SPRING 2014
I n d i v i d u a l s a n d g i f t s t h at a r e t r a n s f o r m i n g U C F
Message from the CEO
Faculty Excellence and Private Support From unlocking the secrets of cancer, to encouraging next-generation computer scientists, to developing innovations in health care simulation, the work of UCF faculty members such as Annette Khaled, Ali Orooji, Gregory Welch and their colleagues will benefit our students and society for decades to come. But as competition for these top faculty members grows increasingly fierce — with well-endowed private universities often using lucrative financial offers to lure faculty away from public universities like UCF — private gifts from donors like you are ever more crucial in helping us attract and retain the best teachers, scholars and researchers. Here’s how your support makes a difference: 1. Named, endowed chairs and professorships offer added prestige and financial support, helping us retain our own top faculty and compete for rising stars.
2. Private support for faculty development offsets the cost of conferences and other forms of professional education that faculty must pursue in order to stay at the forefront of their fields. 3. Unrestricted faculty support gives UCF leaders the discretion to act quickly, seizing unforeseen opportunities and meeting urgent needs — like helping a gifted teacher travel cross-country to accept a national award. 4. By supplementing other university resources, private support can make it feasible for faculty to spend more time in the community, devoting a semester to assisting local schools with new teaching models, for example, or working with volunteers to restore wetlands habitats.
To the many generous donors who have supported faculty excellence at UCF, we offer our deepest gratitude. For those looking to make a lasting impact on the lives of individual students and the vitality of our region, a gift in support of UCF faculty promises far-reaching returns. Thanks for all you do to keep us moving forward. Sincerely,
Robert J. Holmes CEO, UCF Foundation, Inc.
Virtual Patient, Real Innovator Simulation expert Gregory Welch appointed to new endowed chair in nursing college
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he College of Nursing received a $1 million grant from Florida Hospital to establish an endowed chair for health care simulation. Research professor Gregory Welch, a computer scientist and engineer, has been appointed to the position. Mary Lou Sole, interim dean of the college said, “This new endowed chair underscores the College of Nursing’s commitment to becoming a national leader in developing and testing innovative technologies to enhance nursing and health care education as well as patient care delivery.” Welch’s primary focus is the improvement of simulated patients that are used in the education of nurses and other health care professionals, as well as other uses of technology for patient care. His research interests include virtual and augmented reality, the capture of human movement for simulation and training, and human surrogates for training and telepresence — particularly related to health care.
The multidisciplinary nature of his appointment will allow Welch to foster collaborations between computer scientists and health care educators, practitioners and organizations so that UCF can develop the next generation of health care technology. He brings to his appointment both a record of technological innovation — he is the co-inventor on multiple patents — and a long-standing interest in health care. While a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he led research efforts to develop three-dimensional remote health care consulting technology, allowing physicians to “look over the shoulder” and coach emergency medical personnel through necessary procedures. Prior to academia, he worked on the Voyager spacecraft project at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and on airborne electronic countermeasures at Northrop Grumman’s Defense Systems Division.