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FACULTY & STAFF NEWS

Michael Fitzgerald, career development and global engagement director, was recognized as the 2022 Staff International Educator of the Year during the International Education Awards Ceremony.

Garrett Beatty, Ph.D., instructional associate professor in APK, was recognized as the HHP Junior Faculty Educator of the Year Award winner for HHP, as well as the Virtual Exchange Training Fall 2022 Awardee. The awards recognize the outstanding contributions of UF community members to advancing the educational mission of the university on a global scale.

Nasim Binesh, >> Ph.D., assistant professor in THEM, was selected for the AI2 Award for developing a new artificial intelligence (AI) course as part of UF Quest Course Catalog. Quest courses cut across disciplines, nurture intellectual curiosities and invite students to grapple with difficult questions and challenges.

Chris Brown, Ph.D., clinical associate professor in APK, was named Southeast Athletic Training Association Educator of the Year.

George Cunningham, Ph.D., contributed to “The Conversation on Gender Diversity” through Johns Hopkins University Press. The book looks at gender diversity and the challenges faced by trans and nonbinary people.

Rachel Fu, Ph.D., chair and professor in THEM, received special recognition for leadership in tourism from Visit Gainesville.

Blain Harrison, Ph.D., instructional associate professor in APK, was awarded the Exemplary Online Award for Quality of Course Materials by the UF Center for Teaching Excellence for the course, “Nutrition Aspects of Human Performance.” The awards recognize exemplary and innovative teaching and course production.

Randall Penn, adjunct lecturer in SPM, won a Champions for Change Award, for significant contributions in the areas of sustainability, health and wellbeing, for a sports sustainability webinar series that targets sports organizers to embrace environmental programs.

Scott Powers, Ph.D., professor emeritus in APK, was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Hungarian University of Sports Science in Budapest.

COLLEGE OF HHP FACULTY, STAFF AND

Michael Reid, Ph.D., dean and professor in APK, was awarded the Honor Award at the Texas Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine in February. The award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions to exercise science and sports medicine while working in the state of Texas. Reid delivered a lecture focusing on the physiologic stress in auto racing.

Rachael Seidler, Ph.D., professor in APK, was selected as a 2023 UF Research Foundation Professor, recognizing the university’s most productive and promising faculty members.

Jalie Tucker, Ph.D., MPH, professor in HEB, and Katie Witkiewitz, Ph.D., from University of New Mexico, edited “Dynamic Pathways to Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder: Meaning and Methods,” published by Cambridge University Press.

Zheng Wang, Ph.D., assistant professor in APK, was awarded a 2023 UF Excellence Award for Assistant Professors — one of the university’s top awards for a tenure-track faculty member. This is the fourth consecutive year an HHP faculty member has received the award, limited to 10 faculty members a year.

Christine Wegner, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor in SPM, was named a Research Fellow of the North American Society for Sport Management. In addition, she was named director of the UF Institute for Coaching Excellence, replacing Michael Sagas, Ed.D., who will be departing to serve as dean at the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management at the University of South Carolina.

Student News

Rayven Crisafulli, Ph.D. student in THEM, earned first place at the UF Graduate Research Day for a poster on Super Bowl LV’s impact on host community sentiment and destination perceptions of Tampa. In addition, Crisafulli was awarded the UF Graduate Student Teaching Award for her demonstrated performance in the classroom.

Last spring, Astra Sharma, Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) player, was the first to earn a master’s degree in APK under a new partnership between the WTA and UF. Read more at go.ufl.edu/wta

In the fall, <<-Parker Valby, BSSPM ’24, was named SEC Cross Country Runner of the Year.

Members of the Alpha Lambda Chapter of Eta Sigma Gamma, the national health education honorary, were awarded the Chapter Excellence Award for the eighth year in a row and have earned this designation nine times overall.

In the THEM revenue management course, 137 students were awarded the Certification in Hotel Industry Analytics (CHIA) for the past two years. The certification is the industry standard allowing professionals to demonstrate their knowledge of terminology, formulas and metrics used by the hospitality industry.

Shannon Pettit and Sarah Peeling, graduate students in Health Education & Behavior, won first and second place, respectively, in the annual infographic contest hosted by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC). Their winning graphics conveyed the steps to becoming Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) certified and the value the certification brings.

