breakfast with the Provost builds meaningful connections | | Left to right, back row: Dr. Jon Braddy, Associate Professor, Department of Communication & Philosophy; Yvonne Goodson, Academic Advisor II; Dr. Chuck Lindsey, Associate Professor, Mathematics; and Jonathan Harwell, Associate Dean, Research & Engagement. Left to right, front row: Dr. Hilal Peker, Director, Office of Competitive Fellowships; Dr. Maria Paylor Colmer, Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy Program; Heather Snapp, Chair, Academic and Community Engagement; Anne Carncross, Professor, Bower School of Music & the Arts; Dr. Debbie M. Thorne, Executive Vice President & Provost; and Dr. Melody Labriola, Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychologist. | |
This spring, faculty members had another occasion to meet with EVP and Provost Dr. Debbie M. Thorne in a small-setting breakfast networking event, held at the Cohen Student Union. Through this informal gathering, Provost Thorne continues to make thoughtful connections with faculty members, providing an avenue for them to share feedback, opportunities, and concerns. These meaningful conversations reflect the Office of the Provost's commitment to academic excellence and student success, while sustaining the institutional values of Curiosity, Commitment, and Collaboration.
Dr. Thorne launched this initiative to get to know faculty personally by creating intentional opportunities to connect with and listen closely to FGCU faculty. Watch for more informal opportunities to interact with Provost Thorne this academic year.
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THIS WEEK! Provost's Seminar Series with
Dr. Steve Knott, Emeritus Professor of History
U.S. Naval War College
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Canvas Quicktip 11
Student View
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See Your Course Through Your Students' Eyes with Student View!
Student View in Canvas lets you experience your course exactly as your students do. Before publishing content, you can verify that assignments, modules, materials, and navigation links appear correctly and are accessible to learners.
Student View is simple to use. Just click the “View as Student” button, navigate your course as a Test Student, and confirm everything works and looks as expected. You can even submit assignments to test your settings and grading workflows.
For more information check out the How Do I View a Course Using Student View (Canvas Guide)
| | Missed a tip? Bookmark Digital Learning's Canvas QuickTip Archive and access expert guidance whenever you need a refresh to use Canvas more efficiently and effectively. CLICK to browse the Archive. | |
Mark your calendars for this FGCU Eagle excellence tradition!
More details coming soon
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FGCU AI DAY
March 12, 2026
Florida Gulf Coast University is hosting its inaugural AI Day on March 12, 2026, and we’re gearing up for an incredible, high‑energy event right here in Southwest Florida.
Registration is now open!
AI Day will bring together leading experts from across the country to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming academia, healthcare, business, public safety, and government. It’s a unique opportunity for our region to connect researchers, industry innovators, and community partners around the future of AI. See you there!
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New Syllabus Management System & Training Opportunities
Dear Faculty,
Florida Gulf Coast University has adopted Simple Syllabus as our new syllabus management system. This change will streamline syllabus collection and ensure compliance with updated Board of Governors (BOG) Regulation 8.003, which will require:
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All syllabi to be published 45 days prior to the first day of class (effective Fall 2026).
- Inclusion of specific items in the public-facing syllabus.
- Faculty attestation that course materials meet all policies.
What does this mean for you?
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Full implementation begins Summer 2026, with the 45-day requirement enforced in Fall 2026 (syllabi are due May 15 for Fall).
Required elements in the public syllabus include:
- Course identifiers (prefix, number, CRN, title)
- Instructor information (name, rank, office, phone, office hours)
- Required textbooks (auto-populated from Barnes & Noble)
- Recommended materials, topics covered, grading scale (faculty input)
- Official course description and approved learning outcomes (will be prepopulated)
Faculty can add additional details and update syllabi anytime using version control.
Training Opportunities
To help you prepare, PIP will host 6 training sessions (in-person and via Teams) from February 16-27.
Register through EagleLink: https://getinvolved.fgcu.edu/organization/pip
Thank you for your commitment to this important initiative. If you have questions, please reach out to Merri Incitti at ext. 7048 or mincitti@fgcu.edu.
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Career Advancement Assistance Program
The Office of Academic Affairs is pleased to announce the Career Advancement Assistance Program. The purpose of the Career Advancement Assistance Program is to provide time for faculty members to engage meaningfully in activities that yield outputs and impacts enhancing FGCU’s scholarly impact and timely promotion of faculty members.
