Florida State University’s distinguished faculty are central to the mission of the university. Faculty excellence in scholarship, research, and creative activity is critical to the quality of student learning and makes a difference in the lives of others.
Throughout the year, honors and recognitions are awarded to individual faculty and staff members across campus. Faculty and Staff Briefs are produced monthly to recognize accomplishments and provide a space where honors, awards, bylines, presentations, grants, service and any other notable items can be showcased.
HONORS AND AWARDS
Lina Rojas, MAAPP (Office of Governmental Relations) was honored by the News Service of Florida in the digital feature “2025 News Service of Florida 40 Under 40,” which highlights 40 rising stars under the age of 40 in government, business and advocacy.
Michael D. Carrasco, Ph.D. (College of Fine Arts) and FSU alumnus Joshua Englehardt, Ph.D. (Department of Anthropology) had their paper “Threats to Cycad Biocultural Heritage in the Amami Islands, Japan” awarded with the 19th Plant Species Biology Best Paper Award in the Journal Plant Species Biology.
Panayotis League, Ph.D. (College of Music) was recognized with a Bronze Medal from the Global Music Awards for his album “Bedroom Volume,” which was the only album in the Indie category to receive honors in the Winter 2025-2026 cycle.
Laurie Abbott, Ph.D., RN, DipACLM, CNE, PHNA-BC, FAAN (College of Nursing) was nominated and inducted into Sigma Xi (The Scientific Research Honor Society) in recognition of scholarly achievements and contributions to the advancement of knowledge.
Alexandra Yeager (Fraternity and Sorority Life) was recognized as Advisor of the Year for the Southern Region by the Order of Omega.
Brittany Devies, Ph.D. (Fraternity and Sorority Life) was awarded the 2026 Outstanding Fraternity/Sorority Advisor Award by Alpha Chi Omega National Headquarters.
Clair Bailey, M.S. (University Housing) with assistance from student Resident Assistants, received the NASPA-FL Program of Distinction Award: Housing, Residence Life, Contracted Services, Student Conduct, for the October program they created on wellness, “Escape the Haunted Habits.”
GRANTS
Christopher Solís, Ph.D. (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences) is a co-awardee on a Networking Mini-Grant sponsored by the Biophysical Society, which will help organize the FSU networking event “The Exhaustive Chase: Investigation of Striated Muscle Regulation in Health and Disease.”
Henna Budhwani, Ph.D., MPH (College of Nursing), Sylvie Naar, Ph.D. and Iván Balán, Ph.D. (Center for Translational Behavioral Science) were awarded a three-year R01 grant totaling $616,000 from the National Institutes of Health for their study “Healthy Choices to Reduce Stigma and Improve Self-Management of Alcohol and HIV among Young Adults”.
BYLINES
Joseph Watso, Ph.D. and Jonathan Hoch (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences) co-authored “Can We Protect Our Hearts by Sweating Out Excess Sodium?” published in Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews.
Joseph Watso, Ph.D., Jonathan Hoch, Christin Domeier (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences) and FSU alumna Pannonica Silvestri co-authored “Prognostic Value of Exercise Blood Pressure: Role of Fitness and Exercise Training,” published in Heart and Circulatory Physiology.
Adrienne-Barnes-Story, Ph.D., Kate Schell, Ph.D. and Brenda Wawire, Ph.D. (Learning Systems Institute) co-authored “Pedagogical Practices in Overcrowded Classrooms: Evidence from Education Stakeholders in Malawi,” published in Current Issues in Comparative Education.
Matt Schmidli, Ph.D. (School of Theatre) published Issue 40.1 of the “Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism,” edited by Aaron Thomas (School of Theatre).
Kristy Anderson, Ph.D. (College of Social Work) co-authored “Antipsychotic Drug Prescriptions for Transition-age Youth on the Autism Spectrum,” published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
Melissa Radey, Ph.D. (College of Social Work) co-authored “Complex Relationships Between Justice and Injustice in Organizations: Reducing Work-Related Burnout Among Child Welfare Workers,” published in Human Service Organizations.
Yaccov Petscher, Ph.D. (College of Social Work) co-authored “Peer Assisted Writing Strategies for Kindergarten: An Efficacy Study,” published in Scientific Studies of Reading.
Hugh Catts, Ph.D. (College of Communication and Information), Yaacov Petscher, Ph.D. (College of Social Work) and Ashley Edwards, Ph.D. (Florida Center for Reading Research) co-authored “Evaluation of the Consistency of Speech Verification System with Human Raters in Early Literacy Screening Assessment,” published in Frontiers of Education.
Terri Bourus, Ph.D. (Department of English) wrote the article review “Henry IV: Falstaff in Brooklyn,” published in volume 43 of the Shakespeare Bulletin journal by Johns Hopkins University Press. Bourus’ essay reviewing Jonathan Lamb’s book, “How the World Became a Book in Shakespeare’s England” was also published in volume 48 of Renaissance and Reformation/Renaissance et Réforme.
