Faculty Recognition
Florida Gulf Coast University prides itself on our distinguished faculty – whether teaching, performing research, or service. We recognize these accomplishments through promotion, the awarding of grants, and the Celebration of Excellence awards.





Promotion
Florida Gulf Coast University prides itself in having dedicated faculty to serve the students at FGCU with rigorous, high-quality undergraduate and graduate experiences of which independent research, scholarship, and creative activities are an important part. FGCU has in place a promotion process for faculty wanting to move up within the ranks of the University. Faculty portfolios are submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs, where they are reviewed and evaluated. The faculty at FGCU take pride in their hard work, dedication, and determination, which is evident in the number of faculty who are promoted, and shows in the success of the students, who greatly benefit from the mentoring that faculty provide.
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Faculty Promotion 2025-2026
Toggle More InfoFaculty Name Promotion to Department Christina Anaya Associate Professor Biological Sciences Enas Awad Instructor III Mathematics Dan Bacalzo Professor Bower School of Music & the Arts Meagan Baskin Professor Management Nicholas Bianco Instructor III Mathematics Mark Bole Instructor II Entrepreneurship Jon Braddy Professor Communication & Philosophy Alejandro Bugarin Professor Chemistry & Physics Teri Byrne-Knell Instructor II Teacher Education & Learning Sciences Rachel Campbell Instructor III Chemistry & Physics Stephen Cavitt Instructor III Language & Literature Jean Max Charles Associate Professor Ecology & Environmental Studies Heekyung (Jenny) Cho Associate Professor Entrepreneurship Bhisnauth Churaman Associate Professor School of Nursing Jason Craddock Associate Professor Rehabilitation Sciences Amy Dudley Associate Professor School of Nursing April Felton Associate Professor Biological Sciences Lee Ann Frederick Instructor II Biological Sciences Landon Frim Professor Communication & Philosophy Margaret Hood Instructor II Biological Sciences Michael Houdyshell Professor Leadership, Counseling, & Human Development Daniel Huerta Professor Economics & Finance Vic Jones Associate University Librarian Academic and Community Engagement Payal Kahar Professor Health Sciences Stefanie Kempton Associate Professor Communication & Philosophy Hien Khong Instructor II Chemistry & Physics Onder Koklu Professor Teacher Education & Learning Sciences Daniel Lambrecht Professor Chemistry & Physics Carol Lawrence Associate Professor School of Nursing Reid Lennertz Instructor III Entrepreneurship Yanqiong Liu Academic Advisor II Marieb College of Health & Human Services Advising Jason Lortie Professor Entrepreneurship Fangheyue Ma Instructor II Justice Studies Jennifer Manegold Professor Management Todd McElroy Professor Psychology Erica Molinario Associate Professor Psychology Mustafa Mujtaba Professor Biological Sciences Levente Pap Associate Professor Chemistry & Physics/Marine & Earth Sciences Vanja Petricevic Professor Political Science, Public Administration, & History Eli Sarah Portella Associate Professor Communication & Philosophy Krishna Regmi Associate Professor Economics & Finance Jeannine Richards Associate Professor Ecology & Environmental Studies Colleen Robb Professor Entrepreneurship Arnab Dutta Roy Associate Professor Language & Literature Tammy Sadighi Professor School of Nursing Jacqueline Salmond Instructor III Integrated Studies Lindsay Schofield Associate Professor Teacher Education and Learning Sciences Kelly Schuller Professor Psychology Kimberly Sena Moore Professor Bower School of Music & the Arts Rob Sillevis Professor Rehabilitation Sciences Starlette Sinclair Associate Professor Psychology Heather Skaza-Acosta Professor Whitaker Center for STEM Education/Ecology & Environmental Studies Cijy Sunny Associate Professor Mathematics/Computing & Software Engineering Magdalin Swanson Instructor III Mathematics Kyle Szabo Professor Bower School of Music & the Arts Seneshaw Tsegaye Professor Bioengineering, Civil Engineering, and Environmental Engineering Glenn Whitehouse Professor Core Skills/Communication & Philosophy -
Faculty Promotion 2024-2025
