Staci Zavattaro, a professor of public administration in UCF’s College of Community Innovation and Education, is the university’s first Big 12 Faculty Fellowship recipient.
The fellowship program enables tenured and tenure-track faculty to visit peers at Big 12 Athletic Conference institutions to exchange ideas, foster research partnerships and address issues to benefit society.
Zavattaro, who joined UCF in 2015, studies the public management of death and dying, including how governments and communities deal with issues such as land use, resources, ethics and public policy. She co-authored the recently released book Equity at the End: The New American Way of Death, which explores the complex and often confusing world of deathcare in the United States.
During her one-year fellowship, Zavattaro will collaborate with a leading expert in death management at Iowa State University. Together, they aim to develop a national network of death studies scholars to enhance research excellence and societal impact in the field. She will also do research at an Iowa medical examiner’s department, deliver guest lectures at Iowa State and meet with the university’s students about public administration issues and the study of death management.
“Congratulations to Dr. Zavattaro on this special opportunity,” says John Buckwalter, UCF’s provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “This fellowship exemplifies the academic benefits of UCF’s membership in the Big 12 Conference, which features 16 universities known for many research strengths and high-quality education. I look forward to the scholarship and impact that result from Dr. Zavattaro’s work.”
UCF joined the Big 12 Athletic Conference in 2023 as the youngest school among the nation’s major athletic conferences. Learn more about the Big 12 Faculty Fellowships at UCF. Applications for the 2026-27 fellowship are open through Jan. 30, 2026.