Lucinda J. Graven, Ph.D., APRN, FAHA, FAAN (College of Nursing) co-authored “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Initial Evidence for Enhancing Problem-Solving in Rural Heart Failure Dyads,” published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. These findings support the potential benefit of dyadic problem-solving interventions in improving problem solving, HF self-care, and depressive symptoms, especially in rural patients.
Lauren Stanley, Ph.D. (College of Social Work) co-authored “Patience and Protocol: Advice to Newly Hired Child Welfare Workers from Experienced Colleagues,” published in the Journal of Public Child Welfare.
Nicholas Mazza, Ph.D. (College of Social Work) authored the poems, “Prayer for Ukraine,” published in the Journal of Family Social Work. Mazza also authored “Hand and Heart of Healing” and “Consultation,” both published in Fresh Words: An International Literary Magazine.
Qinchun Rao, Ph.D. (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences) co-authored “Pelagic Sargassum as a Sustainable Source of Food-Grade Alginate: Selective Functional Modulation by High-Pressure Processing and Sonication,” published in Food Hydrocolloids; “Quantitative Western Blot Assay for the Detection of Chicken Serum Albumin (Gal d 5),” published in Food Chemistry; and “Immunological and Proteomic Characterization of Food Allergens in Almond Hulls,” published in Sustainable Food Proteins.
Helene Tigro, Ph.D., Michelle Parvatiyar, Ph.D. and Christopher Solís, Ph.D. (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences) co-authored “Desensitization of the Cardiac Troponin Complex by TnI Phosphorylation and Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate,” published in ACS Omega and highlighted on the cover of Volume 11, Issue 1.
Tenley Bick, Ph.D. (Department of Art History) published her essay “Armatures of a Different Value, of Boundless Feeling: The Art of Buzz Spector” in the exhibition catalog for “Buzz Spector’s Recto | Verso” at Zolla / Lieberman Gallery in Chicago.
Lorenzo Pericolo, Ph.D. (Department of Art History) published the book “Deleuze’s Modern Baroque: The Fold, Leibniz, the Formless, and the Objectile.”
Allison Menezes, M.D., Nicole Bentze, D.O. (College of Medicine) and alumna Britany Long, M.D. (Class of ’25) co-authored “Quantifying Patient Interest in Plant-Based Diets in Primary and Specialty Medical Practices” published in the International Journal of Disease Regression and Prevention.
Andrew Epstein, Ph.D. (Department of English) had his essay “William James, Attention, and Post-1945 American Poetry” published by the Cambridge University Press in the book, “William James and Literary Studies.”
Laura Greene, Ph.D. (Department of Physics and National High Magnetic Field Laboratory) co-authored a National Science Foundation-funded report on Reproducibility in Condensed Matter Physics.
PRESENTATIONS
Erika Loic, Ph.D. (Department of Art History) presented “Monstrous Conquests in Medieval Iberia: The Aquelarre Tabletop Roleplaying Game and Its Bestiarium Hispaniae” at the Medieval + Monsters Conference, hosted at Dominican University and the Newberry Library in Chicago.
Jack Krebs, MA (Academic Center for Excellence) presented “Navigating Policy and Practice for the ‘Maxed Out’ Dual Enrollment Student” at the Florida Alliance of Dual Enrollment Partnerships conference held at Indian River State College.
Jen Atkins, Ph.D. (School of Dance) spoke in the Gallier Gatherings Series at the Hermann-Grima Gallier Historic Houses Museum in New Orleans.
Henna Budhwani, Ph.D., MPH (College of Nursing) presented “Pilot Implementation of Nurse-Physician Phone Support Intervention for Maternity Health Worker” and “Womb2Heart Pilot Randomized Trial for Postpartum Individuals with Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes” at the Society of Maternal and Fetal Medicine Pregnancy Meeting.
Denise Bookwalter, MFA (Department of Art) presented about the Small Craft Advisory Press at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts and the University of Nebraska Omaha.
Jessica Bahorski, Ph.D., APRN, PPCNP-BC, WHNP (College of Nursing) co-presented “Postpartum Depression Screening by Pediatric Clinicians in North-Central Florida” at the 10th annual Perinatal Mental Health Conference, Florida Maternal Mental Health Collaborative.
Adrienne Barnes-Story, Ph.D. and Brenda Wawire, Ph.D. (Learning Systems Institute) presented research findings on their study on large class sizes in Malawi and how to go about teaching students in these environments. Results were reported on by The Daily Times in Malawi.
Meghan Mick, MLA and Kelley Robinson, MFA (Department of Interior Architecture and Design) presented their paper “Grounded Learning” at the National Conference on the Beginning Design Student.