Elder Garcia Varela, doctoral candidate in HEB, was selected for the Association for Academic Women’s (AAW) Emerging Scholar Award. The award honors an outstanding graduate student. In addition, Varela was inducted into the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society in recognition of outstanding scholarly achievement and promotion of diversity and excellence.

Celebrating National Biomechanics Day — In partnership with several other UF colleges and departments, APK labs hosted events for students of Howard W. Bishop Middle School for demonstrations on motion tracking, models of traumatic brain injury, illustrations of movement measurement and balance testing.

New FACULTY

• Nasim Binesh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, THEM; Ph.D.: Hospitality Administration, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

• George Cunningham, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, SPM; Ph.D.: Sport & Exercise Management, Ohio State University; Prior to HHP: Texas A&M University

• Diego Guarin, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, APK; Ph.D.: Biomedical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Canada; Prior to HHP: Florida Institute of Technology

• Orlando Laitano, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, APK; Ph.D.: Human Movement Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; Prior to HHP: Florida State University

• Giulio Ronzoni, Ph.D., Instructional Assistant Professor, THEM; Ph.D.: Hospitality Management, University of Central Florida, Orlando; Prior to HHP: University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu

• Bradley Wilkes, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor, APK; Ph.D.: Psychology, University of Florida

• Melvena Wilson, DrPH, Instructional Assistant Professor, HEB; DrPH: Behavioral Science and Health Education, Florida A&M University; Prior to HHP: Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama

New STAFF

• Ivonne Calderon, Research Coordinator II, HEB

• Melissa Cunningham, Development Coordinator, Dean’s Office

• Taylor Graves-Boswell, Research Coordinator III, HEB

• Brandon Hartline, Administrative Assistant, Dean’s Office

• Laine Hatcher, Academic Advisor, SPM

• Spencer Henley-Beasley, Biological Scientist, APK

• Mara Higginbotham, Clinical Research Coordinator, APK

• Justin Jones, Administrative Support Assistant III, HEB

• Ben Kahler, Research Administrator II, APK

• Manju Karki, Research Coordinator III, HEB

• Annie Kearley, Research Administrator I, Dean's Office

• Deborah Morse, Biological Scientist, APK

• Nathan Service, Administrative Support Assistant, SPM

• Claire Wilhelm, Clinical Research Coordinator I, APK

• Qingping Yang, Biological Scientist, APK

STAFF Transitions

The following HHP staff members recently took on a new role within the college.

• Laura Barnes, Industry Advisory Board Liaison, Dean's Office

• Michael Fitzgerald, Career Development and Global Engagement Director, Dean's Office

• Johnna Lechler, Administrative Support Assistant III, APK

• David Pinner, Assistant Director of Development, Dean’s Office

Celebrating New Faculty Endowments

At the 2023 spring awards ceremony, Dean Reid announced two new endowed professorships and the first endowed chair in the college. Endowed faculty allow the college to permanently fund a faculty member, supplementing salary and research funding. Endowments help the college attract and retain the top talent and enhance the reputation of the college. Congratulations to these outstanding faculty members and thank you to our generous donors.

• George Cunningham, Ph.D., University Athletic Association Professor in Sport Management

• Jalie Tucker, Ph.D., MPH, Mary F. Lane Professor in Health Education & Behavior

• David Vaillancourt, Ph.D., Inaugural Orchid Chair in Applied Physiology & Kinesiology

In addition, HHP has one additional endowed faculty member. Thomas Clanton, Ph.D. is the BK and Betty Stevens Professor in Applied Physiology & Kinesiology.

Faculty Promotions

This summer, the following 12 faculty members earned promotions or a promotion with tenure.

Professor

Leo Ferreira, Ph.D., APK

Svetlana Stepchenkova, Ph.D., THEM

Clinical Professor

Brady Tripp, Ph.D., APK

Patricia Tripp, Ph.D., APK

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR WITH TENURE

JeeWon Cheong, Ph.D., HEB

Jinwon Kim, Ph.D., THEM

Megan McVay, Ph.D., HEB

Terence Ryan, Ph.D., APK

INSTRUCTIONAL ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR*

Kristina Garcia-Guettler, Ph.D., HEB

Diba Mani, Ph.D., APK

Alyssa Tavormina, Ph.D., SPM

Christine Wegner, Ph.D., SPM