The Founders’ Day Awards celebrate the outstanding academic achievements of our faculty members and students. As we recognize these achievements, we remember the efforts of those women and men who made this university a reality, and we prepare for the accomplishments of the future.

In an extraordinary time, our faculty and students have continued to show they are innovative and resilient.

Here are the 2021 honorees:

Students Awards

Founders’ Day Award

Honors in the Major Undergraduate Thesis Award

Award for Outstanding Master’s Thesis

Award for Outstanding Dissertation

Faculty Awards

Pegasus Professors

  • Issa Batarseh, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Cristina Fernández-Valle, College of Medicine
  • Luis Martínez-Fernández, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Marshall Schminke, College of Business
  • Jeffrey Stout, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Reach for the Stars

  • Adrienne Dove, College of Sciences
  • Helen Huang, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Amber Southwell, College of Medicine
  • Mel Stanfill, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Thomas Wahl, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

College Awardees:

  • Marc Consalo, College of Community Innovation and Education
  • Nicole Damico, College of Community Innovation and Education
  • Peter Delfyett, College of Optics and Photonics
  • Ray Eddy, Rosen College of Hospitality Management
  • Francisco Fernandez-Rubiera, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Martha Garcia ’97 ’00MA, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Edward Gonzalez-Tennant, College of Sciences
  • Amanda Groff ’03 ’07MA, College of Sciences
  • Duncan Hardy, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Alicia Hawthorne, College of Medicine
  • Erica Hoyt ’93 ’19EdD, College of Nursing
  • Alla Kourova, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Eunkyung “Muriel” Lee, College of Health Professions and Sciences
  • Tamra Legron-Rodriguez ’08 ’13PhD, College of Sciences
  • Tammy Muhs ’11PhD, College of Sciences
  • Tian Tian, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Dana Wallace, College of Business Administration
  • Danielle Webster, College of Health Professions and Sciences
  • Taylar Wenzel 11EdD, College of Community Innovation and Education
  • Grace White, College of Sciences

University Awardee:

  • Amanda Groff ’03 ’07MA, College of Sciences

University Excellence in Graduate Teaching

College Awardees:

  • Danielle Atkins, College of Community Innovation and Education
  • Christopher Blackwell ’00 ’01MS ’05PhD, College of Nursing
  • Cheryl Briggs, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Xiaoxiao Fu, Rosen College of Hospitality Management
  • Joseph Kider Jr.,  College of Graduate Studies
  • Axel Schülzgen, College of Optics and Photonics
  • Matt Stock, College of Health Professions and Sciences
  • Kenneth Teter, College of Medicine
  • Güneş Tezcür, College of Sciences
  • Dingbao Wang, College of Engineering and Computer Science

University Awardee:

  • Matt Stock, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Excellence in Research

College Awardees:

  • Sarah Bush, College of Community Innovation and Education
  • Debopam Chakrabarti , College of Medicine
  • Hassan Foroosh, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Peter Hancock, College of Sciences
  • Duncan Hardy, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Joseph Kider Jr., College of Graduate Studies
  • Kathleen Richardson, College of Optics and Photonics
  • Marshall Schminke, College of Business Administration
  • Matt Stock, College of Health Professions and Sciences
  • Ladda Thiamwong, College of Nursing
  • Wei Wei, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

University Awardee:

  • Kathleen Richardson, College of Optics and Photonics

Excellence in Mentoring Doctoral Students

University Awardees:

  • Xin He, College of Business Administration
  • Luis Rabelo, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Excellence in Instructional Design

University Awardee:

  • Kathleen Bastedo, Division of Digital Learning

Excellence in Librarianship

University Awardee:

  • Peter Spyers-Duran ’05MS ’07MS, UCF Libraries

Excellence in Faculty Academic Advising

University Awardee:

  • Amanda Groff ’03 ’07MA, College of Sciences

Excellence in Professional Service

University Awardee:

  • Keri Watson, College of Arts and Humanities

20-Year Service Award

  • Laura “Junie” Albers-Biddle ’86 ’93MEd ’14EdD, College of Community Innovation and Education
  • Linan An, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Issa Batarseh, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Steven Berman, College of Sciences
  • Tarek Buhagiar ’97MS, College of Business: Department of Economics
  • Shawn Burke ’92, College of Graduate Studies
  • Suryanarayana Challapalli, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Sabatino Dibernardo, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Mark Dickie, College of Business: Department of Economics
  • Matthew Gerber ’98 ’00MS ’05PhD, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Fon Gordon, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Anthony Grajeda, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Richard Harrison, UCF Libraries
  • Florencio Hernandez ’18MBA, College of Community Innovation and Education
  • Randall Hewitt, College of Community Innovation and Education
  • Bari Hoffman ’96 ’98MA, College of Health Professions and Sciences
  • Steven Hornik, College of Business
  • Anna Maria Jones, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Mikhail Klimov ’99MS, Office of Research
  • Richard Lapchick, College of Business
  • Dan Marinescu, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Stefanie Mayfield Garcia, College of Business: Department of Marketing
  • Thomas “Rudy” McDaniel ’99 ’01MA ’03 ’04PhD, College of Arts and Humanities
  • 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
  • Benjamin Rockmore, College of Business
  • Kirk Scammon ’91 ’96MS, Office of Research
  • Claudia Schippert, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Yongho Sohn, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Walter Sotero, College of Sciences
  • Steven Spencer, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Terrie Sypolt, UCF Libraries
  • Suren Tatulian, College of Sciences
  • Nizam Uddin, College of Sciences
  • Rajan Vaidyanathan, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Mark Winton ’84 ’88MA, College of Community Innovation and Education
  • Graham Worthy, College of Sciences
  • Shin-Tson Wu, College of Optics and Photonics

30-Year Service Award

  • David Brunner, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Alain Kassab, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Mansooreh Mollaghasemi, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Robert Peale, College of Sciences
  • Mary Lou Sole, College of Nursing
  • Jeffrey Sonne, Office of Research
  • Morgan Wang, College of Sciences

40-Year Service Award

  • Michael Hampton, College of Sciences
  • Samuel Richie ’80 ’83MS ’89PhD, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Robert Rivers, College of Arts and Humanities

Professor Emeritus and Emerita

  • Stephen Berman, College of Medicine
  • David Brunner, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Susan Chase, College of Nursing
  • Steven Chicurel-Stein, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Sophia Dziegielewski ’81, College of Health Professions and Sciences
  • Robert Folger, College of Business
  • Walter Gaudnek, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Robert Hoekstra, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Bernard Jensen, College of Sciences
  • Marcia Katz, College of Medicine
  • Genaro Lopez, College of Medicine
  • Ronald Michaels, College of Business
  • M.G. “Jim” Moharam, College of Optics and Photonics
  • David Nickerson ’80, College of Sciences
  • Moshe Pelli, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Richard Peppler, College of Medicine
  • Debra Reinhart ’76, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • John “Jack” Ryalls, College of Health Professions and Sciences
  • Dawn Trouard, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Lyn Unruh, College of Community Innovation and Education
  • Parveen Wahid, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Alvin Wang, College of Sciences
  • Bonnie Yegidis, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Vice President Emerita

  • Maribeth Ehasz

Vice Provost Emeritus

  • Jeffrey Jones

View the Founders’ Day Program