Lynn Jones, Ph.D. (Department of Art History) presented a section of her book in the paper “Imperial Imagery in the Province: The Case of the ‘White Bearded’ Unknown Saint in Cappadocia” at the 51st Annual Byzantine Studies Conference.
Nicole Bentze, D.O. (College of Medicine) and Giovana Perez-Oliveras (John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art) were speakers for “Arts & Healthcare: The Human Side of Healing,” hosted by the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County.
Shermeeka Hogans-Mathews, M.D. and Nicole Bentze, D.O. (College of Medicine) were selected to present their lecture “Mental Health Stigma, Help-Seeking Behaviors, & Barriers to Mental Health Care Among Family Medicine Physician Educators” at the 2026 Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Conference.
Nell Robinson (University Health Services) presented “REACH Beyond the Office: Expanding Prevention Through Collaborative Partnerships” at the 2026 NASPA Strategies Conference in Chicago.
Amy Magnuson, Ph.D., RD, LD/N, Nell Robinson and Zabe Thompson, MPH (University Health Services) presented a concurrent session “From Listening to Leading: Using Qualitative Data to Re-Envision Campus Health and Wellness” at the 2026 NASPA Strategies Conference in Chicago.
Rachel Blakesley, Ph.D. (Student Conduct and Community Standards) presented her doctoral work, “Turn It Up: Amplifying Historically Marginalized Students’ Experiences with Interpersonal Conflict in the Residence Halls,” at the Association for Student Conduct Administration’s annual conference.
Nina Davis, MS, Lynn Sleeth, RN, BSN, MSN and Warren Oliver, Ph.D. (College of Nursing) co-presented the panel discussion “Implementing Self-Directed Learning Strategies to Bridge the Gap Between Foundational Nursing Knowledge and NCLEX Readiness” at the 39th International Society for Self-Directed Learning Symposium in Cocoa Beach, FL.
Robert Hanna (Learning Systems Institute) presented at the FSU Law School’s AI Day in the Capital.
EXHIBITIONS AND PERFORMANCES
Jean Shon, MFA, (Department of Art) opened her solo exhibition “Bleed” at Atlanta Contemporary in Atlanta, GA.
Matt Schmidli, MFA (School of Theatre) began producing and directing a narrative short film called “Arizona,” a modern western with principal photography.
Denise Bookwalter, MFA (Department of Art/ Small Craft Advisory Press) exhibited a collection of Small Craft Advisory Press publications at the CODEX International Book Fair and Symposium in San Francisco, CA.
Katie Kehoe, MFA (Department of Art) exhibited her work in “Parallel Works” and participated in the Artists’ Roundtable presentation at the College Art Association Conference in Chicago. Kehoe also exhibited three works in the juried group exhibition “Ancestral Futures,” curated by artist and ceramicist Donté K. Hayes, at ARC Gallery in Chicago, IL.
Carrie Ann Baade, MFA (Department of Art) exhibited work within “Visionary Voices: Echoes of Inner Worlds” on view at the Leonora Carrington Museum in Xilitla, Mexico.
Monika Gossman (School of Theatre) finished principal photography of the feature film “STRIPPED.” She was also a finalist at the Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards with short film script “Lemonade.”
Chari Arespacochaga, MFA (School of Theatre) directed “Primary Trust” at the Asolo Repertory Theatre and serves on the organizing committee of Performance Studies International in Jacarta.
Jamie Ho, MFA (Department of Art) participated in a panel and had her work featured in the exhibition “Becoming Sticky: Equatorial Vision” during the Decolonization and Global Justice Conference at the University of Oregon’s Erb Memorial Union.
Meredith Lynn, MFA (Department of Art) was featured in “The Hunter Invitational V” group exhibition at the Hunter Museum of American Art.
Liliya Ugay (College of Music) premiered her one-act opera “Thirty Angels” at the 2026 National Opera Association Conference to a sold-out audience. She was also honored to serve as a keynote speaker for the Composition in Asia Symposium at the University of South Florida. As a part of the symposium, she performed her monodrama “Chhlong Tonle” at Zinober Concert Hall.
Tom Welsh, Ph.D. (School of Dance) completed an editorial review of the manuscript “Interdisciplinary Research on DanceSport and Sports Biomechanics . . .” for the International Journal of Dance Medicine & Science.
nia love, MFA (School of Dance) was selected as a teaching guest artist for Movement Research’s Summer MELT program in New York, NY. She also completed production on the feature documentary “Let the Eagle Scream.”
Iain Quinn, Ph.D. (College of Music) was a Visiting Scholar at the University of St. Andrews and gave a lecture for the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts in addition to teaching and performing an organ recital. He also performed a recital at St. Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh. His most recent CD, “Poulenc, Hindemith, Pinkham: Works for Organ and Orchestra,” recorded with the English Symphony Orchestra and conductor Ken Woods, has been released on ESO Records.