Toggle More InfoFaculty Name Promotion to Department Paul Allen Instructor III Computing and Software Engineering Megan Atha Associate Professor Teacher Education and Learning Sciences Maria Barbero Associate Professor Integrated Studies Patricia Bauer Associate Professor Rehabilitation Sciences Krista Bixler Associate Professor Leadership, Counseling, and Human Development Bei Cao Instructor II Chemistry & Physics Stefan Carpenter Associate Professor Ecology and Environmental Studies Mukesh Chaudhry Professor Economics and Finance Pelin Ciris Associate Professor Computing and Software Engineering Michael Cole Associate Professor Political Science, Public Administration, and History Richard Coughlin Professor Political Science, Public Administration, and History Ashley Danley-Thomson Professor Bioengineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering Nora Demers Professor Biological Sciences Wheatly Dorsainvil Academic Advisor II Marieb College of Health & Human Services Advising Chad Evers Instructor III Ecology and Environmental Studies Sarah Fabrizi Professor Rehabilitation Sciences Jen Fulwider Instructor II Teacher Education and Learning Sciences Jeannine Gamble-Francis Academic Advisor III Lutgert College of Business Advising Jayanta Gupta Professor Health Sciences James Horn Associate Professor Biological Sciences Lan Jiang Professor Health Sciences Catherine Johnson Professor School of Resort and Hospitality Management Osman Karatum Associate Professor Bioengineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering Kristopher Kimbler Professor Psychology Joseph Leah Associate Professor Management Kerry Lee Professor Biological Sciences Nicole Legge Instructor III Mathematics Jiehong Liao Associate Professor Bioengineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering Melissa May Associate Professor Marine and Earth Sciences Traci Mays Associate University Librarian Research, Scholarship, and Instruction Tara McKenna Instructor III PGA Golf Management Kristin Mellian Associate Professor Bower School of Music & the Arts Peter Ndiangui Associate Professor Leadership, Counseling & Human Development Taehoon Park Associate Professor Marketing Daniel Paull Professor Chemistry & Physics Arianna Pinello Professor Accounting Lauren Redfern Associate Professor Bioengineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering Marianela Rivera Associate Professor Language and Literature Jason Robinson Associate Professor Teacher Education and Learning Sciences Joseph Ross Professor APCD/Political Science, Public Administration, & History Rachel Rotz Associate Professor Marine and Earth Sciences Joanna Salapska-Gelleri Professor Psychology Tatiana Schuss Instructor III Language and Literature Jamie Shaffer Instructor II Teacher Education and Learning Sciences Michele Stork Professor Teacher Education and Learning Sciences Angel Taylor Instructor III Language and Literature Kristine Tullo Instructor III Language and Literature NateTurcotte Associate Professor Teacher Education and Learning Sciences Barbara Wright Instructor III Language and Literature -
Faculty Promotion 2023-2024
Toggle More InfoFaculty Name Promotion to Department Puspa Adhikari Associate Professor Marine & Earth Sciences Shari Alvanas Academic Advisor III College of Arts & Sciences Brian Bovard Associate Professor Ecology & Environmental Studies Jeremy Brown Librarian University Library Alberto Condori Professor Mathematics Christopher DiMattina Professor Psychology James Douglass Professor Marine & Earth Sciences Jason Elek Instructor III Language & Literature Sherri Emer Associate Professor Biological Sciences Shawn Felton Professor Health Sciences
Peggy Glatthaar Associate Librarian University Library Customer Services Joseph Liu Associate Professor Management Derek Lura Professor Bioengineering, Civil Engineering, and Environmental Engineering Jennifer Macbeth Instructor III Integrated Studies Karen Marino Instructor II Mathematics Todd McElroy Associate Professor Psychology Gregory McManus Professor Chemistry & Physics Jan-Martijn Meij Associate Professor Justice Studies Aaron Nunes-Zaller Instructor II Integrated Studies Amanda Parke Instructor III Communication & Philosophy Jase Ramsey Professor Management Derek Reiners Associate Professor Political Science & Public Administration Kaleena Rivera Associate Librarian Library Systems, Applications, & Creative Technologies Sabrina Ronco Instructor II School of Nursing Roger Smithson Academic Advisor II College of Arts & Sciences Huijiao "Joy" Sun Instructor II Chemistry & Physics Maka Tsulukidze Associate Professor Health Sciences Jordan Von Cannon Associate Professor Language & Literature Michael Von Cannon Instructor II Language & Literature Jesse Wright Instructor II Economics & Finance Jingshun "Jason" Zhang Professor Leadership, Technology & Research -
