Celebration of Excellence

May 06, 2025

Celebration of Excellence is an opportunity to recognize the many endeavors of the university community in scholarship, leadership, service, creative arts and teaching during the past academic year.

Grant-in-Aid Educational Leave Award Program Recipients:

Kelly Liu
Zachry Gelow
Julie Gleason

Mentoring Award Recipients:

Lisa Caldwell
Dr. Katie Johnson

Student Success Champions:

Maggie Swanson
Dr. Daniel Acheampong
Crystal Hill
Joe Arledge, Valerie Garcia-Rea
Kelsey O'Brien

Staff Advisory Council Outstanding Staff Awards:

Support Personnel Staff Member: Kaye Straley
Administrative & Professional Staff Member: Michelle Foo
Gabor Staff Champion Award: Allison Jedinak

Librarian Excellence Award:

Junior Faculty: Traci Mays
Senior Faculty: Rachel Tait-Ripperdan

Faculty Excellence Awards:

John Herman Award for Excellence in General Education: Dr. Daniel Paull
President’s Award for Exemplary Online Teaching: Connan Griffin
Chair Excellence: Dr. Charles (Billy) Gunnels

Advising Excellence Awards:

Junior Advisor: Wheatly Dorsainvil
Senior Advisor: Patti Kirk

Scholarship Excellence Awards:

Junior Faculty: Dr. Erica Molinario and Dr. Harry Maisch
Senior Faculty: Dr. Jayanta (Jay) Gupta and Dr. Burhan Ozfidan

Service Excellence Awards:

Junior Faculty Individual: Dr. Amy Dudley and Dr. Christina Anaya
Senior Faculty Individual: Dr. Michelle Angeletti
Faculty Team Service: Microsoft TechSpark Florida Team – Dr. Daniel Linares and Julie Rose

Teaching Excellence Awards:

Adjunct Faculty: Dr. Claude Lieber and Dr. Michael Weiss-Holmes
Junior Instructor: Margaret Hood and Mark Bole
Senior Instructor: Nicole Legge and Felicia Goulet-Miller
Junior Faculty: Dr. Nicola Khalaf and Dr. Bhisnauth Churaman
Senior Faculty: Dr. Daniel Paull and Dr. Adrian Valencia

An FGCU employee, wearing glasses, a watch and a blue polo shirt with a white FGCU logo, is receiving an award from an individual wearing a black suit. There are trophies visible on a table in the background.

An FGCU employee, who has medium-length blond curly hair and is wearing a floral dress, beige blazer and gold necklace, is receiving an award from an individual wearing a black blazer.

Two individuals are hugging. One person is wearing a beige jacket and has short, light-colored hair. The other person is wearing a pinkish jacket and also has grey hair. There is a microphone on a stand to the right side.

An FGCU employee, who has long grey curly hair and is wearing a red floral blouse underneath a gray cardigan, is receiving an award and shaking the hand of an individual wearing a black blazer.

An audience member is clapping during the Celebration of Excellence Awards. The person in the center has dark wavy hair and is wearing a blue polo t-shirt and a green lanyard with a pin. Other audience members can be seen in the background.

An audience member is standing up among the seated crowd. He has blond hair and is wearing a light blue button-down shirt.

Two FGCU employees are standing in front of a backdrop with the Florida Gulf Coast University logos. The person on the left is wearing a dark blue suit, white dress shirt and a dark blue bow tie. The person on the right is wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt with white patterns and is holding an award.

An FGCU employee is standing up among the seated crowd, and many people are clapping. She has short dark hair and is wearing a black blazer.

An FGCU employee is walking toward the stage to receive an award. She has short blond hair and is wearing a black blouse underneath a white cardigan. Audience members can be seen in the background.

Two FGCU employees are standing in front of a backdrop with the Florida Gulf Coast University logos. The person on the left is wearing a dark blue suit, white dress shirt and a dark blue bow tie. The person on the right has dark hair and is wearing blue pants and a white blouse underneath a black blazer. She is holding an award.

Three FGCU employees gather for a photo at the Celebration of Excellence reception. The person on the left has her hair pulled back in a ponytail and is wearing glasses and a dark teal blouse. The person in the middle has short blond hair and is wearing a black blouse with white and red polka dots. The person on the right is wearing glasses and a teal t-shirt underneath a light teal blazer.