- Faculty categories included in this initiative are those on the professor and instructor tracks. The Career Advancement Assistance Program partially relieves teaching obligations to provide time for scholarly, research, or career development endeavors. During the Career Advancement Assistance Program, faculty teaching load and/or other assignments will be reduced, and no overload teaching will be permitted.
- The number of awards is contingent on the availability of funding through the Provost’s office.
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The deadline for the Fall 2026 Career Advancement semester is Monday, February 16, 2026. Please submit your application in its entirety to Julie Leyden (jleyden@fgcu.edu).
Access the application cover page and detailed information about the program here:
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The Lucas Center Symposium on Teaching & Learning
A Celebration of Passionate Teaching
Tuesday, February 17 & Wednesday, February 18, 2026
You’re invited to join us for this year’s Lucas Center Symposium on Teaching & Learning, a two-day celebration of the dedication and care that educators bring to their classrooms every day. This year’s Symposium shines a spotlight on the tremendous time, effort, and emotional energy invested in teaching and in cultivating meaningful relationships with students. Together, we’ll honor the work that makes transformational learning possible at Florida Gulf Coast University. Through two days of interactive sessions, engaging presentations, and collaborative conversations, you will discover effective, easy-to-replicate, and low-cost strategies that promote student success. Sessions will feature teaching demonstrations, panel and roundtable discussions, and explorations of current research and innovative practices in higher education. We hope you’ll join us in learning, connecting, reflecting and celebrating passionate teaching. The Symposium is open to all FGCU community members; click here to register. If for any reason the above hyperlink does not work, please use the following direct link: https://fgcu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3TMQwhw9dZBZ77M
| | Dendritic Institute for Human-Centered AI and Data Science | | |
The FGCU AI Academy offers a series of interactive, hands-on learning opportunities designed to empower our campus community with practical AI knowledge and skills. These sessions support FGCU’s ongoing efforts to promote responsible, informed, and effective engagement with AI across academic and professional contexts. For Fall 2026, we are offering the following academy programs: Teaching with AI, which equips educators to integrate GenAI into the teaching process through prompt engineering and instructional design, and AI Literacy, a foundational introduction to AI for daily and professional use. Each course is offered twice to maximize access and accommodate diverse schedules. Click to visit the FGCU AI Academic Programs website for full details, dates, and registration.
| | Office of Research & Sponsored Programs (ORSP) | | |
SciENcv Update
NIH and NSF now require that the PI and all Key Personnel generate their Biosketches and Current & Pending Support documents for every proposal submission through SciENcv. They also require an ORCID iD to be linked to SciENcv.
If you have not yet signed up for an ORCID iD number, please do so as soon as possible to avoid any delays at the time of proposal submission. If you have not yet created a SciENcv account to maintain your Biosketch and Current & Pending, ORSP suggests that you do so now.
There are several ways to log in to SciENcv; however, the most efficient method is through login.gov. If you do not already have a login.gov account, you should first create one using your FGCU email address and then use it to set up your SciENcv account.
To create an ORCID iD, go to this link and sign up where indicated. If you already have your SciENcv and ORCID ID accounts, the SciENcv site will prompt you to link the accounts.
ORSP is aware of ongoing issues and delays in responses from the associated help desks. Please contact ORSP early so we can assist you with generating Biosketches and Current & Pending Support documents that are compliant with grant submission requirements.
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Required Training for NSF Submissions
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has required training starting December 2, 2025. The new requirements set forth in NSF Important Notice No. 149 will take effect.
What you need to know:
- Proposals submitted before December 2, 2025, including those submitted during the recent lapse in appropriations, are not subject to those requirements originally set to take effect on October 10, 2025.
- As of December 2, 2025, such new certifications are required at the time of proposal submission within the Cover Sheet, Biographical Sketch, and Current and Pending (Other) Support forms. These include new certifications related to:
- Completion of research security training by all senior/key personnel; and
- An institution of higher education’s status regarding contracts or agreements with any Confucius Institute.
- Organizations are required to provide supporting documentation, including copies of grants, contracts, and agreements, upon request by NSF.
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You are instructed to take this course, download and save your completion certificate and provide it to ORSP_preaward@fgcu.edu. This certificate must be uploaded with your proposal to NSF.
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To assist research organizations and investigators, NSF has published a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) web page summarizing the new requirements, certification procedures, and relevant timelines. Access the FAQs here.
Training can be done using the following link and takes 45-60 minutes: https://www.secure-center.org/ctm.
If you have questions, please reach out to ORSP.