Faculty Promotion 2022-2023
Toggle More InfoFaculty Name Promotion to Department Mary Abercrombie Instructor II Marine & Earth Sciences Ashraf Badir Professor Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Construction Management Nicholas Bianco Instructor II Mathematics Trent Brown Professor Bower School of Music & the Arts Annemarie Connor Associate Professor Occupational Therapy Nilesh Dhumal Associate Professor Chemistry & Physics
Loureen Downes Professor Nursing Cindy Farris Associate Professor Nursing Joyce Fassbender Instructor II Biological Sciences Charles Gunnels Professor Biological Sciences Miles Hentrup Associate Professor Communication & Philosophy Brandon Hollingshead Instructor III Integrated Studies Daniel Huerta Associate Professor Economics & Finance Erik Insko Professor Mathematics Felix Jose Professor Marine & Earth Sciences Michael Kennedy Instructor II Communication & Philosophy Patti Kirk Academic Advisor III College of Arts & Sciences Onder Koklu Associate Professor Teacher Preparation Programs Joyce LaOrden Instructor III Language & Literature Reid Lennertz Instructor II Entrepreneurship Jason Lortie Associate Professor Entrepreneurship Ashley Mandeville Associate Professor Management Laci Mattison Associate Professor Language & Literature Clay Motley Professor Language & Literature Joanne Muller Professor Marine & Earth Sciences Elizabeth Murray Professor Nursing Edwin Myers Associate Professor Occupational Therapy Molly Nation Associate Professor Ecology & Environmental Studies Craig Randall Associate Professor Management Bill Reynolds Professor Social Work Colleen Robb Associate Professor Entrepreneurship Chrissann Ruehle Instructor II Management Tammy Sadighi Associate Professor Nursing Michael Salmond Professor Bower School of Music & the Arts Jacqueline Salmond Instructor II Integrated Studies Rob Sillevis Associate Professor Rehabilitation Sciences Heather Snapp Associate University Librarian Outreach and Marketing Pamela St. Laurent Instructor II Health Sciences Annie Stout Instructor II Entrepreneurship Magdalin Swanson Instructor II Mathematics Thant Syn Associate Professor Information Systems & Operations Management Melissa VandeBurgt University Librarian University Archives & Special Collections Gerritt VanderMeer Professor Bower School of Music & the Arts Heather Walsh-Haney Professor Justice Studies Timothy Yontz Professor Bower School of Music & the Arts -
Faculty Promotion 2021-2022
Toggle More InfoFaculty Name Promotion to Department Eric Arseneau Associate Professor Entrepreneurship
Erica Baer Instructor II Justice Studies Regina Beard Librarian Research & Instruction Elizabeth Bouldin Associate Professor Social Sciences Christopher Boyd Associate Librarian Technical Services Alejandro Bugarin Associate Professor Chemistry & Physics Lindsey Burr Advisor II Advising Stephen Cavitt Instructor II Language & Literature Allison Dieppa Instructor III Language & Literature Melodie Eichbauer Professor Social Sciences Alison Elgart Professor Social Sciences Ahmed Elokda Professor Rehabilitation Sciences Landon Frim Associate Professor Communication & Philosophy David Fugate Professor Marine & Earth Sciences Shelby Gilbert Associate Professor Health Sciences Patricia Gingras Associate Professor Music Felicia Goulet-Miller Instructor III Biological Science Julianna Griffin Instructor III Language & Literature Jaffar Hameed Professor Mathematics Russell Hogg Professor Rehabilitation Sciences Michael Houdyshell Associate Professor Ed Lead, Technology, Research Vicki Johnston Instructor III College of Education Payal Kahar Associate Professor Health Sciences Daniel Lambrecht Associate Professor Chemistry & Physics Robert Lee Associate Professor Political Science & Public Administration Peter Meso