Faculty excellence recognized at 2016 convocation


convocation-group-photo-1

Left to right: Rebecca Toonkel, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine; Eloisa Rodriguez-Dod, College of Law; Maureen Kenny, College of Arts, Sciences & Education; Sat Gavassa Becerra, College of Arts, Sciences & Education; Paul Feigenbaum, College of Arts, Sciences & Education; Janet McDaniel, Honors College; Arif Sarwat, College of Engineering & Computing; Provost Kenneth Furton; George Pearson, University Libraries; Vice Provost Meredith Newman; Melissa Baralt, Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs; Tim Birrittella, College of Business; Katie Rothfield, College of Communication, Architecture + the Arts; Erik Camayd-Freixas, Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs; Chenzhong Li, College of Engineering & Computing; Jose Almirall, College of Arts, Sciences & Education

The annual Faculty Convocation marks an important recognition of our professors’ dedication to the university and its students.

At the event, faculty are awarded for excellence in service, teaching, mentorship, librarianship and more. The President’s Council Worlds Ahead Faculty Award, which comes with a monetary prize, acknowledges full-time faculty who influence their field through research, partnership or creative initiatives; who encourage student learning, innovation and collaboration; and who demonstrate distinguished leadership at FIU.

The 2016 Worlds Ahead Faculty Award was presented to modern languages professor Erik Camayd-Freixas. Camayd-Freixas spearheaded the effort to provide in-state tuition to undocumented students, which was pioneered by FIU and has since become Florida law.

At the event, history professor Bianca Premo spoke of recognizing the “radical power of commonality” among a university that strives for individuality and innovation.

“FIU’s uniqueness is not an inalterable condition, but a choice that we’ve been making,” Premo said. “It’s a way of narrating who we are, and it’s a choice every day. Being conscious of this frees us to truly innovate individually as faculty and as a collective.”

Other awardees this year include:

Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching:

Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching Gateway Courses:

Faculty Award for Excellence in Service:

Faculty Award for Excellence in Research and Creative Activities:

Faculty Award for Excellence in Engagement:

Faculty Award for Excellence in Librarianship:

Faculty Award for Excellence in Mentorship and Advising:

  • Asia Eaton, Department of Psychology, College of Arts, Sciences & Education
  • Kenneth J. Feeley, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts, Sciences & Education
  • Sharan Ramaswamy, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering & Computing

Comments are closed.