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Application Deadlines
There are posted deadlines for ORSP applications. For time-sensitive opportunities, ORSP will attempt to accommodate requests but cannot guarantee submission unless the following are met:
For FGCU to meet sponsor requirements and provide added value to each proposal, the following standard internal deadlines have been established for electronic and paper submissions (these lead times do not include time required by the relevant unit(s) for their review/approval):
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Five (5) business days (days when FGCU business operations are open) prior to submission deadline: The final complete budget, additional administrative materials, and draft narrative are due to ORSP.
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Fourteen (14) business days are required for subrecipient documentation when FGCU is the prime for the proposal.
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Two (2) business days prior to submission deadline: The final complete proposal is due to ORSP, including the final proposal narrative. Final changes between the two deadlines are limited to tweaking of the narrative that has no impact upon the budget and other administrative documents.
The deadlines are in place so that last minute errors/warnings can be addressed in advance of the sponsor’s deadlines. If error/warnings are received close to the sponsor deadline and cannot be adjusted, applications may not be submitted if we are not able to remedy the issue(s).
More information can be found at:
https://www.fgcu.edu/academics/research/files/orsp-deadlines.pdf
| | Apply for Grant-in-Aid Program!🎓📚The application is open now 📚🎓FGCU is offering awards for the 2026-2027 academic year to support employees in advancing their education! Whether you're a Support Personnel (SP), Administrative/Professional (AP), or Faculty member, this is your chance to take your learning to the next level. Read more about Grant-in-Aid and apply here. | | |
Community Partner Announcement | Lee Health’s 2026 Community Health Survey. Open January 6 through March 3. Please, use this link to participate.
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University Library
February 10 and 12
| | Bower School of Music & the Arts | |
February 13-22: The Good Doctor
TheatreLab, Arts Complex, FGCU Campus, 10501 FGCU Blvd. S., Fort Myers
February 13, 14, 20 & 21 at 7:30 p.m.
February 15, 21 (with post-performance discussion) & 22 at 2:00 p.m.
Tickets: $15 for the general public; $7 for students
Available at fgcu.edu/theatrelab; Phone: 239-745-4268
| | United Campus Ministries in collaboration with the Office of the President at FGCU invites all faculty and staff to an appreciation luncheon on February 23, 2026, at 12:00 p.m., in AB 9, Room 138. | | |
Guest speaker Kristoffer Doura is an entrepreneur, motivational speaker, former NFL player, and current adjunct faculty member at FGCU. He will share an inspirational message entitled "Faithfulness in the Quiet Work."
Please RSVP by February 17 here.
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Dendritic Institute for Human-Centered AI & Data Science at FGCU, in partnership with Florida SBDC at FGCU, and sponsored by Fifth Third Bank
AI in Action: Strategies for Business Growth
February 26, 2026
An Industry Forum focused on practical, non-technical applications of artificial intelligence for small and medium businesses. It may be of interest to faculty, staff, and students engaged in business, technology, innovation, and community engagement. Register here. Visit Dendritic Signature Events for more details.
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Upcoming Talk: Pixar in a Box: The Math Behind the Movies
March 11, 2026, 4:45 p.m.
With welcoming remarks by Provost Thorne at 4:45 p.m.
We are excited to invite you to an upcoming talk offered through a collaboration between the FGCU Mathletes Circle, the Department of Mathematics, the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS), and the College of Engineering. The talk is open to FGCU faculty, students, community members, families, and K–12 students. Our speaker, Dr. Tony DeRose, spent 23 years as a Senior Scientist at Pixar Animation Studios and is a pioneer in geometric modeling and animation. His work has helped shape iconic films such as The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, and Brave. In his presentation, “Pixar in a Box: The Math Behind the Movies,” Dr. DeRose will explore how mathematics underpins storytelling, creativity, and technology, offering students and the broader community a tangible bridge between discovery and practice.
Registration: Please register yourself and any family members using the following link: https://forms.gle/xV4WgpLUkpA2QHoJA. Classroom location details will be emailed to registered participants.
Organized by: Tanya Huffman, Dr. Cijy Sunny, Dr. Chuck Lindsey, Julie Rose, Director, WCE Student Support Services, U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering.
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Faculty Senate and Academic Affairs
All faculty are invited to attend the Faculty Spring Jam Session on March 27, 4:00–7:00 p.m., at the FGCU Boardwalk. Come enjoy a fun afternoon of live music, open mic, and karaoke, and connect with colleagues in a relaxed setting.
Interested in performing? Sign-Up for Performers, click here.
Just attending? RSVP for attendance here. Please RSVP so we can plan accordingly.
| | OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR STUDENTS | | Career Development Services | | | | |