SERVICE
Jen Gillette, MFA (School of Theatre) served as the Costume Designer for Primary Trust at the Asolo Repertory Theatre.
Mora Beauchamp-Byrd, Ph.D. (Department of Art History) served as a panelist at the conference “Why Black Museums: Other Geographies, New Fields” at the University of Texas at Austin.
Christopher Solís, Ph.D. (Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences) served on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant study section “Basic Biology of Blood, Heart, and Vasculature” which scores grants submitted to the NIH for extramural funding of research projects.
Tiffany Rhynard, MFA (School of Dance) attended the Dance on Camera Film Festival at Symphony Space in New York City as Vice President of the Board. She also received an artist residency at the Azule Art Residency Center.
Stephanie Sickler, MFA (Department of Interior Architecture and Design) was inducted into the Council of Fellows of the Interior Design Educators Council.
Felicia Williams, Ph.D. (Department of Student Engagement) was elected as the 2026 chair-elect of the Leadership Education Member Community for International Leadership Association and will transition to hold the chair position in 2027.
Kathleen Powers Conti, Ph.D. (Department of History) was selected to participate in “Whose History, Whose Voice? The Future of Interpreting Enslavement at Historic Sites,” a year long working group with the Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture at William & Mary.
Sabrina L. Dickey, Ph.D., MSN, RN (College of Nursing) was selected for the Board of Directors for Big Bend AHEC/Big Bend Rural Health Network.
Lauren Gillis, MFA (School of Theatre) served as Vice President of Conferences for the Musical Theatre Educators’ Alliance, planning and producing the 2026 International Conference in San Diego.
Marlo Ransdell, Ph.D. (Department of Interior Architecture and Design) co-led the event “It’s the Weather” at the Challenger Center of Tallahassee for the 2026 Festival of the Creative Arts.
Christina Parker-Flynn, Ph.D. (Department of English) was elected president of the Literature/Film Association, the largest and most active scholarly organization in the United States dedicated to the study of literature and film.
Julie Decker, M.Ed. (Division of University Advancement) participated in the CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) District III conference. Decker served on the CASE DII Cabinet as a roundtable host for Newcomers to the profession and a session host for Board Recruitment and Management. Additionally, Decker served on the board at the Winter Institute for CAAE (Council of Alumni Association Executives) as the Chair of the Governance Committee.
Lucinda J. Graven, Ph.D., APRN, FAHA, FAAN (College of Nursing) recently participated in an Institute for Successful Longevity sponsored panel discussion, alongside Dawn Carr, Ph.D. (Claude Pepper Center) and special guest speaker, Dr. Ken Langa on “Staying Sharp and Connected: What Science Says About Aging Well” at the Tallahassee Senior Center. The event was moderated by Zhe He, Ph.D. (Institute for Successful Longevity).
NOTABLE
Julianna Baggott, MFA (College of Motion Picture Arts) had her short story “Attachment Parenting” picked up by Amazon MGM with Davis Entertainment producing, for TV adaptation.
Tiffany Rhynard, MFA (School of Dance) had her feature documentary gain new screening licenses in Australia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States through Kanopy Educational Distribution. Her other feature documentary “Not My Enemy” reached more than 4,600 viewers streaming on KweliTV. She also completed principal photography for the feature documentary “The Mirage.”
Kevin Jones, Ph.D. and Bill Peterson, M.M. (College of Music) have released a new single on all streaming platforms. They have also been invited to perform a recital at the 2026 International Trombone Festival in Riga, Latvia.
Tim Glenn, MFA (School of Dance) created 22 costumes for Days of Dance and finalized a 72-page DanceScript pre-visualization for his new work, “Hammers, Sticks, & Strings.”
Helanius J. Wilkins, MFA (School of Dance) completed his Green Box Residency in Green Mountain Falls, CO, with a performance of his work “The Conversation Series: Stitching the Geopolitical Quilt to Re-Body Belonging.”
Laura Greene, Ph.D. (Department of Physics / National High Magnetic Field Laboratory) was appointed to be a part of the consensus study “On Being a Scientist Panel on Responsible Conduct and Stewardship of the Research Process” with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Jen Atkins, Ph.D. (School of Dance) was appointed Executive Co-Editor of “Dance Research Journal.” Atkins was also named Vice President for Awards for the Popular Culture/American Culture Association.
Casey Dozier, Ph.D. (Career Center) was chosen to participate in the 2026 Career Teaching Academy Cohort at the National Career Development Association Conference for select career practitioners in higher education who teach undergraduate career exploration and planning courses.
Tom Welsh, Ph.D. (School of Dance) assisted a young dance science researcher at Elon University in preparing a competitive proposal for the Leadership Alliance Summer Research-Early Identification Program.