Professor Information Systems & Analytics Mustafa Mujtaba Associate Professor Biological Science Menaka Navaratna Professor Mathematics Lirio Negroni Professor Social Work Long Nguyen Professor Environmental & Civil Engineering Sari Paikoff Instructor II Chemistry & Physics Nathan Pipitone Associate Professor Psychology Kimberly Reycraft Associate Librarian STEM Steve Rokusek Associate Librarian Social Sciences Librarian Mathew Sheep Professor Lutgert College of Business Heather Skaza Acosta Associate Professor Ecology & Environmental Studies Rachel Tait-Ripperdan Associate Librarian Language & Literature Librarian Fiona Tolhurst Professor Language & Literature Seneshaw Tsegaye Associate Professor Environmental & Civil Engineering Elizabeth Weatherford Instructor II Language & Literature Xiaofei Zhang Instructor II Chemistry & Physics Lisa Zidek Professor Bioengineering

Research and Grants
Last year, the Office of Research & Sponsored Programs (ORSP) at Florida Gulf Coast University assisted faculty and staff in securing and implementing nearly $15 million in funding for grants and research endeavors. FGCU recognizes and congratulates the recipients of these awards. The recent awards received can be found on the ORSP website.

Emeriti Faculty, Deans, and Administration
The designation of emeritus is awarded to retired faculty who have advanced the academic mission of Florida Gulf Coast University through meritorious teaching, scholarship, and service.
Celebration of Excellence
The Celebration of Excellence is an annual tradition at FGCU to celebrate the many achievements and accomplishments of our talented students, faculty, and staff. Established in 1998, the Celebration of Excellence at Florida Gulf Coast University is an opportunity for us to recognize the many endeavors of the university community in scholarship, leadership, service, creative arts, and teaching during the past academic year.
Watch the 2026 Celebration
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Celebration of Excellence 2025
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Celebration of Excellence 2024
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Celebration of Excellence 2023
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Celebration of Excellence 2022
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Celebration of Excellence 2021
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Celebration of Excellence 2020
Toggle More InfoFaculty Winners
Senior Faculty Scholarship Excellence
Senior Faculty Teaching Excellence
John Herman Award for Excellence in Teaching General Education
Inspired by the late Dr. John Herman and his remarkable ability to engage students from across disciplines in his General Education Biology courses, the John Herman Award for Excellence in General Education will recognize one member of the Florida Gulf Coast University teaching community for their commitment to enhancing the liberal arts experience of FGCU students.
Chair Excellence
This award goes to a department chair, director or associate dean who has completed two full academic years at FGCU. They must demonstrate continuous growth; a self-critical, reflective approach in evaluating his/her professional growth and development over time; substantial evidence of significant and impactful accomplishments; and support of the overall mission.
Adjunct Faculty Teaching Excellence
Senior Faculty Service Excellence
This award goes to a senior faculty member who has completed at least one full academic year at FGCU in a faculty position. This person must demonstrate continuous growth in service over time; a self-critical, reflective approach in evaluating his/her professional growth and development over time in service; support of the service mission of FGCU; mentoring of peers in service and civic engagement; and excellence.
Junior Faculty Service Excellence
This award goes to a junior faculty member who has completed at least one full academic year at FGCU in a faculty position. This person must demonstrate continuous growth in service over time; a self-critical, reflective approach in evaluating his/her professional growth and development over time in service; support of the service mission of FGCU; mentoring of peers in service and civic engagement; and excellence.














